Associated Press
Today in History: Friday, August 14, 2015
On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, creating unemployment insurance and pension plans for the elderly.
1848- The Oregon Territory was established.
1900- International forces entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreigners.
1917- China declared war on Germany and Austria during World War I.
1941- President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, a statement of principles that renounced aggression.
1945- President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.
1947- Pakistan became independent of British rule.
1969- British troops arrived in Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics.
1973- U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt.
1980- Workers went on strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland – a job action that resulted in the creation of the Solidarity labor movement.
1980- President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale were nominated for a second term at the Democratic National Convention in New York.
1996- The Republican National Convention in San Diego nominated Bob Dole for president and Jack Kemp for vice president.
1997- An unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing.
2003- A blackout hit the northeastern United States and part of Canada; 50 million people lost power.
2006- Israel halted its offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas as a U.N.-imposed cease-fire went into effect after a month of warfare that killed more than 900 people.
2009- Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a Charles Manson follower who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, was released from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars.
Today’s Birthdays:
Actress Halle Berry turns 49 years old today.
Russell Baker, Newspaper columnist, 90
Dash Crofts, Singer (Seals and Crofts), 77
David Crosby, Rock singer, musician (Crosby, Stills and Nash), 74
Steve Martin, Actor, comedian, 70
Susan Saint James, Actress (“Kate and Allie,” “McMillan and Wife”), 69
Danielle Steel, Author, 68
Gary Larson, Cartoonist (“Far Side”), 65
Magic Johnson, Basketball Hall of Famer, 56
Marcia Gay Harden, Actress, 56
Sarah Brightman, Singer, 55
Susan Olsen, Actress (“The Brady Bunch”), 54
Catherine Bell, Actress (“Army Wives,” “JAG”), 47
Tim Tebow, Football player, 28
Actress Mila Kunis turns 32 years old today.