SaturdayHistory
By Andrews McMeel Syndicate
Today is the 219th day of 2021 and the 49th day of summer.
TODAY’S HISTORY:
— In 1789, the U.S. Department of War was established.
— In 1942, the U.S. 1st Marine Division landed on the island of Guadalcanal, marking the first major American offensive of World War II.
— In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in response to reported Vietnamese attacks.
— In 1998, U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya were bombed.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Ralph Bunche (1904-1971), activist/Nobel laureate; Tobin Bell (1942-), actor; Garrison Keillor (1942-), writer/entertainer; Wayne Knight (1955-), actor; David Duchovny (1960-), actor; Harold Perrineau (1963-), actor; Jimmy Wales (1966-), Wikipedia co-founder; Michael Shannon (1974-), actor; Charlize Theron (1975-), actress; Sidney Crosby (1987-), hockey player; Mike Trout (1991-), baseball player.
TODAY’S FACT: In 1947, Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl and his crew of five crashed into a reef at Raroia, near Tahiti, aboard their balsa wood raft, Kon-Tiki. The 4,300-mile, 101-day voyage from Peru was undertaken to prove that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian Islands.
TODAY’S SPORTS: In 2007, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 756th career home run, surpassing the record set by Hank Aaron.
TODAY’S QUOTE: “I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.” — Garrison Keillor
TODAY’S NUMBER: 1,368 — height (in feet) of the wire suspended between the World Trade Center towers and walked by French high-wire artist Philippe Petit on this day in 1974. Petit walked back and forth, sat and even danced on the 200-foot-long wire for 45 minutes before surrendering to police.
TODAY’S MOON: Between last quarter moon (July 31) and new moon (Aug. 8).
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