On August 23, the web went public, a Nazi-Soviet pact was signed, a kidnap victim escaped, a traitor died, a ship sailed south, and two million Balts linked hands for freedom.
August 23 in History
World Wide Web Opens to Public
CERN's invention, built by Tim Berners-Lee, is now free to all Internet users — a global information system that may reshape research and daily life.
At the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, a modest computer program that a British physicist wrote in his spare time has quietly become the most talked-about tool in the digital world. Today, 23 August 1991, the World Wide Web, invented by Tim Berners-Lee while working at CERN in 1989, was released to the entire Internet. No longer confined to the laboratory's own machines, the hypertext system that links documents across continents is now open to any user with a connection.
Berners-Lee and his team built the first web server and browser by December 1990, and the handful of enthusiasts who have seen it say it works with startling simplicity. A user types an address, and pages appear, with highlighted words that leap to other pages on other computers. The technology is being given away free of charge by the laboratory, which sees its mission as basic science rather than commerce.
Already, in the months since word spread, roughly 50 websites have been created, most of them at universities and research institutes.
Reich and Soviets Sign Ten-Year Non-Aggression
Treaty in Moscow, backdated to 23 August, commits both sides to neither aid nor ally with an enemy of the other.
Europe's balance of power shifted today as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, bitter ideological foes, signed a ten-year mutual non-aggression treaty in Moscow. The pact, backdated to 23 August, commits both sides to neither aid nor ally with an enemy of the other. The signing followed a week of feverish negotiations in the Kremlin. A secret protocol, its existence unacknowledged, partitions Poland and the Baltic states into German and Soviet spheres of influence.
Kidnap Victim, Held Eight Years, Escapes in Vienna Suburb
Natascha Kampusch, abducted as a child in Vienna, escaped from her captor's house, and the suspect later died by suicide, police said.
Natascha Kampusch, abducted at age ten in Vienna, escaped while cleaning her kidnapper's white van when he stepped away for a mobile phone call. She ran about 200 meters through neighboring gardens and streets, jumping fences, and knocked on a neighbor's window, identifying herself as Natascha Kampusch. Police arrived after the neighbor called, and the kidnapper died by suicide at a nearby station.
Wallace Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered for Treason
Scottish rebel leader executed at Smithfield after capture near Glasgow; head set on London Bridge, quarters sent to four towns.
William Wallace, who led the Scots against England through years of war, met his end today at Smithfield, hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians. Forced to wear a crown of laurel leaves, he was drawn to the place of execution, then hanged, but cut down before death. His body was emasculated, eviscerated, and his entrails burned before him, and finally he was beheaded and his corpse quartered. The head was set on London Bridge, and the quarters sent to Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth, that all may see the price of rebellion.
Southern Cross Sails for Antarctic
The Southern Cross, carrying 31 men, departs London with the first sledge dogs ever taken on an Antarctic expedition.
The Southern Cross, the vessel for the first British Antarctic expedition, departs London — Wikimedia Commons
Ninety sledge dogs, the first ever taken on an Antarctic expedition, sailed from London today aboard the Southern Cross. The vessel, bound for the frozen south, was inspected by the Duke of York, who presented a Union Flag to the ship. The Southern Cross carries 31 men on the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Two Million Join Baltic Chain for Freedom
Human chain stretches 600 kilometers from Tallinn to Vilnius on pact's 50th anniversary.
Approximately two million people joined hands today to form a human chain across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, in a powerful demonstration for independence. The Baltic Way stretched 600 kilometers (373 miles) from Tallinn to Vilnius, spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the three Soviet republics. The demonstration occurred on the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Organized by the popular fronts of the three republics, the chain symbolized their unity in the Singing Revolution.
King Proclaims Colonies in Rebellion
In 1775, George III branded American leaders traitors after armed conflict broke out at Lexington and Concord.
At St. James's, the King has issued a proclamation declaring elements of the American colonies to be in a state of "open and avowed rebellion." George III has branded the American leaders traitors, and a year of fighting has ensued. The Second Continental Congress had sent petitions to the Crown for intervention with Parliament, but the King and Parliament ignored them. Armed conflict began between British regulars and colonial militiamen at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775. In the colonies, Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense has referred to George III as "the Royal Brute of Great Britain."
BEF Holds Germans at Mons, Then Retreats
British troops suffer over 1,600 casualties in first major action of the war.
The British Expeditionary Force, in its first major action of the war, held up the German advance at Mons until the evening of 23 August, then began a retreat. The BEF, commanded by General Sir John French, comprised six infantry divisions and five cavalry brigades. The British suffered just over 1,600 casualties at the Battle of Mons. After the battle, the BEF retreated 400 km in thirteen days, ending at the River Marne. The retreat began under cover of darkness, with units marching through the night.
Red Army Halts Nazi Drive at Kursk; Hitler Calls Off Offensive
On July 12, the Soviets launched Operation Kutuzov against the German rear on the northern side.
In the fifth summer of the war, the great German offensive against the Kursk salient has been broken. The Battle of Kursk, the largest single engagement in the history of warfare, ended in a decisive Soviet victory, giving the Red Army the strategic initiative for the remainder of the conflict.
The attack, code-named Operation Citadel, opened on July 5 with the aim of pinching off the salient. That first day proved the costliest in aerial warfare history, with more aircraft shot down than on any other day. Within a week, Hitler cancelled the offensive, partly to shift forces to Italy in response to the Allied invasion of Sicily.
On July 12, the Soviets launched Operation Kutuzov against the German rear on the northern side.
