TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT August 14, 1945

President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1900

International forces, including U.S. Marines, entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreign influence.

1935

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.

1941

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, a statement of principles that renounced aggression.

1948

The Summer Olympics in London ended; they were the first Olympic games held since 1936.

1969

British troops went to Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

1973

U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt.

1980

Actress-model Dorothy Stratten, 20, was shot to death by her estranged husband and manager, Paul Snider, who then killed himself.

1992

The White House announced that the Pentagon would begin emergency airlifts of food to Somalia to alleviate mass deaths by starvation.

1997

An unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing.

2003

A huge blackout hit the northeastern United States and part of Canada; 50 million people lost power.

2008

President George W. Bush signed consumer-safety legislation that banned lead from children’s toys.