Today in History
Today is Saturday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2021. There are 139 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.
On this date:
In 1848, the Oregon Territory was created.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, a statement of principles that renounced aggression.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.
In 1948, the Summer Olympics in London ended; they were the first Olympic games held since 1936.
In 1973, U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt.
In 1975, the cult classic movie musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, had its world premiere in London.
In 1980, workers went on strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk (guh-DANSK’), Poland, in a job action that resulted in creation of the Solidarity labor movement.
In 1992, the White House announced that the Pentagon would begin emergency airlifts of food to Somalia to alleviate mass deaths by starvation.
In 1995, Shannon Faulkner officially became the first female cadet in the history of The Citadel, South Carolina’s state military college. (However, Faulkner quit the school less than a week later, citing the stress of her court fight, and her isolation among the male cadets.)
In 1997, an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. (McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001.)
In 2009, Charles Manson follower Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, 60, convicted of trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, was released from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars.
In 2015, the Stars and Stripes rose over the newly reopened U.S. Embassy in Cuba after a half century of often-hostile relations; U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry celebrated the day, but also made an extraordinary, nationally broadcast call for democratic change on the island.
Ten years ago: Syria used gunboats for the first time to crush the uprising against Bashar Assad’s regime, hammering parts of the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia after thousands marched there to demand the president’s ouster. Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship after staging an amazing comeback to force a three-hole playoff and beat Jason Dufner at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Five years ago: At the Rio Olympics, U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and three teammates reported being robbed at gunpoint; police later said the men were not robbed, and instead vandalized a gas station bathroom. (Lochte was charged with filing a false robbery report, but a Brazilian court dismissed the case.) Usain Bolt of Jamaica became the first person to win three straight Olympic 100meter titles, blowing down the straightaway in 9.81 seconds. Actor Fyvush Finkel, 93, died in New York City.
One year ago: India’s coronavirus death toll overtook Britain’s to become the fourthhighest in the world after another single-day record increase in cases. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the state would move to a nearly all-mail election in November, following the model it used in its July primary. Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson, the state’s longest-serving chief executive, died at the age of 84. The U.N. Security Council resoundingly defeated a U.S. resolution to indefinitely extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran.
Today’s Birthdays: Broadway lyricist Lee Adams (“Bye Bye Birdie”) is 97. College Football Hall of Famer John Brodie is
86. Singer Dash Crofts is 83. Rock singer David Crosby is
80. Country singer Connie Smith is 80. Comedian-actor Steve Martin is 76. Movie director Wim Wenders is 76. Actor Antonio Fargas is 75. Singer-musician Larry Graham is 75. Actor Susan Saint James is 75. Author Danielle Steel is 74. Rock singer-musician Terry Adams (NRBQ) is 73. “Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson is 71. Actor Carl Lumbly is 70. Olympic gold medal swimmer Debbie Meyer is
69. Actor Jackee Harry is 65. Actor Marcia Gay Harden is
62. Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson is 62. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is
62. Singer Sarah Brightman is
61. Actor Susan Olsen is 60. Actor-turned-fashion/interior designer Cristi Conaway is 57. Rock musician Keith Howland (Chicago) is 57. Actor Halle Berry is 55. Actor Ben Bass is 53. Actor Catherine Bell is 53. Rock musician Kevin Cadogan is 51. Actor Scott Michael Campbell is 50. Actor Lalanya Masters is 49. Actor Christopher Gorham is 47. Actor Mila Kunis is 38. Actor Lamorne Morris is 38. TV personality Spencer Pratt is 38. NFL player Tim Tebow is 34. Actor Marsai Martin is 17.