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Records

Today in History: 1945, Japan surrenders to end World War II

Today in history

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2025. There are 120 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II. Also on this date: In 1666, the Great Fire of London began, ...

Today in History: 1916, Shackelton’s Endurance crew rescued

Today in history

Today is Saturday, Aug. 30, the 242nd day of 2025. There are 123 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 30, 1916, on his fourth attempt, explorer Ernest Shackelton successfully returned to Elephant Island in Antarctica to rescue 22 of his stranded crew members, who had survived on ...

Today in History: 2005, Hurricane Katrina strikes Louisiana

Today in history

Today is Friday, Aug. 29, the 241st day of 2025. There are 124 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in southeast Louisiana, breaching levees and spurring floods that devastated New Orleans. Katrina caused nearly 1,400 deaths ...

Today in History: Aug. 27, catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa

Today in history

By The Associated Press undefined Today is Wednesday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2025. There are 126 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 27, 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions. The explosions (which could be heard 3,000 miles away) ...

Today in History: Aug. 25, National Park Service created

Today in history

By The Associated Press undefined Today is Monday, Aug. 25, the 237th day of 2025. There are 128 days left in the year. Today in history: On August 25, 1916, Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, establishing the National Park Service as an agency of the U.S. ...

Today in History: 1851, first America’s Cup trophy

Today in history

Today is Friday, Aug. 22, the 234th day of 2025. There are 131 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 22, 1851, the schooner America outraced more than a dozen British vessels off the English coast to win a trophy that came to be known as the America's Cup. Also on this ...

Today in History: 1831, Nat Turner launches rebellion

Today in history

Today is Thursday, Aug. 21, the 233rd day of 2025. There are 132 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 21, 1831, Nat Turner launched a violent slave rebellion in Virginia, resulting in the deaths of at least 55 white people; scores of Black people were killed in retribution in ...

Today in History: Aug. 20, Soviets invade Czechoslovakia

Today in history

Today in History: Aug. 20, Soviets invade Czechoslovakia By The Associated Press undefined Today is Wednesday, Aug. 20, the 232nd day of 2025. There are 133 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 20, 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to ...

Today in History: 1920, 19th Amendment gives women the vote

Today in history

Today is Monday, Aug. 18, the 230th day of 2025. There are 135 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing American women's right to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it. Also on this ...

Today in History: 1969, Woodstock music festival begins

Today in history

Today is Friday, Aug. 15, the 227th day of 2025. There are 138 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 15, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York; more than 460,000 people attended the three-day festival, which would become a watershed event in American ...

Today in History: 1935, FDR signs Social Security Act

Today in history

Today is Thursday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2025. There are 139 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, ensuring income for elderly Americans and creating a federal unemployment insurance ...

Today in History: 1961, East Germany closes Berlin border

Today in history

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 13, the 225th day of 2025. There are 140 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 13, 1961, on what would become known as Barbed Wire Sunday, East Germany sealed the border between Berlin's eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide ...

Today in History: 1934, first prisoners reach Alcatraz

Today in history

Today is Monday, Aug. 11, the 223rd day of 2025. There are 142 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 11, 1934, the first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz Island, a former military prison, in San Francisco Bay; the island would be home to more than 1,500 prisoners over the ...

Today in History: 1945, U.S. bombs Nagasaki

Today in history

Today is Saturday, Aug. 9, the 221st day of 2025. There are 144 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, a U.S. B-29 Superfortress dropped a nuclear device over Nagasaki; the bombing and subsequent radiation poisoning ...