TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, AUG. 16, the 228th day of 2019. There are 137 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 42.
In 1812, Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812.
In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain’s Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.
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.
In 1920, Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was struck in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees; Chapman died the following morning.
In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York at age 53.
In 1962, The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr.
In 1987, 156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed while trying to take off from Detroit; the sole survivor was 4-year-old Cecelia Cichan.
In 1991, Pope John Paul II began the first papal visit to Hungary.
In 1999, the U.S. version of the quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” hosted by Regis Philbin, began a limited two-week run on ABC.
In 2000, delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles formally nominated Al Gore for president.
In 2002, terrorist mastermind Abu Nidal was reportedly found shot to death in Baghdad, Iraq; he was 65.
In 2003, Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda, died in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia; he was believed to have been about 80.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Ann Blyth is 91. Actor Gary Clarke and actress Julie Newmar are 86. Actress-singer Ketty Lester and actor John Standing are 85. College Football Hall-of-Famer and NFL player Bill Glass is 84. Actress Anita Gillette is 83. Country singer Billy Joe Shaver is 80. Movie director Bruce Beresford is 79. Actor Bob Balaban and ballerina Suzanne Farrell are 74. Actress Lesley Ann Warren is 73. Rock singermusician Joey Spampinato is 71. Actor Marshall Manesh is 69. Actor Reginald Vel-Johnson is 67. Former TV host Kathie Lee Gifford and rhythm-and-blues singer J.T. Taylor are 66. Movie director James Cameron is 65. Actor Jeff Perry is 64. Rock musician Tim Farriss (INXS) and actress Laura Innes are 62. Singer Madonna and actress Angela Bassett are 61. Actor Timothy Hutton is 59. Actor Steve Carell is 57. Former tennis player Jimmy Arias is 55. Actor-singer Donovan Leitch is 52. Actor Andy Milder is 51. Singer Vanessa Carlton is 39. Actor Cam Gigandet is 37. Actor Shawn Pyfrom and country singer Ashton Shepherd are 33. Actor Okieriete Onaodowan, country singer Dan Smyers (Dan & Shay) and NHL goalie Carey Price are 32. Actors Kevin G. Schmidt and Parker Young, and actress Rumer Willis are 31. Actor Cameron Monaghan is 26. Singer-pianist Greyson Chance is 22.