Today in history 85

Here are some of the notable events that occurred on this day in history, August 15th:

1985

• The Philippine Airlines Boeing 747 is hijacked by a group of Muslim extremists, leading to a 12-day standoff and the eventual release of all 685 people on board.
• The first mobile phone call is made by Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, to his rival Joel S. Engel at AT&T's Bell Labs. The call lasts for three minutes and 55 seconds.
• The Soviet Union withdraws its troops from Afghanistan, ending a nine-year occupation.

Other notable events

• 1945: Japan surrenders to the Allied Powers, ending World War II.
• 1969: The Woodstock Music & Art Fair, a three-day music festival, begins on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York.
• 1971: The United States launches the Mariner 9 spacecraft, which becomes the first spacecraft to orbit Mars.
• 1991: The Soviet Union is officially dissolved, marking the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Empire.

Birthdays

• 1920: Ella Fitzgerald, American jazz singer (d. 1996)
• 1947: Stevie Nicks, American singer-songwriter (Fleetwood Mac)
• 1952: John McEnroe, American tennis player

Deaths

• 1945: Hirohito, Emperor of Japan (b. 1901)
• 1991: Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet politician (b. 1931)

I hope you find these events interesting!