UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 13, the 226th day of 2024 with 140 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include sharpshooter Annie Oakley in 1860; actor Bert Lahr in 1895; filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock in 1899; Golf Hall of Fame member Ben Hogan in 1912; former Cuban President Fidel Castro in 1926; musician Don Ho in 1930; former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders in 1933 (age 91); Treasury Secretary/former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in 1946 (age 78); opera singer Kathleen Battle in 1948 (age 76); Hockey Hall of Fame member Bobby Clarke in 1949 (age 75); musician Dan Fogelberg in 1951; actor/announcer Danny Bonaduce in 1959 (age 65); actor Dawnn Lewis in 1961 (age 63); actor John Slattery in 1962 (age 62); Tonight Show announcer Steve Higgins in 1963 (age 61); actor Debi Mazar in 1964 (age 60); entrepreneur Kevin Plank in 1972 (age 52); Olympic gold medal speed skater Shani Davis in 1982 (age 42); actor Sebastian Stan in 1982 (age 42); NBA star DeMarcus Cousins in 1990 (age 34).

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 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 2019, media companies CBS and Viacom agreed to a merger, combining their entertainment assets in an all-stock merger. The new company was known as ViacomCBS.

In 2020, Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to full normalization of relations.

A thought for the day: "The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been." -- American writer Madeleine L'Engle