Today is Friday, Aug. 18, the 230th day of 2006. There are 135 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History

On Aug. 18, 1846, U.S. forces led by General Stephen W. Kearny captured Santa Fe, N.M.

On This Date

In 1227, Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan died.

In 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents to be born on American soil, on what is now Roanoke Island, N.C. (However, the colony Virginia was born into ended up mysteriously disappearing.)

In 1894, Congress established the Bureau of Immigration.

In 1914, President Wilson issued his "Proclamation of Neutrality," aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.

In 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the right of all American women to vote.

In 1938, President Roosevelt dedicated the Thousand Islands Bridge connecting the United States and Canada.

In 1963, James Meredith became the first black to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

In 1976, two U.S. Army officers were killed in Korea's demilitarized zone as a group of North Korean soldiers wielding axes and metal pikes attacked U.S. and South Korean soldiers.

In 1982, for the first time, volume on the New York Stock exchange topped the 100 million level as 132.69 million shares were traded.

In 1983, Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 22 dead and causing more than $1 billion in damage.

Ten years ago: On the eve of his 50th birthday, President Clinton was guest of honor at a trio of events in New York that combined celebrating with fundraising. Ross Perot, the presidential nominee of the Reform Party, launched his campaign with a speech in which he criticized the Republican and Democratic parties as captives of "special interests."

Five years ago: Fire broke out at a budget hotel outside Manila, Philippines, killing 75 people.

One year ago: Cindy Sheehan, who'd started an anti-war demonstration near President Bush's Texas ranch nearly two weeks earlier, left the camp after learning her mother had suffered a stroke, but told supporters the protest would go on. A judge in Wichita, Kan., sentenced BTK serial killer Dennis Rader to 10 consecutive life terms, the maximum the law would allow. Pope Benedict XVI began his first foreign trip as pontiff in low-key style, returning to his "beloved" German homeland.

Today's Birthdays

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter is 79. Movie director Roman Polanski is 73. Actor Robert Redford is 69. Singer Johnny Preston is 67. Actor Christopher Jones is 65. Actor Henry G. Sanders is 64. Actor-comedian Martin Mull is 63. Singer Nona Hendryx is 61. Rock musician Dennis Elliott is 56. Actor Patrick Swayze is 54. Country singer Steve Wilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 51. Actor Denis Leary is 49. Actress Madeleine Stowe is 48. News anchor Bob Woodruff is 45. Actor Craig Bierko is 41. Rock singer-musician Zac Maloy (The Nixons) is 38. Hip-hop artist Everlast is 37. Actor Christian Slater is 37. Actor Edward Norton is 37. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 36. Actress Kaitlin Olson is 31. Rock musician Dirk Lance is 30. Actress Gwendoline Yeo is 26. Actor Mika Boorem is 18. Actress Parker McKenna Posey is 11.

Thought for Today

"The self-hatred that destroys is the waste of unfulfilled promise." -- Moss Hart, American playwright and director (1904-1961).