Today is Thursday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 1990. There are 137 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Aug. 16, 1977, the ``King'' of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley, died at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at the age of 42. On this date: In 1777, American forces won an important victory of the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Bennington, Vt. In 1812, Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812. In 1829, the original ``Siamese'' twins, Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston aboard the ship Sachem to be exhibited to the Western world. In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to U.S. President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid transatlantic cable. In 1861, President Lincoln prohibited the states of the Union from trading with the seceding states of the Confederacy. In 1894, labor leader George Meany was born, in New York City. In 1896, gold was found at Bonanza Creek, Alaska. In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York at the age of 53. In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic convention in Chicago. In 1960, Britain granted independence to the crown colony of Cyprus. In 1978, James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he'd been set up by a mysterious man called ``Raoul.'' In 1984, a federal jury in Los Angeles acquitted former automaker John Z. De Lorean of all eight counts in a $24 million cocaine conspiracy indictment. In 1987, 156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed while trying to take off from a Detroit airport; the sole survivor was 4-year-old Cecelia Cichan. In 1988, Vice President Bush tapped Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle to be his running mate, calling him ``a man of the future.'' Ten years ago: Thirty-seven people were killed when an arson fire roared through two adjoining social clubs in London. South Korean President Choi Kyu-hah resigned, paving the way for the election of General Chun Doo-hwan. Five years ago: One day after South African President P.W. Botha's speech in which he refused to endorse sweeping reforms, blacks and some whites expressed disappointment, with many preicting an escalation of violence. One year ago: A rare ``prime time'' lunar eclipse occurred over most of the United States, although clouds spoiled the view for many. Today's Birthdays: Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (bay'-gihn) is 77. Israeli Labor Party leader Shimon Peres (shee'-mohn) is 67. Actor Fess Parker is 65. Actress Ann Blyth is 62. Actor Robert Culp is 60. Sportscaster Frank Gifford is 60. Singer Eydie Gorme is 58. Actress Julie Newmar is 55. Actress Anita Gillette is 54. Actress Carole Shelley is 51. Actress Lesley Ann Warren is 44. Singer Madonna is 32. Actor Timothy Hutton is 30. Thought for Today: ``It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not.'' _ Andre Gide, French author and critic (1869-1951).
