Associated Press
Today in History: Tuesday, August 18, 2015
On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the right of women to vote, was ratified when Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.
On this date in:
1227- The Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan died.
1587- Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents to be born on American soil, on what is now Roanoke Island, N.C.
1846- U.S. forces led by Gen. Stephen W. Kearny captured Santa Fe, N.M.
1914- President Woodrow Wilson issued his Proclamation of Neutrality, aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.
1963- James Meredith became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
1969- The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, N.Y., concluded with a mid-morning set by Jimi Hendrix.
1983- Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 22 dead and causing more than a billion dollars in damage.
1988- Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle was nominated as George H.W. Bush’s running mate during the Republican National Convention in New Orleans.
1991- Soviet hard-liners launched a coup aimed at toppling President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who was vacationing in the Crimea.
1997- Virginia Military Institute admitted a female student for the first time in its 158-year history.
2005- A judge in Wichita, Kan., sentenced BTK serial killer Dennis Rader to 10 consecutive life terms.
2008- Pervez Musharraf resigned as the president of Pakistan amid efforts by opposition lawmakers to seek his impeachment.
Today’s Birthdays:
Comedian Andy Samberg (“Saturday Night Live”) turns 37 years old today.
Rosalynn Carter, Former first lady, 88
Roman Polanski, Director, 82
Robert Redford, Actor, 78
Martin Mull, Actor, 72
Elayne Boosler, Comedian, 63
Denis Leary, Actor, comedian (“Rescue Me”), 58
Madeleine Stowe, Actress, 57
Timothy Geithner, Former treasury secretary, 54
Bob Woodruff, Broadcast journalist, 54
Craig Bierko, Actor, 51
Christian Slater, Actor, 46
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Actor (“The Cosby Show”), 45
Kaitlin Olson, Actress (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), 40
Actor Edward Norton turns 46 years old today.