MS Readathon kicks off (ends 31 August)
Start of Pawgust for Guide Dogs Australia)
Birthdays for director Sam Mendes (1965), actor Jason Momoa (1979) and horses
Anniversary of:
• English chemist Joseph Priestley discovering oxygen by isolating it in its gaseous state (1774)
• the publication of the first Michelin Guide by the brothers Édouard and André Michelin (1900)
• 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi founding the Non-cooperation Movement aiming to end British colonial rule of India (1920)
• the production of the first Jeep car (1941)
• te reo Māori becoming an official language of New Zealand (1987)
• the publication of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, the first in his series A Song of Ice and Fire (1996)
