1969. In upstate New York, the counter-culture comes together for Woodstock, the largest rock concert of the 60s. “What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400,000.” Among the acts of the festival, which ended in more than 3 days later, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, The Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

1769, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French general and ruler whose wars reshaped the map of Europe, is born on the island of Corsica.

1947, in Asia, India gains its independence a day after neighboring Pakistan is established, concluding British colonial rule over the entire Indian subcontinent.

1998, in Northern Ireland, the deadliest terror attack in decades of sectarian violence takes place in the town of Omagh, that’s where a car bomb planted by an IRA splinter group kills 29 people and wounds hundreds of others.

1914, in Central America, the Panama Canal opens to shipping traffic, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

And 1939, the Wizard of Oz-the movie Musical Fantasy starring Judy Garland that remains a pop culture classic, premieres in Hollywood.

Today in History. August 15th. Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.