This Day In History: August 9

Today's Highlight in History:
On Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.

On this date:
In 1842, the United States and Canada resolved a border dispute by signing the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.

In 1848, the Free-Soil Party convened in Buffalo, N.Y., where it nominated Martin Van Buren for president.

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau's "Walden," which described his experiences while living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts, was first published.

In 1902, Edward VII was crowned king of Britain following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay.

In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four other people were found brutally murdered in Tate's Los Angeles home; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.

In 1974, President Nixon's resignation took effect. Vice President Gerald R. Ford became the nation's 38th chief executive.

In 1988, President Reagan nominated Lauro Cavazos to be secretary of education; Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in the Cabinet.

In 1995, Jerry Garcia, lead singer of the Grateful Dead, died in San Francisco of a heart attack at age 53.

In 1997, Haitian immigrant Abner Louima was brutalized in a Brooklyn, N.Y., stationhouse by Officer Justin Volpe, who raped him with a broken broomstick. (Volpe was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.)

Ten years ago: Americans, Kenyans and Tanzanians held church and memorial services to mourn those killed in a pair of U.S. embassy bombing attacks. In China, engineers dynamited levees along the Yangtze River to ease the worst floods in 44 years.

Five years ago: The Army fired up its first chemical weapons incinerator located near a residential area, outside Anniston, Ala., to destroy two rockets loaded with enough sarin nerve agent to wipe out a city. Dancer-actor Gregory Hines died in Los Angeles at age 57.

One year ago: President Bush held a news conference in which he publicly prodded Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, his embattled war-on-terror partner, to hold free presidential elections, share intelligence and take "swift action" against terrorist leaders pinpointed in his country. China banned exports by two toy manufacturers whose products were subject to major recalls in the United States. David Beckham made his long-awaited Major League Soccer debut, entering in the 72nd minute of the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 loss to D.C. United.

Today's Birthdays: Former baseball manager Ralph Houk is 89. Jazz musician Jack DeJohnette is 66. Comedian-director David Steinberg is 66. Boxing Hall-of-Famer Ken Norton is 65. Actor Sam Elliott is 64. Singer Barbara Mason is 61. Actress Melanie Griffith is 51. Actress Amanda Bearse is 50. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 49. Singer Whitney Houston is 45. TV host Hoda Kotb is 44. Actor Pat Petersen is 42. Football player Deion Sanders is 41. Actress Gillian Anderson is 40. Actor Eric Bana is 40. TV anchor Chris Cuomo is 38. Rock musician Arion Salazar (Third Eye Blind) is 38. Rapper Mack 10 is 37. Latin rock singer Juanes is 36. Actress Liz Vassey is 36. Actress Rhona Mitra is 33. Actress Jessica Capshaw is 32.

Thought for Today: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." — Henry David Thoreau, American author (1817-1862).

Courtesy of AP and Edwin 1961

This Day In Étudiant News (2007): Drama kids. The Dow Jones is yanked down 180 points. The U.S is not on the list of nations to offer military aid to Darfur. Ben is mad. A Darfur rebel plans to leave the Sudan.