Today is the 224th day of 2015 and the 53rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1898, Spain agreed to peace protocols with the United States, bringing an end to the Spanish-American war.

In 1898, the United States took formal possession of the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1953, the USSR detonated the first Soviet thermonuclear weapon.

In 1981, IBM announced the release of its first personal computer.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929), songwriter; Christy Mathewson (1880-1925), baseball player; Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959), film director/producer; Cantinflas (1911-1993), actor/filmmaker; William Goldman (1931- ), author/screenwriter; George Hamilton (1939- ), actor; Ann Martin (1955- ), author; Bruce Greenwood (1956- ), actor; Peter Krause (1965- ), actor; Pete Sampras (1971- ), tennis player; Casey Affleck (1975- ), actor; Plaxico Burress (1977- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: "Sue," one of the largest and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever found, was discovered in South Dakota on this day in 1990 by paleontologist Susan Hendrikson. The skeleton is now displayed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1994, Major League Baseball players began a 232-day strike that resulted in the first cancellation of the World Series since 1904.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "O beautiful for heroes proved / In liberating strife, / Who more than self their country loved, / And mercy more than life! / America! America! / May God thy gold refine, / Till all success be nobleness, / And every gain divine!" -- Katharine Lee Bates, "America the Beautiful"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 64,000 -- bytes (62.5 kilobytes) of memory available in the "typical system for home and school" offered in IBM's 1981 press release announcing the personal computer. The system retailed for $3,005.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Aug. 6) and new moon (Aug. 14).

Today is the 223rd day of 2015 and the 52nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1934, the first federal prisoners were incarcerated at the Alcatraz Island prison in San Francisco Bay.

In 1965, rioting began in the Watts district of Los Angeles.

In 1972, the last U.S. ground combat unit left South Vietnam.

In 2003, NATO took over command of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: David Atchison (1807-1886), legislator; Enid Blyton (1897-1968), children's author; Alex Haley (1921-1992), historian/author; Arlene Dahl (1925- ), actress; Steve Wozniak (1950- ), Apple co-founder; Hulk Hogan (1953- ), wrestler/actor; David Brooks (1961- ), journalist; Viola Davis (1965- ), actress; Joe Rogan (1967- ), actor/comedian; Anna Gunn (1968- ), actress; Chris Hemsworth (1983- ), actor; Pablo Sandoval (1986- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The Mall of America, which opened in Bloomfield, Minnesota, on this day in 1992, cost $650 million to build and generates more than $50 million in taxes for the state each year.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Carl Lewis replicated Jesse Owens's 1936 performance at the Summer Olympics by winning his fourth and final gold medal, all in the same track events Owens had won nearly 50 years earlier.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you love what you do and are willing to do what it takes, it's within your reach. And it'll be worth every minute you spend alone at night, thinking and thinking about what it is you want to design or build. It'll be worth it, I promise." -- Steve Wozniak

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,545 -- federal prisoners interned at Alcatraz during its 28-year use as a prison.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Aug. 6) and new moon (Aug. 14).

Today is the 222nd day of 2015 and the 51st day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1821, Missouri was admitted as the 24th U.S. state.

In 1846, Congress officially chartered the Smithsonian Institution.

In 1949, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act, which established a consolidated Department of Defense.

In 1977, postal employee David Berkowitz of Yonkers, New York, was arrested for the "Son of Sam" killings that left six dead.

In 2006, British authorities arrested 24 people suspected of plotting attacks on airplanes with liquid bombs smuggled in shampoo and water bottles.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), 31st U.S. president; Charles Darrow (1889-1967), Monopoly game inventor; Jack Haley (1898-1979), actor; Jimmy Dean (1928-2010), singer/actor/entrepreneur; Eddie Fisher (1928-2010), singer; Rosanna Arquette (1959- ), actress; Antonio Banderas (1960- ), actor; Suzanne Collins (1962- ), author; Gus Johnson (1967- ), sportscaster; Angie Harmon (1972- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The Smithsonian Institution estimates that about 95 percent of its collection is in storage rather than on display.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1981, Pete Rose got the 3,631st hit of his career, breaking the National League record for career hits held by Stan Musial.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Being a politician is a poor profession. Being a public servant is a noble one." -- Herbert Hoover

TODAY'S NUMBER: $560.4 billion -- estimated Department of Defense budget for the 2015 fiscal year.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Aug. 6) and new moon (Aug. 14).