Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 22, the 234th day of 2018. There are 131 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 22, 1972, President Richard Nixon was nominated for a second term of office by the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach.

On this date:

In 1787, inventor John Fitch demonstrated his steamboat on the Delaware River to delegates from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

In 1851, the schooner America outraced more than a dozen British vessels off the English coast to win a trophy that came to be known as the America's Cup.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln responded to Horace Greeley's call for more drastic steps to abolish slavery; Lincoln replied that his priority was saving the Union, but he also repeated his personal wish "that all men everywhere could be free."

In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, which remained under Japanese control until the end of World War II.

In 1932, the British Broadcasting Corp. conducted its first experimental television broadcast, using a 30-line mechanical system.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon were nominated for second terms in office by the Republican National Convention in San Francisco.

In 1972, John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile took seven employees hostage at a Chase Manhattan Bank branch in Brooklyn, New York, during a botched robbery; the siege, which ended with Wojtowicz's arrest and Naturile's killing by the FBI, inspired the 1975 movie "Dog Day Afternoon."

In 1978, President Jomo Kenyatta, a leading figure in Kenya's struggle for independence, died; Vice President Daniel arap Moi was sworn in as acting president.

In 1985, 55 people died when fire broke out aboard a British Airtours charter jet on a runway at Manchester Airport in England.

In 1986, Kerr-McGee Corp. agreed to pay the estate of the late Karen Silkwood $1.38 million, settling a 10-year-old nuclear contamination lawsuit. The Rob Reiner coming-of-age film "Stand By Me" was put into wide release by Columbia Pictures.

In 1989, Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, California. (Gunman Tyrone Robinson was later sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.)

In 1992, on the second day of the Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho, an FBI sharpshooter killed Vicki Weaver, the wife of white separatist Randy Weaver (the sharpshooter later said he was targeting the couple's friend Kevin Harris, and didn't see Vicki Weaver).

Ten years ago: Russia said it had pulled back forces from Georgia in accordance with an EU-brokered cease-fire agreement. Usain Bolt helped Jamaica win the 400-meter relay final in 37.10 seconds for his third gold medal and third world record of the Beijing Olympics. Bryan Clay won the decathlon. Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers beat Brazil in the men's beach volleyball championship game.

Five years ago: Egypt's ousted leader Hosni Mubarak was released from prison and transported to a military hospital in a Cairo suburb to be held under house arrest. A day after being sentenced to up to 35 years in prison for leaking secrets, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, in a statement to NBC's "Today" show, announced he intended to live as a woman named Chelsea and undergo hormone treatment. A mysterious glitch halted trading on the Nasdaq for three hours.

One year ago: Protesters and police clashed outside a convention center in Phoenix where President Donald Trump had just wrapped up his first political rally since the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia; police fired pepper spray at crowds after someone apparently lobbed rocks and bottles at officers. A military commander reported that Iraqi troops had reached the first urban areas of the northern town of Tal Afar on the third day of an operation to retake it from the Islamic State group.

Today's Birthdays: Broadcast journalist Morton Dean is 83. Author Annie Proulx is 83. Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski is 79. Actress Valerie Harper is 79. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells is 77. Writer-producer David Chase is 73. CBS newsman Steve Kroft is 73. Actress Cindy Williams is 71. Pop musician David Marks is 70. International Swimming Hall of Famer Diana Nyad is 69. Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor is 62. Rock musician Vernon Reid is 60. Country singer Ricky Lynn Gregg is 59. Country singer Collin Raye is 58. Actress Regina Taylor is 58. Rock singer Roland Orzabal (Tears For Fears) is 57. Rock musician Debbi Peterson (The Bangles) is 57. Rock musician Gary Lee Conner (Screaming Trees) is 56. Singer Tori Amos is 55. Country singer Mila Mason is 55. Rhythm-and-blues musician James DeBarge is 55. International Tennis Hall of Famer Mats Wilander is 54. Actress Brooke Dillman is 52. Rapper GZA/The Genius is 52. Actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is 51. Actor Ty Burrell is 51. Celebrity chef Giada DeLaurentiis is 48. Actress Melinda Page Hamilton is 47. Actor Rick Yune is 47. Rock musician Paul Doucette (Matchbox Twenty) is 46. Rap-reggae singer Beenie Man is 45. Singer Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys) is 45. Comedian-actress Kristen Wiig is 45. Actress Jenna Leigh Green is 44. Rock musician Bo Koster is 44. Rock musician Dean Back (Theory of a Deadman) is 43. Talk show host James Corden is 40. Rock musician Jeff Stinco (Simple Plan) is 40. Actor Brandon Adams is 39. Actress Aya Sumika is 38. Actor Ari Stidham is 26.

Thought for Today: "Life does not give itself to one who tries to keep all its advantages at once. I have often thought morality may perhaps consist solely in the courage of making a choice." -- Leon Blum, French statesman (1872-1950).