Today in History

Today is Thursday, Aug. 9, the 222nd day of 2012. There are 144 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon and his family left the White House as his resignation took effect. Vice President Gerald R. Ford became the nation's 38th chief executive.

On this date:

In 1842, the United States and Canada resolved a border dispute by signing the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau's "Walden," which described Thoreau's experiences while living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts, was first published.

In 1862, during the Civil War, Confederate forces drove back Union troops in the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Culpeper County, Va.

In 1902, Edward VII was crowned king of Britain following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay.

In 1942, Britain arrested Indian nationalist Mohandas K. Gandhi; he was released in 1944.

In 1944, 258 African-American sailors based at Port Chicago, Calif., refused to load a munitions ship following an explosion on another ship that killed 320 men, many of them black. (Fifty of the sailors were convicted of mutiny, fined and imprisoned.)

In 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.

In 1962, German-born Swiss poet and author Hermann Hesse, 85, died in Montagnola, Switzerland.

In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four other people were found brutally slain at Tate's Los Angeles home; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.

In 1982, a federal judge in Washington ordered John W. Hinckley Jr., who'd been acquitted of shooting President Ronald Reagan and three others by reason of insanity, committed to a mental hospital.

In 1997, Haitian immigrant Abner Louima was brutalized in a Brooklyn, N.Y., stationhouse by officer Justin Volpe, who raped him with a broken broomstick. (Volpe was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.)

Ten years ago: Oscar-winning actor and National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston, 78, revealed that doctors had told him he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease (Heston died in April 2008). Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 600th homer, becoming the fourth major leaguer to reach the mark.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush held a news conference in which he publicly prodded Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, his embattled war-on-terror partner, to hold free presidential elections, share intelligence and take "swift action" against terrorist leaders pinpointed in his country. China banned exports by two toy manufacturers whose products were subject to major recalls in the United States. David Beckham made his long-awaited Major League Soccer debut, entering in the 72nd minute of the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 loss to D.C. United.

One year ago: President Barack Obama announced new fuel efficiency standards for work trucks, buses and other heavy duty vehicles. In a surprise announcement, the Federal Reserve said it would likely keep its Fed funds rate at near zero through 2013 to help the ailing U.S. economy. Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced in San Angelo, Texas, to life in prison for sexually assaulting one of his child brides, and received the maximum 20-year punishment for a separate child sex conviction.

Today's Birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy is 84. Tennis Hall of Famer Rod Laver is 74. Jazz musician Jack DeJohnette is 70. Comedian-director David Steinberg is 70. Boxing Hall-of-Famer Ken Norton is 69. Actor Sam Elliott is 68. Singer Barbara Mason is 65. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Bill Campbell is 64. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player John Cappelletti is 60. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Doug Williams is 57. Actress Melanie Griffith is 55. Actress Amanda Bearse is 54. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 53. Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull is 48. TV host Hoda Kotb is 48. Actor Pat Petersen is 46. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is 45. Actress Gillian Anderson is 44. Actor Eric Bana is 44. Producer-director McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol) is 44. NHL player-turned-assistant coach Rod Brind'Amour is 42. TV anchor Chris Cuomo is 42. Actor Thomas Lennon is 42. Rock musician Arion Salazar is 42. Rapper Mack 10 is 41. Actress Nikki Schieler Ziering is 41. Latin rock singer Juanes is 40. Actress Liz Vassey is 40. Actress Rhona Mitra is 37. Actor Texas Battle is 36. Actress Jessica Capshaw is 36. Actress Ashley Johnson is 29. Actress Anna Kendrick is 27.

Thought for Today: "The truth is lived, not taught." -- Hermann Hesse (1877-1962).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.