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What happened on August 12 in American history
August 12 is the 224th day of the year (the 225th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 7 stories from August 12 spanning 1851 to 1992. Among them: in 1851, Singer wins a patent for a sewing machine that actually works; and in 1898, the American flag rises over ʻIolani Palace; Hawaii's sovereignty ends in a ceremony.
1851Member story · 1776 Club
Singer wins a patent for a sewing machine that actually works
A straight needle and a straightened shuttle path turn a shop curiosity into a business.
1898
The American flag rises over ʻIolani Palace; Hawaii's sovereignty ends in a ceremony
Queen Liliʻuokalani stays away, waiting out the hour at Washington Place instead.
1945
Days after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Washington tells the public how the bomb was built
Physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth's report explains the science while carefully withholding the engineering.
1977Member story · 1776 Club
Enterprise cut loose over the Mojave and flew free for the first time
Explosive bolts sever the shuttle from its 747 carrier, and Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton glide it down alone.
1981Member story · 1776 Club
IBM enters the PC market: the 5150 debuts at $1,565
Built from off-the-shelf parts by a Florida team, the machine reaches store shelves in October.
1990
A flat tire sends Sue Hendrickson up a cliff, and she finds a T. rex
While the rest of the crew fixed the truck, Hendrickson checked the one ridge nobody had searched yet.
1992Member story · 1776 Club
Negotiators finish the NAFTA text; three capitals prepare to sign
Eighteen months of talks end with a trade deal none of the three legislatures have yet approved.
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