TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS MONDAY, JULY 10, the 191st day of 2017. There are 174 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On July 10, 1967, country singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry recorded her hit single “Ode to Billie Joe” at Capitol Records in Hollywood.
In A.D. 138, Roman Emperor Hadrian, responsible for the construction of opulent temples as well as the barrier in northern Britain known as Hadrian’s Wall, died at age 62.
In 1509, theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Noyon, Picardy, France.
In 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state.
In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson personally delivered the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate and urged its ratification. (However, the Senate rejected it.)
In 1925, jury selection took place in Dayton, Tennessee, in the trial of John T. Scopes, charged with violating the law by teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. (Scopes was convicted and fined, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.)
In 1940, during World War II, the Battle of Britain began as the Luftwaffe started attacking southern England. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.)
In 1951, armistice talks aimed at ending the Korean War began at Kaesong.
In 1962, AT&T’s Telstar 1 communications satellite, capable of relaying television signals and telephone calls, was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral.
In 1973, the Bahamas became fully independent after three centuries of British colonial rule. John Paul Getty III, the teenage grandson of the oil tycoon, was abducted in Rome by kidnappers who cut off his ear when his family was slow to meet their ransom demands. (Getty was released in December 1973 for nearly $3 million.)
In 1985, the Greenpeace protest ship Rainbow Warrior was sunk with explosives in Auckland, New Zealand, by French intelligence agents; one activist was killed. Bowing to pressure from irate customers, the Coca-Cola Co. said it would resume selling old-formula Coke, while continuing to sell New Coke.
In 1991, Boris N. Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first elected president of the Russian republic. President George H.W. Bush lifted economic sanctions against South Africa.
In 1999, the United States women’s soccer team won the World Cup, beating China 5-4 on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of scoreless play at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Former boxer Jake LaMotta is 96. Former New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins is 90. Actor William Smithers is 90. Broadway composer Jerry Herman is 86. Director Ivan Passer is 84. Actor Lawrence Pressman and singer Mavis Staples are 78. Actor Mills Watson is 77. Actor Robert Pine is 76. Rock musician Jerry Miller (Moby Grape) is 74. International Tennis Hall of Famer Virginia Wade is 72. Actress Sue Lyon is 71. Folk singer Arlo Guthrie is 70. Rock musician Dave Smalley is 68. Country-folk singersongwriter Cheryl Wheeler is 66. Rock singer Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) is 63. Banjo player Bela Fleck is 59. Country musician Shaw Wilson (BR549) is 57. Bluegrass singer-musician Tim Surrett (Balsam Range) is 54. Actor Alec Mapa, country singer-songwriter Ken Mellons and rock musician Peter DiStefano (Porno for Pyros) are 52. Actor Gale Harold is 48. Country singer Gary LeVox (Rascal Flatts) is 47. Actor Aaron D. Spears is 46. Actress Sofia Vergara is 45. Rockabilly singer Imelda May is 43. Actor Adrian Grenier is 41. Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and actress Gwendoline Yeo are 40. Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas and Singer-actress Jessica Simpson are 37. Rock musician John Spiker is 36. Actress Heather Hemmens is 33. Actress Emily Skeggs (TV: “When We Rise”) is 27. Rapper/singer Angel Haze is 26. Pop singer Perrie Edwards (Little Mix) is 24.