Today in history: August 23

updated 12:07 a.m. ET Aug. 23, 2005

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 23, the 235th day of 2005. There are 130 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 23, 1927, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery. (Sacco and Vanzetti were vindicated in 1977 by Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.)

On this date:
In 1754, France’s King Louis XVI was born at Versailles.

In 1914, Japan declared war against Germany in World War I.

In 1926, silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31.

In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty.

In 1944, Romanian prime minister Ion Antonescu was dismissed by King Michael, paving the way for Romania to abandon the Axis in favor of the Allies.

In 1960, Broadway librettist Oscar Hammerstein II died in Doylestown, Pa.

In 1972, the Republican national convention, meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., nominated President Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew for a second term.

In 1979, Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defected while the Bolshoi Ballet was on tour in New York.

In 1982, Lebanon’s parliament elected Christian militia leader Bashir Gemayel president. (However, Gemayel was assassinated some three weeks later.)

In 1989, in a case that inflamed racial tensions in New York City, Yusuf Hawkins, a 16-year-old black youth, was shot dead after he and his friends were confronted by white youths in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.

Ten years ago: During a memorial service at Fort Myer, Va., President Clinton eulogized three U.S. diplomats killed in a road accident near Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and vowed to carry on the struggle for peace in the Balkans. Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt died on Martha’s Vineyard at age 96.

Five years ago: A Gulf Air Airbus crashed into the Persian Gulf near Bahrain, killing all 143 people aboard. Negotiators for Verizon and more than 35,000 telephone workers reached tentative agreement on a new contract, ending 18-day strike. An estimated 51 million viewers tuned in for the finale of CBS’ reality series “Survivor,” in which contestant Richard Hatch won the $1 million prize.

One year ago: President Bush criticized a commercial that had accused Democrat John Kerry of inflating his own Vietnam War record, more than a week after the ad stopped running, and said broadcast attacks by outside groups had no place in the race for the White House. In Athens, Jeremy Wariner became the sixth consecutive American to win the Olympic title in the 400 meters, leading a U.S. sweep of the medals. The U.S. softball team won its third straight gold medal with a 5-1 victory over Australia.

Today’s Birthdays: Movie director Robert Mulligan is 80. Actress Vera Miles is 75. Political satirist Mark Russell is 73. Actress Barbara Eden is 71. Actor Richard Sanders is 65. Ballet dancer Patricia McBride is 63. Former Surgeon General Antonia Novello is 61. Country singer Rex Allen Jr. is 58. Singer Linda Thompson is 58. Actress Shelley Long is 56. Actor-singer Rick Springfield is 56. Country singer-musician Woody Paul (Riders in the Sky) is 56. Queen Noor of Jordan is 54. Actor-producer Mark Hudson is 54. Rock musician Dean DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots) is 44. Country musician Ira Dean (Trick Pony) is 36. Actor Jay Mohr is 35. Rock singer Julian Casablancas (The Strokes) is 27.

Thought for Today: “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.” — Althea Gibson, American tennis champion (1927-2003).

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