August 19th

Today's Highlight in History:
On August 19th, 1812, the USS "Constitution" defeated the British frigate "Guerriere" east of Nova Scotia during the War of 1812.

On this date:
In 1848, the New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California.

In 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler.

In 1929, the comedy program "Amos and Andy," starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, made its network radio debut on NBC.

In 1942, about 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a disastrous raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France, suffering about 50-percent casualties.

In 1955, severe flooding in the Northeast claimed some 200 lives.

In 1960, a tribunal in Moscow convicted American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers of espionage.

In 1976, President Ford won the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Kansas City.

In 1977, comedian Groucho Marx died in Los Angeles at age 86.

In 1980, 301 people aboard a Saudi Arabian L-1011 died as the jetliner made a fiery emergency landing at the Riyadh airport.

In 1994, President Clinton abruptly halted the nation's three-decade open-door policy for Cuban refugees.

Ten years ago: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein offered to free all foreigners detained in Iraq and Kuwait provided the United States promise to withdraw its forces from Saudi Arabia and guarantee that an international economic embargo would be lifted.

Five years ago: Three top US diplomats heading to peace talks in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, were killed when their armored vehicle plunged off a muddy road and exploded.

One year ago: Confronting questions about possible past drug use, Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush told reporters he had not used illegal drugs in 25 years, and added that if voters insisted on knowing more -- quote -- "they can go find somebody else to vote for."

"One can live in the shadow of an idea without grasping it."

-- Elizabeth Bowen, Irish author (1899-1973).