On This Day, Sept. 8: President Ford pardons Nixon for Watergate scandal

Sept. 8 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1565, the first permanent European settlement in what is now the continental United States was founded on the site of the present St. Augustine, Fla.

In 1900, more than 6,000 people were killed when a hurricane and tidal wave struck Galveston, Texas.

In 1935, an assassin shot U.S. Sen. Huey P. Long, D-La., at the Capitol in Baton Rouge, La. Long died two days later. His close friend, James O'Conner, Louisiana public service commission, recounted to United Press how the senator collapsed in his arms after the shooting.

In 1941, the Siege of Leningrad -- the Russian city now known as St. Petersburg -- began. The Germany army held the blockade for more than two years during World War II, resulting in the deaths of about 1 million civilians and Soviet troops.

In 1943, U.S. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower announced that Italy surrendered to the Allied forces after the fall of fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

In 1945, U.S. troops arrived in southern Korea after Soviet troops occupied the north. The occupations, initially thought to be temporary, eventually resulted in the Korean War and separate states.

In 1966, Star Trek premiered on NBC-TV.

Leonard Nimoy (R) and William Shatner greet thousands of fans at a Star Trek Convention in the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center on January 26, 1997. File Photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI

In 1974, U.S. President Gerald Ford granted former President Richard Nixon, who had resigned a month earlier in the wake of the Watergate scandal, a full pardon for any offenses he may have committed during his years in office.

In 1994, a USAir Boeing 737 (Flight 427) suddenly rolled to the left, spiraled out of control and fell 6,000 feet in a crash near Pittsburgh that killed 132 people. A problem with the plane's rudder control system was eventually cited as the probable cause of the disaster.

In 2005, more than 1,000 people attended the Washington funeral of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who died of thyroid cancer just before his 81st birthday.

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 2018, Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam in her 6-2, 6-4 defeat of American Serena Williams at the U.S. Open.

In 2021, a 12-ton statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was taken down and cut to pieces in Richmond, Va.

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth III, the longest-serving monarch in British history, died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland at the age of 96. Her eldest son ascended the throne as King Charles III.

In 2023, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck western Morocco, killing more than 2,900 people and injuring some 5,000. The epicenter of the temblor was near the town of Oukaïmedene, but shaking was felt as far away as Casablanca.