Today In History
Today is Thursday, Aug. 25, the 238th day of 2016. There are 128 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Aug. 25, 1916,
President Woodrow Wilson signed an act establishing the National Park
Service within the Department of the Interior. On this date: In 1718,
hundreds of French colonists arrived in Louisiana, with some settling
in present-day New Orleans. In 1825, Uruguay declared independence from
Brazil. In 1921, the United States signed a peace treaty with Germany.
In 1944, during World War II, Paris was liberated by Allied forces
after four years of Nazi oc'cup'ation. Romania declared war on former
ally Germany. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure
providing pensions for former U.S. presidents and their widows. In
1960, opening ceremonies were held for the Summer Olympics in Rome. In
1975, the Bruce Springsteen album "Born to Run" was released by
Columbia Records. In 1981, the U.S. spacecraft Voyager 2 came within
63,000 miles of Saturn's cloud cover, sending back pictures of and data
about the ringed planet. In 1989, Voyager 2 made its closest approach
to Neptune, its final planetary target. In 1998, retired Supreme Court
Justice Lewis F. Powell died in Richmond, Virginia, at age 90. In 2001,
Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby (meh-tay mar-it shes-em hoy-bee), a single
mother and former waitress, married Norway's Crown Prince Haakon
(hoh-uh-kahn) in Oslo. Rhythm-and-blues singer Aaliyah (ah-LEE'-yah)
was killed with eight others in a plane crash in the Bahamas; she was
22. In 2009, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died at age 77 in Hyannis Port,
Massachusetts, after a battle with a brain tumor. Ten years ago: A
college student's checked luggage on a Continental Airlines flight that
had arrived in Houston from Buenos Aires, Argentina, was found to
contain a stick of dynamite, one of six security incidents that day
that caused U.S. flights to be diverted, evacuated or searched. Joseph
Stefano, who wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," died
in Thousand Oaks, California, at age 84. Five years ago: Fifty-two
people were killed in a fire at a casino in the northern Mexican city
of Monterrey that was allegedly targeted by a drug cartel. The New York
Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit three
grand slams in a game, with Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis
Granderson connecting in a 22-9 romp over the Oakland Athletics. One
year ago: French authorities formally opened a terrorism investigation
into a foiled attack four days earlier; a prosecutor said minutes
before he slung an assault rifle across his chest and walked through a
high-speed train, suspect Ayoub El-Khazzani of Morocco watched a jihadi
video on his cellphone. Today's Birthdays: Game show host Monty Hall is
95. Actor Sean Connery is 86. Actor Page Johnson is 86. TV personality
Regis Philbin is 85. Actor Tom Skerritt is 83. Jazz musician Wayne
Shorter is 83. Movie director Hugh Hudson is 80. Author Frederick
Forsyth is 78. Movie director John Badham is 77. Filmmaker Marshall
Brickman is 77. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal is 74. Rhythm-and-blues singer
Walter Williams (The O'Jays) is 73. Actor Anthony Heald is 72. Rock
singer-actor Gene Simmons is 67. Actor John Savage is 67. Country
singer-musician Henry Paul (Outlaws; Blackhawk) is 67. Rock singer Rob
Halford is 65. Rock musician Geoff Downes (Asia) is 64. Rock singer
Elvis Costello is 62. Movie director Tim Burton is 58. Actor Christian
LeBlanc is 58. Actress Ashley Crow is 56. Actress Ally Walker is 55.
Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus is 55. Actress Joanne Whalley is 55.
Rock musician Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard) is 54. Actor Blair
Underwood is 52. Actor Robert Maschio is 50. Rap DJ Terminator X
(Public Enemy) is 50. Alternative country singer Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) is
49. Actor David Alan Basche (BAYSH) is 48. Television chef Rachael Ray
is 48. Actor Cameron Mathison is 47. Country singer Jo Dee Messina is
46. Model Claudia Schiffer is 46. Country singer Brice Long is 45.
Actor Eric Millegan is 42. Actor Alexander Skarsgard is 40. Actor
Jonathan Togo is 39. Actor Kel Mitchell is 38. Actress Rachel Bilson is
35. Actress Blake Lively is 29. Actor Josh Flitter is 22. Thought for
Today: "History is the sum total of the things that could have been
avoided. Konrad Adenauer, German statesman (1876-1967).
