August 9: National Day for Singapore (1965)
- 378 - A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens was destroyed by the Visigoths in the Battle of Adrianople.
- 1173 - Construction of the Tower of Pisa began — It was not leaning back then.
- 1945 - The atomic bomb Fat Man was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan.
- 1974 - Richard Nixon became the first U.S. President to resign from office, due to his role in the Watergate scandal.
- 1988 - 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.