1991: The Persian Gulf war begins (at 7 p.m., Eastern Time) as the U.S. transforms Operation Desert Shield into Operation Desert Storm by launching its aerial bombardment of Baghdad and Kuwait.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2000/n08082000_20008088.html;

http://www.desert-storm.com/War/chronology.html

1974: The New York Stock Exchange’s systems are so primitive that a single computer glitch at Merrill, Lynch & Co. delays the opening of the trading day by a full 15 minutes.

Today in NYSE History, at www.nyse.com/about/TodayInNYSE.html