Today in History
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 23, the 236th day of 2016. There are 130 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Aug. 23, 1926,
legendary silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age
31. On this date: In 1305, Scottish rebel leader Sir William Wallace
was executed by the English for treason. In 1775, Britain's King George
III proclaimed the American colonies to be in a state of "open and
avowed rebellion. In 1858, "Ten Nights in a Bar-room," a play by
Timothy Shay Arthur about the perils of alcohol, opened in New York. In
1913, Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue, inspired by the Hans
Christian Andersen story, was unveiled in the harbor of the Danish
capital. In 1914, Japan declared war against Germany in World War I. In
1927, amid protests, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and
Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men
during a 1920 robbery. In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union
agreed to a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, in
Moscow. In 1944, Romanian Prime Minister Ion Antonescu was dismissed by
King Michael, paving the way for Romania to abandon the Axis in favor
of the Allies. In 1960, Broadway librettist Oscar Hammerstein
(HAM'-ur-STYN') II, 65, died in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In 1973, a
bank robbery-turned-hostage-taking began in Stockholm, Sweden; the four
hostages ended up empathizing with their captors, a psychological
condition now referred to as "Stockholm Syndrome. In 1982, Lebanon's
parliament elected Christian militia leader Bashir Gemayel president.
(However, Gemayel was assassinated some three weeks later.) In 1989, in
a case that inflamed racial tensions in New York, Yusuf Hawkins, a
16-year-old black teen, was shot dead after he and his friends were
confronted by a group of white youths in the Bensonhurst section of
Brooklyn. (Gunman Joey Fama was convicted of second-degree murder and
sentenced to life in prison; he will be eligible for parole in 2022.)
Ten years ago: A previously unknown militant group released the first
video of two Fox News journalists who'd been kidnapped in Gaza.
(Reporter Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig were later freed.) The
Citadel released the results of a survey in which almost 20 percent of
female cadets reported being sexually assaulted since enrolling at the
South Carolina military college. Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson died
in Ventura, California, at age 78. Five years ago: A pair of judges in
New York put an end to the sensational sexual assault case against
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, setting him free after prosecutors questioned
the credibility of the hotel housekeeper who'd accused the French
diplomat. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered near Mineral, Virginia,
the strongest on the East Coast since 1944, caused cracks in the
Washington Monument and damaged Washington National Cathedral. One year
ago: Islamic State militants destroyed a temple at ancient ruins of
Palmyra in Syria, realizing the worst fears of archaeologists had for
the fate of the 2,000-year-old Roman-era city after the extremists
seized it and beheaded a local scholar. The United Arab Emirates said
its military had freed a British hostage, Robert Douglas Semple, who
was kidnapped 18 months earlier ago by al-Qaida in Yemen. Ohio State
became the first unanimous preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press
college football poll. Roger Federer remained perfect in Cincinnati
finals, winning an unprecedented seventh championship, 7-6 (1), 6-3,
while denying Novak Djokovic the one title that had always eluded him.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Vera Miles is 86. Actress Barbara Eden is
85. Political satirist Mark Russell is 84. Pro Football Hall of Famer
Sonny Jurgensen is 82. Actor Richard Sanders is 76. Ballet dancer
Patricia McBride is 74. Former Surgeon General Antonia Novello is 72.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Rayfield Wright is 71. Country singer Rex
Allen Jr. is 69. Actor David Robb is 69. Singer Linda Thompson is 69.
Actress Shelley Long is 67. Actor-singer Rick Springfield is 67.
Country singer-musician Woody Paul (Riders in the Sky) is 67. Queen
Noor of Jordan is 65. Actor-producer Mark Hudson is 65. Actor Skipp
Sudduth is 60. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Mike Boddicker is 59. Rock
musician Dean DeLeo (Army of Anyone; Stone Temple Pilots) is 55.
Country musician Ira Dean (Trick Pony) is 47. Actor Jay Mohr is 46.
Actor Ray Park is 42. Actor Scott Caan is 40. Country singer Shelly
Fairchild is 39. Figure skater Nicole Bobek is 39. Rock singer Julian
Casablancas (The Strokes) is 38. Retired NBA player Kobe Bryant is 38.
Actress Joanne Froggatt is 36. Neo-soul musician Andy Wild is 35.
Actress Annie Ilonzeh is 33. Dance musician Sky Blu is 30. Actress
Kimberly Matula is 28. NBA player Jeremy Lin is 28. Thought for Today:
"A wise man without a book is like a workman with no tools. Moroccan
proverb.
