UPI Almanac for Monday, Aug. 13, 2018

Today is Monday, Aug. 13, the 225th day of 2017 with 140 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include sharpshooter Annie Oakley in 1860; actor Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz) in 1895; film director Alfred Hitchcock in 1899; golf Hall of Fame member Ben Hogan in 1912; former Cuban President Fidel Castro in 1926; singer Don Ho in 1930; former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders in 1933 (age 85); opera singer Kathleen Battle in 1948 (age 70); hockey Hall of Fame member Bobby Clarke in 1949 (age 69); pop singer Dan Fogelberg in 1951; actor/announcer Danny Bonaduce in 1959 (age 59); Tonight Show announcer Steve Higgins in 1963 (age 55); actor Debi Mazar in 1964 (age 54); entrepreneur Kevin Plank (Under Armour) in 1972 (age 46); Olympic gold medal speed skater Shani Davis in 1982 (age 36); actor Sebastian Stan in 1982 (age 36); basketball star DeMarcus Cousins in 1990 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1889, William Gray patented the coin-operated telephone.

In 1918, women were allowed to join the U.S. Marines for the first time. Sgt. Opha May Johnson, a 40-year-old civil servant, was the first to enlist.

In 1930, Capt. Frank Hawkes set an air speed record by flying from Los Angeles to New York in 12 hours, 25 minutes.

In 1961, East Germany closed the Brandenburg Gate and prepared to start building the Berlin Wall.

In 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter was nominated for a second term by the Democratic National Convention in New York. He lost in November to Ronald Reagan.

In 1990, singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield was left paralyzed when he was hit by a wind-blown lighting rig on an outdoor stage in New York. He died in 1999.

In 1993, the multi-story Royal Plaza Hotel in eastern Thailand collapsed into a heap of rubble, leaving 137 people dead.

In 1994, North Korea agreed to allow U.N. monitors to inspect a secret nuclear laboratory.

In 1995, former New York Yankees centerfielder Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer at the age of 63.

In 2008, Bill Gwatney, chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party and a former legislator, was shot to death in his Little Rock office. After a 30-mile chase, a suspect was killed by police in an exchange of gunfire. A motive for Gwatney's killing was never determined.

In 2013, Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal to resume peace talks.

In 2014, Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos was among seven people killed in a plane crash southeast of Sao Paulo.

In 2016, Michael Phelps wins his 23rd Olympic gold medal to finish his swimming career as the world's most decorated Olympian.

In 2017, American Justin Thomas won his first PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.

A thought for the day: "I think being a liberal, in the true sense, is being non-doctrinaire, non-dogmatic, non-committed to a cause, but examining each case on its merits. Being left of center is another thing; it's a political position." -- Walter Cronkite