Today in History

Today in History

Today is Friday, Aug. 9, the 221st day of 2019. There are 144 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, a U.S. B-29 Superfortress code-named Bockscar dropped a nuclear device ("Fat Man") over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.

On this date:

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

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

In 1910, the U.S. Patent Office granted Alva J. Fisher of the Hurley Machine Co. a patent for an electrically powered washing machine.

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

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 1974, Vice President Gerald R. Ford became the nation's 38th chief executive as President Richard Nixon's resignation took effect.

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 1985, a federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia, found retired Navy officer Arthur J. Walker guilty of seven counts of spying for the Soviet Union. (Walker, who was sentenced to life, died in prison in 2014 at the age of 79.)

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan nominated Lauro Cavazos to be secretary of education; Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in the Cabinet.

In 1995, Jerry Garcia, lead singer of the Grateful Dead, died in Forest Knolls, California, of a heart attack at age 53.

In 2004, Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, addressing a court for the first time, asked victims of the blast for forgiveness as a judge sentenced him to 161 consecutive life sentences.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama flew to Guadalajara, Mexico, for a two-day speed summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Iraqi authorities arrested British contractor Danny Fitzsimons in the shooting deaths of two co-workers in Baghdad's protected Green Zone. (Fitzsimons was convicted by an Iraqi court in 2011 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.)

Five years ago: Michael Brown Jr., an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot to death by a police officer following an altercation in Ferguson, Missouri; Brown's death led to sometimes-violent protests in Ferguson and other U.S. cities, spawning a national "Black Lives Matter" movement.

One year ago: Vice President Mike Pence announced plans for a new, separate U.S. Space Force as a sixth military service by 2020. The parents of first lady Melania Trump were sworn in as U.S. citizens; they had been living in the country as permanent residents. Player demonstrations again took place at several early NFL preseason games, with two Philadelphia Eagles players raising their fists during the national anthem. Evacuation orders expanded to 20,000 as a wildfire that had been intentionally set moved perilously close to homes in Southern California.

Today's Birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy is 91. Actress Cynthia Harris is 85. Tennis Hall of Famer Rod Laver is 81. Jazz musician Jack DeJohnette is 77. Comedian-director David Steinberg is 77. Actor Sam Elliott is 75. Singer Barbara Mason is 72. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player John Cappelletti is 67. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Doug Williams is 64. Actress Melanie Griffith is 62. Actress Amanda Bearse is 61. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 60. Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull is 55. TV host Hoda Kotb is 55. Actor Pat Petersen is 53. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is 52. Actress Gillian Anderson is 51. Actor Eric Bana is 51. Producer-director McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol) is 51. NHL player-turned-coach Rod Brind'Amour is 49. TV anchor Chris Cuomo is 49. Actor Thomas Lennon is 49. Rock musician Arion Salazar is 49. Rapper Mack 10 is 48. Actress Nikki Schieler Ziering is 48. Latin rock singer Juanes is 47. Actress Liz Vassey is 47. Actor Kevin McKidd is 46. Actress Rhona Mitra is 44. Actor Texas Battle is 43. Actress Jessica Capshaw is 43. Actress Ashley Johnson is 36. Actress Anna Kendrick is 34.

Thought for Today: "Education is a private matter between the person and the world of knowledge and experience, and has little to do with school or college." -- Lillian Smith, American writer-social critic (1897-1966).