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UPI Almanac for Friday, Aug. 26, 2016

On Aug. 26, 1920, eight days after it was ratified, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect -- giving women the right to vote.

By United Press International
More than 25,000 women take to New York City's Fifth Avenue on Oct. 23, 1915, advocating for women’s voting rights. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI
More than 25,000 women take to New York City's Fifth Avenue on Oct. 23, 1915, advocating for women’s voting rights. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI

Today is Friday, Aug. 26, the 239th day of 2016 with 127 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include British statesman Robert Walpole in 1676; French scientist Antoine Lavoisier, the founder of modern chemistry, in 1743; Lee De Forest, known as the father of radio, in 1873; "Charlie Chan" detective series author Earl Derr Biggers in 1884; poet/novelist Christopher Isherwood in 1904; bacteriologist Albert Sabin, discoverer of an oral vaccine for polio, in 1906; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mother Teresa in 1910; basketball Hall of Fame member Tom Heinsohn in 1934 (age 82); Geraldine Ferraro, 1984 Democratic vice presidential candidate and first woman to seek so high a position on a major U.S. political party ticket, in 1935; voice actor/movie trailer specialist Don LaFontaine in 1940; singer Leon Redbone in 1949 (age 67); crossword editor Will Shortz in 1952 (age 64); jazz musician Branford Marsalis in 1960 (age 56); actor Melissa McCarthy in 1970 (age 46); actor Macaulay Culkin in 1980 (age 36); actor Chris Pine in 1980 (age 36).

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On this date in history:

In 1920, eight days after it was ratified, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect -- giving women the right to vote.

In 1964, Democrats nominated U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey. They won easily in November.

In 1974, Charles Lindbergh died at the age of 72.

In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani was elected the 263rd pope and chose the name John Paul I. He died 33 days later.

In 1996, a court in South Korea sentenced former President Chun Doo-hwan to death for the coup that put him in power. Chun's death sentence was commuted in 1997.

In 2003, the U.N. Security Council denounced as a "grave violation of human rights" the killings of Kuwaiti prisoners, believed to be in the hundreds, by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime.

In 2004, a leader in the U.S. Army panel investigating prisoner abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison said the team had discovered "serious misconduct and a loss of moral values."

In 2007, wildfires, all believed to be the act of arsonists, killed at least 59 people and destroyed thousands of acres of crops and forests in Greece. The fires were fanned by gale-force winds.

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In 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed decrees recognizing the independence of Georgia breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Medvedev said granting them independence was an act of necessity and he urged other nations to make similar diplomatic moves.

In 2011, Japanese Prime Minister Naota Kan resigned after a hectic 15 months that included an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear disaster. He was succeeded three days later by Yoshihiko Noda, the finance minister.

In 2012, U.S. Republican officials, gathered in Tampa, Fla., for the party's national convention, announced it would be delayed a day because of Tropical Storm Isaac.

In 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter for gallantry in Afghanistan.

In 2014, Palestinian militants and Israel agreed to end seven weeks of hostilities that left more than 2,000 people dead. The cease-fire was arranged in Egypt.


A thought for the day: "The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadow of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped." -- Hubert H. Humphrey

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