9 August 1687

Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American man, was killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, resulting in widespread protests and unrest.

British police arrested 24 people for conspiring to detonate liquid explosives carried on board airliners travelling from the UK to the US and Canada.

Second Intifada: A suicide bomber attacked a pizza restaurant in Jerusalem, killing 15 people and wounding 130 others.

Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial player transactions in ice hockey history.

On the verge of an impeachment and removal from office amid the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the first president of the United States to resign.

The Troubles: British forces began arresting and interning suspected Irish republican militants in Northern Ireland.

Members of the Manson Family invaded a house and murdered American actress Sharon Tate (pictured) and four guests in Los Angeles, before killing two more people the following night.

The state of Singapore (flag pictured) was expelled from the Malaysian federation due to a heated ideological conflict between their ruling parties; the day is now celebrated as Singapore's National Day.

Led by Albert Kalonji, South Kasai declared its unilateral secession from the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville).

World War II: The USAAF bomber Bockscar dropped a Fat Man atomic bomb (replica pictured) on Nagasaki, Japan.

The United States Forest Service authorized the use of Smokey Bear (pictured) as its mascot to replace Bambi.

World War II: In the first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign, Japan forced the U.S. Navy to withdraw from the Solomon Islands.

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 was premiered in Leningrad while the city was under siege by Nazi forces.

The Blue Lotus, the fifth volume of The Adventures of Tintin by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé and noted for its emphasis on countering negative misconceptions of Chinese people, began serialisation.

In a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, Edward VII and Alexandra were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor and Empress of India.

Nez Perce War: Both the Nez Perce and the United States Army suffered numerous casualties at the Battle of the Big Hole, which ended conclusively.

American Civil War: Confederate troops counter-attacked and won the Battle of Cedar Mountain, after nearly being driven from the field in the early part of the battle.

The statue of A'a from Rurutu was presented to members of the London Missionary Society on the south Pacific island of Ra'iatea.

Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 crashes near Vinhedo, São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.

The Tampere light rail officially starts operating.

Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American male in Ferguson, Missouri, is shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer after reportedly assaulting the officer and attempting to steal his weapon, sparking protests and unrest in the city.

Air Moorea Flight 1121 crashes after takeoff from Moorea Airport in French Polynesia, killing all 20 people on board.

At least 21 suspected terrorists are arrested in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot that happened in the United Kingdom. The arrests are made in London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe in an overnight operation.

Russian president Boris Yeltsin fires his prime minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.