Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 16, the 229th day of 2016. There are 137 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 16, 1777, American forces won the Battle of Bennington in what was considered a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

On this date:

In 1812, Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812.

In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

In 1937, the American Federation of Radio Artists was chartered.

In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York at age 53.

In 1954, Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.

In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In 1962, The Beatles fired their original drummer, Pete Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr.

In 1976, the ABBA single "Dancing Queen" was released in Sweden.

In 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 42.

In 1978, James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he'd been set up by a mysterious man called "Raoul."

In 1987, 156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed while trying to take off from Detroit; the sole survivor was 4-year-old Cecelia Cichan.

In 1991, Pope John Paul II began the first-ever papal visit to Hungary.

Ten years ago: A former American school teacher, John Mark Karr, was arrested in Thailand as a suspect in the 1996 slaying of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado. (Karr's confession that he had killed JonBenet was later discredited.) New York City officials released new tapes of hundreds of heart-wrenching phone calls from the World Trade Center on 9/11, along with other emergency transcripts. Alfredo Stroessner, the anti-communist general who'd ruled Paraguay for decades, died in Brasilia, Brazil, at age 93.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, on a Midwest bus tour, implored Iowans during a stopover in Peosta to share ideas with him about how leaders could give an economic jolt to the nation's heartland. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, meeting in Paris, called for greater economic discipline and unity among European nations but declined to take immediate financial measures.

One year ago: Trigana Air Service Flight 257, an Indonesian ATR 42-300, crashed during a domestic flight; all 54 people on board were killed. Tens of thousands of Brazilians demonstrated their discontent with President Dilma Roussef.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Ann Blyth is 88. Actor Gary Clarke is 83. Actress Julie Newmar is 83. Actor John Standing is 82. College Football Hall of Famer and NFL player Bill Glass is 81. Actress Anita Gillette is 80. Actress Carole Shelley is 77. Country singer Billy Joe Shaver is 77. Movie director Bruce Beresford is 76. Actor Bob Balaban is 71. Ballerina Suzanne Farrell is 71. Actress Lesley Ann Warren is 70. Actor Marshall Manesh is 66. Rock singer-musician Joey Spampinato is 66. Actor Reginald VelJohnson is 64. TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford is 63. Rhythm-and-blues singer J.T. Taylor is 63. Movie director James Cameron is 62. Actor Jeff Perry is 61. Rock musician Tim Farriss (INXS) is 59. Actress Laura Innes is 59. Singer Madonna is 58. Actress Angela Bassett is 58. Actor Timothy Hutton is 56. Actor Steve Carell is 54. Former tennis player Jimmy Arias is 52. Actor-singer Donovan Leitch is 49. Actor Andy Milder is 48. Actor Seth Peterson is 46. Country singer Emily Robison (The Dixie Chicks) is 44. Actor George Stults is 41. Singer Vanessa Carlton is 36. Actor Cam Gigandet is 34. Actress Agnes Bruckner is 31. Singer-musician Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) is 31. Actress Cristin Milioti is 31. Actor Shawn Pyfrom is 30. Country singer Ashton Shepherd is 30. Country singer Dan Smyers (Dan & Shay) is 29. Actor Kevin G. Schmidt is 28. Actress Rumer Willis is 28. Actor Parker Young is 28. Actor Cameron Monaghan is 23. Singer-pianist Greyson Chance is 19.

Thought for Today: "Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action." -- Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman (1804-1881).