[Sirius]

On This Day: August 13

Today is Wednesday, August 13, 2008. This is the 226th day of the year, with 140 days remaining in 2008.

Fact of the Day: renaissance

"The Renaissance is the name of an important artistic and scientific period that began about 1400 and went on for 200 years in Italy and, eventually, all of Europe. Renaissance means rebirth and this period was a time when scholars revived interest in learning and the arts of ancient Greece and Rome. People began to think of new ideas and develop art techniques, the sciences, architecture, and inventions. They looked for new lands and trade routes -- and their ideas and thirst for learning spread, especially through the new technology of printing. Important artists of the Renaissance were Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Cellini, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Important scientists were Copernicus and Galileo and philosophers were Machiavelli and Erasmus. Important writers were Montaigne, Shakespeare, and Cervantes. Columbus made his famous discoveries during this time. The most important philosophy developed was called humanism -- a new way of thinking that challenged the authority of the church and allowed scientists, artists, and scholars to produce their own ideas. The people of the Renaissance looked for new explanations, new ways of doing things, new interpretations of writings, new ways of building their homes and public buildings."

Holidays

Feast day of St. Simplician of Milan, St. Radegund, St. Wigbert, St. Pontian, pope, St. Benildus, St. Hippolytus of Rome, St. Narses Klaietus, St. Cassian of Imola, and St. Maximus the Confessor.

Central African Republic: Independence Day.

Tunisia: Women's Day.

Events

1521 - Present day Mexico City was captured by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez from the Aztec Indians.

1704 - The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.

1792 - French revolutionaries took the entire French royal family and imprisoned them.

1784 - The United States Legislature met for the final time in Annapolis, MD.

1846 - The American Flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles, CA.

1867 - "Under the Gaslight", by Augustin Daly, opened in New York City, NY.

1876 - The Reciprocity Treaty between the U.S. and Hawaii was ratified.

1889 - A patent for a coin-operated telephone was issued to William Gray.

1907 - The first taxicab started on the streets of New York City.

1912 - The first experimental radio license was issued to St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, PA.

1931 - The first community hospital in the U.S. was dedicated in Elk City, OK.

1932 - Adolf Hitler refused to take the post of vice-chancellor of Germany. He said he was going to hold out "for all or nothing."

1934 - Al Capp's comic strip "L'il Abner" made its debut in newspapers.

1935 - The first roller derby match was held at the Coliseum in Chicago, IL.

1942 - Walt Disney's "Bambi" opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, NY.

1959 - In New York, ground was broken on the $320 million Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

1960 - "Echo I," a balloon satellite, allowed the first two-way telephone conversation by satellite to take place.

1961 - Berlin was divided by a barbed wire fence to halt the flight of refugees. Two days later work on the Berlin Wall began.

1978 - In a Palestinian area of Beirut, Lebanon, a bomb killed 100 people.

1979 - Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals got his 3,000th career hit.

1985 - The engagement of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenagger was announced.

1986 - United States Football League standout Herschel Walker signed to play with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.

1989 - The wreckage of Texas Congressman Mickey Leland's plane was found a week after disappearing in Ethiopia. There were no survivors of the 16 passengers.

1990 - Iraq transferred $3-4 billion in bullion, currency, and other goods seized from Kuwait to Baghdad.

1990 - Magic Johnson announced the indefinite postponement of his wedding to fiancé Earletha Kelly.

1992 - Woody Allen began legal action to win custody of his three children. A judge ruled against Allen in 1993.

1992 - A gunmen dressed in military fatigues shot and killed three people and wounded four others before killing himself. The shootings took place in a plant nursery in Watsonville, CA.

1994 - It was reported that aspirin not only helps reduce the risk of heart disease, but also helps prevent colon cancer.

2004 - Lebanon criticized French efforts to ban the militant group Hezbollah's television station, saying the channel may be anti-Israeli but it is not anti-Semitic.

2006 - After a stormy debate, Israel's Cabinet approved a Mideast cease-fire, agreeing to silence the army's guns on Aug 14 at 8AM. The Israeli military embarked on a last-minute push to devastate Hezbollah guerrillas, rocketing south Beirut with at least 20 missiles. Israeli warplanes fired missiles into gasoline stations in the southern port city of Tyre, killing at least 12 people in those and other attacks. Hezbollah fired more than 150 rockets at northern Israel, killing an Israeli man. Two Israeli air raids on a village in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley killed at least seven people and wounded nearly two dozen.

Births

1818 - Lucy Stone, women's rights activist, who founded American Suffrage Association.

1860 - Annie Oakley (Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee), American sharpshooter, performer.

1888 - John Baird, Scottish television pioneer.

1899 - Alfred Hitchcock, British filmmaker, director.

1912 - Ben Hogan, American golf champion.

1926 - Fidel Castro (Ruz), Cuban revolutionary, leader.

Deaths

1995 - Mickey Mantle, Hall of Fame baseball player for the New York Yankees.

2004 - Julia Child, Emmy Award-winning chef and television personality.