August 7 - What happened today?

Home What happened today in history? Blamepro's Almanac for August 7
In the headlines today:

1998	Terrorists bomb US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, killing over 200 people.
1996	A system glitch at America Online leaves 6 million customers without Internet service for more than 18 hours.
1974	Frenchman Philip Petit walks a high wire strung between the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
1974	Actress Faye Dunaway marries musician Peter Wolf (J. Geils Band) in Beverly Hills, California.
1960	The Ivory Coast gains its independence from France.
1947	Thor Heyerdahl reaches Polynesia aboard his balsa wood raft, Kon-Tiki, completing a voyage of 4,300 nautical miles.
1942	US Marines land at Guadalcanal, during WWII.
1928	The US Treasury introduces paper currency that is one-third the size of the older bills.
1789	Congress establishes the US War Department.
1782	The Order of the Purple Heart is created by US president George Washington. (photo credit: NARA)