Today is Monday, Aug. 22, the 234th day of 2005. There are 131 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 22, 1775, Britain’s King George III proclaimed the American colonies in a state of open rebellion.
On this date:
In 1485, England’s King Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the War of the Roses.
In 1787, inventor John Fitch demonstrated his steamboat on the Delaware River to delegates of the Continental Congress.
In 1846, the United States annexed New Mexico.
In 1851, the schooner America outraced the Aurora off the English coast to win a trophy that came to be known as the America’s Cup.
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first U.S. chief executive to ride in an automobile, in Hartford, Conn.
In 1911, it was announced in Paris that Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” had been stolen from the Louvre Museum the night before. (The painting turned up two years later, in Italy.)
In 1956, President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon were nominated for second terms in office by the Republican national convention in San Francisco.
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 1989, Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, Calif. (Gunman Tyrone Robinson was later sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.)
Ten years ago: Democratic Congressman Mel Reynolds of Illinois was convicted in Chicago of sexual misconduct involving an underage campaign volunteer. (Reynolds was later sentenced to five years in prison; he ended up serving 2½.)
Five years ago: Publishers Clearing House agreed to pay $18 million to 24 states and the District of Columbia to settle allegations it had used deceptive promotions in its sweepstakes mailings.
One year ago: As shocked spectators watched, armed thieves stole one of four versions of the Edvard Munch masterpiece “The Scream” and a second Munch painting, “Madonna,” from the Munch museum in Oslo, Norway.
Today’s Birthdays: Author Ray Bradbury is 85. Heart surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley is 85. Retired General H. Norman Schwarzkopf is 71. ABC newsman Morton Dean is 70. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski is 66. Actress Valerie Harper is 65. Football coach Bill Parcells is 64. CBS newsman Steve Kroft is 60. Actress Cindy Williams is 58. Musician David Marks (The Beach Boys) is 57. Country singer Holly Dunn is 48. Rock musician Vernon Reid is 47. Country singer Collin Raye is 45. Country singer Ricky Lynn Gregg is 44. Rock singer Roland Orzabal (Tears For Fears) is 44. Rock musician Debbi Peterson (The Bangles) is 44. Rock musician Gary Lee Connor (Screaming Trees) is 43. Singer Tori Amos is 42. Country singer Mila Mason is 42. Rhythm-and-blues musician James DeBarge is 42. Tennis player Mats Wilander is 41. Rapper GZA/The Genius is 39. Actor Rick Yune is 34. Rock musician Paul Doucette (Matchbox Twenty) is 33. Rap-reggae singer Beenie Man is 32. Singer Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys) is 32. Actress Jenna Leigh Green is 31. Rock musician Jeff Stinco (Simple Plan) is 27.
Thought for Today: “Authors and actors and artists and such/ Never know nothing, and never know much.” — Dorothy Parker (1893-1967).