Today in History: Congress unanimously chooses the dollar as the monetary unit for the United States of America

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on Aug. 8:

1786 - US Congress unanimously chooses the dollar as the monetary unit for the United States of America.

1900 – The first Davis Cup tennis competition began at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and was won by the United States two days later.

1919 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, the American businessman who founded the 5- and 10-cent stores in 1879, died. By the time of his death, the F.W. Woolworth company had over 1,000 outlets.

1942 – In World War Two, six German saboteurs were executed in the United States. The six, who had landed on Long Island in June, were electrocuted in a District of Columbia jail.

1963 – A gang held up the Glasgow-London mail train and stole 2.6 million pounds in what became known in Britain as the “Great Train Robbery”.

1988 – U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced that a ceasefire in the 8-year Iran-Iraq War would take effect on Aug. 20.

1992 – USA men’s 4 x 100m relay team sets world record at Barcelona Olympics.

1994 – Jordanian and Israeli leaders opened the first border crossing between their countries after 46 years of hostilities.

1999 – Roller skaters in Taiwan set new world record for skating in a circle without breaking apart.

2000 – Malaysian former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to nine years in prison.

2009 – Tens of thousands of participants attempt to set a world record for the largest number of people practising Taiji in multiple locations.

2016 – Dozens killed in attack on Quetta hospital in Pakistan.

(Reuters)