On This Day in History - August 14th - Almanac

Today is Monday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2023 with 139 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 date are under the sign of Leo. They include Pope Pius VII in 1742; American West figure Doc Holliday in 1851; writer Ernest Thayer in 1863; writer Russell Baker in 1925; Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver in 1930; musician Dash Crofts (Seals and Crofts) in 1940 (age 84); musician David Crosby (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) in 1941; comedian Steve Martin in 1945 (age 79); actor Susan Saint James in 1946 (age 78); musician Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone) in 1946 (age 78); writer Danielle Steel in 1947 (age 77); "The Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson in 1950 (age 74); actor Carl Lumbly in 1951 (age 73); musician James Horner in 1953; actor Jackee Harry in 1956 (age 68); actor Marcia Gay Harden in 1959 (age 65); Basketball Hall of Fame member Earvin "Magic" Johnson in 1959 (age 65); musician Sarah Brightman in 1960 (age 64); actor Susan Olsen in 1961 (age 63); actor Halle Berry in 1966 (age 58); musician Kevin Cadogan (Third Eye Blind) in 1970 (age 54); actor Mila Kunis in 1983 (age 41); actor Lamorne Morris in 1983 (age 41); former football player/broadcaster Tim Tebow, winner of the Heisman Trophy in 2007, in 1987 (age 37); actor Brianna Hildebrand in 1996 (age 28); actor Marsai Martin in 2004 (age 20).

On this date in history:

In 1784, Grigory Shelikhov, a Russian fur trader, founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska on Kodiak Island.

In 1900, about 2,000 U.S. Marines joined with European forces to capture Beijing, ending the Boxer Rebellion against the Western presence in China.

In 1935, the U.S. Congress passed the Social Security Act and President Franklin D. Roosevelt immediately signed it into law.

In 1945, U.S. President Harry Truman announced that Japan had accepted terms for unconditional surrender. Japan formally surrendered Sept. 2, officially ending World War II.

In 1959, the satellite Explorer VI transmitted man's first satellite (orbital) view of Earth from space.

In 1966, the unmanned U.S. Orbiter 1 spacecraft began orbiting the moon.

In 1985, Michael Jackson paid $47 million at auction for the rights to 40,000 songs, including most of the Beatles classics.

In 1995, following a long legal battle, Shannon Faulkner was admitted to the cadet corps of the previously all-male Citadel. She resigned from the South Carolina military school four days later.

In 2003, a massive power failure spread through Ohio, Michigan, the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, leaving 50 million people in eight states and the province of Ontario without electricity for as long as two days.

In 2005, authorities said the crash of a Helios Airways plane in Greece with 121 people aboard could have been caused by a sudden drop in cabin pressure. There were no survivors.

In 2006, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon ended in a truce, effective on this date, after 34 days of fighting.

In 2013, authorities said hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured in clashes between Egyptian security forces and demonstrators calling for the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

In 2014, Major League Baseball owners chose MLB executive Rob Manfred to succeed longtime MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.

In 2015, after 54 years, the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba was re-opened amid a thawing in relations.

In 2017, about 1,100 people were confirmed dead with hundreds more missing after heavy rains produced a mudslide in Sierra Leone.

In 2021, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, leaving more than 2,200 people dead and at least 12,000 injured.

In 2023, former President Donald Trump was indicted for a fourth time, this time by a grand jury investigating whether he and 18 other defendants named in the 98-page indictment illegally interfered in the 2020 election in Georgia.

A thought for the day: "When you are honest and open with young people, they let you in." -- Basketball Hall of Fame member Earvin "Magic" Johnson