FRIDAY,

AUGUST 27, 2021

Today is the 239th day of 2020 and the 69th day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1859, the first successful oil well in the United States was drilled by Edwin L. Drake near Titusville, Pennsylvania.

In 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which outlawed war and provided guidelines to peaceful conflict resolution, was signed by 15 nations in Paris.

In 1979, British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten and three others were killed in a boat explosion for which the Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility.

In 1999, the final crew left Russia’s Mir space station.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), philosopher; Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), novelist; Man Ray (1890-1976), artist/filmmaker; Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), 36th U.S. president; Ira Levin (1929-2007), author; Alice Coltrane (1937-2007), jazz musician; Paul Reubens (1952- ), actor; Cesar Millan (1969- ), dog trainer; Chan dra Wilson (1969- ), actress; Sarah Chalke (1976- ), actress; Aaron Paul (1979- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: The Valles Marineris canyon system on Mars, also known as the Mars Grand Canyon, stretches for 2,500 miles and is up to 4 miles deep.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1982, Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson stole his 119th base of the year, setting a new single-season record. He went on to steal three more bases by the end of the game and finished the season with 130 stolen bases, a record that still stands.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him.” -- Man Ray

TODAY’S NUMBER: 43,129,566 -- votes cast for Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election. Johnson won 61.1% of the popular vote over his opponent, Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, in the most lopsided win since James Monroe’s re-election in 1820.

TODAY’S MOON: Between full moon (Aug. 22) and last quarter moon (Aug. 30).

SATURDAY,

AUGUST 28, 2021

Today is the 240th day of 2020 and the 70th day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1867, the United States took possession of Midway Atoll.

In 1955, 14-year-old African American Emmett Till was murdered for flirting with a white woman in Money, Mississippi.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. made his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom event in Washington, D.C.

In 1968, protesters fought with police at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In 1996, Prince Charles and Princess Diana formally divorced.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), author; Bruno Bettelheim (1903- 1990), psychologist; Jack Kirby (1917-1994), writer/illustrator; Donald O’Connor (1925-2003), actor/performer; Ben Gazzara (1930- 2012), actor; Lou Piniella (1943- ), baseball player/manager; Luis Guzman (1956- ), actor; David Fincher (1962- ), film director; Shania Twain (1965- ), singer-songwriter; Jack Black (1969- ), actor; LeAnn Rimes (1982- ), singer-songwriter; Armie Hammer (1986- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: The first issue of Scientific American was published on this day in 1845.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1977, Brazilian soccer superstar Pele played in his last competitive game, leading his New York Cosmos team to a win over the Seattle Sounders 2-1 for the National American Soccer League championship.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “ I find it amoral if you’re making a movie where the problem is solved with a guy standing in the back of pickup truck firing a machine gun at the bad guys. The morality of it is questionable because the repercussions of violence are incredibly far-reaching.” -- David Fincher

TODAY’S NUMBER: 2.4 -- square miles of land that makes up Midway Atoll.

TODAY’S MOON: Between full moon (Aug. 22) and last quarter moon (Aug. 30).