Today in History
Today is Saturday, Aug. 26, the 238th day of 2023. There are 127 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 26, 1968, the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago; the four-day event that resulted in the nomination of Hubert H. Humphrey for president was marked by a bloody police crackdown on antiwar protesters in the streets.
On this date:
In 55 B.C., Roman forces under Julius Caesar invaded Britain, with only limited success.
In 1910, Thomas Edison demonstrated for reporters an improved version of his Kinetophone, a device for showing a movie with synchronized sound.
In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing American women’s right to vote, was certified in effect by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.
In 1939, the first televised major league baseball games were shown on experimental station W2XBS: a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. The Reds won the first game, 5-2, the Dodgers the second, 6-1.
In 1944, French Gen. Charles de Gaulle braved the threat of German snipers as he led a victory march in Paris, which had just been liberated by the Allies from Nazi occupation.
In 1957, the Soviet Union announced it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
In 1958, Alaskans went to the polls to overwhelmingly vote in favor of statehood.
In 1972, the summer Olympics opened in Munich, West Germany.
In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani (al-BEE’-noh loo-CHYAH’-nee) of Venice was elected pope following the death of Paul VI; the new pontiff took the name Pope John Paul I. (However, he died just over a month later.)
In 1985, 13-year-old AIDS patient Ryan White began “attending” classes at Western Middle School in Kokomo, Indiana, via a telephone hook-up at his home — school officials had barred Ryan from attending classes in person.
In 2020, All three scheduled NBA playoff games were postponed, with players choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice. (The games resumed three days later, after players and owners agreed to expand initiatives, many tied to increased voting awareness and opportunities.)
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama bestowed the Medal of Honor on Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter, who’d risked his life to save an injured soldier, resupply ammunition to his comrades and render first aid during intense fighting in a remote mountain outpost in Afghanistan.
Five years ago: A gunman opened fire on fellow gamers at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., killing two men and wounding 10 others before taking his own life. More than 1,000 mourners gathered for the funeral of Mollie Tibbetts, the 20-year-old Iowa college student whose body had been found in a cornfield; a dairy worker suspected of being in the country illegally was charged in her death. Playwright Neil Simon, whose comedies included “The Odd Couple” and “Barefoot in the Park,” died at age 91.
One year ago: An affidavit released by the FBI showed that 14 of the 15 boxes recovered from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate contained classified documents, many of them top secret, mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence. Authorities began distributing iodine tablets to residents near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in case of a radiation leak, amid mounting fears that the fighting around the complex could trigger a catastrophe.
Today’s Birthdays: Pop singer Vic Dana is 83. Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is 78. R&B singer Valerie Simpson is 78. Pop singer Bob Cowsill is 74. Broadcast journalist Bill Whitaker is 72. Actor Brett Cullen is 67. Former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy is 64. Jazz musician Branford Marsalis is 63. Country musician Jimmy Olander (Diamond Rio) is 62. Actor Chris Burke is 58. Actor-singer Shirley Manson (Garbage) is 57. Rock musician Dan Vickrey (Counting Crows) is 57. TV writer-actor Riley Weston is 57. Rock musician Adrian Young (No Doubt) is 54. Actor Melissa McCarthy is 53. Latin pop singer Thalia is 52. Actor Meredith Eaton is 49. Rock singer-musician Tyler Connolly (Theory of a Deadman) is 48. Actor Mike Colter is 47. Actor Macaulay Culkin is 43. Actor Chris Pine is 43. Comedian/actor/writer John Mulaney is 41. Actor Johnny Ray Gill is 39. Country singer Brian Kelley (Florida Georgia Line) is 38. R&B singer Cassie (AKA Cassie Ventura) is 37. Actor Evan Ross is 35. Actor Danielle Savre is 35. Actor Dylan O’Brien is 32. Actor Keke Palmer is 30.
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