Today in History

Today in History Today is Tuesday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2021. There are 143 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On August 10, 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. On this date: In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries (TWEE’-luh-reez) 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 1861, Confederate forces routed Union troops in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, the first major engagement of the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. In 1944, during World War II, American forces overcame remaining Japanese resistance on Guam. In 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.) 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 ‘œSon of Sam,’� the gunman who killed six people and wounded seven others in the New York City area. (Berkowitz is serving six consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences.) 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 1991, nine Buddhists were found slain at their temple outside Phoenix, Arizona. (Two teenagers were later arrested; one was sentenced to life in prison, while the other received 281 years.) 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.) Ten years ago: Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top American commander in Afghanistan, said international forces had slain the Taliban insurgents responsible for shooting down a U.S. helicopter, killing 30 Americans and seven Afghan commandos. Country singer-musician Billy Grammer, 85, died in Benton, Illinois. Five years ago: During a raucous campaign rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Republican Donald Trump accused President Barack Obama of being the ‘œfounder’� of the Islamic State group. (Trump later said he was ‘œbeing sarcastic’� before adding, ‘œbut not that sarcastic, to be honest with you.’�) Lonnie Franklin Jr., the Los Angeles serial killer known as the ‘œGrim Sleeper,’� was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl. (Franklin was found dead in his cell on March 20, 2020.) At the Rio Olympics, Katie Ledecky turned in another overpowering performance to carry the United States to victory in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.