9 August

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 9 August: 

1. On this date in 1899, Helen Lyndon Goff was born. She's better known by her pen name, PL Travers, creator of Mary Poppins, the "practically perfect" nanny who brought magic and joy to the Banks family in turn-of-the-century London. She wrote other books, too, including Go By Sea, I Go By Land, Fox at the Manger and Two Pairs of Shoes.
2. In 1969, members of a cult run by Charles Manson killed five people in Los Angeles, including director Roman Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate.
3. Two acts of Parliament were passed in London on this date in 1870: The Elementary Education Act, giving compulsory free education to every child in England and Wales between the ages of five and 13; and The Married Women's Property Act which stated that a wife could keep her own financial income.
4. In 1934, Donald Duck made his début in Disney's Wise Little Hen.
5. In 1958 Columbia Records signed a 17 year old singer named Cliff Richard. On the same day, he started a four-week residency at Butlins Holiday Camp in Clacton-On-Sea, as Cliff Richard and the Drifters.
6. In 1979, Brighton established the first nudist beach in Britain, despite protests from those who feared it would lead to great depravity.
7. In 1945, the second atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki at 11:02 a.m. local time, exploding at altitude 1950 feet. About 70,000 people died from the effects of this. Nagasaki was devastated, forcing the Japanese Emperor to surrender to the Allies.
8. One of the worst ever hailstorms in the UK hit Norfolk on this date in 1843 and ravaged the country as far inland as Gloucestershire. Hailstones “as large as pigeon’s eggs”, lightning and a tornado caused huge amounts of damage with hailstones piled 5 feet deep in some places. The storm led to the creation of an insurance company to insure against damage from hailstones, which ultimately became the Norwich Union.
9. In 1173, construction began of a beautiful new bell tower at Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles), in Pisa, Italy. It was clear the tower was tilting by the time the first meter and a half of the base was complete. The tilt was caused by uneven sinking of its foundation into sandy, marshy soil. Over the next 200 years, construction was halted and restarted several times. Work continues to ensure that the Leaning Tower of Pisa will never fall.
10. For one second in 1976 it was 9/8/76, 5:43:21.

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