Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 15, the 228th day of 2012. There are 138 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 15, 1483, the Sistine Chapel was consecrated by Pope Sixtus IV.

On this date:

In 1057, Macbeth, King of Scots, was killed in battle by Malcolm, the eldest son of King Duncan, whom Macbeth had slain.

In 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica.

In 1812, the Battle of Fort Dearborn took place as Potawatomi warriors attacked a U.S. military garrison of about 100 people. (Most of the garrison was killed, while the remainder were taken prisoner.)

In 1914, the Panama Canal opened to traffic.

In 1935, humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post were killed when their airplane crashed near Point Barrow in the Alaska Territory.

In 1945, in a radio address, Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced that his country had accepted terms of surrender for ending World War II.

In 1947, India became independent after some 200 years of British rule.

In 1961, as workers began constructing a Berlin Wall made of concrete, East German soldier Conrad Schumann leapt to freedom over a tangle of barbed wire in a scene captured in a famous photograph.

In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents. Bahrain declared its independence from Britain.

In 1974, a gunman attempted to shoot South Korean President Park Chung-hee during a speech; although Park was unhurt, his wife was struck and killed, along with a teenage girl. (The gunman was later executed.)

In 1998, 29 people were killed by a car bomb that tore apart the center of Omagh, Northern Ireland; a splinter group calling itself the Real IRA claimed responsibility.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, using Mount Rushmore as a dramatic backdrop, pressed Congress to give him a flexible, fast-moving homeland security department.

Five years ago: Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to felony charges for taking cash payoffs from gamblers and betting on games he'd officiated in a scandal that rocked the league. (Donaghy spent 13 months in federal prison.) A magnitude-8 earthquake in Peru's southern desert killed some 540 people. Master jazz percussionist Max Roach died in New York at age 83.

One year ago: A relentless barrage of bombings in Iraq killed 63 people, striking 17 cities from northern Sunni areas to the southern Shiite heartland. Jim Thome hit his 600th home run an inning after he hit No. 599 to help the Minnesota Twins outslug the Detroit Tigers 9-6. (Thome became the eighth major league player to reach 600.)

Today's Birthdays: Actress Rose Marie is 89. Political activist Phyllis Schlafly is 88. Actor Mike Connors is 87. Game show host Jim Lange is 80. Actress Lori Nelson is 79. Civil rights activist Vernon Jordan is 77. Actor Jim Dale is 77. Actress Pat Priest is 76. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is 74. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is 74. Musician Pete York (Spencer Davis Group) is 70. Author-journalist Linda Ellerbee is 68. Songwriter Jimmy Webb is 66. Rock singer-musician Tom Johnston (The Doobie Brothers) is 64. Actress Phyllis Smith (TV: "The Office") is 63. Britain's Princess Anne is 62. Actress Tess Harper is 62. Actor Larry Mathews is 57. Actor Zeljko Ivanek is 55. Actor-comedian Rondell Sheridan is 54. Rock singer-musician Matt Johnson (The The) is 51. Movie director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is 49. Country singer Angela Rae (Wild Horses) is 46. Actor Peter Hermann is 45. Actress Debra Messing is 44. Actor Anthony Anderson is 42. Actor Ben Affleck is 40. Singer Mikey Graham (Boyzone) is 40. Actress Natasha Henstridge is 38. Actress Nicole Paggi is 35. Figure skater Jennifer Kirk is 28. Latin pop singer Belinda is 23. Rock singer Joe Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 23. Actor-singer Carlos Pena is 23. Actress Jennifer Lawrence (Film: "The Hunger Games") is 22. Rap DJ Smoove da General (Cali Swag District) is 22.

Thought for Today: "Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it." -- George Carlin, American comedian (1937-2008).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.