August 9th Major News Events

1941 U.S.A. Silk Stockings

1941 : Sometimes stocking up on scarce commodities doesn’t pay, as Mrs. E. Petero of Prospect Park found out. The woman bought seven pairs of silk stockings and put them in her car. Then she went to the drugstore. When she returned to her vehicle she found that her hosiery had been heisted.

1945 Atom Bomb Dropped On Nagasaki

1945 : The United States dropped its second atomic bomb killing more than 70,000 people in Nagasaki, Japan. The first bomb had been dropped 3 days earlier on Hiroshima. Six days later on August 15, Japan announced its surrender effectively ending World War II. Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender on September 2.

1952 U.S.A. Wife Murders Husband

1952 : Dan Webster Shattles was an ex-Marine with a femme fatale for a wife. On more than one occasion Mrs. Shattles shot at her husband. In 1949 she shot him on a street corner and caused superficial wounds. However, there were other occasions when she tried to shoot him as well. By October, 1951 Mr. Shattles complained to police that his wife, who was a pretty brunette, had it in for him. The third shot was fatal. As her husband lay sleeping on the couch Mrs. Shattles shot him in the head. She has been charged on suspicion of murder. Her husband ran a coffee company.

1967 Vietnam American Helicopter Attack

1967 : In Vietnam a company of American helicopters attacked a North Vietnamese military tunnel and exchanged heavy fire. Three U.S. helicopters were shot down and two hit in the Song Re valley, some 330 miles from Saigon. This fierce engagement ended a lull in the war.

1974 U.S.A. Gerald Ford

1974 : Gerald Ford becomes the 38th president of the United States after the Watergate Affair and President Richard Nixon resigns.

1978 U.S.A. Inflation

1978 : Inflation rates rose by 1.1% in just one month as well as steeply rising fuel costs. Gas and heating oil had increased in price dramatically. Gas prices this year exceeded the July 1978 prices by 38.9% and heating fuel was 51.8% higher. Yearly Inflation Rate for 1978 in the USA was 7.62% Yearly Inflation Rate for 1978 in Great Britain was 8.3% To put this in perspective 1975 Inflation UK was 24.2% and 1979 in USA was 11.2%

1979 Brighton Nudist Beach Opens

1979 : Brighton on the south coast becomes the first major resort in Britain to officially set aside a 200-yard stretch of its beach for nudists, the nudist beach will be open to the public for next summer.

1987 Libya Col. Moanmmar Gadhafi

1987 : Italian sources claim that Col. Moanmmar Gadhafi, president of Libya tied the knot . His bride who is a daughter of oil baron Adnan Khashoggi, was 25 years old and named Nabila. This is Gadhafi’s third marriage and it is not certain whether or not he is divorced from wife number two.

1994 O.J. Simpson Double Murder Trial

1994 : Amid fear that the O.J. Simpson trial would detract from the November election, the media frenzy continued. Simpson, a famous football player and T.V. personality was being tried for double murder. He was accused of slashing to death Nicole Brown Simpson and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman. At the end of the trial O.J. Simpson is found innocent. Find out more about History of American Football including history, teams, growth, and the modern game.

1995 U.S.A. Jerry Garcia

1995 : Jerry Garcia the lead guitarist and vocalist of the rock band "The Grateful Dead." is found dead in his room at a rehabilitation clinic (Serenity Knolls Treatment Center) he had checked into earlier, the cause of death on the death certificate was "Heart Attack." He had checked into the center for problems with tobacco, drug addiction, weight problems, and sleep apnea, all of which may have contributed to his heart attack.

2006 U.S.A. Bruce Willis

2006 : Bruce Willis, a famous actor, is going to sue his childhood friend for one million dollars. Bruce DiMattia threatened to reveal damaging secrets about Willis unless the latter paid him $100,000 and bought him a new car. DiMattia lived in a house owned by Willis’ for free from 2002-2006. Willis employed DiMattia to manage his videos, photographs, and memorabilia. Apparently, DiMattia refused to leave the premises and has possession of important pictures and possessions that belong to Willis.

2006 Lieberman Files To Run as Independent

2006 : The Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman officially filed to run for the Senate in the 2006 election as an independent after he lost his party’s primary. Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont went on to win the election in November of 2006.

2008 Georgia Violence Erupts

2008 : Further violence erupts in the South Ossetia region of Georgia when Russian military forces respond to perceived aggression by the Georgian army when it tried to take control of the Russian supported break away region of South Ossetia.

2011 Philadelphia Introduces Curfew

2011 : The US city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania instituted a curfew after a series of violent flash-mobs occurred in the city. The measures put in place by Mayor Michael Nutter would carry penalties for minors and their parents who violate the curfew.

2012 Texting Champion Holds On to Title

2012 : Seventeen year old Austin Weirschke won the National Texting Competition for the second time and held onto the title of fastest texter. He won $50,000 in prize money and stated that he would put the money towards college.

2013 Diplomats Withdrawn from Pakistan Consulate

2013 : The United States withdrew its non-essential employees from the consulate in Lahore, Pakistan. The move was done after the State Department declared there was a credible threat to the consulate. The US also issued a travel warning requesting that US citizens hold off on traveling within Pakistan.