Today in History (Aug. 9)

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 9, the 221st day of 2022. This is today in history.

Local News

  • In 2004, Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, addressing a court for the first time, asked victims of the blast for forgiveness as a judge sentenced him to 161 consecutive life sentences.
  • In 2013, roadwork near South Middle School in Joplin caused back-to-school traffic to line the streets.
  • In 2015, Bright  Futures partnered with Pointe Beauty Academy to give out haircuts and merch ahead of the upcoming school year.

World News

  • In 2012, The United States began a landmark project to clean up dioxin left from Agent Orange at the site of a former U.S. air base in Danang in central Vietnam, 50 years after the defoliant was first sprayed by American planes on Vietnam’s jungles to destroy enemy cover.
  • In 2014, Michael Brown Jr., a Black 18-year-old, 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.
  • In 2017, North Korea’s army said it was studying a plan to create an “enveloping fire” in areas around the U.S. territory of Guam with medium- to long-range ballistic missiles.

Entertainment

  • In 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden,” which described Thoreau’s experiences while living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts, was first published.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Politics

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Birthdays

Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy is 94. Tennis Hall of Famer Rod Laver is 84. Jazz musician Jack DeJohnette is 80. Comedian-director David Steinberg is 80. Actor Sam Elliott is 78. Singer Barbara Mason is 75. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player John Cappelletti is 70. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Doug Williams is 67. Actor Melanie Griffith is 65. Actor Amanda Bearse is 64. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 63. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is 62. Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull is 58. TV host Hoda Kotb (HOH’-duh KAHT’-bee) is 58. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is 55. Actor Gillian Anderson is 54. Actor Eric Bana is 54. Producer-director McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol) is 54. NHL player-turned-coach Rod Brind’Amour is 52. TV journalist Chris Cuomo is 52. Actor Thomas Lennon is 52. Rapper Mack 10 is 51. Actor Nikki Schieler Ziering is 51. Latin rock singer Juanes is 50. Actor Liz Vassey is 50. Actor Kevin McKidd is 49. Actor Rhona Mitra (ROH’-nuh MEE’-truh) is 47. Actor Texas Battle is 46. Actor Jessica Capshaw is 46. Actor Ashley Johnson is 39. Actor Anna Kendrick is 37.

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