Today is Wednesday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 2017. There are 137 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 42.
On this date:
In 1777, American forces won the Battle of Bennington in what was considered a turning point of the Revolutionary War.
In 1812, Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812.
In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.
In 1937, the American Federation of Radio Artists was chartered.
In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York at age 53.
In 1954, Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.
In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In 1967, Louis Armstrong recorded "What a Wonderful World" by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss for ABC Records.
In 1977, a judge in New York ruled that Renee Richards, a male-to-female transgender, had the right to compete in the U.S. Open without having to pass a sex chromosome test. (In the opening round of the Open, Richards lost to Virginia Wade in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4). The Debby Boone recording of "You Light Up My Life" by Joseph Brooks was released by Warner Bros./Curb Records.
In 1987, 156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed while trying to take off from Detroit; the sole survivor was 4-year-old Cecelia Cichan (SHEE'-an).
In 1987, people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," which heralded what believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.
In 1991, Pope John Paul II began the first-ever papal visit to Hungary.
