On this day: August 21
Lincoln and Douglas square off for the first time, Oldsmobile begins production, Hawaii becomes a state and The Mona Lisa and the Mars Observer go missing, all on this day.
1770: James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
1770: James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
1831: Former slave Nat Turner launches a short-lived, violent slave rebellion in Virginia that results in 60 white deaths and at least 100 black deaths. In the aftermath, Turner is convicted, sentenced to death and hanged and the state executes 56 accused of being part of the rebellion.
1858: The first Lincoln-Douglas debate takes place in Ottawa, Ill.
1863: Lawrence, Kan., is destroyed by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill's Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre. The group targeted Lawrence due to the town's long support of abolition and its reputation as a center for Jayhawkers and Redlegs, which were free-state militia and vigilante groups known for attacking and destroying farms and plantations in Missouri's pro-slavery western counties.
1878: The American Bar Association is formed by a group of lawyers, judges and law professors in Saratoga, N.Y.
1897: Oldsmobile begins operation as a General Motors Corp division.
1904: Bandleader William "Count" Basie is born in Red Bank, N.J.
1911: The Mona Lisa is stolen by Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia. It would be two years before the thief was caught, with the painting being returned to the Louvre in 1913.
1912: Arthur R. Eldred becomes the first American boy to become an Eagle Scout. It is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America.
1936: Hall of Fame basketball player Wilt Chamberlain is born in Philadelphia.
1938: Country singer and actor Kenny Rogers is born in Houston, Texas.
1952: Joe Strummer, the lead singer of the British punk band The Clash, is born under the birth name John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey.
1956: Actress Kim Cattrall ("Sex in the City") is born in Liverpool, England.
1959: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day.
1961: Motown releases what would be its first No. 1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
1965: The Lovin' Spoonful release their hit "Do You Believe In Magic?"
1967: Actress Carrie-Anne Moss ("The Matrix," "Memento") is born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
1976: RCA Victor Records announces that the sales of Elvis Presley records have passed the 400 million mark.
1981: Twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, best known for suing fellow Harvard alum Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole their idea for Facebook, are born in Southampton, N.Y.
1986: Jamaican sprinter and six-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt is born in Trelawny, Jamaica.
1989: Actress Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes," "Scream 4") is born in Palisades, N.Y.
1992: The Ruby Ridge Standoff begins near Randy Weaver's cabin in Idaho with a fire fight between U.S. marshals and Weaver's son Sammy and Weaver's friend Kevin Harris. Weaver (pictured), a fugitive on an illegal weapon charge, would end up surrendering after an 11-day standoff that left his son, his wife Vicki, their family dog "Striker" and Deputy U.S. Marshal William Francis Degan dead. Weaver was ultimately acquitted of all charges except missing his original court date and violating his bail conditions, for which he was sentenced to 18 months and fined $10,000. Credited with time served, Weaver spent an additional four months in prison.
1993: NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft. The fate of the spacecraft was unknown. The mission cost $980 million.
