August 14th, 1945:
U.S. President Harry Truman: This is a victory of more than arms alone. This is a victory of liberty over tyranny.
In Washington, President Harry Truman announced Japan's unconditional surrender, ending World War II.
Weeks later, a surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay formally concluded six years of fighting in Europe and the Pacific.
2003:
50 million people lost power as a huge blackout hit the northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
An Ohio-based utility later received much of the blame for the outages, which highlighted the condition of North America's power grid.
1935:
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Today, a hope of many years' standing is in large part fulfilled.
In Washington, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. The law provides retirement income to elderly Americans and other government benefits to this day.
1969:
British troops arrived in Northern Ireland. They were sent there to intervene amid a surge in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics. But that violence continued to flare in the troubled province until a peace process emerged decades later.
1980:
During the Cold War, workers began a strike at a shipyard in Gdansk, Poland.
The job action led to the Solidarity labour movement, the first independent union behind the Iron Curtain.
Solidarity helped topple communism in Poland by the end of the decade.
1945:
"Excuse me!"
Steve Martin, actor, comedian, writer and producer, was born in Waco, Texas.
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