TODAY IN HISTORY

the 219th day of 2018. There are 146 days left in the year. On this date in 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.

In 1782, Gen. George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart to recognize merit in enlisted men and noncommissioned officers.

In 1789, the U.S. Department of War was established by Congress.

In 1942, U.S. and other allied forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II. (Japanese forces abandoned the island the following February.)

In 1959, the United States launched the Explorer 6 satellite, which sent back images of Earth.

In 1989, a plane carrying U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 14 others disappeared over Ethiopia. (The wreckage was found six days later; there were no survivors.)

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the kingdom against a possible invasion by Iraq.

In 1998, terrorist bombs at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

In 2000, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore selected Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman as his running mate; Lieberman became the first Jew on a major party’s presidential ticket. In 2007, San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit home run No. 756 to break Hank Aaron’s storied record with one out in the fifth inning of a game against the Washington Nationals, who won, 8-6.

In 2010, Elena Kagan was sworn in as the 112th justice and fourth woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Magician, author and lecturer James Randi is 90. Former MLB pitcher Don Larsen is 89. Humorist Garrison Keillor is 76. Singer Lana Cantrell is 75. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller and actor John Glover are 74. Former diplomat, talk show host and activist Alan Keyes is 68. Comedian Alexei Sayle is 66. Actor Wayne Knight is 63. Actor David Duchovny is 58. Country musician Michael Mahler (Wild Horses) is 57. Jazz musician Marcus Roberts is 55. Actor David Mann is 52. Actress Sydney Penny is 47. Actor Michael Shannon is 44. Actress Charlize Theron is 43. Rock musician Barry Kerch (Shinedown) is 42. Actor Randy Wayne is 37. Actor-writer Brit Marling is 36. Actor Liam James is 22.