Representatives of the communist government of Poland agree to the demands of striking shipyard workers in the city of Gdansk.

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On this day in 1974, on an evening televised address, President Richard M. Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, Nixon was finally bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House. "By taking this action," he said in a solemn address from the Oval Office, "I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."On this day in 1974, on an evening televised address, President Richard M. Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, Nixon was finally bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House. "By taking this action," he said in a solemn address from the Oval Office, "I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."On this day in 1974, on an evening televised address, President Richard M. Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, Nixon was finally bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House. "By taking this action," he said in a solemn address from the Oval Office, "I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."

A recap on the historical events that occurred on March 8th is given to us by Russ Mitchell in this video clip from This Day in History. In 1948, the US Supreme Court ruled that religious teachings in schools was unconstitutional. Also on this day, the Confederate iron clad war ship Virginia sank two Union war ships off the coast of Virginia. The major league baseball player Joe DiMaggio passed away in 1999. Revolution began in Russia, which resulted in Nicholas II abdicating his throne. His abdication led to the communist take over of Russia.

In a This Day in History video, host Russ Mitchell takes us through the history of August 18th. On this day in 1227, Genghis Khan died in China. On this day in 1896, publisher Arthur Oaks took over a failing newspaper: The New York Times. On this day in 1920, women won the right to vote when Tennessee ratified the 19th amendment. Also, on this day in 1991, the Russian military staged a coup.

Edwin Drake struck oil on September 27 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in this video clip from This Day In History. This would become the first successful oil well drilled in America. Russ Mitchell recaps other events occurring on this day as well. The Mariner 2 was launched by the US on September 27 to fly past Venus, and MIT researchers announced that they made a breakthrough in biotechnology by implanting a synthetic gene into a living cell. Also, a series of volcanic eruptions tore the Indonesian island of Krakatau apart.

The Smithsonian Institute was created by James Polk, with the Missouri Compromise the 24th state was created, FDR came down with polio, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg was named a Supreme Court Justice in This Day in History video. The date is August 10th. President Roosevelt went to sleep on Campobello Island with a fever and woke up the next morning paralyzed with polio.

In a This Day in History video, host Russ Mitchell takes us through the history of August 20th. On this day in 1953, the Soviet Union publically admitted it had tested a hydrogen bomb. On this day in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed a $1 billion anti-poverty bill. On this day in 1980, Reinhold Messner became the first solo climber to scale Mt. Everest. Also on this day in 1911, the New York Times sent a commercial cablegram around the world in 16 and a half minutes. And also on this day in 1977, Voyager II carried a message into space.