TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, JULY 11, the 193rd day of 2020. There are 173 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)
In 1533, Pope Clement VII issued a bull of excommunication against England’s King Henry VIII for the annulment of the king’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon and subsequent marriage to second wife Anne Boleyn.
In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally reestablished by a congressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.
In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.
In 1915, the Chicago Sunday Tribune ran an article titled, “Blues Is Jazz and Jazz Is Blues.” (It’s believed to be one of the earliest, if not the earliest, uses of the word “jazz” as a musical term by a newspaper.)
In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union began play in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Fischer won after 21 games.)
In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee released volumes of evidence it had gathered in its Watergate inquiry.
In 1979, the abandoned U.S. space station Skylab made a spectacular
return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.
In 2017, emails released by Donald Trump Jr. revealed that he’d been told before meeting with a Russian attorney during the presidential campaign that the Russian government had information that could “incriminate” Hillary Clinton. MSNBC “Morning Joe” host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough announced that he was leaving the Republican party, partly because of its loyalty to President Donald Trump.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Susan Seaforth Hayes is 77. Singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 73. Ventriloquist-actor Jay Johnson is 71. Actress Sela Ward is 64. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) and singer Peter Murphy are 63. Actor Mark Lester and jazz musician Kirk Whalum are 62. Singer Suzanne Vega and rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) are 61. Actress Lisa Rinna is 57. Rock musician Scott Shriner (Weezer) is 55. Actress Debbe Dunning and actor Greg Grunberg are 54. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 53. Actor Justin Chambers is 50. Actress Leisha Hailey is 49. Actor Michael Rosenbaum is 48. Pop-rock singer Andrew Bird and country singer Scotty Emerick are 47. Rapper Lil’ Kim and actor Jon Wellner are 45. Rapper Lil’ Zane is 39. Pop-jazz singer-musician Peter Cincotti is 37. Actress Serinda Swan is 36. Actor Robert Adamson is 35. Actor David Henrie is 31. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 24.