Sept. 8
Today in history
Today is Sept. 8. On this day in:
1504: Michelangelo’s statue of David, the Biblical hero who used a slingshot to slay the giant Goliath, was unveiled to the public in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. The 17-foot-tall, 12,000-pound marble masterpiece was carved from a single block of white Italian Carrara marble that had been rejected by other artists for being flawed.
1957: Althea Gibson, at age 30, became the first African American to win a title at the U.S. National Championships, now known as the U.S. Open. Gibson, who beat Louise Brough, 6-3, 6-2, was presented with the championship trophy by Vice President Richard Nixon.
1965: The successful five-year Delano Grape Strike began in California when over 800
Filipino American farm workers – led by labor organizers Larry Itliong and Ben Gines – refused to go to work picking grapes in 10 vineyards around Delano, near Bakersfield. They demanded a raise both in hourly wages, from $1.25 to $1.40, and in the pay a worker earned for each box of grapes packed.
1966: The landmark science fiction television series “Star Trek” premiered with the episode “The Man Trap,” which follows Dr. McCoy as he discovers his former girlfriend is not what she seems after crew members begin dying. The original series aired over three seasons with 79 episodes.
1971: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was inaugurated in Washington with the premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass. The $70 million venue, established in 1958 through bipartisan legislation under President Dwight Eisenhower, offers various cultural and educational programs spanning from music to theater.
1974: President Gerald Ford issued the full pardon of Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office. The unprecedented move to absolve Nixon of any criminal charges related to the Watergate break-in and its cover-up generated national controversy, but some of the pardon’s biggest critics, including Watergate journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, later approved.
1975: U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, declared his homosexuality on the cover of Time magazine, sparking varied reactions from readers – from calling him “a disgrace” to noting the irony of being decorated for killing a fellow man yet “drummed out of the corps if you dare to love one.” Initially receiving a general discharge, Matlovich’s status was later elevated to honorable.
1986: Oprah Winfrey’s local program “A.M. Chicago” launched nationally under the new name “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Following Winfrey’s Oscar nomination for the film “The Color Purple,” the rebranded talk show went on to become television’s highest-rated talk show ever and turned Winfrey into one of the most influential women in America.
2022: Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch, died peacefully at her Scottish estate, Balmoral Castle, at the age of 96. Her death was attributed to old age, as stated on her death certificate, and her passing marked a significant moment of transition for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, as her son, Charles III, ascended to the throne.
– USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in history, September 8
