On This Day in History - August 9th - Almanac

Today is Friday, Aug. 9, the 222nd day of 2024 with 144 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus. Evening stars are Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Leo. They include architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant, designer of the District of Columbia, in 1754; philanthropist Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton in 1757; author P.L. Travers in 1899; American Indian engineer Mary G. Ross in 1908; English actor/playwright Robert Shaw in 1927; basketball Hall of Fame member Bob Cousy in 1928 (age 96); Australian tennis star Rod Laver in 1938 (age 86); comedian David Steinberg in 1942 (age 82); heavyweight boxer Ken Norton in 1943; actor Sam Elliott in 1944 (age 80); actor Melanie Griffith in 1957 (age 67); actor Amanda Bearse in 1958 (age 66); fashion designer Michael Kors in 1959 (age 65); pop singer Whitney Houston in 1963; hockey Hall of Fame member Brett Hull in 1964 (age 60); TV host Hoda Kotb in 1964 (age 60); football Hall of Fame member Deion Sanders in 1967 (age 57); actor Gillian Anderson in 1968 (age 56); actor Eric Bana in 1968 (age 56); TV journalist Chris Cuomo in 1970 (54); musician Juanes, born Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez, in 1972 (age 52); actor Kevin McKidd in 1973 (age 51); actor Jessica Capshaw in 1976 (age 48); actor Audrey Tautou in 1976 (age 48); actor Ashley Johnson in 1983 (age 41); actor Dan Levy in 1983 (age 41); actor Anna Kendrick in 1985 (age 39); actor Adelaide Kane in 1990 (age 34); actor Bill Skarsgard in 1990 (age 34); actor Justice Smith in 1995 (age 29).

On this date in history:

In 1483, the Sistine Chapel opens in the Vatican.

In 1854, Walden was published by Henry David Thoreau.

In 1936, American track star Jesse Owens won his fourth Olympic gold medal in Berlin.

In 1945, a U.S. B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" on the Japanese city of Nagasaki three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Three weeks later, Japan formally surrendered, ending World War II.

In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four other people were slain in Los Angeles by followers of Charles Manson in the first of two nights of murders.

In 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon's resignation became effective at noon and Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the nation's 38th chief executive.

In 1991, Vietnamese Prime Minister Do Muoi resigned. He was succeeded by Vo Van Kiet, who vowed to transform Vietnam into a market economy.

In 1993, King Albert II of Belgium was crowned 10 days after King Baudouin I, his older brother, died of heart failure. King Albert II abdicated in 2013 for health reasons.

In 1995, rock legend and lead guitarist of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, died at age 53. He had been undergoing treatment at a drug rehabilitation center at the time.

In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush announced he would allow federal funding for limited stem cell research using human embryos.

In 2004, Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing that killed 168 people.

In 2009, Typhoon Morakot slammed into Taiwan, with more than 80 inches of rain triggering floods and massive mudslides. The death toll was at least 500 and thousands of homes were destroyed.

In 2010, former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, a six-term Republican from Alaska, was killed with four others in the crash of a small plane in a remote area of his home state.

In 2012, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became the first person to sweep the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in back-to-back Olympics.

In 2014, a white police officer shot and killed a Black youth, Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Mo., touching off weeks of protests.

In 2017, the North Korean military threatened a missile strike near the U.S. territory of Guam, saying a recent bomber flight based from the island "may provoke a dangerous conflict."

In 2022, Serena Williams announced her plans to retire after competing at the 2022 U.S. Open. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion made her professional debut at age 14 in 1995 and went on to become one of the best tennis players in history.

A thought for the day: "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." -- American author Ernest Hemingway