Today in History

Today is Monday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 2021. There are 137 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 42.

On this date:

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

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

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued Proclamation 86, which prohibited the states of the Union from engaging in commercial trade with states that were in rebellion -- i.e., the Confederacy.

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

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

In 1977, a judge in New York ruled that Renee Richards, a male-to-female transgender, had the right to compete in the U.S. Open without having to pass a sex chromosome test. (In the opening round of the Open, Richards lost to Virginia Wade in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4).

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.

In 2002, terrorist mastermind Abu Nidal reportedly was found shot to death in Baghdad, Iraq; he was 65.

In 2014, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where police and protesters repeatedly clashed in the week since a Black teenager was shot to death by a white police officer.

In 2018, Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul," died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 76.

Ten 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.

Five years ago: Simone Biles captured her fourth gold of the Rio Games with an electric performance in the floor exercise. Political commentator and TV host John McLaughlin, 89, died in Washington, D.C.

One year ago: A riot was declared in Oregon's biggest city as protesters demonstrated again outside a law enforcement building in Portland; officers used crowd control munitions to disperse protesters who they said had thrown rocks, glass bottles and other objects at officers. House Democrats demanded that leaders of the U.S. Postal Service testify at an emergency oversight hearing on mail delays, amid concerns that the Trump White House was trying to undermine the agency as states expanded mail-in voting options. California's Death Valley recorded a temperature of 130 degrees amid a blistering heat wave, the third-highest temperature ever measured.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Ann Blyth is 93. Actor Gary Clarke is 88. Actor Julie Newmar is 88. Actor-singer Ketty Lester is 87. Actor John Standing is 87. College Football Hall of Famer and NFL player Bill Glass is 86. Actor Anita Gillette is 85. Movie director Bruce Beresford is 81. Actor Bob Balaban is 76. Ballerina Suzanne Farrell is 76. Actor Lesley Ann Warren is 75. Rock singer-musician Joey Spampinato is 73. Actor Marshall Manesh is 71. Actor Reginald VelJohnson is 69. Former TV host Kathie Lee Gifford is 68. R&B singer J.T. Taylor is 68. Movie director James Cameron is 67. Actor Jeff Perry is 66. Rock musician Tim Farriss (INXS) is 64. Actor Laura Innes is 64. Singer Madonna is 63. Actor Angela Bassett is 63. Actor Timothy Hutton is 61. Actor Steve Carell is 59. Former tennis player Jimmy Arias is 57. Actor-singer Donovan Leitch is 54. Actor Andy Milder is 53. Actor Seth Peterson is 51. Country singer Emily Robison (The Chicks) is 49. Actor George Stults is 46. Singer Vanessa Carlton is 41. Actor Cam Gigandet is 39. Actor Agnes Bruckner is 36. Singer-musician Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) is 36. Actor Cristin Milioti is 36. San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish is 35. Actor Shawn Pyfrom is 35. Country singer Ashton Shepherd is 35. Actor Okieriete Onaodowan is 34. Country singer Dan Smyers (Dan & Shay) is 34. NHL goalie Carey Price is 34. Actor Kevin G. Schmidt is 33. Actor Rumer Willis is 33. Actor Parker Young is 33. Rapper Young Thug is 30. Actor Cameron Monaghan is 28. Singer-pianist Greyson Chance is 24.