August 22: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Russia launched a robot called FEDOR to the International Space Station to work as a remote operator and carry out various tasks autonomously.

FEDOR is a Russian-given male name and an acronym for "Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research."

A 50,000-year-old human bone was discovered in Siberia.

The toe bone belonged to a girl who was at least 13 years old when she died.

Instant divorce was banned in India, which became a giant leap forward for women’s rights in the country.

Both Russia and Vanuatu joined the World Trade Organization raising the total number of members to 157.

Storm Botnet sent a staggering 57 million emails.

Storm Botnet was a remotely controlled network of "zombie computers" spread through email spam. Essentially the emails carry viruses, and in September 2007, Storm Botnet accounted for around 8% of malware found on Microsoft devices.

Two gunmen stole Edvard Munch’s paintings “The Scream” and “Madonna” from Much Museum in Oslo, Norway.

The two pieces were safely recovered in August 2006.

The rings of Neptune were discovered.

On this day, NASA's spacecraft Voyager 2 was approaching Neptune when images revealed a faint ring circling the planet.

Australia began selling its first platinum coin, featuring a Koala.

The value of the coin is 100 Australian dollars.

Theodore Roosevelt became the first US President to appear in an automobile publicly.

Mahatma Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) to help fight discrimination.

Austria launched pilotless balloons against the city of Venice, which became the first air raid in history.

Ann Franklin became one of the first women newspaper publishers.

She became the sole editor and publisher for the Newport, Rhode Island newspaper called the Newport Mercury.

King Richard III died at the Battle of Bosworth, the ultimate battle in the Wars of the Roses.

King Richard III was the last English monarch to die in battle, losing to Henry VII, who then became King of England.