Today In History

Today is Thursday, Aug. 13, the 226th day of 2020. There are 140 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1961: East Germany sealed off the border between Berlin’s eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide the city for the next 28 years.

ON THIS DATE

› 1521: Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City, from the Aztecs.

› 1846: The American flag was raised in Los Angeles for the first time.

› 1889: William Gray of Hartford, Conn., received a patent for a coin-operated telephone.

› 1913: British metallurgist Harry Brearley developed an alloy that came to be known as “stainless steel.” (Although Brearley is often credited as the “inventor” of stainless steel, he was hardly alone in working to create steel that resisted corrosion.)

› 1967: The crime caper biopic “Bonnie and Clyde,” starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, had its U.S. premiere; the movie, directed by Arthur Penn, was considered shocking as well as innovative for its graphic portrayal of violence.

› 2003: Iraq began pumping crude oil from its northern oil fields for the first time since the start of the war. Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of the 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is 87. Actor Kevin Tighe is 76. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is 74. Opera singer Kathleen Battle is

72. High wire aerialist Philippe Petit is 71. Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke is 71. Golf Hall of Famer Betsy King is

65. Movie director Paul Greengrass is 65. Actor Danny Bonaduce is 61. TV weatherman Sam Champion is 59. Actor Dawnn Lewis is 59. Actor John Slattery is 58. Actor Debi Mazar is 56. Actor Quinn Cummings is 53. Actor Seana Kofoed is

50. Country singer Andy Griggs is 47. Actor Gregory Fitoussi is 44. Country musician Mike Melancon (Emerson Drive) is 42. Actor Kathryn Fiore is

41. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is 38. Actor Sebastian Stan is

38. Actor Eme Ikwuakor is 36. Pop-rock singer James Morrison is 36. Actor Lennon Stella is 21.