On Aug. 8, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena to spend the remainder of his days in exile.
In 1844 Brigham Young was named to lead the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the killing of Joseph Smith.
In 1876 Thomas Edison received a patent for his mimeograph.
In 1937 actor Dustin Hoffman was born in Los Angeles.
In 1942 six convicted Nazi saboteurs who had landed in the United States were executed in Washington, D.C.; two others received life imprisonment.
In 1963 Britain’s “Great Train Robbery” took place as thieves made off with 2.6 million pounds in banknotes.
In 1974 President Richard Nixon announced he would resign following new damaging revelations in the Watergate scandal.
In 1992 the U.S. basketball “Dream Team” clinched the gold at the Barcelona Summer Olympics, defeating Croatia 117-85.
In 1993 in Somalia, four U.S. soldiers were killed when a land mine was detonated underneath their vehicle, prompting President Bill Clinton to order Army Rangers to try to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
In 2003 the Boston Roman Catholic archdiocese offered $55 million to settle lawsuits stemming from sex abuse by priests. (The Boston archdiocese later settled for $85 million.)
In 2004 Alan Keyes, the Republican two-time presidential hopeful from Maryland, threw his hat into Illinois’ Senate race. (He ended up losing to Democrat Barack Obama.)
