Today In History

Today is Saturday, July 20, the 201st day of 2019. There are 164 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1969: Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching the surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.

ON THIS DATE

› 1861: The Congress of the Confederate States convened in Richmond, Virginia.

› 1944: An attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.

› 1960: A pair of Polaris missiles were fired from the submerged USS George Washington off Cape Canaveral, Florida, at a target more than 1,100 miles away.

› 1968: The first International Special Olympics Summer Games, organized by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, were held at Soldier Field in Chicago.

› 1976: America’s Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.

› 1977: A flash flood hit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage. The U.N. Security Council voted to admit Vietnam to the world body.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actress-singer Sally Ann Howes is 89. Author Cormac McCarthy is 86. Rockabilly singer Sleepy LaBeef is 84. Former Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 83. Actress Diana Rigg is 81. Singer Kim Carnes is 74. Rock musician Carlos Santana is 72. Rock musician Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister) is 67. Rock musician Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols, Man Raze) is 63. Actress Donna Dixon is 62. Rock musician Mick McNeil (Simple Minds) is 61. Country singer Radney Foster is 60. Actor Frank Whaley is 56. Actor Dean Winters is 55. Singer Vitamin C is 50. Actress Sandra Oh is 48. Actor Omar Epps is 46. Actor Simon Rex is 45. Actress Judy Greer is 44. Actor Charlie Korsmo is 41. Singer Elliott Yamin (American Idol) is 41. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 39. Rock musician Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects) is 39. Actor Percy Daggs III is 37. Country singer Hannah Blaylock (Edens Edge) is 33. Dancer-singer-actress Julianne Hough is 31. Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is 31. Actress Billi Bruno is 23.