Today in history: Aug. 9
In 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, a U.S. B-29 Superfortress code-named Bockscar dropped a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.
1934: Franklin D. Roosevelt
In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order nationalizing silver.
1936: Jesse Owens
In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay.
1945: "Fat Man"
In 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, a U.S. B-29 Superfortress code-named Bockscar dropped a nuclear device ("Fat Man") over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.
1969: Charles Manson
In 1969, actor Sharon Tate and four other people were found brutally slain at Tate’s Los Angeles home; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.
1974: Gerald R. Ford
On Aug. 9, 1974, Vice President Gerald R. Ford became the nation’s 38th chief executive as President Richard Nixon’s resignation took effect.
1982: John W. Hinckley Jr
In 1982, a federal judge in Washington ordered John W. Hinckley Jr., who’d been acquitted of shooting President Ronald Reagan and three others by reason of insanity, committed to a mental hospital.
1988: Lauro Cavazos
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan nominated Lauro Cavazos (kah-VAH’-zohs) to be secretary of education; Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in the Cabinet.
1995: Jerry Garcia
In 1995, Jerry Garcia, lead singer of the Grateful Dead, died in Forest Knolls, California, of a heart attack at age 53.
2012: Usain Bolt
At the London Games, Usain Bolt won the 200 meters in 19.32 seconds, making him the only man with two Olympic titles in that event.
2014: Michael Brown Jr.
In 2014, Michael Brown Jr., an 18-year-old Black man, was shot to death by a police officer following an altercation in Ferguson, Missouri; Brown’s death led to sometimes-violent protests in Ferguson and other U.S. cities, spawning a national “Black Lives Matter” movement.
2017: Tiger Woods
Prosecutors in Florida said golfer Tiger Woods had agreed to plead guilty to reckless driving and would enter a diversion program that would allow him to have his record wiped clean; he’d been charged with DUI in May when he was found asleep in his car, apparently under the influence of a prescription painkiller and sleeping medication.
2018: Space Force
In 2018, Vice President Mike Pence announced plans for a new, separate U.S. Space Force as a sixth military service by 2020.
2021: Robert Durst
Testifying at his Los Angeles murder trial, Robert Durst denied killing his best friend, Susan Berman, at her home in 2000. (Durst would be convicted of first-degree murder; the real estate heir died in January 2022 at age 78 while serving a life sentence.)
Someone in Florida won a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night, ending a stretch of lottery futility that had stretched for nearly four months. Here's more on that, plus today's top stories, celebrity birthdays and a look back at this day in history.