Today is Thursday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2023.
There are 143 days left in the year.
Today's highlight
On Aug. 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 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 1885, Leo Daft opened America's first commercially operated electric streetcar, in Baltimore.
In 1944, during World War II, American forces overcame remaining Japanese resistance on Guam.
In 1962, Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man made his debut in issue 15 of "Amazing Fantasy."
In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson's cult, one day after actor Sharon Tate and four other people were slain.
In 1977, postal employee David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York, accused of being "Son of Sam," the gunman who killed six people and wounded seven others in the New York City area.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to still-living Japanese-Americans who were 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).
In 2006, British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage.
In 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, accused of orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found unresponsive in his cell at a New York City jail; he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. (The city's medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.)
