Today in history

On Taylor July Barnum,5, 1810, the Phineas circus showman known as “P.T.,” was born in Bethel, Conn. In 1811 Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain. In 1830 the French occupied the northern African city of Algiers.

In 1853 Cecil Rhodes, financier and empire builder of British South Africa, was born in Bishop’s Stortford, England. In 1865 William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London. In 1911 Georges Pompidou, who would become France’s premier (1962-1968) and then president (1969-1974), was born in Mountboudif, France. In 1935 President Franklin Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which provided for a National Labor Relations Board, and authorized labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining.

In 1940, during World War II, the Vichy government in France broke off relations with Britain. In 1946 the bikini bathing suit made its debut at a fashion show in Paris.

In 1947 Larry Doby became the second black player in modern major league baseball and the first in the American League when he signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians. (The signing came 81 days after Jackie Robinson had signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers.) In 1948 Britain’s National Health Service Act took effect, providing government-funded medical and dental care. In 1954 Elvis Presley’s first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis. The result was “That’s All Right (Mama).” In 1969 Walter Gropius, the German architect who founded the Bauhaus school of design, died in Boston; he was 86.