This month in history:

Aug. 1, 1775 The first article proposing women's rights in America was written by Thomas Paine for Pennsylvania Magazine, of which he was the editor. Only 145 years later, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, granting women the right to vote.

Aug. 6, 1881 Alexander Fleming, who later discovered penicillin, was born. He made his discovery when he found that mold from soil killed deadly bacteria without injuring human tissue.

Aug. 14, 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act establishing the Social Security system.

Aug. 16, 1896 Gold was discovered in Rabbit Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River in Alaska, resulting in the Great Klondike Gold Rush.

American Home Mortgage, one of the largest independent U.S. home loan providers, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In an attempt to keep the growing subprime troubles from spreading to stock markets, the Federal Reserve pumps billions of dollars worth of cash into world markets.

Apple gets bruised as the largest provider of video content for iTunes, NBC Universal, announces plans to let its contract with Apple expire. NBC cites disagreements with Apple's content pricing structure as the reason for the move.

Chinese toy executive Zhang Shuhong, head of Lee Der Industrial, the company that produced many of the toys recalled by American toy giant Mattel, is found dead of an apparent suicide at a company warehouse.