On Aug. 10, 1977, David Berkowitz, the suspect in the "Son of Sam" murders, was arrested.
On Aug. 10, 1874, Herbert Hoover, 31st president of the United States, was born. Following his death on Oct. 20, 1964, his obituary appeared in The Times.
On This Date
| 1821 | Missouri became the 24th state. |
|---|
| 1846 | Congress chartered the Smithsonian Institution, named after English scientist James Smithson, whose bequest of $500,000 made it possible. |
|---|
| 1874 | Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa. |
|---|
| 1885 | America's first commercially operated electric streetcar began operation in Baltimore. |
|---|
| 1921 | Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello. |
|---|
| 1944 | American forces overcame Japanese resistance on Guam during World War II. |
|---|
| 1949 | The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense. |
|---|
| 1969 | Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson's cult, one day after actress Sharon Tate and four other people were slain. |
|---|
| 1988 | President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to Japanese-Americans interred by the U.S. government during World War II. |
|---|
| 1993 | Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female Supreme Court justice. |
|---|
| 2006 | British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the United States. |
|---|
| 2008 | American swimmer Michael Phelps won the first of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics by smashing his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley. |
|---|
Current Birthdays
Actor Antonio Banderas turns 51 years old today.
AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau
Actress JoAnna Garcia turns 32 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
| 1923 | Rhonda Fleming, Actress, turns 88 |
|---|
| 1943 | Ronnie Spector, Singer (The Ronettes), turns 68 |
|---|
| 1947 | Ian Anderson, Rock singer, musician (Jethro Tull), turns 64 |
|---|
| 1959 | Rosanna Arquette, Actress, turns 52 |
|---|
| 1962 | Julia Fordham, Rock singer, turns 49 |
|---|
| 1964 | Neneh Cherry, R&B singer, turns 47 |
|---|
| 1972 | Angie Harmon, Actress, turns 39 |
|---|
Historic Birthdays
Herbert Hoover8/10/1874 - 10/20/196431st president of the United States.Go to obituary »
| 89 | Eugenius Bulgaris 8/10/1716 - 6/10/1806
Greek Orthodox theologian and scholar |
|---|
| 83 | Jay Cooke 8/10/1821 - 2/18/1905
American financier |
|---|
| 67 | Charles Keene 8/10/1823 - 1/4/1891
English artist and illustrator for Punch magazine |
|---|
| 83 | Joseph McKenna 8/10/1843 - 11/21/1926
American Supreme Court justice (1898-1925) |
|---|
| 70 | Aleksandr Glazunov 8/10/1865 - 3/21/1936
Russian symphonic composer |
|---|
| 75 | Douglas Stuart Moore8//1893 - 7/25/1969
American composer of folk operas |
|---|
| 52 | Dorothy Jacobs Bellanca 8/10/1894 - 8/16/1946
Latvian-born American labor leader |
|---|
| 55 | Eugene Dennis 8/10/1905 - 1/31/1961
American Communist Party leader and labor organizer |
|---|
| 81 | Leo Fender 8/10/1909 - 3/21/1991
American inventor and manufacturer of musical instruments |
|---|
