Today is Friday, Aug. 21, the 233rd day of 2009. There are 132 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
• Fifty years ago, on Aug. 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order, five months after signing the Hawaiian statehood bill.
On this date:
• In 1807, Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat set off from Albany on its return trip to New York, arriving some 30 hours later.
• In 1831, Nat Turner led a violent slave rebellion in Virginia resulting in the deaths of at least 55 white people. (He was later executed.)
• In 1858, the first of seven debates between Illinois senatorial contenders Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place.
• In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. (The painting turned up two years later in Italy.)
• In 1940, exiled Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky died in Mexico City from wounds inflicted by an assassin the day before.
• Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton urged Americans to contribute to the relief effort for Turkey, where the death toll from a massive earthquake four days earlier topped 12,000. (It eventually reached 17,000).
• Five years ago: The International Gymnastics Federation ruled that South Korean Yang Tae-young was unfairly docked a tenth of a point in the all-around gymnastics final at the Athens Olympics, costing him the gold medal that ended up going to Paul Hamm of the United States; however, the ruling did not change the final result.
• One year ago: President George W. Bush issued a federal disaster declaration for parts of Florida affected by Tropical Storm Fay. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Baghdad for discussions with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top Iraqi officials.
Today’s Birthdays:
Former NFL player Pete Retzlaff is 78.
Actor-director Melvin Van Peebles is 77.
Playwright Mart Crowley (“The Boys in the Band”) is 74.
Singer Kenny Rogers is 71.
Actor Clarence Williams III is 70.
Rock-’n’-roll musician James Burton is 70.
Singer Harold Reid (The Statler Brothers) is 70.
Singer Jackie DeShannon is 68.
NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier is 64.
Actress Patty McCormack is 64.
Pop singer-musician Carl Giammarese is 62.
Actress Loretta Devine is 60.
CBS “Early Show” co-host Harry Smith is 58.
Singer Glenn Hughes is 57.
Country musician Nick Kane is 55.
Actress Kim Cattrall is 53.
College Football Hall of Famer and NFL quarterback Jim McMahon is 50.
Actress Carrie-Anne Moss is 39.
Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Craig Counsell is 39.
Rock musician Liam Howlett (Prodigy) is 38.
Actress Alicia Witt is 34.
Singer Kelis is 30.
Singer Melissa Schuman is 25.
Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt is 23.
Actor Cody Kasch is 22.
Actress Hayden Panettiere is 20.
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