August

August

August 3, 1923

At his family home at Plymouth, vice-president Calvin Coolidge was awakened in the night and sworn in as the thirtieth president of the United States, after president Warren G. Harding died. His father, John Coolidge, a notary public, administered the oath of office.

From Vermont Farm to the White House (PDF)

August 9, 1781

The town of Williamstown is chartered. Thomas Davenport was from Williamstown. Davenport patented the first electric motor for locomotion in the United States. He used magnets to build the motor.

August 13, 1977

Vermont Public Radio broadcasts for the first time. VPR is the first public radio station in the state. Their studios were in the historic Windsor House, a former hotel in Windsor, VT.

August 16, 1777

The British forces of John Burgoyne were decisively defeated at the Battle of Bennington by American troops from Vermont and New Hampshire led by John Stark and Seth Warner.

The Battle of Bennington and Its Monument (PDF)

August 23, 1864 

Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, her son Tad, and their servant signed in at the Equinox Hotel in Manchester for their second visit. Their rooms were #27, #50, and #51. Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest son in the family, later bought Hildene, a Manchester mansion that is now a museum.

The Lincoln Family Home in Vermont (PDF)

August 23, 1932

The airplane, The Green Mountain Boy, took off from Berlin, Vermont, for Norway and disappeared without a trace.

August 28, 2011

Tropical Storm Irene, which started out as a hurricane, landed in Vermont. Flooding rivers took out roads, bridges, and houses. The storm caused millions of dollars in damage.

Tropical Storm Irene