UPI Almanac for Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018

Today is Thursday, Aug. 23, the 235th day of 2018 with 130 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include French King Louis XVI in 1754; dancer/actor/director Gene Kelly in 1912; baseball Hall of Fame member George Kell in 1922; actor Vera Miles in 1929 (age 89); actor Barbara Eden in 1931 (age 87); political comedian Mark Russell in 1932 (age 86); football Hall of Fame member Sonny Jurgensen in 1934 (age 84); drummer Keith Moon (The Who) in 1946; actor Shelley Long in 1949 (age 69); singer/actor Rick Springfield in 1949 (age 69); Jordan's Queen Noor in 1951 (age 67); actor Jay Mohr in 1970 (age 48); actor River Phoenix in 1970; actor Scott Caan in 1976 (age 42); pro basketball star Kobe Bryant in 1978 (age 40); musician Julian Casablancas in 1978 (age 40); actor Andrew Rannells in 1978 (age 40); actor Joanne Froggatt in 1980 (age 38); Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Natalie Coughlin in 1982 (age 36); rapper Lil Yachty, born Miles Parks McCollum, in 1997 (age 21).

On this date in history:

In 1926, silent screen idol Rudolph Valentino died at the age of 31. The actor became ill with ulcers and after surgery fell into a coma and died.

In 1927, despite worldwide demonstrations on their behalf, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed for murder.

In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact. Less than two years later, Germany launched a blitzkrieg attack on Russia.

In 1982, Beirut Christian leader Beshir Gemayel was elected president of Lebanon. He was assassinated less than one month later and was succeeded by his brother Amin.

In 1990, East and West Germany announced they would reunite on Oct. 3.

In 2008, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois confirmed he chose fellow Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate at the top of the Democratic Party ticket.

In 2010, rescue workers at a caved-in gold and copper mine in northern Chile made radio contact with 33 men trapped nearly 2,300 feet underground for 17 days who had found refuge in a small emergency shelter that had water and ventilation. In an unrelenting effort, all hands were rescued two months later.

In 2011, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, unusually strong for the eastern United States, rattled Washington and Virginia with shockwaves as far north as Canada. The quake was the strongest to hit Virginia in more than a century, briefly causing a power shutdown at a nuclear plant. The Washington Monument and National Cathedral in Washington were damaged by the quake.

In 2013, Nidal Malik Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others in a November 2009 gunfire attack at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas. He was later sentenced to death.

In 2017, after two major warship collisions that killed several sailors, the U.S. Navy removed Vice Adm. Joseph Auction as the Pacific Fleet's commander.

A thought for the day: "Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results." -- Gen. George S. Patton