Monday, August 12, 2019 DAY IN HISTORY

Today is the 224th day of 2019 and the 53rd day of summer. TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1898, Spain agreed to peace protocols with the United States, bringing an end to the Spanish-american war.

In 1898, the United States took formal possession of the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1953, the USSR detonated the first Soviet thermonuclear weapon.

In 1981, IBM announced the release of its first personal computer.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929), songwriter; Christy Mathewson (1880-1925), baseball player; Cecil B. Demille (1881-1959), film director/producer; Cantinflas (1911-1993), actor/filmmaker; William Goldman (1931-2018), author/ screenwriter; George Hamilton (1939- ), actor; Ann Martin (1955- ), author; Bruce Greenwood (1956- ), actor; Peter Krause (1965- ), actor; Michael Ian Black (1971), actor; Pete Sampras (1971- ), tennis player; Casey Affleck (1975- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: “Sue,” one of the largest and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever found, was discovered in South Dakota on this day in 1990 by paleontologist Susan Hendrikson. The skeleton is now displayed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1994, Major League Baseball players began a 232-day strike that resulted in the first cancellation of the World Series since 1904.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I am extremely gullible when I lie to myself.” — Michael Ian Black, “You’re Not Doing It Right”

TODAY’S NUMBER: 64,000 -- bytes (62.5 kilobytes) of memory available in the “typical system for home and school” offered in IBM’S 1981 press release announcing the personal computer. The system retailed for $3,005.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 7) and full moon (Aug. 15).