TODAY IN HISTORY

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AUGUST 8

1588:English forces attacked the Spanish Armada, permanently crippling Spain's "invincible" fleet.

1786:Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat became the first to climb Mont Blanc.

1876:Thomas Edison patented the mimeograph machine.

1900:The first Davis Cup tennis tournament began at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

1963:In "The Great Train Robbery," some 15 thieves robbed the Glasgow-to-London mail train, making off with more than $6 million in cash.

1969:Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski, and four others were murdered by members of Charles Manson's "family."

1974:President Nixon announced he would resign the following day as a result of the Watergate scandal.