Today is Monday, August 10, the 222nd day of 2015. There are 143 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On August 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 (TWEE’-luh-reez) 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 1846, President James K. Polk signed a measure establishing the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1874, Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa.
In 1913, the Treaty of Bucharest was signed, ending the Second Balkan War.
In 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello.
In 1949, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.
In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson’s cult, one day after actress Sharon Tate and four other people had been slain.
In 1975, television personality David Frost announced he had purchased the exclusive rights to interview former President Richard Nixon.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to still-living Japanese-Americans who’d been 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). Norma McCorvey, “Jane Roe” of the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, announced she had joined the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.
Ten years ago: A defiant Iran resumed full operations at its uranium conversion plant. President George W. Bush signed a $286 billion transportation bill. Tennessee prison inmate George Hyatte and his wife, Jennifer, surrendered in Columbus, Ohio, a day after she’d ambushed two prison guards at a courthouse, killing one of them, to help her husband escape. (Both later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and were sentenced to life in prison without parole.)
Five years ago: The House pushed through an emergency $26 billion jobs bill that Democrats said would save 300,000 teachers, police and others from layoffs; President Barack Obama immediately signed it into law. Talk radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger quoted the “N-word” 11 times in an on-air conversation with a caller who she said was “hypersensitive” to racism; Schlessinger ended up apologizing. Hollywood producer David L. Wolper, 82, died in Beverly Hills, Calif.
One year ago: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki resisted calls for his resignation and accused the country’s new president, Fouad Massoum, of violating the constitution (al-Maliki stepped down three days later). Rory McIlroy won his second straight major championship and fourth of his young career, rallying on the back nine in the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Rhonda Fleming is 92. Singer Ronnie Spector is 72. Actor James Reynolds is 69. Rock singer-musician Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is 68. Country musician Gene Johnson (Diamond Rio) is 66. Singer Patti Austin is 65. Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly is 63. Folk singer-songwriter Sam Baker is 61. Actress Rosanna Arquette is 56. Actor Antonio Banderas is 55. Rock musician Jon Farriss (INXS) is 54. Singer Julia Fordham is 53. Journalist-blogger Andrew Sullivan is 52. Actor Chris Caldovino is 52. Singer Neneh Cherry is 51. Singer Aaron Hall is 51. Boxer Riddick Bowe is 48. Actor Sean Blakemore (TV: “General Hospital”) is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lorraine Pearson (Five Star) is 48. Singer-producer Michael Bivins is 47. Actor-writer Justin Theroux is 44. Actress Angie Harmon is 43. Country singer Jennifer Hanson is 42. Actress JoAnna Garcia Swisher is 36. Singer Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels & Rope) is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nikki Bratcher (Divine) is 35. Actor Aaron Staton (TV: “Mad Men”) is 35. Actor Ryan Eggold is 31. Actor Lucas Till is 25. Reality TV star Kylie Jenner is 18.
Thought for Today: “It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.” — George Santayana, Spanish-born philosopher (1863-1952).
