Today in history
Today is Tuesday, August 11, the 223rd day of 2015. There are 142 days left in the year.
Highlight in history
On August 11, 1965, rioting and looting that claimed 34 lives broke out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles.
On this date
In 1786, Capt. Francis Light arrived in Penang to claim the Malaysian island for Britain.
In 1860, the nation’s first successful silver mill began operation near Virginia City, Nevada.
In 1909, the steamship SS Arapahoe became the first ship in North America to issue an S.O.S. distress signal, off North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras.
In 1934, the first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz Island (a former military prison) in San Francisco Bay.
In 1942, during World War II, Pierre Laval, prime minister of Vichy France, publicly declared that “the hour of liberation for France is the hour when Germany wins the war.”
In 1954, a formal peace took hold in Indochina, ending more than seven years of fighting between the French and Communist Viet Minh.
In 1956, abstract painter Jackson Pollock, 44, died in an automobile accident on Long Island, New York.
In 1964, the Beatles movie “A Hard Day’s Night” had its U.S. premiere in New York.
In 1975, the United States vetoed the proposed admission of North and South Vietnam to the United Nations, following the Security Council’s refusal to consider South Korea’s application.
In 1984, during a voice test for a paid political radio address, President Ronald Reagan joked that he had “signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” At the Los Angeles Olympics, American runner Mary Decker fell after colliding with South African-born British competitor Zola Budd in the 3,000-meter final; Budd finished seventh.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton named Army Gen. John Shalikashvili to be the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding the retiring Gen. Colin Powell.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton made the first use of the historic line-item veto, rejecting three items in spending and tax bills. (However, the U.S. Supreme Court later struck down the veto as unconstitutional.)
Ten years ago
President George W. Bush expressed sympathy for war protesters like Cindy Sheehan, the mother camped outside his Texas ranch demanding more answers for her soldier-son Casey’s death in Iraq, but said he believed it would be a mistake to bring U.S. troops home immediately. A oneday strike by British Airways baggage handlers and other ground staff forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights to and from Heathrow Airport.
Five years ago
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police and FBI agents captured Michael Francis Mara, suspected of being the so-called “Granddad Bandit” who’d held up two dozen banks in 13 states for about two years. (Mara later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.)