Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 10, the 223rd day of 2016. There are 143 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed a measure establishing the Smithsonian Institution.

On this date:

In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries Palace, where King Louis XVI resided. (The king was later arrested, put on trial for treason, and executed.)

In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state.

In 1814, Henri Nestle, founder of the food and beverage company bearing his name, was born in Frankfurt, Germany.

In 1874, Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa.

In 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello.

In 1949, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.

In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson's cult, one day after actress Sharon Tate and four other people had been slain.

In 1975, television personality David Frost announced he had purchased the exclusive rights to interview former President Richard Nixon.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to still-living Japanese-Americans who'd been interned by their government during World War II.

In 1991, nine Buddhists were found slain at their temple outside Phoenix, Arizona. (Two teen-agers were later arrested; Alessandro Garcia was sentenced to life in prison, while Jonathan Doody received 281 years.)

In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were charged with 11 counts in the Oklahoma City bombing (McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed; Nichols was convicted of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison). Norma McCorvey, "Jane Roe" of the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, announced she had joined the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.

Ten years ago: British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage. A suicide bomber blew himself up among pilgrims outside Iraq's holiest Shiite shrine in Najaf, killing 35 people. Saomai, the most powerful typhoon to hit China in five decades, slammed into the country's southeastern coast; it ultimately killed more than 440 people.

Five years ago: Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top American commander in Afghanistan, said international forces had slain the Taliban insurgents responsible for shooting down a U.S. helicopter, killing 30 Americans and seven Afghan commandos. Country singer-musician Billy Grammer, 85, died in Benton, Illinois.

One year ago: A draft of a secret study obtained by The Associated Press found that air traffic controllers' work schedules often led to chronic fatigue, making them less alert and endangering the safety of the country's air traffic system. A power plant operator in southern Japan restarted a nuclear reactor, the first to begin operating under new safety requirements following the Fukushima disaster.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Rhonda Fleming is 93. Singer Ronnie Spector is 73. Actor James Reynolds is 70. Rock singer-musician Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is 69. Country musician Gene Johnson (Diamond Rio) is 67. Singer Patti Austin is 66. Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly is 64. Folk singer-songwriter Sam Baker is 62. Actress Rosanna Arquette is 57. Actor Antonio Banderas is 56. Rock musician Jon Farriss (INXS) is 55. Singer Julia Fordham is 54. Journalist-blogger Andrew Sullivan is 53. Actor Chris Caldovino is 53. Singer Neneh Cherry is 52. Singer Aaron Hall is 52. Boxer Riddick Bowe is 49. Actor Sean Blakemore is 49. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lorraine Pearson (Five Star) is 49. Singer-producer Michael Bivins is 48. Actor-writer Justin Theroux is 45. Actress Angie Harmon is 44. Country singer Jennifer Hanson is 43. Actor-turned-lawyer Craig Kirkwood is 42. Actress JoAnna Garcia Swisher is 37. Singer Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels & Rope) is 37. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nikki Bratcher (Divine) is 36. Actor Aaron Staton is 36. Actor Ryan Eggold is 32. Actor Charley Koontz is 29. Actor Lucas Till is 26. Reality TV star Kylie Jenner is 19.

Thought for Today: "About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends." -- President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964).