TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2022. There are 143 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 10, 1945, a day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Imperial Japan conveyed its willingness to surrender provided the status of Emperor Hirohito remained unchanged. (The Allies responded the next day, saying they would determine the Emperor’s future status.)
On this date:
• In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries Palace, where King Louis XVI resided. (The king was later arrested, put on trial for treason, and executed.)
• In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state.
• In 1885, Leo Daft opened America’s first commercially operated electric streetcar, in Baltimore.
• In 1944, during World War II, American forces overcame remaining Japanese resistance on Guam.
• In 1962, Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man made his debut in issue 15 of “Amazing Fantasy” (cover price: 12 cents).
• In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson’s cult, one day after actor Sharon Tate and four other people were slain.
• In 1977, postal employee David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York, accused of being “Son of Sam,” the gunman who killed six people and wounded seven others in the New York City area. (Berkowitz is serving six consecutive 25-years-tolife sentences.)
• In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to still-living Japanese-Americans who were interned by their government during World War II.
• In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
• In 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were charged with 11 counts in the Oklahoma City bombing (McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed; Nichols was convicted of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison).
• In 2006, British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage.
• In 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, accused of orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found unresponsive in his cell at a New York City jail; he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. (The city’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.)
Ten years ago: A man in an Afghan army uniform shot and killed three American service members in southern Afghanistan; the Taliban claimed the shooter joined the insurgency after the attack. At the London Olympics, the United States won the women’s 4x100-meter track relay in a world-record time of 40.82 seconds to give the Americans their first victory in the event since 1996.
Five years ago: President Donald Trump, continuing his criticism of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell following the failed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, suggested that McConnell might have to rethink his future as majority leader unless he could deliver on Trump’s legislative priorities on health care, taxes and infrastructure. North Korea’s military described as a “load of nonsense” Trump’s warning that the North would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.
One year ago: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations; he denied intentionally mistreating women and said the push for his ouster was politically motivated. (Cuomo would be succeeded by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who became the state’s first female governor.) The Senate approved a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan, as a rare coalition of Democrats and Republicans came together to overcome skeptics and deliver a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s agenda. Vote-counting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems filed defamation lawsuits against right-wing broadcasters and a prominent Donald Trump ally over their baseless claims that the 2020 election was marred by fraud. Soccer star Lionel Messi signed his eagerly anticipated Paris Saint-Germain contract to complete the move that confirmed the end of a career-long association with Barcelona.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor James Reynolds is 76. Rock singer-musician Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is 75. Country musician Gene Johnson (Diamond Rio) is 73. Singer Patti Austin is 72. Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly is 70. Folk singer-songwriter Sam Baker is 68. Actor Rosanna Arquette is 63. Actor Antonio Banderas is 62. Rock musician Jon Farriss (INXS) is 61. Singer Julia Fordham is 60. Journalist-blogger Andrew Sullivan is 59. Actor Chris Caldovino is 59. Singer Neneh Cherry is 58. Singer Aaron Hall is 58. Former boxer Riddick Bowe is 55. Actor Sean Blakemore is 55. R&B singer Lorraine Pearson (Five Star) is 55. Singer-producer Michael Bivins is 54. Actor-writer Justin Theroux is 51. Country singer Jennifer Hanson is 49. Actor-turned-lawyer Craig Kirkwood is 48. Actor JoAnna Garcia Swisher is 43. Singer Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels & Rope) is 43. Actor Charley Koontz is 35. Actor Lucas Till is 32. Reality TV star Kylie Jenner is 25. Actor Jeremy Maguire is 11.