August 8, 1974
President Richard M. Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign.
August 11, 1934
A group of federal prisoners classified as “most dangerous” arrives at Alcatraz Island, a 22-acre rocky outcrop situated 1.5 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay.
August 13, 1961
East German soldiers begin laying down barbed wire and bricks as a barrier between Soviet-controlled East Berlin and the democratic western section of the city. Berlin is divided.