On This Day in History - August 16th - Almanac

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 16, the 229th day of 2016 with 137 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include French physicist Gabriel Lippmann, inventor of color photography, in 1845; Amos Alonzo Stagg, basketball and football Hall of Fame coach, in 1862; British soldier/writer T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") in 1888; labor leader George Meany in 1894; former Israeli Prime Minister/Nobel Peace Prize laureate Menachem Begin in 1913; actor Fess Parker in 1924; actor Ann Blyth in 1928 (age 88); actor Robert Culp in 1930; actor Julie Newmar in 1933 (age 83); singer Eydie Gorme in 1928; football Hall of Fame member/sports commentator Frank Gifford in 1930); TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford in 1953 (age 63); actor Lesley Ann Warren in 1946 (age 70); actor Reginald VelJohnson in 1952 (age 64); film director James Cameron ("Titanic," "Avatar") in 1954 (age 62); actor Jeff Perry in 1955 (age 61); actor Angela Bassett in 1958 (age 58); singer Madonna, whose full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone, in 1958 (age 58); actor Laura Innes in 1957 (age 59); actor Timothy Hutton in 1960 (age 56); actor and Steve Carell in 1962 (age 54); Dixie Chicks singer Emily Robison in 1972 (age 44).

On this date in history:

UPI Archives: The king is dead - and his subjects mourn

In 1812, British forces foiled plans for a U.S. invasion of Canada by capturing the city of Detroit.

In 1896, the North Country gold rush began with the discovery of gold in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory.

In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York of cancer at age 53.

In 1954, the first edition of Sports Illustrated was published.

In 1977, Elvis Presley, the king of rock 'n' roll, died of heart failure at his home in Memphis at age 42.

In 1987, a Northwest Airlines jet bound for Phoenix crashed on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing 156 people. A 4-year-old girl, Celia Cichan, was the sole survivor.

In 2007, Jose Padilla, accused of plotting to explode a "dirty" bomb in the United States, was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit terror and giving material support to al-Qaida. Padilla was sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison.

In 2008, American swimmer Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal in a single Olympics in the Summer Games at Beijing.

In 2009, John Yettaw, a Missouri man convicted in Myanmar of illegally visiting political opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, serving a lengthy house-arrest sentence, was allowed to leave the country.

In 2010, off-road derby supporters and opponents criticized a lack of safety precautions after a crash during a 200-mile nighttime race in California's Mojave Desert killed eight spectators in a crowd ringing the raceway.

In 2012, the Ecuadorean government said it was granting political asylum in its London embassy to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, trying to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning in a sexual assault investigation.

In 2013, the MV Thomas Aquinas ferry carrying nearly 700 people collided with a cargo ship and sank off the Philippines. Authorities later said the accident killed about 60 people and many others were reported missing.

A thought for the day: "Progress is a nice word, but change is its motivator and change has enemies." -- Robert F. Kennedy