Today’s highlight in history
On July 31, 1954, Pakistan’s K2 was conquered as two members of an Italian expedition, Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, reached the summit.
On this date In 1715,
a fleet of Spanish ships carrying gold, silver and jewelry sank during a hurricane off the east Florida coast; of some 2,500 crew members, more than 1,000 died.
In 1961,
IBM introduced its first Selectric typewriter with its distinctive “typeball.”
In 1964,
the American space probe Ranger 7 reached the moon, transmitting pictures back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface.
In 1971,
Apollo 15 crew members David Scott and James Irwin became the first astronauts to use a lunar rover on the surface of the moon.
In 1972,
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the ticket with George McGovern following disclosures that Eagleton had once undergone psychiatric treatment.
In 2002,
a bomb exploded inside a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, killing nine people, including five Americans.
In 2008,
scientists reported the Phoenix spacecraft had confirmed the presence of frozen water in Martian soil.
Ten years ago:
Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts returned to Earth, completing a long but successful construction job that boosted the size and power of the international space station.
The death toll from the worst recorded Ebola outbreak in history surpassed 700 in West Africa.
One year ago:
Jury selection began in the trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman; he was accused of failing to report tens of millions of dollars in Ukrainian political consulting fees. (Manafort was sentenced to a total of seven and ahalf years in prison after being convicted at trial in Virginia and pleading guilty in Washington to two conspiracy counts.)