On This Day for August 9 - Pompey defeated by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus, Amedeo Avogadro is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. August 09 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Amedeo Avogadro READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 48 bce Pompey defeated by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2014: Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, resulting in days of civil unrest and protests fueled by tensions between Ferguson's predominantly black population and its predominantly white government and police department. 1995: American musician Jerry Garcia, who personified the hippie counterculture for three decades as the mellow leader of the rock band the Grateful Dead, died of a heart attack. [Test your knowledge of musical groups.] 1988: Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings , a deal that shocked the sports world and stunned his home country, where he was a national icon. [See where Wayne Gretzky ranks on our list of the 10 greatest hockey players of all time.] 1974: Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as president of the United States, succeeding Richard Nixon, who had resigned. [Who becomes president after the president and vice president?] 1969: American actress Sharon Tate and four others were murdered by followers of Charles Manson , leader of a communal religious cult known as the "Family." 1945: The second atomic bomb dropped on Japan by the United States in World War II struck the city of Nagasaki. [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about World War II.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1968 Gillian Anderson American actress 1963 Whitney Houston American singer and actress 1967 Deion Sanders American football and baseball player 1896 Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist 1899 P.L. Travers British author 1976 Audrey Tautou French actress SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help