TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, JULY 7, the 188th day of 2019. There are 177 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1846, U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterrey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.
In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War erupted into full-scale conflict as Imperial Japanese forces attacked the Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing.
In 1948, six female U.S. Navy reservists became the first women to be sworn in to the regular Navy.
In 1954, Elvis Presley made his radio debut as Memphis, Tennessee, station WHBQ played his first recording for Sun Records, “That’s All Right.”
In 1963, a Navy jet fighter from Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Pennsylvania crashed into a picnic area, killing seven people; the pilot, who ejected, survived.
In 1969, Canada’s House of Commons gave final approval to the Official Languages Act, making French equal to English throughout the national government. In 1976, The United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time when 119 women joined the Class of 1980.
In 1990, the first “Three Tenors” concert took place as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed in Rome.
In 2004, former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was indicted on criminal charges related to the energy company’s collapse.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 92. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough is 86. Rock star Ringo Starr is 79. Comedian Bill Oddie is 78. Actor Joe Spano is 73. Actress Shelley Duvall is 70. Actor Robert Taylor is 59. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 56. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan and rhythm-and-blues musician Ricky Kinchen (Mint Condition) are 53. Actresses Amy Carlson and Jorja Fox are 51. Actresses Cree Summer and Robin Weigert are 50. Actress Berenice Bejo and actor Hamish Linklater are 43. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan is 39. Actor Ross Malinger is 35. Actor-comedian Luke Null (“Saturday Night Live”) is 29. Pop musician Ashton Irwin is 25. Country singer Maddie Marlow (Maddie and Tae) is 24.