This day in history

[August 20, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Aug. 20, the 232nd day of 2009. There are 133 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 20, 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations began invading Czechoslovakia to crush the "Prague Spring" liberalization drive led by Alexander Dubcek.

On this date:

In 1833, Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president of the United States, was born in North Bend, Ohio.

In 1866, President Andrew Johnson formally declared the Civil War over, months after fighting had stopped.

In 1914, German forces occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War I.

In 1920, pioneering American radio station 8MK in Detroit (later WWJ) began daily broadcasting.

In 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid tribute to the Royal Air Force, saying, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

In 1955, hundreds of people were killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act, a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure.

In 1977, the U.S. launched Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft carrying a 12-inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages, samples of music and sounds of nature.

In 1979, Diana Nyad succeeded in her third attempt at swimming from the Bahamas to Florida.

In 1989, entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty, were shot to death in their Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion by their sons, Lyle and Erik. Fifty-one people died when a pleasure boat sank in the River Thames in London after colliding with a dredger. British conservationist George Adamson, 83, was shot and killed by bandits in Kenya.

Ten years ago: In a highly unusual move, the CIA pulled the security clearances for former Director John Deutch for keeping secret files on an unsecured home computer. Three Japanese banks announced a broad alliance plan. (The merger resulted in creation of the Mizuho Financial Group.)

Five years ago: Democrats labored to deflect attacks on John Kerry's war record with fresh television ads touting his fitness for national command. In Athens, Michael Phelps matched Mark Spitz's record of four individual gold medals in the Olympic pool with a stirring comeback in the 100-meter butterfly, then removed himself from further competition.

One year ago: A Spanish jetliner crashed during takeoff from Madrid, killing 154 people. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski signed a deal to put a U.S. missile defense base in Poland. In Beijing, Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds. Former Chinese leader Hua Guofeng died in Beijing at age 87. U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, died in Cleveland at age 58. Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, died near California's Lake Tahoe at age 63.

Today's birthdays: Writer-producer-director Walter Bernstein is 90. U.S. special envoy George Mitchell is 76. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is 74. Baseball All-Star Graig Nettles is 65. Broadcast journalist Connie Chung is 63. Musician Jimmy Pankow (Chicago) is 62. Actor John Noble is 61. Rock singer Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) is 61. Rock singer Doug Fieger (The Knack) is 57. Country singer Rudy Gatlin is 57. Singer-songwriter John Hiatt is 57. Actor-director Peter Horton is 56. TV weatherman Al Roker is 55. Actor Jay Acovone is 54. Actress Joan Allen is 53. TV personality Asha Blake is 48. Actor James Marsters is 47. Rapper KRS-One is 44. Rock singer Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) is 39. Rock musician Brad Avery is 38. Actor Jonathan Ke Quan is 38. Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton is 36. Rock singer Monique Powell (Save Ferris) is 34. Hockey player Chris Drury is 33. Actor Ben Barnes is 28. Actress Demi Lovato is 17.

Thought for today: "History abhors determinism, but cannot tolerate chance." -- Bernard De Voto, American author, journalist and critic (1897-1955)

[Associated Press]

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