Today in History: August 10, derecho rakes the Midwest
Rod Pierce walks through a cornfield damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Today in history:
On August 10, 2020, a powerful derecho struck several Midwest U.S. states, causing four fatalities and an estimated $11 billion in damage, making it the costliest thunderstorm in modern U.S. history.
Also on this date:
In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries Palace, where King Louis XVI resided. (The king was later arrested, put on trial for treason, and executed.)
In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state admitted to the Union.
In 1945, a day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Imperial Japan conveyed its willingness to surrender provided the status of Emperor Hirohito remained unchanged. (The Allies responded the next day, saying they would determine the Emperor’s future status.)
In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson’s cult, one day after actor Sharon Tate and four other people were slain.
In this August 11, 1977 fphoto, David Berkowitz, center, the tabloid-loving, police-taunting “Son of Sam” killer, is escorted into a courthouse in the Brooklyn borough of New York. .(AP Photo/Ira Schwarz, File)
In this August 11, 1977 fphoto, David Berkowitz, center, the tabloid-loving, police-taunting “Son of Sam” killer, is escorted into a courthouse in the Brooklyn borough of New York. .(AP Photo/Ira Schwarz, File)
In 1977, postal employee David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York, accused of being “Son of Sam,” the gunman who killed six people and wounded seven others in the New York City area.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan celebrates with senators and representatives during a signing ceremony in the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1988. President Reagan signed into law legislation making moral and financial amends to Japanese-Americans kept in U.S. internment camps during World War II. From left to right are, Rep. Robert Matsui, D-California; Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska; Sen. Pete Wilson, R-Calif.; Rep. Patricia Saiki, R-Hawaii; and Sen. Spark Matsunaga, D-Hawaii. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
U.S. President Ronald Reagan celebrates with senators and representatives during a signing ceremony in the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1988. President Reagan signed into law legislation making moral and financial amends to Japanese-Americans kept in U.S. internment camps during World War II. From left to right are, Rep. Robert Matsui, D-California; Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska; Sen. Pete Wilson, R-Calif.; Rep. Patricia Saiki, R-Hawaii; and Sen. Spark Matsunaga, D-Hawaii. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to still-living Japanese-Americans who were interned by their government during World War II.
In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, serving until her death in September 2020.
In 2006, British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using liquid explosives made to look like soft drinks.
In 2018, Richard Russell, a 29-year-old airline ground agent, stole a commercial plane from Sea-Tac International Airport near Seattle; he flew for 75 minutes, performing dangerous stunts while being chased by military jets before crashing into a remote island in Puget Sound, killing himself.
In 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, accused of orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found unresponsive in his cell at a New York City jail; he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. (The city’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.)
