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UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014

Presidential nominations in the U.S., bomb attacks in Israel, Pakistan and Iraq ... on this date in history.

By United Press International
Former President George H. W. Bush 
 (L) and former Vice President Dan Quayle share a laugh at a ceremony in Washington Sept. 10, 2003. rlw/Roger L. Wollenberg UPI
1 of 5 | Former President George H. W. Bush (L) and former Vice President Dan Quayle share a laugh at a ceremony in Washington Sept. 10, 2003. rlw/Roger L. Wollenberg UPI | License Photo

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Today is Tuesday, Aug. 19, the 231st day of 2043 with 134 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Mars, Mercury and Saturn.

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include English poet John Dryden in 1631; clockmaker Seth Thomas in 1785; statesman Bernard Baruch in 1870; aviation pioneer Orville Wright in 1871; French fashion designer Coco Chanel in 1883; actor Alfred Lunt in 1892; humorist Ogden Nash in 1902; pioneer television engineer Philo Farnsworth in 1906; singing Mills Brother Harry Mills in 1913; writer Ring Lardner Jr., in 1915; publisher Malcolm Forbes in 1919; "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry in 1921; writer Frank McCourt in 1930; jockey Willie Shoemaker in 1931; actors Diana Muldaur in 1938 (age 76) and Jill St. John in 1940 (age 74); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Ginger Baker (Cream) in 1939 (age 75); singer Johnny Nash in 1940 (age 74); former U.S. senator and actor Fred Thompson in 1942 (age 72); Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States, in 1946 (age 68); political commentator Mary Matalin in 1953 (age 61); and actors Gerald McRaney in 1947 (age 67), Jonathan Frakes in 1952 (age 62), Peter Gallagher in 1955 (age 59), Adam Arkin in 1956 (age 58), John Stamos in 1963 (age 51), Kyra Sedgwick in 1965 (age 49) and Matthew Perry in 1969 (age 45).

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On this date in history:

In 1812, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution defeated the British ship Guerriere in a furious engagement off the coast of Nova Scotia and earned its nickname of "Old Ironsides." Witnesses said British shots seemed to bounce off the Constitution.

In 1960, U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was convicted in a Moscow court and sentenced to 10 years in prison. (He was released 18 months later and exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.)

In 1987, gun enthusiast Michael Ryan went on a shooting rampage in Hungerford, England, killing 16 people.

In 1992, delegates to the Republican National Convention nominated President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for re-election. (They were defeated in November by Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore.)

In 1995, three U.S. negotiators, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Robert Frasure, were killed when their vehicle plunged from a mountain road near Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 1996, the Green Party nominated Ralph Nader as its presidential candidate.

In 2003, a suicide bomber exploded a device aboard a Jerusalem bus, killing and injuring more than 100 people.

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In 2004, the price of oil hit a record high of $48.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In 2008, the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was followed by insurgent bombing attacks that killed about 100 people.

In 2009, two massive bomb attacks killed at least 95 people and wounded more than 600 others in Baghdad. It was said to be the worst attack in the region since the U.S. military gave control of the country's security back to the Iraqi government.

In 2012, Todd Akin, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, was quoted as saying pregnancy is "really rare" in rape cases and if "it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." (Akin lost in by a wide martin in the general election.)

in 2013, an express train killed at least 37 people and injured many others crossing tracks at a remote transit station in the eastern India state of Bihar. After the accident, an angry mob severely beat the operator of the train, authorities said.


A thought for the day: "The older I get the better I used to be." -- golfer Lee Trevino

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