Today in History: August 14, FDR signs Social Security Act

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 14, the 227th day of 2024. There are 139 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, ensuring income for elderly Americans and creating a federal unemployment insurance program.

Also on this date:

In 1936, in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, which detailed the post-war goals of the two nations.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.

In 1947, Pakistan gained independence from British rule.

In 1994, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal," was captured by French agents in Sudan.

In 1995, Shannon Faulkner officially became the first female cadet in the history of The Citadel, South Carolina's state military college. (However, Faulkner quit the school less than a week later, citing the stress of her court fight, and her isolation among the male cadets.)

In 1997, an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. (McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001.)

In 2009, Charles Manson follower Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, 60, convicted of trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, was released from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars.

In 2016, Usain Bolt became the first athlete to win the 100m dash in three consecutive Olympics, taking gold at the Summer Games in Rio.

In 2021, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, turning thousands of structures into rubble; the quake left more than 2,200 people dead and injured more than 12,000 others.

Today's Birthdays: Broadway lyricist Lee Adams ("Bye Bye Birdie") is 100. College Football Hall of Famer and NFL quarterback John Brodie is 89. Singer Dash Crofts is 84. Country singer Connie Smith is 83. Comedian-actor Steve Martin is 79. Film director Wim Wenders is 79. Singer-musician Larry Graham is 78. Actor Susan Saint James is 78. Author Danielle Steel is 77. "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson is 74. Actor Carl Lumbly is 73. Olympic gold medal swimmer Debbie Meyer is 72. Actor Jackee Harry is 68. NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace is 68. Actor Marcia Gay Harden is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson is 65. Singer Sarah Brightman is 64. Actor Susan Olsen (TV: "The Brady Bunch") is 63. Actor Halle Berry is 58. Golfer Darren Clarke is 56. Actor Catherine Bell is 56. Actor Mila Kunis is 41. Actor Lamorne Morris is 41. Former NFL player Tim Tebow is 37. Actor Marsai Martin is 20.