GMT 8-31-2018 TGIF

Today in History August 31

1864 At the Democratic convention in Chicago, General George B. McClellan is nominated for president.

1919 The Communist Labor Party is founded in Chicago, with the motto, "Workers of the world unite!"

1942 The British army under General Bernard Law Montgomery defeats Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps in the Battle of Alam Halfa in Egypt.

1961 A concrete wall replaces the barbed wire fence that separates East and West Germany, it will be called the Berlin wall.

1985 Police capture Richard Ramirez, dubbed the "Night Stalker" for a string of gruesome murders that stretched from Mission Viejo to San Francisco, Cal.

1990 East and West Germany sign the Treaty of Unification (Einigungsvertrag) to join their legal and political systems.

1994 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) announces a "complete cessation of military operations," opening the way to a political settlement in Ireland for the first time in a quarter of a century.

1997 Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a Paris car crash along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul while fleeing paparazzi.


Born on August 31

1903 Arthur Godfrey, radio and television personality.

1945 Van Morrison, Irish singer, songwriter.


Joke of the Day

Drink 'Till She's Cute
A man stopped at his favorite watering hole after a hard days work to relax. He noticed a man next to him ordered a shot and a beer. The man drank the shot, chased it with the beer and then looked into his shirt pocket. This continued several times before the man's curiosity got the best of him. He leaned over to the guy and said, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice your little ritual, why in the world do you look into your shirt pocket every time you drink your shot & beer"? The man replied, "There's a picture of my wife in there, and when she starts lookin' good, I'm headin' home"!