Today in history

Today is Sunday, Aug. 26, the 238th day of 2018. There are 127 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On August 26, 1957, the Soviet Union announced it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

On this date:

In 55 B.C., Roman forces under Julius Caesar invaded Britain, with only limited success.

In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa began cataclysmic eruptions, leading to a massive explosion the following day.

In 1910, Thomas Edison demonstrated for reporters an improved version of his Kinetophone, a device for showing a movie with synchronized sound.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing American women’s right to vote, was certified in effect by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.

In 1944, French Gen. Charles de Gaulle braved the threat of German snipers as he led a victory march in Paris, which had just been liberated by the Allies from Nazi occupation.

In 1958, Alaskans went to the polls to overwhelmingly vote in favor of statehood.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In 1968, the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago; the four-day event that resulted in the nomination of Hubert H. Humphrey for president was marked by a bloody police crackdown on antiwar protesters in the streets.

In 1972, the summer Olympics games opened in Munich, West Germany.

In 1974, Charles Lind- bergh — the first man to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic — died at his home in Hawaii at age 72.

In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice was elected pope following the death of Paul VI; the new pontiff took the name Pope John Paul I. (However, he died just over a month later.)

In 2015, Alison Parker, a reporter for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, and her cameraman, Adam Ward, were shot to death during a live broadcast by a disgruntled former station employee who fatally shot himself while being pursued by police.

Ten years ago: Hillary Rodham Clinton closed the book on her 2008 presidential bid by telling the Democratic National Convention in Denver the election wasn’t about her and declaring herself a “proud supporter of Barack Obama.” Russia recognized the independence claims of two Georgian breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Hurricane Gustav struck Haiti, causing widespread flooding and landslides; the storm went on to kill at least 78 people in the Caribbean. Major League Baseball announced umpires would be allowed to check video on home run “boundary calls” starting August 27.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama bestowed the Medal of Honor on Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter, who’d risked his life to save an injured soldier, resupply ammunition to his comrades and render first aid during intense fighting in a remote mountain outpost in Afghanistan.

One year ago: Hurricane Harvey spun into Texas, unloading extraordinary amounts of rain. (The hurricane killed nearly 70 people, damaged more than 300,000 structures and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage.)