Today is Friday, August 17, the 230th day of 2012. There are 136 days left in the year.
1877 ― Asaph Hall discovers Mars' moon Phobos
1933 ― Lou Gehrig breaks record by playing in his 1,308th straight game
1939 ― ``Wizard of Oz" opens at Loew's Capitol Theater in N.Y.
1942 ― U.S. bombers staged first independent raid on Europe attack Rouen, France
1950 ― Indonesia gains independence from the Netherlands
1958 ― World's first Moon probe, U.S.'s Thor-Able, explodes 77 seconds after takeoff
1962 ― East German border guards shot and kill Peter Fechter, 18, attempting to cross Berlin Wall into western sector
1962 ― Beatles replaces Pete Best with Ringo Starr
1978 ― First manned balloon crossing of Atlantic Ocean (Eagle II)
1990 ― Phyllis Polander sues Mike Tyson for sexual harassment