Today is Wednesday, August 14, the 227th day of the 12 months 2024. There are 139 days left within the 12 months.
Today in history:
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which provided income to older Americans and created a federal unemployment insurance program.
Also on this date:
In 1936, Rainey Bethea was hanged in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators in Owensboro, Kentucky. It was the last public execution within the United States.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced the unconditional give up of Imperial Japan, ending World War II.
In 1947, Pakistan gained independence from British rule.
In 1994, the terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, generally known as “Carlos the Jackal,” was captured by French agents in Sudan.
In 1995, Shannon Faulkner officially became the primary female cadet within the history of The Citadel, South Carolina's state military academy. (However, Faulkner left the varsity lower than per week later, citing the stress of her court battle and her isolation among the many male cadets.)
In 1997, the unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was officially sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. (McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001.)
In 2009, 60-year-old Charles Manson follower Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, who was convicted of attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, was released from a Texas prison hospital after greater than three many years behind bars.
In 2016, on the Summer Olympics in Rio, Usain Bolt became the primary athlete to win the 100-meter race at three consecutive Olympic Games, taking home gold.
In 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti, reducing hundreds of buildings to rubble. The quake killed over 2,200 people and injured over 12,000.
Today's birthdays:
- Broadway lyricist Lee Adams (“Bye Bye Birdie”) turns 100.
- John Brodie, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and NFL quarterback, is 89.
- Singer Dash Crofts is 84.
- Country singer Connie Smith is 83.
- Comedian and actor Steve Martin is 79.
- Film director Wim Wenders is 79.
- Singer and musician Larry Graham is 78.
- Actress Susan Saint James is 78.
- The creator Danielle Steel is 77.
- “Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson is 74.
- Actor Carl Lumbly is 73.
- Olympic gold medalist swimmer Debbie Meyer is 72.
- Actor Jackee Harry is 68.
- Rusty Wallace, a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, is 68.
- Actress Marcia Gay Harden is 65.
- Earvin “Magic” Johnson, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is 65.
- Singer Sarah Brightman is 64.
- Actress Susan Olsen (TV: “Three Girls and Three Boys”) is 63.
- Actor Halle Berry is 58.
- Golfer Darren Clarke is 56.
- Actress Catherine Bell is 56.
- Actress Mila Kunis is 41.
- Actor Lamorne Morris is 41.
- Former NFL player Tim Tebow is 37.
- Actor Marsai Martin is 20.
Originally published:
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