Today In History
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 21, the 233rd day of 2018. There are 132 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 1609: Galileo Galilei demonstrated his new telescope to a group of officials atop the Campanile in Venice.
ON THIS DATE
› 1858: The first of seven debates between Illinois senatorial contenders Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place.
› 1911: Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. (The painting was recovered two years later in Italy.)
› 1912: The Boy Scouts of America named its first Eagle Scout, Arthur Rose Eldred of Troop 1 in Rockville Centre, N.Y.
› 1959: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order making Hawaii the 50th state.
› 1961: Country singer Patsy Cline recorded the Willie Nelson song “Crazy” in Nashville for Decca Records. (The recording was released in October 1961.)
› 1991: The hardline coup against Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev collapsed in the face of a popular uprising led by Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Former NFL player and general manager Pete Retzlaff is 87. Actor-director Melvin Van Peebles is 86. Playwright Mart Crowley is
83. Singer Kenny Rogers is 80. Actor Clarence Williams III is 79. Singer Jackie DeShannon is 77. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Lanier is 73. Actress Patty McCormack is 73. Pop singer-musician Carl Giammarese is 71. Actress Loretta Devine is
69. NBC newsman Harry Smith is 67. Singer Glenn Hughes is 66. Country musician Nick Kane is
64. Actress Kim Cattrall is 62. Retired MLB AllStar John Wetteland is 52. Rock singer Serj Tankian (System of a Down) is
51. Figure skater Josee Chouinard is 49. Actress Carrie-Anne Moss is 48. MLB player-turned-manager Craig Counsell is
48. Rock musician Liam Howlett (Prodigy) is
47. Actress Alicia Witt is 43. Singer Kelis is 39. Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt is
32. Actor Carlos Pratts is 32. Actor-comedian Brooks Wheelan is 32. Actor Cody Kasch is 31. Country singer Kacey Musgraves is 30. Actress Hayden Panettiere is 29. Actor Maxim Knight is 19.