Today in history

Today is Thursday, July 25, the 206th day of 2019 and the 35th day of summer.

Today’s history: In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.

▪ In 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the first baby to be conceived via in vitro fertilization, was born in Greater Manchester, England.

▪ In 2005, two major unions, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union, withdrew from the AFL-CIO.

▪ In 2010, the website WikiLeaks released the “Afghan War Diary,” containing more than 75,000 secret documents from the United States’ war in Afghanistan.

Today’s fact: The Viking Orbiter 1 spacecraft, while searching for potential landing sites for the Viking 2 Lander, snapped the famous “Face on Mars” photo of the planet’s surface on this day in 1976.

Today’s sports: In 1976, American Edwin Moses ran in his first international track and field event at the Montreal Olympics — the 400m hurdles — and won a gold medal, with a record-setting time of 47.64 seconds.

Today’s quote: “The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.” — Eric Hoffer, “The True Believer”

Today’s number: 3.4 million — approximate combined membership of the Teamsters and the Service Employees International unions in 2018.

Today’s moon: Between last quarter moon (July 24) and new moon (July 31).