It was announced by President Truman on this day in 1945, Japan
had surrendered unconditionally. The surrender ended World War II.
Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the
their Instrument of Surrender on board USS Missouri as General
Richard K. Sutherland watches, September 2, 1945.
It was on this day in 2003.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into
law on this day in 1935. The act created unemployment insurance
and pension plans for the elderly.
On this day in 1969, British troops arrived in Northern Ireland to
intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman
Catholics.
Lech Walesa
Stephen Glenn Martin is 73 years old today. Born in Waco, Texas.
Comedian, actor and musician Steve Martin is best known films include
The Jerk (1979), Father of the Bride (1991), Roxanne (1987), Three Amigos
(1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
(1987). He hosted the Academy Awards in 2001, 2003 and 2010 and he has
hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live on a number of occasions.
While he has played banjo since an early age, and included music in his
comedy routines from the beginning of his professional career, he has
increasingly dedicated his career to music since the 2000s, acting less
and spending much of his professional life playing banjo, recording,
and touring with various bluegrass acts, including Earl Scruggs.