On this day, July 11

1804 Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, N.J. (Hamilton died the next day.)

1908 Western University of Pennsylvania was rechartered as the University of Pittsburgh.

1915 The Chicago Sunday Tribune ran an article titled “Blues Is Jazz and Jazz Is Blues.” (It’s believed to be one of the earliest, if not the earliest, uses of the word “jazz” as a musical term by a newspaper.)

1954 Contracts were awarded for the basic design of the $25 million Fort Pitt Tunnel through Mount Washington.

1979 The abandoned U.S. space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

2006 Pittsburgh hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game for the second time at PNC Park. The American League beat the National League by a score of 3-2.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology). — Compiled by Rick Nowlin

Today’s birthdays: Actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, 77. Singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), 73. Ventriloquist-actor Jay Johnson, 71. Former boxer Leon Spinks, 67. Actress Sela Ward, 64. Reggae singer Michael Rose, 63. Jazz musician Kirk Whalum, 62. Singer Suzanne Vega, 61. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora, 61. Actress Lisa Rinna, 57. Actress Debbe Dunning, 54. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin, 53. Actor Justin Chambers, 50. Pop-rock singer Andrew Bird, 47. Country singer Scotty Emerick, 47. Rapper Lil’ Kim, 46. Actress Serinda Swan, 36. Actor Robert Adamson, 35. Actor David Henrie, 31. Former tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, 30. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara, 24. Thought for today: “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” — Robert Frost, American poet (1874-1963)