Women who made History…TODAY

1996 Aug 26, Barbara Jewell, mother of security guard Richard Jewell, tearfully called on President Clinton to clear her son’s name in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Jewell was later cleared by the Justice Department.1999 Aug 26, Attorney General Janet Reno pledged that a new investigation of the 1993 Waco, Texas, siege would “get to the bottom” of how the FBI used potentially flammable tear gas grenades against her wishes and then took six years to admit it.2004 Aug 26, MIT named Yale neuroscientist Susan Hockfield as its new president, the 1st woman to ever hold that job 2004 Aug 26, Laura Branigan (b.1957), a Grammy-nominated pop singer best known for her 1982 platinum hit “Gloria,” died in East Quogue, N.Y.2004 Aug 26, At the Athens Olympics, the US women’s soccer team won the gold medal by beating Brazil, 2-1, in overtime; Shawn Crawford led a U.S. sweep of the 200 meters.2005 Aug 26, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled that President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s final term expires in December, ending her controversial 11-year reign and clearing the way for a vote before November 21.2008 Aug 26, In the 2nd day of the Democratic Convention in Denver Sen. Hillary Clinton endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the US presidential nomination.2009 Aug 26, Ellie Greenwich (b.1940), songwriter, died. Her string of hits in the 1960s included “Da Doo Ron Ron” (1963), “Chapel of Love” (1964) and “Be My Baby” (1963). Many of her songs were done in collaboration with producer Phil Spector and her husband Jeff Barry. 2010 Aug 26, In Germany Nadja Benaissa (28), a member of girl group No Angels, broke down in tears after a German court handed her a two-year suspended sentence for infecting a former sex partner with the AIDS HIV virus.2010 Aug 26, A Sri Lankan housemaid, L. T. Ariyawathi (49), was admitted to a hospital and planned to undergo surgery to remove 24 nails embedded in her body. Ariyawathi said her employer in Saudi Arabia had inflicted the injuries on her as a punishment. The woman traveled to Saudi Arabia in March and returned home last week, complaining of abuse by her employer.