Moments in Time – August 18, 2021

#Middlebury

• On Sept. 2, 31 B.C., at the Battle of Actium, Roman leader Octavian wins a decisive victory against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Antony and Cleopatra broke through the enemy lines and fled to Egypt, where they would later commit suicide.
• On Sept. 5, 1666, firefighters in London begin blowing up homes in a desperate attempt to halt the spread of a great fire in the city. By the time the fire was finally extinguished, more than 100,000 people had been left homeless.
• On Sept. 3, 1935, a new land-speed record is set by Britain’s Sir Malcolm Campbell on the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah. Campbell and his 2,500-horsepower Bluebird motor car made two runs over a 1-mile course at speeds averaging over 301 mph.
• On Aug. 31, 1959, Brooklyn Dodgers left-hander Sandy Koufax strikes out 18 batters, setting a new National League record for most strikeouts in a single game.
• On Aug. 30, 1963, a “hot line” between Moscow and Washington goes into effect to speed communication between U.S. and the Soviet Union and help prevent the possibility of an accidental war. Although never used, it did provide a useful prop for movies about nuclear disaster, such as “Fail Safe” and “Dr. Strangelove.”
• On Sept. 4, 1972, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz wins his seventh gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich in the 400-meter medley relay. He set world records in every event. Spitz’s record would stand until Michael Phelps took home eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games.
• On Sept. 1, 1983, Soviet jet fighters shoot down a Korean Airlines passenger flight in Russian airspace, killing all 269 passengers and crew. The KAL flight had veered into a course that was close to one being simultaneously flown by a U.S. spy plane.

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