TODAY IN HISTORY
the 85th day of 2018. There are 280 days left in the year. On this date in 1945, during World War II, Iwo Jima was fully secured by U.S. forces following a final, desperate attack by Japanese soldiers.
In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing an estimated 26,000 deaths.
In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.
In 1874, poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.
In 1892, poet Walt Whitman died in Camden, N.J.
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup when they defeated the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the finals by a score of 9-1.
In 1934, Britain enacted a Road Traffic Act reimposing a 30-mile-perhour speed limit in “built-up areas” and requiring driving tests for new motorists.
In 1958, the U.S. Army launched America’s third successful satellite, Explorer 3. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” won seven Academy Awards, including best picture of 1957.
In 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter, at the White House.
In 1988, Jesse Jackson stunned fellow Democrats by soundly defeating Michael S. Dukakis in Michigan’s Democratic presidential caucuses.
In 1992, a judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant. Tyson served three years.
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate techno-religious cult who committed suicide were found inside a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is 88. Actor Alan Arkin is 84. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is 83. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and actor James Caan are 78. Author Erica Jong is 76. Journalist Bob Woodward is 75. Singer Diana Ross is 74. Actor Johnny Crawford is 72. Rock singer Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) is 70. Singer and TV personality Vicki Lawrence and actor Ernest Thomas are 69. Comedian Martin Short, country singer Ronnie McDowell and movie composer Alan Silvestri are 68. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is 65. Radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa is 64. Country singer Dean Dillon is 63. TV personality Leeza Gibbons is 61. Actress Ellia English is 59. Actress Jennifer Grey, and College and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Marcus Allen are 58. Actor Billy Warlock is 57. Actor Eric Allan Kramer, and Basketball and College Basketball Hall-ofFamer John Stockton are 56. Actor Michael Imperioli is 52. Rock musician James Iha and country singer Kenny Chesney are 50. Movie director Martin McDonagh (Film: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) is 48. Actress Leslie Mann is 46. Actor T.R. Knight is 45. Actress Amy Smart is 42. Actress Bianca Kajlich is 41. Moderator Margaret Brennan (TV: “Face the Nation”) is 38. Actor Sterling Sulieman is 34. Actress Keira Knightley is 33. Actress Carly Chaikin is 28.