This day in history

[August 18, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Aug. 18, the 230th day of 2010. There are 135 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 18, 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents to be born on American soil, on what is now Roanoke Island in North Carolina. (However, the Roanoke colony ended up mysteriously disappearing.)

On this date:

In 1838, the first marine expedition sponsored by the U.S. government set sail from Hampton Roads, Va.; the crews traveled the southern Pacific Ocean, gathering scientific information.

In 1846, U.S. forces led by General Stephen W. Kearny captured Santa Fe, N.M.

In 1894, Congress established the Bureau of Immigration.

In 1910, floral delivery service FTD began under the name Florists' Telegraph Delivery (the "T" now stands for "Transworld").

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the right of all American women to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King dedicated the Thousand Islands Bridge connecting the United States and Canada.

In 1958, the novel "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov was first published in New York by G.P. Putnam's Sons, almost three years after it was originally published in Paris.

In 1963, James Meredith became the first black student to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, N.Y. wound to a close after three nights with a mid-morning set by Jimi Hendrix.

In 1976, two U.S. Army officers were killed in Korea's demilitarized zone as a group of North Korean soldiers wielding axes and metal pikes attacked U.S. and South Korean soldiers.

In 1983, Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 21 dead and causing more than a billion dollars' worth of damage.

Ten years ago: Fresh from the Democratic National Convention, Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman shoved off from the banks of the Mississippi on a riverboat cruise to stir excitement for their freshly launched White House campaign.

Five years ago: Cindy Sheehan, who'd started an anti-war demonstration near President George W. Bush's Texas ranch nearly two weeks earlier, left the camp after learning her mother had suffered a stroke, but told supporters the protest would go on. A judge in Wichita, Kan. sentenced BTK serial killer Dennis Rader to ten consecutive life terms, the maximum the law would allow. Pope Benedict XVI began his first foreign trip as pontiff in low-key style, returning to his "beloved" German homeland.

One year ago: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, during his first visit to Washington in five years, offered lavish praise of President Barack Obama; for his part, Obama spoke of an "extraordinary opportunity" for making peace in the Middle East. Ohio executed Jason Getsy, a murder-for-hire triggerman, for killing the mother of his intended target. Robert Novak, the combative TV and newspaper pundit, died in Washington, D.C. at 78. Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung died at age 85.

Today's birthdays: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is 83. Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski is 77. Attorney and author Vincent Bugliosi is 76. Olympic gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson is 75. Actor-director Robert Redford is 74. Singer Johnny Preston is 71. Actor Christopher Jones is 69. Actor Henry G. Sanders is 68. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sarah Dash (LaBelle) is 67. Actor-comedian Martin Mull is 67. Rock musician Dennis Elliott is 60. Comedian Elayne Boosler is 58. Country singer Steve Wilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 55. Actor Denis Leary is 53. Actress Madeleine Stowe is 52. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (GYT'-nur) is 49. News anchor Bob Woodruff is 49. The president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, is 48. Bluegrass musician Jimmy Mattingly is 48. Actor Adam Storke is 48. Actor Craig Bierko (BEER'-koh) is 45. Rock singer-musician Zac Maloy (The Nixons) is 42. Rock singer and hip-hop artist Everlast is 41. Rapper Masta Killa (Wu-Tang Clan) is 41. Actor Christian Slater is 41. Actor Edward Norton is 41. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 40. Actress Kaitlin Olson is 35. Actor-writer-director Hadjii is 34. Rock musician Dirk Lance is 34. Actor-comedian Andy Samberg (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 32. Actress Parker McKenna Posey is 15.

Thought for today: "The self-hatred that destroys is the waste of unfulfilled promise." -- Moss Hart, American playwright and director (1904-1961)

[Associated Press]

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