TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2012

Today is Tuesday, August 21, the 234th day of 2012. There are 132 days left in the year.

1959 ― Hawaii becomes 50th U.S. state

1963 ― Martial law declared in South Vietnam

1968 ― After five years, Russia once again jams Voice of America radio

1968 ― Radio Prague (Czech) at 12:50 a.m. announces a soviet led invasion. Warsaw Pact forces enter Czechoslovakia to end reform movement

1968 ― William Dana reaches 80 km (last high-altitude X-15 flight)

1972 ― First hot air balloon flight over the Alps

1986 ― Lake Nios Volcanic eruption in Cameroon releases poison gas, killing 1,746

1988 ― Cease fire between Iran and Iraq takes effect after eight years of war

1989 ― Voyager 2 begins a flyby of the planet Neptune

1991 ― Communist coup is crushed in USSR in two days