378 – A large Roman army is routed by Visigoths at the battle of Adrianople in present-day Turkey, one of the most decisive battles in history.
1936 – African American track star Jesse Owens wins his 4th gold medal in the 4X100 meter relay at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
1945 – An atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, resulting in Japan’s unconditional surrender.
1969 – The Charles Manson cult kills five people in Roman Polanski’s home in Beverly Hills, including Polanski’s pregnant wife, Sharon Tate.
1974 – Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th president minutes after Richard Nixon officially ends his term after resigning the day before.
1995 – Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia dies, ending his long, strange trip.
