Today in History

The Diet of Japan establishes the country’s official national flag, the Hinomaru, and national anthem, “Kimi Ga Yo.”.

Twenty-fifth Olympic Summer Games closes in Barcelona, Spain.

Ashley Johnson, film (The Help) and TV actress (Growing Pains), video game voice-overs (The Last of Us).

England’s first major nude beach established, at the seaside resort of Brighton.

First NFL game in Louisiana Superdome; Houston Oilers defeat New Orleans Saints 13-7.

Gerald Ford is sworn in as president of the United States after the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Le Roy (Satchel) Paige inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame.

Chris Cuomo, TV journalist and anchor.

Charles Manson’s followers kill actress Sharon Tate and her three guests in her Beverly Hills home.

Gillian Anderson, film and TV actress (The X-Files).

Singapore expelled from Malaysia following economic disagreements and racial tensions; becomes independent republic.

Hoda Kotb, Daytime Emmy-winning TV news anchor and host.

Whitney Houston, model, singer (“Saving All My Love for You”), actress (The Bodyguard); listed in 2009 Guinness World Records as most awarded female act of all time.

Amy Stiller, stand-up comedian, film and TV actress (Little Fokkers, The King of Queens).

Amanda Bearse, film and TV actress (Married with Children).

Melanie Griffith, film and TV actress (Working Girl, Milk Money).

Rosemary Elizabeth “Posy” Simmonds, award-winning British newspaper cartoonist (The Silent Three, Gemma Bovery, Tamara Drewe) and author / illustrator of children’s books (Fred, The Chocolate Wedding).

Fictional character Smokey Bear (“Only you can prevent forest fires”) created by US Forest Service and the Ad Council.

President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. The meeting produces the Atlantic Charter, an agreement between the two countries on war aims, even though the United States is still a neutral country.

Jesse Owens wins four gold medals in track and field events at the Berlin Olympics.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Japanese actress and bestselling children’s author (Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window); established Japan’s first TV talk show, Tetsuko no Heya (Tetsuko’s Room), breaking with traditional subservient depiction of Japanese women.

First appearance of the animated character Betty Boop (“Dizzy Dishes”).

Bob Cousey, Hall of Fame basketball player and coach of the Boston Celtics.

Robert Shaw, actor and writer.

The first complete, self-contained electric washing machine is patented.

P.L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins books.

Jean Piaget, psychologist who did pioneering work on the development of children’s intellectual faculties.

At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson repels an attack by Union forces.

The escalator is patented. However, the first working escalator appeared in 1900. Manufactured by the Otis Elevator Company for the Paris Exposition, it was installed in a Philadelphia office building the following year.

The Webster-Ashburton treaty fixes the border between Maine and Canada’s New Brunswick.

Andrew Jackson and the Creek Indians sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving the whites 23 million acres of Creek territory.

Austria joins Britain, Russia, Sweden and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in the third coalition against France.

Settlers in New Amsterdam gain peace with the Indians after conducting talks with the Mohawks.

Isaak Walton, author of the classic The Compleat Angler.

John Dryden, the first official Poet Laureate of Great Britain (1668 to 1700).

England declares war on France.

Pope Sixtus IV celebrates the first mass in the Sistine Chapel, which is named in his honor.

Henry V, British king famous for his victory at Agincourt, France.

The Persian army defeats Leonidas and his Spartan army at the Battle Thermopylae, Persia.

Julius Caesar defeats Gnaius Pompey at Pharsalus.