This day in history

[August 10, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2011. There are 143 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 10, 1861, Confederate forces routed Union troops in the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri, the first major engagement of the Civil War to take place west of the Mississippi River. (The victory gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri.)

On this date:

In 1680, Pueblo Indians launched a successful revolt against Spanish colonists in present-day New Mexico.

In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries (TWEE'-luh-reez) Palace, where King Louis XVI resided. (The king was later arrested, put on trial for treason, and executed.)

In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state.

In 1846, President James K. Polk signed a measure establishing the Smithsonian Institution.

In 1874, Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa.

In 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello.

In 1949, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.

In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson's cult, one day after actress Sharon Tate and four other people were slain.

In 1991, nine Buddhists were found slain at their temple outside Phoenix, Ariz. (Two teenagers were later arrested; Alessandro Garcia was sentenced to life in prison, while Jonathan Doody received 281 years.)

In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ten years ago: Space shuttle Discovery roared into orbit on a mission to deliver a fresh crew to the international space station. Britain stepped in to save Northern Ireland's power-sharing government by taking away its powers for a day -- a legal maneuver that removed a deadline to elect a new leader of the Catholic-Protestant government.

Five years ago: British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage. A suicide bomber blew himself up among pilgrims outside Iraq's holiest Shiite shrine in Najaf, killing 35 people. Saomai (sow-my), the most powerful typhoon to hit China in five decades, slammed into the country's southeastern coast; it ultimately killed more than 480 people.

One year ago: The House pushed through an emergency $26 billion jobs bill that Democrats said would save 300,000 teachers, police and others from layoffs; President Barack Obama immediately signed it into law. Talk radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger quoted the "N-word" 11 times in an on-air conversation with a caller who she said was "hypersensitive" to racism; Schlessinger ended up apologizing. Hollywood producer David L. Wolper, 82, died in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Today's birthdays: Actress Rhonda Fleming is 88. Actor-director Tom Laughlin ("Billy Jack") is 80. Singer Ronnie Spector is 68. Actor James Reynolds is 65. Rock singer-musician Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is 64. Singer Patti Austin is 63. Country musician Gene Johnson (Diamond Rio) is 62. Actor Daniel Hugh Kelly is 59. Folk singer-songwriter Sam Baker is 57. Actress Rosanna Arquette is 52. Actor Antonio Banderas is 51. Rock musician Jon Farriss (INXS) is 50. Singer Julia Fordham is 49. Journalist-blogger Andrew Sullivan is 48. Singer Neneh Cherry is 47. Singer Aaron Hall is 47. Boxer Riddick Bowe is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lorraine Pearson (Five Star) is 44. Singer-producer Michael Bivins is 43. Actor-writer Justin Theroux is 40. Actress Angie Harmon is 39. Country singer Jennifer Hanson is 38. Actress JoAnna Garcia is 32. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nikki Bratcher (Divine) is 31. Actor Ryan Eggold is 27. Actor Lucas Till is 21.

Thought for today: "It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig." -- George Santayana, Spanish-born philosopher (1863-1952)

[Associated Press]

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