Today Is Saturday, Aug. 13, The 225th Day Of 2011. There Are 140 Days Left In The Year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Aug. 13, 1961, Berlin was divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors and began building a wall that would stand for the next 2

8 years until it finally came down in 1989.

On this date:

In 1521, Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City, from the Aztecs.

In 1624, King Louis XIII of France appointed Cardinal Richelieu his first minister.

In 1704, the Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English-led forces over French and Bavarian soldiers.

In 1846, the American flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles.

In 1910, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London at age 90.

In 1934, the satirical comic strip “Li’l Abner,” created by Al Capp, made its debut.

In 1960, the first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1.

In 1981, in a ceremony at his California ranch, President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.

In 1989, searchers in Ethiopia found the wreckage of a plane which had disappeared almost a week earlier while carrying Texas Congressman Mickey Leland and 14 other people — there were no survivors.

Associated Press