Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Aug. 18, the 231st day of 2016. There are 135 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 18, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, U.S. forces led by Gen. Stephen W. Kearny occupied Santa Fe in present-day New Mexico.

On this date:

In 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents to be born in present-day America, on what is now Roanoke Island in North Carolina. (However, the Roanoke colony ended up mysteriously disappearing.)

In 1838, the first marine expedition sponsored by the U.S. government set sail from Hampton Roads, Virginia; the crews traveled the southern Pacific Ocean, gathering scientific information.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Proclamation of Neutrality, aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing all American women's right to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King dedicated the Thousand Islands Bridge connecting the United States and Canada.

In 1954, during the Eisenhower administration, Assistant Secretary of Labor James Ernest Wilkins became the first black official to attend a meeting of the president's Cabinet as he sat in for Labor Secretary James P. Mitchell.

In 1958, the novel "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov was first published in New York by G.P. Putnam's Sons, almost three years after it was originally published in Paris.

In 1963, James Meredith became the first black student to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York, wound to a close after three nights with a mid-morning set by Jimi Hendrix.

In 1976, two U.S. Army officers were killed in Korea's demilitarized zone as a group of North Korean soldiers wielding axes and metal pikes attacked U.S. and South Korean soldiers.

In 1983, Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 21 dead and causing more than a billion dollars' worth of damage. The Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Yankees, 5-4, in the completion of the "pine-tar" game in just 12 minutes.

In 1988, Vice President George H.W. Bush accepted the presidential nomination of his party at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush criticized a federal court ruling the day before that his warrantless wiretapping program was unconstitutional, declaring that opponents did not understand "the nature of the world in which we live." Financially struggling Ford Motor Co. said it would temporarily halt production at ten assembly plants.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama and European leaders demanded that Syrian President Bashar Assad resign, saying his brutal suppression of his people made him unfit to lead. Vice President Joe Biden met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing. A storm swept through a popular open-air music festival in Hasselt, Belgium, killing five people.

One year ago: The Food and Drug Administration approved Addyi, the world's first prescription drug designed to boost sexual desire in women. Bud Yorkin, a director and producer who helped forge a new brand of topical TV comedy with the 1970s hit "All in the Family," died in Los Angeles at age 89.

Today's Birthdays: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is 89. Movie director Roman Polanski is 83. Olympic gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson is 81. Actor-director Robert Redford is 80. Actor Henry G. Sanders is 74. Actor-comedian Martin Mull is 73. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sarah Dash (LaBelle) is 71. Rock musician Dennis Elliott is 66. Country singer Jamie O'Hara is 66. Comedian Elayne Boosler is 64. Country singer Steve Wilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 61. Actor Denis Leary is 59. Actor Reg E. Cathey is 58. Actress Madeleine Stowe is 58. Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is 55. ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff is 55. The former president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, is 54. Bluegrass musician Jimmy Mattingly is 54. Actor Adam Storke is 54. Actor Craig Bierko is 52. Rock singer-musician Zac Maloy (The Nixons) is 48. Rock singer and hip-hop artist Everlast is 47. Rapper Masta Killa (Wu-Tang Clan) is 47. Actor Christian Slater is 47. Actor Edward Norton is 47. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 46. Actress Kaitlin Olson is 41. Actor-writer-director Hadjii is 40. Rock musician Dirk Lance is 40. Actor-comedian Andy Samberg (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 38. Country musician Brad Tursi (Old Dominion) is 37. Actress Mika Boorem is 29. Actress Maia Mitchell is 23. Actress Parker McKenna Posey is 21.

Thought for Today: "In the end it is worse to suppress dissent than to run the risk of heresy." -- Learned Hand, American jurist (born 1872, died this date in 1961).