Today is the 228th day of 2012 and the 57th day of summer.
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TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1483, the Vatican's Sistine Chapel was inaugurated.
In 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened.
In 1947, India and Pakistan won independence from Britain.
In 2003, Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and agreed to pay reparations.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), French emperor; Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), poet/novelist; Ethel Barrymore (1879-1959), actress; Julia Child (1912-2004), TV personality; Debra Messing (1968- ), actress, Ben Affleck (1972- ), actor; Jennifer Lawrence (1990- ), actress.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1948, Babe Didrikson Zaharias won the third women's golf U.S. Open, even after missing a 5-foot putt on the 18th hole.
TODAY'S FACT: India and Pakistan went to war in 1947 over the area of Kashmir. The territory continues to be disputed today and is one of the oldest unresolved border conflicts in the world.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous." -- Napoleon Bonaparte
TODAY'S NUMBER: 56,307 -- persons who were employed on the construction of the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1913.
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Aug. 9) and new moon (Aug. 17).