A Blast from the Past

Today is Aug. 22.

Michael Collins, a founder of the Irish Republican Army and a key figure in Ireland's independence movement, was killed by political opponents on this date in 1922.

It was on this date in 1986 that Kerr-McGee Corp. agreed to pay the estate of nuclear industry worker Karen Silkwood more than $1 million, ending a 10-year legal battle over her exposure to radioactive materials at the company's Oklahoma plant.

The U.S.-built schooner America defeated a fleet of Britain's finest ships in a race around England's Isle of Wight on this date in 1851, winning an ornate silver trophy that became known as America's Cup. It later was placed in international competition for future winners of the race.

On this date in 1995, Illinois Congressman Mel Reynolds, a rising star in the Democratic party, was convicted of having sex with an underage girl. He later resigned.

And thieves stole the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre Museum in Paris on this date in 1911. The famous painting by Da Vinci was recovered four months later.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.