Today is Tuesday, Aug. 25, the 237th day of 2009. There are 128 days left in the year. AP A/V. Moon's stupid UPI Almanac.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Aug. 25, 1944, Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation.
On this date:
In 1718, hundreds of French colonists arrived in Louisiana, with some of them settling in present-day New Orleans.
In 1825, Uruguay declared independence from Brazil.
In 1875, Capt. Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, getting from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 22 hours.
In 1916, the National Park Service was established within the Department of the Interior.
In 1921, the United States signed a peace treaty with Germany.
In 1928, an expedition led by Richard E. Byrd set sail from Hoboken, N.J., on its journey to Antarctica.
In 1943, U.S. forces liberated New Georgia in the Solomon Islands from the Japanese.
In 1950, President Harry S. Truman ordered the Army to seize control of the nation's railroads to avert a strike.
In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure providing pensions for former U.S. presidents and their widows.
In 1967, a sniper assassinated American Nazi leader George Lincoln Rockwell in Arlington, Va.
In 1981, the U.S. spacecraft Voyager 2 came within 63,000 miles of Saturn's cloud cover, sending back pictures and data about the ringed planet.
In 1985, Samantha Smith, 13, the schoolgirl whose letter to Yuri V. Andropov resulted in her famous peace tour of the Soviet Union, died with her father in an airliner crash in Auburn, Maine.
In 1998, retired Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell died in Richmond, Va., at age 90.
Ten years ago: The FBI, reversing itself after six years, admitted that its agents might have fired some potentially flammable tear gas canisters on the final day of the 1993 standoff with the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas, but said it continued to believe law enforcement agents did not start the fire which engulfed the cult's compound.
Five years ago: An Army investigation found that 27 people attached to an intelligence unit at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad either approved or participated in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
One year ago: Democrats opened their national convention in Denver, where they prepared to nominate Barack Obama for president; in the first major address of the gathering, Michelle Obama declared, "I love this country" as she described herself as a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother, no different from many women. Israel freed nearly 200 jailed Palestinians in a goodwill gesture hours before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began her peace mission to the region.
Today's Birthdays:
Game show host Monty Hall is 88. Actor Sean Connery is 79. Actor Page Johnson is 79. Talk show/game show host Regis Philbin is 78. Actor Tom Skerritt is 76. Jazz musician Wayne Shorter is 76. Movie director Hugh Hudson is 73. Author Frederick Forsyth is 71. Actor David Canary is 71. Movie director John Badham is 70. Filmmaker Marshall Brickman is 68. R&B singer Walter Williams (The O'Jays) is 67. Actor Anthony Heald is 65. Rock musician Danny Smythe is 61. Rock singer-actor Gene Simmons is 60. Actor John Savage is 60. Country singer-musician Henry Paul (Outlaws; Blackhawk) is 60. Rock singer Rob Halford is 58. Rock musician Geoff Downes (Asia) is 57. Rock singer Elvis Costello is 55. Movie director Tim Burton is 51. Actor Christian LeBlanc is 51. Actress Ally Walker is 48. Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus is 48. Actress Joanne Whalley is 48. Rock musician Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard) is 47. Actor Blair Underwood is 45.[Ha ha. Two "guys" w/ girl names. — Ed.] Actor Robert Maschio is 43. Rap DJ Terminator X (Public Enemy) is 43. Alternative country singer Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) is 42. Actor David Alan Basche is 41. Television chef Rachael Ray is 41. Actor Cameron Mathison is 40. Country singer Jo Dee Messina is 39. Model Claudia Schiffer is 39.
Today In Entertainment History August 25
On August 25th, 1970, Elton John made his U. S. debut at the Troubadour Club [Not the Troubador "Club," just the Troubador. Or "The Troub." — Ed.] in Los Angeles. The performance kicked off a brief tour and led to a recording contract with MCA.
In 1973, Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks suffered a broken leg in a car crash in Macon, Georgia.
In 1975, the album "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen was released.
In 1976, Boston released its self-titled album.
In 1980, the long-running Broadway musical "42nd Steet" opened. After the performance, it was announced that director Gower Champion had died earlier in the day.
In 1984, author Truman Capote died in Los Angeles. An autopsy revealed he overdosed on valium, codeine and barbiturates.
In 1986, Paul Simon's "Graceland" album was released.
In 1987, the film "Dirty Dancing" made its world premiere in Los Angeles.
In 1994, a New York Supreme Court justice formally dissolved the marriage between Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley.
Ten years ago, in 1999, keyboardist Rob Fisher of Naked Eyes died after a long illness. He was 39. [We've never heard of this guy or his band, & though it's not necessarily the best thing in the world for someone to die that young, we really just don't fucking care, any more than we give a crap about Michael Jackson, John Denver, Billy fucking Joel's marriage, or Aliyah. — Ed.]
In 2001, singer Aaliyah and eight others died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff in the Bahamas. Aaliyah was 22.
Thought for Today:
"No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you." — Althea Gibson, American tennis champion (born this date in 1927, died 2003).
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