TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2019. There are 139 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On August 14, 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.
On this date:
■ In 1900, international forces, including U.S. Marines, entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreign influence.
■ In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.
■ In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, a statement of principles that renounced aggression.
■ In 1948, the Summer Olympics in London ended; they were the first Olympic games held since 1936.
■ In 1973, U.S. bombing Cambodia came to a halt.
■ In 1992, the White House announced that the Pentagon would begin emergency airlifts of food to Somalia to alleviate mass deaths by starvation.
■ In 1997, an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing.
■ In 2003, a huge blackout hit the northeastern United States and part of Canada; 50 million people lost power.
■ In 2008, President George W. Bush signed consumer-safety legislation that banned lead from children’s toys, imposing the toughest standard in the world.
Ten years ago: 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.
Five years ago: Rob Manfred was elected baseball’s 10th commissioner, winning a three-man race to succeed Bud Selig.
One year ago: Vermont Democrats chose the nation’s first transgender gubernatorial nominee, Christine Hallquist. (Hallquist would get 40% of the vote in November against Republican Phil Scott, who won with 55%.) Los Angeles transit officials said the city’s subway system would become the first in the country to install body scanners to screen passengers for weapons and explosives.
Today’s Birthdays: Broadway lyricist Lee Adams (“Bye Bye Birdie”) is 95. Rock singer David Crosby is 78. Country singer Connie Smith is 78. Comedian-actor Steve Martin is 74. Author Danielle Steel is 72. “Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson is 69. Actor Carl Lumbly is 68. Olympic gold medal swimmer Debbie Meyer is 67. Actress Jackee Harry is 63. Actress Marcia Gay Harden is 60. Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson is 60. Rock musician Keith Howland (Chicago) is 55. Actress Halle Berry is 53. Actress Lalanya Masters is 47. Actor Christopher Gorham is 45. Actress Mila Kunis is 36. Actress Marsai Martin is 15.
Thought for Today: “There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else.” — James Thurber, American author and cartoonist (1894-1961).