1974

Today in History 08/16 (Solar Flares)

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Energy leaving the sun's surface photographed at the National Solar Observatory east of Alamogordo in Sunspot, NM (© National Solar Observatory/AP)(1989) Space storms crash a stock market’s computers
All trading is halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange as three disc drives fail and computers crash. Scientists trace the failure to microchip interference from a geomagnetic storm caused by a massive solar flare, even larger than the one that took down Quebec’s power grid months earlier.
A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth’s magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field. The increase in the solar wind pressure initially compresses the magnetosphere. The solar wind’s magnetic field interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field and transfers an increased energy into the magnetosphere.
Magnetosphere rendition
Artist’s depiction of solar wind particles interacting with Earth’s magnetosphere. Sizes are not to scale.
wiki/Geomagnetic_storm
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(1989) Space storms crash a stock market’s computers.
Also on this day,

1812 | The British score an easy win against America
Recognizing that his enemy is massing forces he can’t take on, and fearing for his family, General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit to the British. The action will result in a death penalty, but Hull’s sentence will be pardoned due to his previous Revolutionary War heroism.
1898 | The vertical loop roller coaster is patented
Edwin Prescott is awarded a patent for an improved roller coaster design using a teardrop-shaped loop. The Loop the Loop will open in Coney Island in 1901, but the trend of looping roller coasters won’t really catch on until decades later.
1974 | Four ‘brothers’ from Queens take the stage in downtown NYC
Johnny, Tommy, Dee Dee, and Joey Ramone play the Bowery’s CBGB club in matching leather jackets, jeans, and attitudes, belting out their set of blistering songs in a style soon to be dubbed ‘punk.’ Rocketing from this first gig, the Ramones will change the course of rock ‘n’ roll.

Today in History 08/16/17

Illustration depicting US General William Hull, surrendering Fort Detroit to British general Sir Isaac Brock during the War of 1812 (© Kean Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1812) The British score an easy win against America
Recognizing that his enemy is massing forces he can't take on, and fearing for his family, General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit to the British. The action will result in a death penalty, but Hull's sentence will be pardoned due to his previous Revolutionary War heroism.
The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit, or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the Anglo-American War of 1812. A British force under Major General Isaac Brock with Native American allies under the Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, used bluff and deception to intimidate the American Brigadier General William Hull into surrendering the fort and town of Detroit, Michigan, and a dispirited army which nevertheless outnumbered the victorious British and Native Americans.
Start date: Aug 15, 1812
End date: Aug 16, 1812
Plan of the Town of Detroit and Fort Lernoult, 1792.
Plan of Detroit and its fort, 1792

wiki/Siege_of_Detroit
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Today in History 08/08 (Richard Nixon Resigns)

Video still of then-President Richard Nixon resigning on Aug 8, 1974 (© Photo Archive/Getty Images)(1974) President Richard Nixon resigns from office
Left reeling from the Watergate scandal, and facing the looming prospect of impeachment, President Richard Nixon broadcasts his decision to resign. A first in US presidential history, the resignation will become official the next day, ending an infamous chapter in political corruption.
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974, when he resigned from office, the only U.S. president to do so. He had previously served as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and prior to that as a U.S. Representative and also Senator from California.
Lived: Jan 09, 1913 – Apr 22, 1994 (age 81)
Height: 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
Spouse: Pat Nixon (m. 1940 – 1993)
Vice Presidents: Gerald Ford · Spiro Agnew
Party: Republican Party
Children: Julie Nixon Eisenhower (Daughter) · Tricia Nixon Cox (Daughter)
Highlights
  • 1940: Richard Nixon married Pat Nixon on June 21, 1940; their marriage lasted 53 years till June 22, 1993.

  • 1952: He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election.

  • 1969: Nixon was inaugurated as president on January 20, 1969, sworn in by his onetime political rival, Chief Justice Earl Warren.

  • 1973: In July 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified under oath to Congress that Nixon had a secret taping system that recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office.

  • 1974: The legal battle over the tapes continued through early 1974, and in April 1974 Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides.

  • 1994: He died at 9:08 p.m. on April 22, 1994, with his daughters at his bedside.

Richard M. Nixon, ca. 1935 - 1982 - NARA
Richard M. Nixon, ca. 1935 – 1982 – NARA – 530679

wiki/Richard_Nixon
wiki/Richard_Nixon’s_resignation_speech
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(1974) President Richard Nixon resigns from office.
Also on this day,

1576 | Construction begins on Tycho Brahe’s observatory
Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe’s elaborate and expensive marvel of an observatory, the first custom-built observatory in Europe, is begun with a cornerstone laid on the island of Hven, Denmark. The red brick building is called Uraniborg and dedicated to the muse of astronomy, Urania.
1786 | Alps’ highest peak is conquered
Europe’s highest peak outside of the Caucasus range, soaring almost 16,000 feet, is successfully ascended for the first time by Savoyard mountain guide Jacques Balmat and doctor Michel-Gabriel Paccard. Many will call the pair’s conquest of Mont Blanc the birth of modern mountaineering.
1963 | Millions grabbed in brazen English train heist
At 3:15 AM in rural Buckinghamshire, England, the Glasgow-Euston mail train is halted, boarded, and robbed of more than £2 million in untraceable bank notes. While most of the money in the biggest rail heist in British history will never be found, many of the participants will be.

Today in History 08/08/17

Remains of a temple after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1945) Nagasaki is second nuclear military target
Three days after Hiroshima was destroyed by the first nuclear weapon strike in history, Nagasaki, Japan, is hit by an atomic blast dropped from a US bomber. Upwards of 39,000 people are immediately killed as the city is leveled, and Japan will surrender less than week later, ending World War II.
During the final stage of World War II, the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. The United States had dropped the bombs with the consent of the United Kingdom as outlined in the Quebec Agreement. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history.
Date: 09 Aug 1945
1945 Japan WWII Battlefront Atlas
Situation of the Pacific War by August 1, 1945. Japan still had control of all of Manchuria, Korea, Taiwan and Indochina, a large part of China, including most of the main Chinese cities, and much of the Dutch East Indies.

wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
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Today in History 08/07 (Philippe Petit)

Philippe Petit walks across a tightrope suspended between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York on Aug 7, 1974 (© Alan Welner/AP)(1974) High-wire artist walks between the Twin Towers
Frenchman Philippe Petit walks out onto a cable he’s illegally rigged 1,350 feet in the air between the Twin Towers of New York City’s World Trade Center. Petit performs a 45-minute high-wire act, complete with a bit of joyful dancing, to the cheers of astounded onlookers.
Philippe Petit is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, on the morning of August 7, 1974 as well as his high wire walk between the towers of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, 1971. For his unauthorized feat 400 metres above the ground – which he referred to as “le coup” – he rigged a 200-kilogram cable and used a custom-made 8-metre long, 25-kilogram balancing pole. He performed for 45 minutes, making eight passes along the wire. The following week, he celebrated his 25th birthday. All charges were dismissed in exchange for him doing a performance in Central Park for children.
Born: Aug 13, 1949 (age 68) · Nemours, France
Height: 5′ 7″
Nationality: French
Parents: Edmond Petit (Father)

Philippe Petit 2009
Philippe Petit at the 81st Academy Awards
wiki/Philippe_Petit
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(1974) High-wire artist walks between the Twin Towers.
Also on this day,

1789 | Congress shines a spotlight on lighthouses
US Congress approves an act for the establishment and support of lighthouse, beacons, buoys, and public piers. In 1989, Congress will mark the 200th anniversary of the signing by declaring August 7 as National Lighthouse Day.
1959 | Earth is ready for its close-up as Explorer 6 launches
NASA’s Explorer 6 satellite blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to orbit the Earth on a 60-day mission. A UHF transmitter will send back the first satellite TV image of the Earth from orbit a few days later, beginning an era of astounding portraits of our planet.
2007 | Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron’s record
Barry Bonds hits his 756th career home run, breaking Hank Aaron’s record. The 2007 season will be Bonds’ last, and he’ll finish with 762. His career, however , will also be remembered for his legal troubles related to the BALCO steroids scandal.

Today in History 08/07/17

Explorer 6 satellite (© NASA)(1959) Earth is ready for its close-up as Explorer 6 launches
NASA's Explorer 6 satellite blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to orbit the Earth on a 60-day mission. A UHF transmitter will send back the first satellite TV image of the Earth from orbit a few days later, beginning an era of astounding portraits of our planet.
Explorer 6, or S-2, was an American satellite launched on August 7, 1959. It was a small, spheroidal satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation in the upper atmosphere, and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover, and transmitted the first pictures of Earth from orbit.
Date: Aug 07, 1959
Thor-Able III Explorer 6 Launch
The launch of Explorer 6

wiki/Explorer_6
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Today in History 10/30/17

George Foreman lands a body punch to Muhammad Ali during the 'Rumble in the Jungle' in Zaire on October 30, 1974 (© AP)(1974) Ali and Forman ‘Rumble in the Jungle’
Former heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali challenges reigning champ George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaïre, for a $5 million purse. In the heavily promoted fight, Ali introduces his ‘rope-a-dope’ style, taking punches against the ropes to wear Foreman down before Ali knocks him out in the eighth round.
The Rumble in the Jungle was a historic boxing event in Kinshasa, Zaire on October 30, 1974. Held at the 20th of May Stadium, it pitted the undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali, a former heavyweight champion; the attendance was 60,000. Ali won by knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the eighth round. It has been called “arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century”. The event was one of Don King’s first ventures as a professional boxing promoter.
Start date: Oct 29, 1974
Fighters: Muhammad Ali · George Foreman
Venue: Kinshasa
The Rumble in the Jungle poster
This is a poster for The Rumble in the Jungle. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the boxing event, the publisher of the boxing event or the graphic artist.

wiki/The_Rumble_in_the_Jungle
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Today in History 08/08/17

Remains of a temple after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1945) Nagasaki is second nuclear military target
Three days after Hiroshima was destroyed by the first nuclear weapon strike in history, Nagasaki, Japan, is hit by an atomic blast dropped from a US bomber. Upwards of 39,000 people are immediately killed as the city is leveled, and Japan will surrender less than week later, ending World War II.
During the final stage of World War II, the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. The United States had dropped the bombs with the consent of the United Kingdom as outlined in the Quebec Agreement. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history.
Date: 09 Aug 1945
1945 Japan WWII Battlefront Atlas
Situation of the Pacific War by August 1, 1945. Japan still had control of all of Manchuria, Korea, Taiwan and Indochina, a large part of China, including most of the main Chinese cities, and much of the Dutch East Indies.

wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
4.4.j17