Today is Monday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 2010. There are 137 days left in the year.

On this date:

In 1777, American forces won the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington.

In 1812, Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812.

In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

In 1894, George Meany, first president of the AFL-CIO, was born in the Bronx, New York.

In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York at age 53.

In 1954, Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.

In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In 1960, Britain ceded control of the crown colony of Cyprus.

In 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42.

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."

Thought for Today:

"The most persistent threat to freedom, to the rights of Americans, is fear." — George Meany (1894-1980).