The Games of the XVII Olympiad commence in Rome, Italy.

The XVII Olympiad, also known as the 1960 Summer Olympics, was held in Rome, Italy. The Games took place from August 25 to September 11, 1960.

First Olympics in Italy: This was the first time the Olympic Games were hosted by Italy. Rome was chosen as the host city, and it became the second European city (after London) to host the Games twice, the first time being in 1908.

Innovations and Modernization: The 1960 Olympics marked a significant step in modernizing the Games. The event saw the introduction of a number of technological innovations, such as electronic timing and a photo-finish camera to accurately measure the times and places of the athletes in races.

New Sporting Facilities: The Rome Olympics led to the construction of several new sports venues and facilities. The most famous of these is the Stadio Olimpico, a large sports complex that continues to host major sporting events to this day.

International Broadcast: The 1960 Olympics were the first to be broadcast internationally via satellite. This allowed people around the world to watch the events live, marking a major development in global sports broadcasting.

Participation and Events: The Games saw the participation of athletes from 83 nations, competing in 150 events across 17 sports. These sports included athletics, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, boxing, and more.

Diplomatic Impact: The Rome Olympics had political and diplomatic significance. The Games were seen as a way for Italy to showcase its post-World War II recovery and reintegration into the international community.

Abebe Bikila’s Historic Win: One of the most memorable moments of the Games was Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila’s victory in the marathon. Bikila became the first African to win a gold medal in the Olympics, and he did it barefoot, capturing the world’s attention.

Doping Controversy: The 1960 Olympics were not without controversy. Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen died during the Games, and it was later revealed that he had taken a performance-enhancing drug called Roniacol. This incident drew attention to the issue of doping in sports.

Legacy: The 1960 Rome Olympics left a lasting legacy for the city and for the Olympic movement as a whole. The success of the Games inspired subsequent hosts to improve their infrastructure and organization, contributing to the growth and modernization of the Olympics.

World War II: Paris is liberated by the Allies.

George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party, is assassinated by a former member of his group.

Egon Krenz, the former East German leader, is convicted of a shoot-to-kill policy at the Berlin Wall.

The first Bombing of Berlin by the British Royal Air Force.

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A Great Moon Hoax article is published in The New York Sun, announcing the discovery of life and civilization on the Moon.

The “Great Moon Hoax” refers to a series of six articles that were published in The Sun, a New York newspaper, beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and even civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, one of the best-known astronomers of that time.

The story was advertised on August 21, 1835, as an upcoming feature allegedly reprinted from The Edinburgh Courant. The first in a series of six was published four days later on August 25.

Authorship of the article has been attributed to Richard Adams Locke, a reporter who, in August 1835, was working for The Sun. Locke publicly admitted to being the author in 1840, in a letter to the weekly paper New World. Still, rumours persisted that others were involved. Two other men have been noted in connection with the hoax: Jean-Nicolas Nicollet, a French astronomer travelling in America at the time though he was in Mississippi, not New York, when the Moon-hoax issues appeared, and Lewis Gaylord Clark, editor of The Knickerbocker, a literary magazine. However, there is no good evidence to indicate that anyone but Locke was the author of the hoax.

Assuming that Richard A. Locke was the author, his intentions were probably, first, to create a sensational story which would increase sales of The Sun, and, second, to ridicule some of the more extravagant astronomical theories that had recently been published. For instance, in 1824, Franz von Paula Gruithuisen, professor of Astronomy at Munich University, had published a paper titled “Discovery of Many Distinct Traces of Lunar Inhabitants, Especially of One of Their Colossal Buildings.” Gruithuisen claimed to have observed various shades of color on the lunar surface, which he correlated with climate and vegetation zones. He also observed lines and geometrical shapes, which he felt indicated the existence of walls, roads, fortifications, and cities.

However, a more direct object of Locke’s satire was Rev. Thomas Dick, who was known as “The Christian Philosopher” after the title of his first book. Dick had computed that the Solar System contained 21.9 trillion inhabitants. In fact, the Moon alone, by his count, would contain 4,200,000,000 inhabitants. His writings were enormously popular in the United States, his fans including intellectual luminaries such as Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The Belgian Revolution start.

The New York Sun carries out the Great Moon Hoax.

Paris is liberated by the Allies on this day during World War II.