SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2021

Today is the 220th day of 2021 and the 50th day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed the United Nations charter, making the United States the first nation to join the organization.

In 1963, 15 thieves stole close to 2.6 million pounds sterling from a mail train in Britain’s “Great Train Robbery.”

In 1974, President Richard Nixon announced on national television that he would resign the presidency at noon the following day.

In 1990, Iraq announced its “unification” with Kuwait, days after its military forces had invaded and taken over the country.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Sara Teasdale (1884-1933), poet; Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953), novelist/ Pulitzer Prize winner; Benny Carter (1907-2003), jazz musician; Esther Williams (1921-2013), actress; Mel Tillis (1932-2017), singer-songwriter; Dustin Hoffman (1937- ), actor; Keith Carradine (1949- ), actor; Robin Quivers (1952- ), radio personality; Deborah Norville (1958- ), journalist; The Edge (1961- ), guitarist; Roger Federer (1981- ), tennis player; Meagan Good (1981- ), actress; Shawn Mendes (1998- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY’S FACT: Thomas Edison received a patent for the mimeograph on this day in 1876.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1988, the Chicago Cubs hosted the first-ever night game under the newly installed lights at Wrigley Field. Rain caused the game to be called in the fourth inning with the Cubs leading the Mets 3-1.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I do not understand how anyone can live without one small place of enchantment to turn to.” -- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

TODAY’S NUMBER: 2,121 -- height (in feet) of the Warsaw radio mast in Poland, which held the title of the world’s tallest structure until it collapsed on this day in 1991.

TODAY’S MOON: New moon (Aug. 8).

MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2021

Today is the 221st day of 2021 and the 51st day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1842, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed by the United States and Canada, delineating the eastern section of their shared border.

In 1945, the United States dropped the “Fat Man” nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.

In 1969, followers of Charles Manson murdered actress Sharon Tate and four others at Tate’s Los Angeles home.

In 1974, Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th U.S. president following Richard Nixon’s resignation.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: John Dryden (1631-1700), poet/dramatist/critic; Bob Cousy (1928- ), basketball player; Rod Laver (1938- ), tennis player; Sam Elliott (1944- ), actor; Whitney Houston (1963-2012), singer; Brett Hull (1964- ), hockey player; Hoda Kotb (1964- ), news anchor; Deion Sanders (1967- ), football and baseball player; Gillian Anderson (1968- ), actress; Eric Bana (1968- ), actor; Chris Cuomo (1970- ), journalist; Chamique Holdsclaw (1977- ), basketball player; Anna Kendrick (1985- ), actress.

TODAY’S FACT: U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson persuaded the Target Committee to take Kyoto, Japan, off the short list of possible nuclear targets during World War II because of its cultural and religious significance to the people of Japan.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1988, 27-year-old Wayne Gretzky, already considered among the greatest players in the history of hockey, was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “What flocks of critics hover here today, / As vultures wait on armies for their prey, / All gaping for the carcass of a play!” -- John Dryden, “All for Love”

TODAY’S NUMBER: 4 -- gold medals claimed by Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics. He won the fourth in the 4-x-100-meter relay on this day in 1936, becoming the first American to win four track-and-field gold medals in one Olympiad.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (Aug. 8) and first quarter moon (Aug. 15).