Today In History

Today is Friday, July 26, the 207th day of 2019. There are 158 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 2016: Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

ON THIS DATE

› 1775: The Continental Congress established a post office and appointed Benjamin Franklin its postmaster general.

› 1863: Sam Houston, former president of the Republic of Texas, died in Huntsville at age 70.

› 1908: U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte ordered creation of a force of special agents that was a forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

› 1925: Five days after the end of the Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, prosecutor William Jennings Bryan died at age 65. (Although Bryan had won a conviction against John T. Scopes for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, the verdict was later overturned.)

› 1990: President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.

› 2002: The Republican-led House voted, 295-132, to create an enormous Homeland Security Department in the biggest government reorganization in decades.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Robert Colbert is 88. Actress-singer Darlene Love is 78. Singer Brenton Wood is 78. Rock star Mick Jagger is

76. Movie director Peter Hyams is 76. Actress Helen Mirren is 74. Rock musician Roger Taylor (Queen) is 70. Actress Susan George is

69. Olympic gold medal figure skater Dorothy Hamill is 63. Rock singer Gary Cherone is 58. Actress Sandra Bullock is 55. Actor-comedian Danny Woodburn is 55. Rock singer Jim Lindberg (Pennywise) is 54. Rapper-reggae singer Wayne Wonder is 53. Actor Jason Statham is 52. Actor Cress Williams is 49. TV host Chris Harrison is 48. Actress Kate Beckinsale is 46. Actor Gary Owen is 46. Gospel/Contemporary Christian singer Rebecca St. James is 42. Actress Eve Myles is 41. Actress Juliet Rylance is

40. Actress Monica Raymund is 33. Actress Caitlin Gerard is 31. Actress Francia Raisa is 31. Christian rock musician Jamie Sharpe (Rush of Fools) is

30. Actress Bianca Santos is 29. Actress-singer Taylor Momsen is 26. Actress Elizabeth Gillies is 26.