ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC
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Today is the 224th day of 2024 and the 53rd 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 (1925-2021), actress; Steve Wozniak (1950- ), Apple co-founder; Hulk Hogan (1953- ), wrestler/actor; David Brooks (1961- ), journalist; Viola Davis (1965- ), actress; Joe Rogan (1967- ), comedian/podcast host; Anna Gunn (1968- ), actress; Chris Hemsworth (1983- ), actor; Pablo Sandoval (1986- ), baseball player.
TODAY'S FACT: The Mall of America, which opened in Bloomington, 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' 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: "In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage -- to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness." -- Alex Haley
TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,545 -- federal prisoners interned at Alcatraz during its 29-year use as a prison.
TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Aug. 4) and first quarter moon (Aug. 12).