Aug. 9 (UPI) — On this date in history:
In 1483, the Sistine Chapel opens in the Vatican.
In 1854, Walden was published by Henry David Thoreau.
In 1916, Lassen Volcanic National Park was established in California.
In 1936, American track star Jesse Owens won his fourth Olympic gold medal in Berlin.
In 1945, a U.S. B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb nicknamed “Fat Man” on the Japanese city of Nagasaki three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Three weeks later, Japan formally surrendered, ending World War II.
In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four other people were slain in Los Angeles by followers of Charles Manson in the first of two nights of murders.
In 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon’s resignation became effective at noon and Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the nation’s 38th chief executive.
UPI File Photo
In 1991, Vietnamese Prime Minister Do Muoi resigned. He was succeeded by Vo Van Kiet, who vowed to transform Vietnam into a market economy.
In 1993, King Albert II of Belgium was crowned 10 days after King Baudouin I, his older brother, died of heart failure. King Albert II abdicated in 2013 for health reasons.
In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush announced he would allow federal funding for limited stem cell research using human embryos.
In 2004, Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing that killed 168 people.
In 2009, Typhoon Morakot slammed into Taiwan, with more than 80 inches of rain triggering floods and massive mudslides. The death toll was at least 500 and thousands of homes were destroyed.
In 2010, former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, a six-term Republican from Alaska, was killed with four others in the crash of a small plane in a remote area of his home state.
File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI
In 2012, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became the first person to sweep the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in back-to-back Olympics.
In 2014, a white police officer shot and killed a Black youth, Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Mo., touching off weeks of protests.
In 2017, the North Korean military threatened a missile strike near the U.S. territory of Guam, saying a recent bomber flight based from the island “may provoke a dangerous conflict.”
In 2022, Serena Williams announced her plans to retire after competing at the 2022 U.S. Open. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion made her professional debut at age 14 in 1995 and went on to become one of the best tennis players in history.
In 2024, a VoePass airplane with 57 passengers and four crew members crashed near the city of Vinhedo, Brazil, killing all aboard.
File Photo by Isaac Fontana/EPA-EFE
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