THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025

1703-Edirne Incident: Turkish army ousts Sultan Mustafa II, replacing him with his brother Ahmed III, reducing the power of the Sultan

1772-King Gustav III of Sweden completes a coup d'état by adopting a new constitution and installing himself as an enlightened despot, ending 50 years of parliamentary rule

1888-American inventor William Seward Burroughs patents the adding machine

1911-Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered in 1913

1959-Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States

1991-Conservative coup in the Soviet Union is crushed by popular resistance led by Boris Yeltsin in three days