This day in history

[August 18, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Aug. 18, the 230th day of 2011. There are 135 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 18, 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.

On this date:

In 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.)

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 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 1961, federal appeals court Judge Learned Hand, 89, died in New York.

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 1981, author and screenwriter Anita Loos ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes") died in New York at age 93.

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: Fire broke out at a budget hotel outside Manila, killing 75 people.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush criticized a federal court ruling the day before that his warrantless wiretapping program was unconstitutional, declaring that opponents "do not understand the nature of the world in which we live." Financially struggling Ford Motor Co. said it would temporarily halt production at ten assembly plants.

One year ago: General Motors filed the first batch of paperwork to sell stock to the public again, a significant step to shed U.S. government ownership a year after the automaker had filed for bankruptcy. A bull leapt into the packed grandstands of a bullring in northern Spain and ran amok, charging and trampling spectators and leaving dozens of people injured.

Today's birthdays: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is 84. Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski is 78. Attorney and author Vincent Bugliosi is 77. Olympic gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson is 76. Actor-director Robert Redford is 75. Actor Christopher Jones is 70. Actor Henry G. Sanders is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sarah Dash (LaBelle) is 68. Actor-comedian Martin Mull is 68. Rock musician Dennis Elliott is 61. Comedian Elayne Boosler is 59. Country singer Steve Wilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 56. Actor Denis Leary is 54. Actress Madeleine Stowe is 53. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (GYT'-nur) is 50. ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff is 50. The president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, is 49. Bluegrass musician Jimmy Mattingly is 49. Actor Adam Storke is 49. Actor Craig Bierko (BEER'-koh) is 47. Rock singer-musician Zac Maloy (The Nixons) is 43. Rock singer and hip-hop artist Everlast is 42. Rapper Masta Killa (Wu-Tang Clan) is 42. Actor Christian Slater is 42. Actor Edward Norton is 42. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 41. Actress Kaitlin Olson is 36. Actor-writer-director Hadjii is 35. Rock musician Dirk Lance is 35. Actor-comedian Andy Samberg (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 33. Actress Mika Boorem is 24. Actress Parker McKenna Posey is 16.

Thought for today: "Memory is more indelible than ink." -- Anita Loos (1888-1981)

[Associated Press]

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