TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 15, the 227th day of 2018. There are 138 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On August 15, 1945, in a pre-recorded radio address, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced that his country had accepted terms of surrender for ending World War II.

On this date:

In 1483, the Sistine Chapel was consecrated by Pope Sixtus IV.

In 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened as the SS Ancon crossed the just-completed waterway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

In 1965, the Beatles played to a crowd of more than 55,000 at New York’s Shea Stadium.

Ten years ago: Michael Phelps won his sixth gold medal with his sixth world record, in the 200-meter individual medley at the Summer Olympics.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama scrapped plans for joint military exercises with Egypt because of spiraling violence in and around Cairo.

One year ago: President Donald Trump, who’d faced harsh criticism for initially blaming the deadly weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia on “many sides,” told reporters that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the confrontation.”

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Abby Dalton is 86. Civil rights activist Vernon Jordan is 83. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is 80. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is 80. Songwriter Jimmy Webb is 72.

Thought for Today:

“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.”—Hannah Arendt, American author and philosopher (1906-1975).