Today is the 225th day of 2016 and the 54th 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; Michael Ian Black (1971- ), actor; Pete Sampras (1971- ), tennis player; Casey Affleck (1975- ), actor.

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: "Marriage felt like a fading American institution, as relevant to me as the Elks Club. Plus, I considered myself punk rock, and punk rockers don't believe in boring societal conventions like marriage. We prefer boring societal conventions like punk rock." -- Michael Ian Black, "You're Not Doing It Right"

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 first quarter moon (Aug. 10) and full moon (Aug. 18).

Today is the 224th day of 2016 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- ), 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: "You're trying to escape from your difficulties, and there never is any escape from difficulties, never. They have to be faced and fought." -- Enid Blyton, "Six Cousins at Mistletoe Farm"

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

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 10) and full moon (Aug. 18).

Today is the 223rd day of 2016 and the 52nd 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: $585.3 billion -- estimated Department of Defense budget for the 2016 fiscal year.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Aug. 10).