On This Day: President Warren G. Harding dies in office

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, was signed by members of the Continental Congress.

In 1923, U.S. President Warren G. Harding died of a stroke in a San Francisco hotel at the age of 58. He was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge.

In 1934, with the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler became absolute dictator of Germany under the title of fuehrer, or "leader."

File Photo courtesy of the NARA

In 1956, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park, which encompasses 23 square miles of land and water, was established.

In 1968, a major earthquake in the Philippines rocked Manila, killing 307 people.

In 1974, John Dean, counsel to U.S. President Richard Nixon, was sentenced to one to four years in prison for his part in the Watergate coverup. Dean's sentence was reduced and he was released after four months.

In 1985, 135 people died in the crash of a Delta Air Lines L-1011 jet at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

In 1990, Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait after weeks of tension over disputed land and oil production quotas.

In 1992, Jackie Joyner-Kersee became the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon.

In 2000, the Republican Party nominated George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to head its ticket for the November elections.

File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 2018, Apple became the first publicly traded company to reach a trillion-dollar market capitalization.

In 2020, two NASA astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico after completing a two-month mission that sent them to the International Space Station to test SpaceX's groundbreaking Crew Dragon shuttle capsule. It was the first commercial crewed mission in U.S. history.

File Photo by Bill Ingalls/UPI