August

August 8

1963 – Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.

August 8 is an extraordinarily bad day for Republicans It was on the 8th in 1973, that Spiro Agnew appeared on national television to make the claim that he had not taken kickbacks when he was governor of Maryland. Arguing vigorous arguments that he was innocent, Spiro ended his career in Public service by resigning in October of that year, a step that had been taken by one previous vice-president, John C. Calhoun. The story of August 8 does not end there however. In an ironic twist of fate, the 8th of August also played a rather significant role in the Greek tragedy that Richard Nixon’s life became. On this date in 1972, Nixon accepted the nomination of the Republican Party to be their candidate for the presidency of the United States. After more than a few twists and turns in the road, on the same day in 1974, after having done battle with the entire nation in what came to be known as the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon announced his resignation, to be effective on the following day becoming the first President to do so.

1973 – U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew goes on television to denounce accusations he had taken kickbacks while governor of Maryland. He resigned on October 10, 1973 He was the second vice-president to resign, John C. Calhoun being the first.

August 9

On the 9th in 1969, Charles Manson put a new spin on the importance of Family Values. Also on the 9th, in 1974, Gerald Ford was elevated to the presidency upon Richard Nixon’s resignation the day before. This was quite an accomplishment for Ford, who only became Vice-President because Nixon’s vice-president, Spiro Agnew, also resigned in disgrace. It was lucky for Ford that the annoying 25th amendment to the constitution had not just shriveled up from lack of use and simply gotten blown in to the Potomac when nobody was looking one quiet afternoon.

On this day, 1173, construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.

1877 – Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole – A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.

The world entered the atomic age when, on the 6th in 1945, the USAF bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb nicknamed Little Man on Hiroshima, Japan killing 80,000 immediately and an additional 60,000 by the end of the year. Ultimately, well over 200,000 people would die as a result of this bombing. Three days later the bomber Bockscar dropped Fat Man, another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan killing an estimated 90,000 people. It’s safe to say that well over a quarter of a million people were killed by these two bomb runs. Japan brought the war in the Pacific to an end when it surrendered five days after the Nagasaki bombing. It has been argued that the use of these two atomic weapons shortened the war and ended up saving more lives then they took. This argument may have some merit. If I may paraphrase Mick Jagger in the movie Performance, when you use an atomic weapon you open a door and you have to accept what walks through it. Viewed from the perspective of time, I am of the opinion that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused, and continues to cause, more and more deaths because of the widespread acceptance of the idea that the end justifies the means.