This day in history

[August 11, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Aug. 11, the 223rd day of 2009. There are 142 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 11, 1909, the first recorded use of the S.O.S. distress signal in North America was by the steamship SS Arapahoe, which had broken down off North Carolina's Cape Hatteras.

On this date:

In 1919, Germany's Weimar Constitution was signed by President Friedrich Ebert.

In 1934, the first federal prisoners arrived at the island prison Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay.

In 1942, during World War II, Pierre Laval, prime minister of Vichy France, publicly declared that "the hour of liberation for France is the hour when Germany wins the war."

In 1949, President Harry S. Truman nominated General Omar N. Bradley to become the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In 1954, a formal peace took hold in Indochina, ending more than seven years of fighting between the French and Communist Vietminh.

In 1956, abstract painter Jackson Pollock, 44, died in an automobile accident on Long Island, N.Y.

In 1962, the Soviet Union launched cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev on a 94-hour flight.

In 1965, rioting and looting that claimed 34 lives broke out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan joked during a voice test for a paid political radio address that he had "signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

In 1992, the Mall of America opened in Bloomington, Minn.

Ten years ago: White supremacist Buford O. Furrow, wanted in the wounding of five people at a Los Angeles Jewish community center and the shooting death of a mail carrier the day before, turned himself in to the FBI in Las Vegas and waived extradition to Los Angeles. (Furrow is serving life in prison.) A tornado tore across Salt Lake City, killing one person.

Five years ago: Britain granted its first license for human cloning for the purpose of stem cell research. The U.S. women's soccer team defeated home team Greece 3-to-0 on the first day of competition in the 2004 Olympic Games (the opening ceremony took place two days later).

One year ago: President George W. Bush, back from his Asia tour, warned of a "dramatic and brutal escalation" of violence by Russia in the former Soviet republic of Georgia; he pressed Moscow to accept an immediate cease-fire and to pull back its troops. In Beijing, Michael Phelps got his second gold medal - thanks to a late comeback in the 400-meter freestyle relay by Jason Lezak, who lunged to the wall just ahead of the French anchor. Actor-playwright George Furth died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 75.

Today's birthdays: Actress Arlene Dahl is 81. Actress Anna Massey is 72. Songwriter-producer Kenny Gamble is 66. Rock musician Jim Kale (Guess Who) is 66. Country singer John Conlee is 63. Singer Eric Carmen is 60. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., is 60. Computer scientist and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is 59. Wrestler-actor Hulk Hogan is 56. Singer Joe Jackson is 55. Playwright David Henry Hwang is 52. Actor Miguel A. Nunez Jr. is 45. Actress Viola Davis is 44. Actor Duane Martin is 44. Actor-host Joe Rogan is 42. R&B musician Chris Dave is 41. Actress Anna Gunn is 41. Actress Ashley Jensen is 41. Rock guitarist Charlie Sexton is 41. Hip-hop artist Ali Shaheed Muhammad is 39. Actor Will Friedle is 33. Rapper Chris Kelly (Kris Kross) is 31. Football player Andy Lee is 27. Singer J-Boog is 24. Rapper Asher Roth is 24. Actress Alyson Stoner is 16.

Thought for today: "A pessimist is a man who looks both ways when he's crossing a one-way street." -- Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-born educator and author of "The Peter Principle" (1919-1990)

[Associated Press]

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