Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
Aug 8, 1974: Nixon resigns
In an evening televised address, President Richard M. Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, Nixon was finally bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House. "By taking this action," he said in a solemn address from the Oval Office, "I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."
Just before noon the next day, Nixon officially ended his term as the 37th president of the United States. Before departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn, he smiled farewell and enigmatically raised his arms in a victory or peace salute. The helicopter door was then closed, and the Nixon family began their journey home to San Clemente, California. Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States in the East Room of the White House. After taking the oath of office, President Ford spoke to the nation in a television address, declaring, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over." He later pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate scandal.
On June 17, 1972, five men, including a salaried security coordinator for President Nixon's reelection committee, were arrested for breaking into and illegally wiretapping the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Washington, D.C., Watergate complex. Soon after, two other former White House aides were implicated in the break-in, but the Nixon administration denied any involvement. Later that year, reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of The Washington Post discovered a higher-echelon conspiracy surrounding the incident, and a political scandal of unprecedented magnitude erupted.
In May 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, began televised proceedings on the rapidly escalating Watergate affair. One week later, Harvard law professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as special Watergate prosecutor. During the Senate hearings, former White House legal counsel John Dean testified that the Watergate break-in had been approved by former Attorney General John Mitchell with the knowledge of White House advisers John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, and that President Nixon had been aware of the cover-up. Meanwhile, Watergate prosecutor Cox and his staff began to uncover widespread evidence of political espionage by the Nixon reelection committee, illegal wiretapping of thousands of citizens by the administration, and contributions to the Republican Party in return for political favors.
In July, the existence of what were to be called the Watergate tapes--official recordings of White House conversations between Nixon and his staff--was revealed during the Senate hearings. Cox subpoenaed these tapes, and after three months of delay President Nixon agreed to send summaries of the recordings. Cox rejected the summaries, and Nixon fired him. His successor as special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, leveled indictments against several high-ranking administration officials, including Mitchell and Dean, who were duly convicted.
Public confidence in the president rapidly waned, and by the end of July 1974 the House Judiciary Committee had adopted three articles of impeachment against President Nixon: obstruction of justice, abuse of presidential powers, and hindrance of the impeachment process. On July 30, under coercion from the Supreme Court, Nixon finally released the Watergate tapes. On August 5, transcripts of the recordings were released, including a segment in which the president was heard instructing Haldeman to order the FBI to halt the Watergate investigation. Three days later, Nixon announced his resignation.
Today marks teh anniversary of Nixon resigning the presidency. That was the most memorable event in recent memory, a couple of months before I was born. The insurrection of Lyon took place on this date, during the days of the French Revolution.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
70 - Tower of Antonia destroyed by Romans
870 - Kings Charles the Bare & Louis the German divide Lutherans
936 - German king Otto I the Great, crowned
1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
1322 - Emperor Godaigo, makes Sojiji monastery. chief monastery of Soto Sect
1509 - The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is crowned, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
1549 - France declares war on England
1567 - Duke of Alva's army enters Brussels Belgium
1570 - Peace of Saint-Germain-and-Laye, more freedom for huguenots
1579 - Cornerstone is laid for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory
1585 - Pope Sixtus excommunicates Hendrik van Navarra (Henri IV)
1585 - John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
1588 - Sea battle at Grevelingen: English fleet battles Spanish armada
1605 - The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
1609 - Venetian senate examines Galileo Galilei's telescope
1619 - Duke Maximilian I & Emperor Ferdinand II signs Treaty of Munchen
1647 - The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungans Hill - English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
1673 - Dutch battle fleet of 23 ships demands surrender of NYC
1700 - Denmark & Sweden sign peace treaty
Astronomer & Physicist Galileo GalileiAstronomer & Physicist Galileo Galilei 1709 - 1st known ascent in hot-air balloon, Bartolomeu de Gusmao (indoors)
1758 - British troops occupy & plunder Cherbourg
1786 - Congress adopts silver dollar & decimal system of money
1786 - Jacques Balmat & Michel Paccard are 1st to climb to top of Mont Blanc
1788 - King Louis XVI calls French States & Generals together
1793 - The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
1794 - Joseph Whidbey and George Vancouver lead an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
1796 - Boston African Society establishes with 44 members
1809 - 70 disciples of Gaon of Vilnus, arrive in Israel (Palestine)
1814 - Peace negotiations begin in Ghent, Belgium
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for exile on St Helena
1816 - Bavarian joins Saint Alliance
1829 - French government of De Polignac forms
1831 - Battle of Hasselt - Dutch army drives out Belgian Army
1839 - Beta Theta Pi is founded in Oxford, Ohio.
French Emperor Napoleon BonaparteFrench Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte 1843 - Natal (in South Africa) is made a British colony
1844 - Brigham Young chosen Mormon Church head following Joseph Smith death
1853 - Russian fleet appears at Nagasaki Japan
1854 - Smith & Wesson patents metal bullet cartridges
1860 - Queen of Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) arrives in NYC
1863 - American Civil War: Tennessee's "military" Governor Andrew Johnson frees his personal slaves. During the early 20th century, the day was celebrated by blacks in Tennessee as a holiday.
1864 - Comet C/1864 N1 (Tempel) approaches within 0.0964 AUs of Earth
1864 - Red Cross forms in Geneva
1864 - Union troops/fleet occupy Fort Gaines, Alabama
1868 - Quake destroyes Arica Chile
1870 - Magic (US) defeats Cambria (England) in 2nd running of America's Cup
1870 - The Republic of Ploieşti, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.
1876 - Dan O'Leacy completes 500 mile walk in 139h32m
1876 - Thomas Edison patents mimeograph
1882 - Snow falls on Lake Michigan
Inventor Thomas EdisonInventor Thomas Edison 1900 - 1st Davis Cup tennis competition, named after Dwight Filley Davis, began at Longwood Cricket Club in Mass, & won by US 2 days later
1902 - 2nd Davis Cup: USA beats British Isles in New York (3-2)
1903 - 3rd Davis Cup: British Isles beats USA in Boston (4-1)
1903 - In 11th an old black ball is put into play against Cleve, Tigers' Nap Lajoie protests ignored, he hurls ball out of park & forfeits game
1910 - The US Army installs the first tricycle landing gear on the Army's Wright Flyer.
1911 - The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire.
1911 - Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law would come into effect in 1913.
1913 - Richard Corfields "Camel Corps" opens "Mad Mullah" in Burao Somalia
1914 - 3rd pole expedition Ernest Shackleton "Endurance"
1914 - French troops under Gen Bonneau occupy Mulhouse at Elzas
1914 - Montenegro declares war on Germany
1916 - A's set AL record with 19th consecutive loss on road
1918 - Canada/Australian/British breakthrough with 600 tanks at Amiens
1918 - 6 US soldiers are surrounded by Germans in France, Alvin York is given command & shoots 20 Germans & captures 132 more
1919 - Treaty of Rawalpindi, British recognize Afghanistan's independence
1920 - Tigers beat Yanks 1-0 in shortest AL game, 73 minutes
1922 - Italian general strike broken by fascist terror
1922 - Pirates set record of 46 hits in a doubleheader (against Phillies)
1924 - British-Russian trade agreement signed
1925 - 1st national march of Ku Klux Klan (200,000) in Washington, DC
1929 - 1st airship flight around Earth flying eastward begins
1929 - German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight
1929 - Salem Oregon airport dedicated
1930 - St Louis Cards are 12 games back in NL, & go on to win pennant
1931 - Wash Senator Bob Burke no-hits Boston Red Sox, 5-0
1937 - Bonneville Dam on Columbia River begins producing power
1940 - 31 German aircrafts shot down over England
1940 - Battle of Britain began as Germany launches air attacks
1940 - The "Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
1941 - 20 divisions of Russian 6th/12th Army surrender at Oeman
1942 - "Monty" appointed commandant of British 8th Army at Alamein
1942 - 6 convicted Nazi saboteurs who landed in US executed in Wash DC
1942 - Dianthus sinks U-379
1942 - Russ anti-offensive of Voronezh under marshal Timosjenko
1943 - Common Chiefs of staff meet in Quebec
1943 - US amphibians land at St Agata on North coast of Sicily
1943 - Vegetables & fruit rationed in Holland
1944 - Canada/Polish troops occupy Cramesnil/Secqueville/Cintheaux/St-Aignan
1944 - US 15th Army corp occupies Le Mans
1945 - England & Aust Services draw 4th Victory Test
1945 - Pres Harry S Truman signs UN Charter
1945 - US, USSR, England & France sign Treaty of London
1945 - USSR declares war against Japan in WW II
1945 - USSR establishes a communist government in North Korea
1946 - India agrees to give Bhutan 32 sq miles
1946 - Dreyfuss family, owners of Pittsburgh Pirates since 1900, sells club to Frank McKinney & John Galbreath for $25 million
1946 - First flight of the Convair B-36.
1947 - Pakistan's National Flag is approved.
1948 - "Hold It!" opens at National Theater NYC for 46 performances
1949 - Bhutan, land of Dragon, becomes an independent monarchy
1950 - Florence Chadwick swims English Channel (13:23)
1950 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA All-American Golf Open
1952 - Syngman Ree re-elected president of South-Korea
1953 - Russia's Georgi Malenkov reports possession of hydrogen bomb
1953 - US & South Korea initial a mutual security pact
1955 - Fidel Castro forms "July 26th Movement"
1955 - Geneva conference held to discuss peaceful uses of atomic energy
1956 - Fire & explosion kill 263 miners at Marcinelle, Belgium
1956 - WDIQ (now KMCT) TV channel 2 in Dozier, AL (PBS) begins
1957 - USSR offers Syria economic/military aid
1960 - "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" hits #1
1960 - Ivory Coast declares independence
1960 - South Kasai secedes from the Congo.
1961 - Ham Tigercats (CFL) beat Buff Bills (NFL) 38-21 in Hamilton, Ontario
1961 - Verne Gagne beats Gene Kiniski in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ
1963 - Great Train Robbery in England, £2.6 million ($7.3 million)
1963 - Kingsmen release "Louie, Louie," radio stations label it obscene
1963 - LA Dodgers F Howard & B Skowron are 3rd to hit consecutive pinch HRs
1963 - Verne Gagne beats Fritz Von Erich in Amarillo, to become NWA champ
1964 - "110 in the Shade" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 330 perfs
Dictator Fidel CastroDictator Fidel Castro 1964 - Dutch Opera forms in Amsterdam
1964 - Rolling Stones 1st Dutch concert
1965 - Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Milwaukee Golf Open
1965 - Singapore leaves Malaysian Federation
1966 - South Arican Broadcasting bans Beatles (Lennon's anti-Jesus remark)
1967 - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore & Thailand meet to form Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
1968 - Jarry Park is approved by Mayor Jean Drapeau for interim use by Expos
1968 - Race riot in Miami Florida
1968 - Republican convention in Miami Beach nominates Nixon for pres
1969 - The Beatles decided on the album cover for their newest ferng, "Abbey Road", the last album that the band ever got together for. The now iconic album cover featured the lads crossing Abbey Road on a zebra stripe crossing, with a view of the street in the background. It was the first album cover by the Beatles that did not feature either the group or album name.
1970 - NY Yankees honor Casey Stengel, retiring his number 37 (BTG was there)
1971 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1971 - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Lady Pepsi Golf Open
1972 - NY Yanks sign 30-year lease to play in remodeled Yankee Stadium
1973 - VP Spiro T Agnew says reports he took kickbacks are "damned lies" from government contracts in Maryland. He vowed not to resign (Right!)
1974 - Pres Richard M Nixon announces he'll resign his office 12PM Aug 9
1976 - Chicago White Sox suit up in shorts
1977 - Maurine Stuart, ordained as Zen priest by Eido Tai Shimano Roshi
1977 - Texas Rangers turn their 1st triple play (vs A's)
1978 - Pioneer-Venus 2 with 5 atmospheric probes launched toward Venus
Iraqi President Saddam HusseinIraqi President Saddam Hussein 1979 - Iraqi president Saddam Hussein executes 22 political opponents
1980 - LBV Conference Center & Club Lake Villas open
1982 - 64th PGA Championship: Ray Floyd shoots a 272 at Southern Hills Tulsa
1982 - Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Boston Five Golf Classic
1983 - Brig Gen Efrain Rios Montt was deposed as president of Guatemela
1983 - Jury in KC, Mo, awards TV anchorwoman Christine Craft $500,000 in sex discrimination suit against KMBC-TV (later overturned)
1983 - Military coup in Guatemala, Pres Rios Montt flees
1984 - "Rink" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 204 performances
1984 - Carl Lewis wins 3rd (200m) of 4 gold medals in Summer
1984 - Milwaukee 10-game losing streak ends
1985 - Baseball's new agreement permits 2 new NL teams in 1993
1985 - Japan launches Planet A, a probe to Halley's comet
1986 - Record 3 grandslams in a game-(Harrah-Tex, Sheets & Dwyer-Orioles)
1986 - Altaf Hussain's address at Nishtar Park Karachi, announcing the establishment of the MQM political movement.
1987 - Brewers' Rob Deer struck-out 5 times in a game
Olympic Sprinter and Long jumper Carl LewisOlympic Sprinter and Long jumper Carl Lewis 1987 - Lynne Cox became 1st to swim from US to Russia across Bering Strait
1987 - Pakistan all out 708 v England at The Oval, Botham 3-217
1988 - -11] Army in Rangoon shoots on students, 5-10,000 killed
1988 - 9th US Seniors Golf Open: Gary Player
1988 - Angola, Cuba & South Africa sign cease fire treaty
1988 - Discovery of most distant galaxy (15 * 10 ^ 12 light yrs) announced
1988 - Duchess of York gives birth to 6 lb 12 oz baby girl
1988 - Goose Gossage registers career save #300
1988 - Jennifer Levin's parents file $25M suit against Dorrian Red Hand Bar
1988 - Jose Canseco becomes 11th to get 30 HRs & 30 steals in a season
1988 - Matt Biondi swims US record 200m freestyle (1:47.72)
1988 - Minnesota Twins pull 2nd triple-play of year & beat Cleve 6-2
1988 - Renovated Central Park Zoo reopens after 4 years
1988 - Russian troops begin pull out of Afghanistan after 9 year war
1988 - Sec of State Shultz narrowly escapes assassin attempt in Bolivia
1988 - South Africa declares cease-fire in Angola
1988 - Temperature hits high of 88 on 8/8/88 in NYC
1988 - Cubs & Phillies attempt to play 1st night game ever at Wrigley Field but are rained out in 4th inning with Chicago leading, 3-1
1988 - The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma.
1989 - US space shuttle STS-28 launched
1990 - Balt Orioles pull their 10th triple play (1-6-3 vs Oakland)
1990 - Carlton Fisk ties Johnny Bench hitting 327 HRs as a catcher
1990 - Iraq annexes Kuwait as its 19th province
1990 - Pete Rose begins 5-ms prison term at Marion (IL) Federal prison camp
1991 - Billy Preston charged with exhibiting porno to a minor
1991 - Carlos Santana pleads no contest to marijuana possession charge
1991 - Gary Oldman, actor (State of Grace), arrested for drunk driving
1991 - Shite Moslems release British hostage John McCarthy
1991 - With two months left, White Sox set new home attendance (2,150,951)
1991 - The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
1992 - Lou Whitaker hits his 200th career HR
1993 - Dana Lofland wins McCall's LPGA Golf Classic Dormann at Stratton Mt
1993 - Tropical storm Bret ravages Venezuela, about 100 killed
1995 - Jeff King of Pirates is 16th NL player to HR twice in one inning
1997 - Mariners Randy Johnson strikes out 19 Chicago White Sox
2000 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.
2007 - An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York State, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
2008 - Georgian invasion into South Ossetia. Begin of five-day war between Georgia and Russia.
2012 - China announces that it plans to close 23 rare earth mines and up to 50 smelting companies
2012 - 16 people are killed from flooding from heavy rain in Manilla, Philippines
1356 - Edward "the Black Prince" began a raid north from Aquitaine. 1588 - The Spanish Armada was defeated by the English fleet ending an invasion attempt. 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic. The remainder of his life was spent there in exile. 1844 - After the killing of Joseph Smith, Bringham Young was chosen to lead the Mormons. 1876 - Thomas Edison received a patent for the mimeograph. The mimeograph was a "method of preparing autographic stencils for printing." 1899 - The refrigerator was patented by A.T. Marshall. 1900 - In Boston, the first Davis Cup series began. The U.S. team defeated Great Britain three matches to zero. 1911 - The number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives was established at 435. There was one member of Congress for every 211,877 residents. 1940 - The German Luftwaffe began a series of daylight air raids on Great Britain. 1945 - The United Nations Charter was signed by U.S. President Truman. 1945 - During World War II, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. 1950 - Whataburger opened its restaurant in Corpus Christi, TX. 1953 - The U.S. and South Korea initiated a mutual security pact. 1956 - Japan launched an oil tanker that was 780 feet long and weighed 84,730 tons. It was the largest oil tanker in the world. 1966 - Michael DeBakey became the first surgeon to install an artificial heart pump in a patient. 1974 - U.S. President Nixon announced that he would resign the following day. 1978 - The U.S. launched Pioneer Venus II, which carried scientific probes to study the atmosphere of Venus. 1988 - It was announced that a cease-fire between Iraq and Iran had begun. 1989 - The space shuttle Columbia took off from Cape Canaveral, FL. The trip was said to be a secret five-day military mission. 1990 - American forces began positioning in Saudia Arabia. 1991 - John McCarthy, a British TV producer was released by his Lebanese kidnappers. He had been held captive for more than five years. A rival group abducted Jerome Leyraud in retaliation and threatened to kill him if any more hostages were released. 1991 - The U.N. Security Council approved North and South Korea for membership. 1992 - The "Dream Team" clinched the gold medal at the Barcelona Summer Olympics. The U.S. basketball team beat Croatia 117-85. 1994 - The first road link between Israel and Jordan opened. 1994 - Representatives from China and Taiwan signed a cooperation agreement. 1995 - Saddam Hussein's two eldest daughters, their husbands, and several senior army officers defected. 1999 - Wade Boggs got his 3,000th hit of his major league baseball career. 2000 - The submarine H.L. Hunley was raised from ocean bottom after 136 years. The sub had been lost during an attack on the U.S.S. Housatonic in 1864. The Hunley was the first submarine in history to sink a warship.
1588 English forces attacked the Spanish Armada, permanently crippling Spain's "invincible" fleet. 1786 Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat became the first to climb Mont Blanc. 1876 Thomas Edison patented the mimeograph machine. 1900 The first Davis Cup tennis tournament began at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. 1963 In "The Great Train Robbery," some 15 thieves robbed the Glasgow-to-London mail train, making off with more than $6 million in cash. 1969 Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski, and four others were murdered by members of Charles Manson's "family." 1974 President Nixon announced he would resign the following day as a result of the Watergate scandal. 2008 The Summer Olympic Games opened in Beijing, China.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
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