On this day in history, August 9, 1974, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States.
This followed Richard Nixon’s resignation on national television the day before. Nixon became the first Chief Executive in US history to resign the presidency.
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Also on this day in history, in 1945, the United States dropped its second atomic bomb on Japan, destroying part of the city of Nagasaki. A few hours earlier, an air raid alert was sounded in the city but the all-clear was given about half an hour later when only two B-29’s were spotted. The Japanese apparently assumed the planes were only on reconnaissance and no further alarm was given. An estimated 74,000 people died from the blast and its after-effects — and nearly everything within about a kilometre of the explosion was destroyed. The event heralded the end of the Second World War, as Japan surrendered less than a week later.
With files from The Canadian Press
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