Today in History
Today is Friday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2018. There are 143 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On August 10, 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries Palace, where King Louis XVI resided. (The king was later arrested, put on trial for treason, and executed.)
On this date:
In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state.
In 1846, President James K. Polk signed a measure establishing the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1861, Confederate forces routed Union troops in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, the first major engagement of the Civil War west of the Mississippi River.
In 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello.
In 1949, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.
In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson’s cult, one day after actress Sharon Tate and four other people were slain.
In 1975, television personality David Frost announced he had purchased the exclusive rights to interview former President Richard Nixon.
In 1977, postal employee David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York, accused of being “Son of Sam,” the gunman who killed six people and wounded seven others in the New York City area. (Berkowitz is serving six consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences.)
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to still-living Japanese-Americans who were interned by their government during World War II.
In 1991, nine Buddhists were found slain at their temple outside Phoenix, Arizona. (Two teen-agers were later arrested; one was sentenced to life in prison, while the other received 281 years.)
In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2006, British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage.
Ten years ago: At the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps began his long march toward eight gold medals by winning the 400-meter individual medley in 4:03.84 — smashing his own world record. The U.S. women’s 400-meter freestyle relay team, anchored by 41-year-old Dara Torres, took the silver behind the Netherlands. Stephanie Rice of Australia won the gold in the women’s 400-meter individual medley in a world record time of 4:29.45. Padraig Harrington rallied from three shots behind to win the PGA Championship in Bloomfield Township, Mich. Soul crooner Isaac Hayes, 65, died in Memphis, Tenn.
Five years ago: In an address at the Disabled American Veterans’ convention in Orlando, Florida, President Barack Obama assured disabled veterans that his administration was making progress on reducing a backlog of disability claims. A harrowing weeklong search for a missing California teenager ended when FBI agents rescued 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and shot and killed 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio at a campsite deep in the Idaho wilderness. (Authorities say in addition to kidnapping Hannah, DiMaggio killed her brother and mother at his home east of San Diego.) Singer Edyie Gorme, 84, died in Las Vegas.
One year ago: President Donald Trump, continuing his criticism of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell following the failed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, suggested that McConnell might have to rethink his future as majority leader unless he could deliver on Trump’s legislative priorities on health care, taxes and infrastructure. North Korea’s military described as a “load of nonsense” Trump’s warning that the North would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Rhonda Fleming is 95. Singer Ronnie Spector is 75. Actor James Reynolds is 72. Rock singer-musician Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is 71. Country musician Gene Johnson (Diamond Rio) is 69. Singer Patti Austin is 68. Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly is 66. Folk singer-songwriter Sam Baker is 64. Actress Rosanna Arquette is 59. Actor Antonio Banderas is 58. Rock musician Jon Farriss (INXS) is 57. Singer Julia Fordham is 56. Journalist-blogger Andrew Sullivan is 55. Actor Chris Caldovino is 55. Singer Neneh Cherry is 54. Singer Aaron Hall is 54. Boxer Riddick Bowe is 51. Actor Sean Blakemore is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lorraine Pearson (Five Star) is 51. Singer-producer Michael Bivins is 50. Actor-writer Justin Theroux is 47. Actress Angie Harmon is 46. Country singer Jennifer Hanson is 45. Actor-turned-lawyer Craig Kirkwood is 44. Actress JoAnna Garcia Swisher is 39. Singer Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels & Rope) is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nikki Bratcher (Divine) is 38. Actor Aaron Staton is 38. Actor Ryan Eggold is 34. Actor Charley Koontz is 31. Actor Lucas Till is 28. Reality TV star Kylie Jenner is 21.
Thought for Today: “It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.” — George Santayana, Spanish-born philosopher (1863-1952).