Today is Saturday, Aug. 26, the 238th day of 2006. There are 127 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing American women the right to vote, was declared in effect.
On this date:
In 55 B.C., Roman forces under Julius Caesar invaded Britain.
In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa began erupting with increasingly large explosions.
In 1936, the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, calling for most British troops to leave Egypt was signed in Montreux, Switzerland (it was abrogated by Egypt in 1951).
In 1957, the Soviet Union announced it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
In 1961, the original Hockey Hall of Fame was opened in Toronto.
In 1964, President Johnson was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic national convention in Atlantic City, N.J.
In 1972, the summer Olympics games opened in Munich, West Germany.
In 1974, Charles Lindbergh — the first man to fly solo, nonstop across the Atlantic — died at his home in Hawaii at age 72.
In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice was elected the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church following the death of Paul VI. The new pontiff took the name Pope John Paul I.
In 1986, in the so-called “preppie murder case,” 18-year-old Jennifer Levin was found strangled in New York’s Central Park; Robert Chambers later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Ten years ago: Democrats opened their 42nd national convention in Chicago. Barbara Jewell, mother of security guard Richard Jewell, tearfully called on President Clinton to clear her son’s name in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing (Jewell was later cleared by the Justice Department). A Cuban court convicted fugitive U.S. financier Robert Vesco of economic crimes. The former military ruler of South Korea, Chun Doo-hwan, was sentenced to death for mutiny, treason and embezzlement. (The death sentence was later commuted, and Chun was freed as part of an amnesty in 1997.)
Five years ago: President Bush admitted he was worried about the economy’s “paltry” growth and, without making promises, assured steel company executives and workers that protecting domestic steel was a national security priority. The Tokyo Kitasuna beat Apopka, Fla., 2-1 to win the Little League championship in South Williamsport, Pa.
One year ago: Utility crews in South Florida scrambled to restore power to more than 1 million customers blacked out by Hurricane Katrina, which continued to churn in the Gulf of Mexico. A fire raced through a crowded, rundown Paris apartment building housing African immigrants, killing 17 people, mainly children.
Today’s Birthdays: Former Washington Post Executive Editor Benjamin C. Bradlee is 85. Author Ben J. Wattenberg is 73. Former Democratic vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro is 71. Singer Vic Dana is 64. Rhythm-and-blues singer Valerie Simpson is 60. Pop singer Bob Cowsill is 57. Actor Brett Cullen is 50. Jazz musician Branford Marsalis is 46. Country musician Jimmy Olander (Diamond Rio) is 45. Actor Chris Burke is 41. Rock singer Shirley Manson (Garbage) is 40. Rock musician Dan Vickery (Counting Crowes) is 40. Rock musician Adrian Young (No Doubt) is 37. Actress Melissa McCarthy is 36. Actor Macaulay Culkin is 26. Rhythm-and-blues singer Cassie is 20. Actress Keke Palmer is 13.
Thought for Today: “That which is everybody’s business is nobody’s business.” — Izaak Walton, English writer (1593-1683).