On this date

war In 1914, against Austria-Hungary Russia and Serbia declared declared war against Germany. In the 1926, first Gertrude woman to Ederle swim the became English Channel, arriving in Kingsdown, England, from France in 141⁄2 hours. In 1962, Jamaica, formerly ruled by Britain, became an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. In 1973, entertainer Stevie Wonder was seriously injured in a car accident in North Carolina. In 1978, Pope Paul VI died at Castel Gandolfo at age 80. In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice by a Senate vote of 68-31. Ten years ago: The government declared that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was solely responsible for the anthrax attacks that killed five and rattled the nation in 2001. (Ivins had committed suicide on July 29.) Five years ago: U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan went on trial at Fort Hood, Texas, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 attack. (Hasan, who admitted carrying out the attack, was convicted and sentenced to death.)

One year ago: Vice President Mike Pence, in a statement released by the White House, described as “disgraceful and offensive” a New York Times report suggesting that he was laying the groundwork for a possible presidential bid in 2020 if President Donald Trump does not run.