Today's Highlights:
Sunday, August 21, 2005
| Sunday, August 21, 2005 |
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| Oahu Beach, Hawaii | |
| View Poster |
Spotlight: Hawaii became the 50th – and final, so far – state in the US on this date in 1959. What Mark Twain once referred to as "the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean," Hawaii is a group of eight islands and many islets in the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only US state located in the tropics, the only one with no territory on the mainland, and the only state that continues to grow in area, due to active lava flows.
Today in History:
- Lincoln-Douglas debates: began in Illinois Senate race; slavery and states' rights were the main issues (1858)
- Mona Lisa: stolen from the Louvre (1911); it was recovered 2 years later; the thief served 7 months
- Leon Trotsky: Soviet revolutionary died of wounds inflicted by a Stalinist assassin with an ice axe (1940)
Today's Birthdays:
- Wilt Chamberlain: basketball star who holds record for most points (100) in one game (1939-1999)
- Kim Cattrall: actor, Sex and the City (49)
- Hua Mei: giant panda born in San Diego Zoo (6)
Click for previous days' Highlights.
