Today in History.....August 21

On this day in …

1858, the famous debates between senatorial contenders Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas began

1911, Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre Museum. (The painting turned up two years later, in Italy.)

1940, exiled Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky died in Mexico City from wounds inflicted by an assassin

1944, the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened talks at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington that helped pave the way for establishment of the United Nations

1945, President Truman ended the Lend-Lease program that had shipped some $50 billion in aid to America's allies during World War II

1959, President Eisenhower signed an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union, five months after he'd signed the Hawaiian statehood bill

1983, Philippine opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., ending a self-imposed exile in the United States, was shot dead moments after stepping off a plane at Manila International Airport

1986, more than 1,700 people died when toxic gas erupted from a volcanic lake in the West African nation of Cameroon

1991, the hard-line coup against Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev collapsed in the face of a popular uprising led by Russian federation President Boris N. Yeltsin

1996, President Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, aimed at making health insurance easier to obtain and keep

2001, Robert Tools, the first person to receive a self-contained artificial heart, was introduced to the public at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky., through a video link from his doctor's office.

ALSO: Federal authorities working with McDonald's announced they'd broken up a criminal ring that allegedly rigged the popular "Monopoly" and "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" games played by millions of the fast-food chain's customers over the previous six years