On August 4

A large explosion of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in Lebanon killed 218 people and caused US$15 billion in damage.

Julieka Ivanna Dhu, an Aboriginal Australian woman, died in police custody after her deteriorating condition was mocked and ignored.

An airport police officer discovered a suitcase containing approximately US$800,000 as it passed through security at Jorge Newbery Airfield in Buenos Aires, sparking an international scandal involving Venezuela and Argentina.

Sri Lankan civil war: Seventeen employees of the French nongovernmental organization ACF International were massacred in Mutur.

French supercentenarian Jeanne Calment died at the age of 122 years, 164 days, with the longest confirmed human lifespan in history.

Yugoslav Wars: The Croatian Army initiated Operation Storm, the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and the largest European land battle since the Second World War.

An explosion on the Greek cruise ship MTS Oceanos (pictured) ruptured its hull, causing it to sink off the east coast of South Africa, with all 571 people on board rescued.

Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, the president of Upper Volta, was ousted in a coup d'état led by Thomas Sankara.

President Idi Amin announced the expulsion of Asians from Uganda.

Vietnam War: The National Security Agency falsely claimed that a U.S. Navy destroyer was attacked a second time by North Vietnamese vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin, leading Congress to authorize the use of military force.

Alfred C. Glassell Jr. caught a black marlin weighing 1,560 lb (710 kg) (pictured) off the coast of Peru, setting the record for the largest bony fish caught by hand.

World War I: Adhering to the terms of the Treaty of London, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in response to the latter's invasion of Belgium.

Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother were found murdered in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts; Borden was later tried and acquitted for the murders.

In Brooklyn, a mob composed largely of Irish Americans attacked a group of African Americans in a riot.

American surveyor James Thompson produced the first plat of Chicago for the Illinois and Michigan Canal Commissioners.

French Revolutionary Wars: Commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte (depicted), the French Army of Italy decisively defeated Austrian forces led by Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich at the Battle of Lonato.

The signing of the Treaty of Sistova brought an end to the Austro-Turkish War.

Mount Asama (pictured) in Japan began a climactic eruption, which exacerbated the Great Tenmei famine and led to thousands of deaths.

War of the Spanish Succession: A combined Anglo-Dutch fleet under the command of George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles captured Gibraltar from Spain.

Hundred Years' War: A large-scale mounted raid by Anglo-Gascon forces began under the command of Edward the Black Prince.