August 1st


1492: Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile drive the Jews out of Spain, despite the fact that they received 78% of the Jewish vote in the 1490 royal elections.


1957: The United States and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). The U.S. pilots patrol for Soviet invaders, the Canadian pilots make sure the puck doesn’t cross the blue line.


2001: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia join the European Environment Agency… and promptly agree to dump all their trash in Albania.