TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 2023. There are 137 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight in history
On Aug. 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42.
On this date
In 1777, American forces won the Battle of Bennington in what was considered a turning point of the Revolutionary War.
In 1812, Detroit fell to British and Native American forces in the War of 1812.
In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued Proclamation 86, which prohibited the states of the Union from engaging in commercial trade with states that were in rebellion — i.e., the Confederacy.
baseball legend Babe Ruth died at age 53.
In 1962, The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr.
In 1978, James Earl Ray,
In 1948,
convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he’d been set up by a mysterious man called “Raoul.”
In 1987,
people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the “harmonic convergence,” which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.
In 2002,
terrorist mastermind Abu Nidal reportedly was found shot to death in Baghdad; he was 65.
In 2014,
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency
and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where police and protesters repeatedly clashed in the week since a Black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a White police officer.
In 2020,
California’s Death Valley recorded a temperature of 130 degrees amid a blistering heat wave, the third-highest temperature ever measured.
Five years ago: Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul,” died at age 76.
One year ago: President Joe Biden signed the Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill. It was the “final piece” of the president’s pared-down domestic agenda as he aimed to boost his party’s standing with voters ahead of midterm elections.
Today’s birthdays
Actor Ann Blyth is 95. Actor Gary Clarke is 90. Actor Julie Newmar is 90. Singer Ketty Lester is 89. Actor John Standing is 89. Actor Anita Gillette is 87. Director Bruce Beresford is 83. Actor Bob Balaban is 78. Actor Lesley Ann Warren is 77. Actor Reginald VelJohnson is 71. Former TV host Kathie Lee Gifford is 70. Singer J.T. Taylor is 70. Director James Cameron is 69. Musician Tim Farriss (INXS) is 66. Actor Laura Innes is 66. Singer Madonna is 65. Actor Angela Bassett is 65. Actor Timothy Hutton is 63. Actor Steve Carell is 61. Former tennis player Jimmy Arias is 59. Singer Emily Strayer (The Chicks) is 51. Singer Vanessa Carlton is 43. Actor Cristin Milioti is 38. San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish is 37. Actor Rumer Willis is 35. Actor Cameron Monaghan is 30. Swimmer Caeleb Dressel is 27. Singer-musician Greyson Chance is 26.