Today in History
Today is Friday, Aug. 18, the 230th day of 2023. There are 135 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 18, 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents to be born in present-day America, on what is now Roanoke Island in North Carolina.
On this date:
In 1894, Congress established the Bureau of Immigration.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Proclamation of Neutrality, aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.
In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing American women’s right to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.
In 1963, James Meredith became the first Black student to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York, wound to a close after three nights with a mid-morning set by Jimi Hendrix.
In 1983, Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 21 dead and causing more than a billion dollars’ worth of damage.
In 1993, a judge in Sarasota, Florida, ruled that Kimberly Mays, the 14-year-old girl who had been switched at birth with another baby, need never again see her biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, in accordance with her stated wishes. (However, Kimberly later moved in with the Twiggs.)
In 2004, in Athens, Paul Hamm (hahm) won the men’s gymnastics all-around Olympic gold medal by the closest margin ever in the event; controversy followed after it was discovered a scoring error cost Yang Tae-young of South Korea the title.
In 2005, a judge in Wichita, Kansas, sentenced BTK serial killer Dennis Rader to 10 consecutive life terms, the maximum the law would allow.
In 2011, Vice President Joe Biden met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
In 2014, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the National Guard to Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis convulsed by protests over the fatal shooting of a Black 18-year-old, Michael Brown.
In 2020, Democrats formally made Joe Biden their 2020 presidential nominee at their all-virtual national convention.
Ten years ago: David Miranda, partner of Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, who’d received leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, was detained for nearly nine hours at London’s Heathrow airport, triggering claims authorities were trying to interfere with reporting on the issue. Usain Bolt won his third gold medal of the world championships held in Moscow, anchoring Jamaica to victory in the 4 x 100-meter relay.
Five years ago: Kofi Annan (KOH’-fee AN’-nan), the first Black African to become United Nations secretary-general, died at the age of 80. Pakistan’s cricket-star-turned-politician Imran Khan was sworn in as the country’s prime minister despite protests by opposition parties, which accused the security services of intervening on his behalf in the July elections.
One year ago: A federal judge ordered the Justice Department to put forward proposed redactions as he committed to making public at least part of the affidavit supporting the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s estate in Florida. Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was ordered to serve an 11-game unpaid suspension, pay a $5 million fine and undergo required professional evaluation and counseling following accusations of sexual misconduct by two dozen women. Three men, including a Mafia hitman, were charged in the killing of notorious Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger in a West Virginia prison.
Today’s Birthdays: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is 96. Actor-director Robert Redford is 87. Actor Henry G. Sanders is 81. Actor-comedian Martin Mull is 80. Rock musician Dennis Elliott is 73. Comedian Elayne Boosler is 71. Actor Denis Leary is 66. Actor Madeleine Stowe is 65. Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (GYT’-nur) is 62. ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff is 62. The former president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, is 61. Actor Adam Storke is 61. Actor Craig Bierko (BEER’-koh) is 59. Rock singer-musician Zac Maloy (The Nixons) is 55. Rock singer and hip-hop artist Everlast is 54. Rapper Masta Killa (Wu-Tang Clan) is 54. Actor Christian Slater is 54. Actor Edward Norton is 54. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 53. Actor Kaitlin Olson is 48. Rock musician Dirk Lance is 47. Actor-comedian Andy Samberg (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 45. Country musician Brad Tursi (Old Dominion) is 44. Actor Mika Boorem is 36. Actor Maia Mitchell is 30. Actor Madelaine Petsch is 29. Actor Parker McKenna Posey is 28.
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