Today in History: Korea is divided into North and South Korea

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on August 17:

1915 – Accused murderer Leo Frank lynched by mob in Georgia.

1945 - Korea is divided into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel.

1969 – Dr. Philip Blaiberg died in South Africa, 19 months and 15 days after receiving a heart transplant, a survival record at the time.

1987 – Adolf Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess was found dead in his cell in Berlin’s Spandau Prison after hanging himself with an electric cord.

2000 – Al Gore, Vice President of the United States under President Bill Clinton, becomes Democratic nominee for 2000 presidential election.

2001 – Prominent Corsican nationalist Francois Santoni was shot dead as he left a wedding reception in the early morning on the French-ruled Mediterranean island.

2005 – First forced evacuation of settlers as part of Israel’s disengagement from Gaza begins.

2006 – Lebanese troops were deployed in south Lebanon, linking up with U.N. peacekeepers to take control of Hezbollah strongholds as Israeli forces withdrew after their 34-day war with the guerrillas.

2008 – U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps becomes first Olympian to win eight gold medals at a single Games.

2013 – World record for largest ensemble of alphorn players is set in front of the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland.

2015 – Bomb explodes at Erawan shrine in Bangkok.

2017 – Van ploughs through crowd in Barcelona, killing at least 13.

(Reuters)