Today In History
Today is Friday, July 29, the 211th day of 2016. There are 155 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
1914: Transcontinental telephone service in the U.S. became operational with the first test conversation between New York and San Francisco.
ON THIS DATE
1588: The English attacked the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines, resulting in an English victory. 1921: Adolf Hitler became the leader (“fuehrer”) of the National Socialist German Workers Party. 1948: Britain’s King George VI opened the Olympic Games in London.
1958: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA.
1967: An accidental rocket launch aboard the supercarrier USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin resulted in a fire and explosions that killed 134 servicemen.
1975: President Gerald R. Ford became the first U.S. president to visit the site of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland.
1981: Britain’s Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in a glittering ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. (The couple divorced in 1996.)
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Comedian “Professor” Irwin Corey is 102. Former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum-Baker is 84. Actor Robert Fuller is 83. Former Sen. Elizabeth H. Dole is 80. Actor David Warner is 75. Actress Roz Kelly is 74. Actor Mike Starr is 66. Documentary maker Ken Burns is 63. Style guru Tim Gunn (TV: “Project Runway”) is 63. Rock singer-musician Geddy Lee (Rush) is 63. Rock singer Patti Scialfa (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) is 63. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nellie Kim is 59. Actor Kevin Chapman is 54. Actress Alexandra Paul is 53. Actor/ comedian Dean Haglund (TV: “The X Files”) is 51. Country singer Martina McBride is 50. Rock musician Chris Gorman is 49. Rhythm-and-blues singer Wanya Morris (Boyz II Men) is 43. Country singer-songwriter James Otto is 43. Actor Stephen Dorff is 43. Actor Josh Radnor is 42. Hip-hop DJ/music producer Danger Mouse is 39. Actress Rachel Miner is 36. Actress Allison Mack is 34. Actress Kaitlyn Black is 33. Actor Matt Prokop is 26.