Today is Wednesday, Aug. 15, the 227th day of 2018. There are 138 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On August 15, 1945, in a prerecorded radio address, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced that his country had accepted terms of surrender for ending World War II.
On this date
In 1483, the Sistine Chapel was consecrated by Pope Sixtus IV.
In 1812, the Battle of Fort Dearborn took place as Potawatomi warriors attacked a U.S. military garrison of about 100 people. (Most of the garrison was killed, while those who remained were taken prisoner.)
In 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened as the SS Ancon crossed the just-completed waterway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
In 1935, humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post were killed when their airplane crashed near Point Barrow in the Alaska Territory.
In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces landed in southern France in Operation Dragoon.
In 1947, India became independent after some 200 years of British rule.
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