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MOMENTS IN TIME #12345_20260727  
FOR RELEASE July 27, 2026
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* On Aug. 10, 30 B.C., Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and the lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, died by suicide -- according to legend, by the bite of a poisonous snake -- after her forces against Octavian, Rome's future first emperor, were defeated.
* On Aug. 11, 1984, President Ronald Reagan made a controversial quip while he tested a microphone prior to a scheduled radio address, saying, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." His approval rating suffered a slight drop, but he went on to serve a second term.
* On Aug. 12, 1964, Charlie Wilson, part of the group responsible for the 1963 Great Train Robbery, one of the biggest thefts of its kind, escaped from the Winson Green Prison in Birmingham, England, with the aid of several men who broke into the facility for that express purpose. He was not recaptured until 1968.
* On Aug. 13, 1995, former New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer in Dallas at the age of 63. At the time of his passing, he held many World Series records, including most home runs.
* On Aug. 14, 1585, England's Queen Elizabeth I refused sovereignty of the Netherlands to avoid a commitment to war with Spain, fearing financial losses and a dangerous precedent of supporting subjects in rebellion against their rightful monarch, Philip II of Spain.
* On Aug. 15, 2021, two weeks before American troops were set to officially withdraw from Afghanistan, Taliban leaders entered its capital, Kabul, and reclaimed power with little resistance. Video footage documented chaos during and after the withdrawal, including scenes of the Taliban celebrating with gunfire and frantic citizens chasing and clinging to departing American military planes.
* On Aug. 16, 1942, a Navy blimp flying over San Francisco Bay, searching for Japanese submarines, crash landed on a street in nearby Daly City. Though rescuers raced to the scene, they found only an empty ship, with no sign of its two pilots. Their disappearance remains unsolved.
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