This day in history

[August 25, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Aug. 25, the 237th day of 2009. There are 128 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 25, 1944, during World War II, Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation.

On this date:

In 1825, Uruguay declared independence from Brazil.

In 1875, Capt. Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, getting from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 22 hours.

In 1916, the National Park Service was established within the Department of the Interior.

In 1921, the United States signed a peace treaty with Germany.

In 1928, an expedition led by Richard E. Byrd set sail from Hoboken, N.J., on its journey to Antarctica.

In 1943, U.S. forces liberated New Georgia in the Solomon Islands from the Japanese during World War II.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure providing pensions for former U.S. presidents and their widows.

In 1984, author Truman Capote was found dead in a Los Angeles mansion; he was 59.

In 1985, Samantha Smith, 13, the schoolgirl whose letter to Yuri V. Andropov resulted in her famous peace tour of the Soviet Union, died with her father in an airliner crash in Auburn, Maine.

In 1998, retired Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell died in Richmond, Va., at age 90.

Ten years ago: The FBI, reversing itself after six years, admitted that its agents might have fired some potentially flammable tear gas canisters on the final day of the 1993 standoff with the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas, but said it continued to believe law enforcement agents did not start the fire which engulfed the cult's compound.

Five years ago: An Army investigation found that 27 people attached to an intelligence unit at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad either approved or participated in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

One year ago: Democrats opened their national convention in Denver, where they prepared to nominate Barack Obama for president; in the first major address of the gathering, Michelle Obama declared, "I love this country" as she described herself as a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother, no different from many women. Israel freed nearly 200 jailed Palestinians in a goodwill gesture hours before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began her peace mission to the region.

Today's birthdays: Game show host Monty Hall is 88. Actor Sean Connery is 79. Actor Page Johnson is 79. Talk show/game show host Regis Philbin is 78. Actor Tom Skerritt is 76. Jazz musician Wayne Shorter is 76. Movie director Hugh Hudson is 73. Author Frederick Forsyth is 71. Actor David Canary is 71. Movie director John Badham is 70. Filmmaker Marshall Brickman is 68. R&B singer Walter Williams (The O'Jays) is 67. Actor Anthony Heald is 65. Rock musician Danny Smythe is 61. Rock singer-actor Gene Simmons is 60. Actor John Savage is 60. Country singer-musician Henry Paul (Outlaws; Blackhawk) is 60. Rock singer Rob Halford is 58. Rock musician Geoff Downes (Asia) is 57. Rock singer Elvis Costello is 55. Movie director Tim Burton is 51. Actor Christian LeBlanc is 51. Actress Ally Walker is 48. Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus is 48. Actress Joanne Whalley is 48. Rock musician Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard) is 47. Actor Blair Underwood is 45. Actor Robert Maschio is 43. Rap DJ Terminator X (Public Enemy) is 43. Alternative country singer Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) is 42. Actor David Alan Basche is 41. Television chef Rachael Ray is 41. Actor Cameron Mathison is 40. Country singer Jo Dee Messina is 39. Model Claudia Schiffer is 39. Country singer Brice Long is 38. NFL player Marvin Harrison is 37. Actor Eric Millegan is 35. Actor Jonathan Togo is 32. Actor Kel Mitchell is 31. Actress Rachel Bilson ("The O.C.") is 28. Actress Blake Lively is 22. MLB player Justin Upton is 22. Actor Josh Flitter is 15.

Thought for today: "No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you." -- Althea Gibson, American tennis champion (born this date in 1927, died 2003)

[Associated Press]

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