DAY IN HISTORY

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Today is the 225th day of 2019 and the 54th day of summer. TODAY’S HISTORY:

In 1521, Hernando Cortes captured the capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan ( later Mexico City), after a three- month siege.

In 1907, the first gasoline- powered taxicab took fares in New York City.

In 1918, Opha May Johnson became the first woman to enlist in the U. S. Marine Corps.

In 1961, East German soldiers began constructing a barbedwire barrier between the eastern and western parts of Berlin. TODAY’S BIRTH

DAYS: Annie Oakley ( 1860- 1926), sharpshooter; Alfred Hitchcock ( 1899- 1980), film director; Ben Hogan ( 1912- 1997), golfer; Fidel Castro ( 1926- 2016), Cuban president; Don Ho ( 1930- 2007), singer; Philippe Petit ( 1949- ), tightrope walker; Dan Fogelberg ( 1951- 2007), singer- songwriter; Paul Greengrass ( 1955), film director; John Slattery ( 1962- ), actor;

Valerie Plame ( 1963), CIA agent/ author; Shani Davis ( 1982- ), Olympic speed skater; Demetrious Johnson ( 1986- ), mixed martial artist; Demarcus Cousins ( 1990- ), basketball player.

TODAY’S FACT: Alfred Hitchcock never won an Academy Award for directing. When he was honored with the Academy’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1968, his speech was five words long: “Thank you, very much indeed.” TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1948, Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel Paige pitched his first complete game at age 42. TODAY’S QUOTE: “Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn’t change people’s habits. It just kept them inside the house.” — Alfred Hitchcock TODAY’S NUMBER: 305 — women who enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps ( women were allowed to enlist for office, clerical and secretarial duties) in 1918. TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon ( Aug. 7) and full moon ( Aug. 15).