Today in History
Aug 9, 2021, 9:00 PM | Updated: 10:48 pm
Today in History
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2021. There are 143 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On August 10, 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
On this date:
In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries (TWEE’-luh-reez) Palace, where King Louis XVI resided. (The king was later arrested, put on trial for treason, and executed.)
In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state.
In 1861, Confederate forces routed Union troops in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, the first major engagement of the Civil War west of the Mississippi River.
In 1944, during World War II, American forces overcame remaining Japanese resistance on Guam.
In 1945, a day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Imperial Japan conveyed its willingness to surrender provided the status of Emperor Hirohito remained unchanged. (The Allies responded the next day, saying they would determine the Emperor’s future status.)
In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson’s cult, one day after actor Sharon Tate and four other people were slain.
In 1977, postal employee David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York, accused of being “Son of Sam,” the gunman who killed six people and wounded seven others in the New York City area. (Berkowitz is serving six consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences.)
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to still-living Japanese-Americans who were interned by their government during World War II.
In 1991, nine Buddhists were found slain at their temple outside Phoenix, Arizona. (Two teenagers were later arrested; one was sentenced to life in prison, while the other received 281 years.)
In 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were charged with 11 counts in the Oklahoma City bombing (McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed; Nichols was convicted of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison).
In 2006, British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage.
In 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, accused of orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found unresponsive in his cell at a New York City jail; he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. (The city’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.)
Ten years ago: Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top American commander in Afghanistan, said international forces had slain the Taliban insurgents responsible for shooting down a U.S. helicopter, killing 30 Americans and seven Afghan commandos. Country singer-musician Billy Grammer, 85, died in Benton, Illinois.
Five years ago: During a raucous campaign rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Republican Donald Trump accused President Barack Obama of being the “founder” of the Islamic State group. (Trump later said he was “being sarcastic” before adding, “but not that sarcastic, to be honest with you.”) Lonnie Franklin Jr., the Los Angeles serial killer known as the “Grim Sleeper,” was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl. (Franklin was found dead in his cell on March 20, 2020.) At the Rio Olympics, Katie Ledecky turned in another overpowering performance to carry the United States to victory in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
One year ago: According to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, the confirmed number of coronavirus cases worldwide had reached 20 million; the number had doubled in a little more than six weeks. Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab, said he and his government were stepping down, nearly a week after a catastrophic explosion in Beirut that triggered public outrage and mass protests. A wind storm packing the power of a Category 3 hurricane swept across the Midwest, damaging farms and homes; at least four people died in Iowa and Indiana, and hundreds of thousands were left without power.
Today’s Birthdays: Singer Ronnie Spector is 78. Actor James Reynolds is 75. Rock singer-musician Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is 74. Country musician Gene Johnson (Diamond Rio) is 72. Singer Patti Austin is 71. Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly is 69. Folk singer-songwriter Sam Baker is 67. Actor Rosanna Arquette is 62. Actor Antonio Banderas is 61. Rock musician Jon Farriss (INXS) is 60. Singer Julia Fordham is 59. Journalist-blogger Andrew Sullivan is 58. Actor Chris Caldovino is 58. Singer Neneh Cherry is 57. Singer Aaron Hall is 57. Former boxer Riddick Bowe is 54. Actor Sean Blakemore is 54. R&B singer Lorraine Pearson (Five Star) is 54. Singer-producer Michael Bivins is 53. Actor-writer Justin Theroux is 50. Actor Angie Harmon is 49. Country singer Jennifer Hanson is 48. Actor-turned-lawyer Craig Kirkwood is 47. Actor JoAnna Garcia Swisher is 42. Singer Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels & Rope) is 42. Actor Aaron Staton is 41. Actor Ryan Eggold is 37. Actor Charley Koontz is 34. Actor Lucas Till is 31. Reality TV star Kylie Jenner is 24. Actor Jeremy Maguire is 10.
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