Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 13, the 225th day of 2019. There are 140 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 13, 1961, East Germany sealed off the border between Berlin's eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide the city for the next 28 years.

On this date:

In 1846, the American flag was raised in Los Angeles for the first time.

In 1860, legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley was born in Darke County, Ohio.

In 1889, William Gray of Hartford, Conn., received a patent for a coin-operated telephone.

In 1910, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London at age 90.

In 1932, Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."

In 1960, the first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1. The Central African Republic became totally independent of French rule.

In 1967, the crime caper biopic "Bonnie and Clyde," starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, had its U.S. premiere; the movie, directed by Arthur Penn, was considered shocking as well as innovative for its graphic portrayal of violence.

In 1989, searchers in Ethiopia found the wreckage of a plane which had disappeared almost a week earlier while carrying Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 14 other people -- there were no survivors.

In 1995, baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died at a Dallas hospital of rapidly spreading liver cancer; he was 63.

In 2003, Iraq began pumping crude oil from its northern oil fields for the first time since the start of the war. Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of the 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.

In 2008, a man barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters in Little Rock and opened fire, killing state party chairman Bill Gwatney before speeding off in a pickup. (Police later shot and killed the gunman, Timothy Dale Johnson.) Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals.

In 2017, in a statement, the White House said President Donald Trump "very strongly" condemns individual hate groups such as "white supremacists, KKK and neo-Nazis;" the statement followed criticism of Trump for blaming the previous day's deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on "many sides." Protesters decrying hatred and racism converged around the country, saying they felt compelled to respond to the white supremacist rally in Virginia.

Ten years ago: The Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick to a one-year deal, prompting criticism from animal rights activists over his role in a dogfighting ring. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth for the entire season after Stallworth served 24 days in jail for DUI manslaughter in the death of 59-year-old Mario Reyes in Miami.

Five years ago: Six people -- including Associated Press video journalist Simone Camilli -- were killed when leftover ordnance believed to have been dropped in an Israeli airstrike blew up in the Gaza Strip. Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos died when the small plane that was carrying him and several campaign officials plunged into a residential neighborhood in the port city of Santos.

One year ago: President Donald Trump dared New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to challenge him in 2020, warning, "Anybody that runs against Trump suffers." A lawyer for longtime FBI agent Peter Strzok, who'd been removed from the Russia investigation over anti-Trump text messages, said Strzok had been fired by the agency.

Today's Birthdays: Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is 86. Actor Kevin Tighe is 75. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is 73. Opera singer Kathleen Battle is 71. High wire aerialist Philippe Petit is 70. Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke is 70. Golf Hall of Famer Betsy King is 64. Movie director Paul Greengrass is 64. Actor Danny Bonaduce is 60. TV weatherman Sam Champion is 58. Actress Dawnn Lewis is 58. Actor John Slattery is 57. Actress Debi Mazar is 55. Actress Quinn Cummings is 52. Actress Seana Kofoed is 49. Country singer Andy Griggs is 46. Actor Gregory Fitoussi is 43. Country musician Mike Melancon (Emerson Drive) is 41. Actress Kathryn Fiore is 40. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is 37. Actor Sebastian Stan is 37. Actor Eme Ikwuakor is 35. Pop-rock singer James Morrison is 35. Actress Lennon Stella is 20.

Thought for Today: "People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges." -- Joseph Fort Newton, American clergyman (1876-1950).