Today in history

Today (Wednesday, July 6) is the 188th day of 2016 and the 17th day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1785, Congress chose the dollar as the monetary unit of the United States.

In 1854, the Republican Party was formally launched at a convention in Jackson, Michigan.

In 1892, 16 people were killed during fighting between guards and striking steelworkers at a Carnegie Steel Co. plant in Homestead,

Pennsylvania.

In 1942, diarist Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in a “secret annex” in a warehouse in Amsterdam.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), painter; Nancy Reagan (1921-2016), actress/first lady; Merv Griffin (1925-2007), TV personality; Janet Leigh (1927-2004), actress; Tenzin Gyatso (1935- ), 14th Dalai Lama; Ned Beatty (1937- ), actor; George W. Bush (1946- ), 43rd U.S. president; Sylvester Stallone (1946- ), actor; Geoffrey Rush (1951- ), actor; Brian Posehn (1966- ), actor/ comedian; 50 Cent (1975- ), rapper; Kevin Hart (1979- ), actor/comedian; Pau Gasol (1980- ), basketball player; Manny Machado (1992- ), baseball player.

TODAY’S FACT: Future Beatles bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at a fair in Liverpool, England, on this date in 1957.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first African-American athlete to win a tennis title at Wimbledon.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I paint flowers so they will not die.” -- Frida Kahlo

TODAY’S NUMBER: 49,200 -- fans in attendance at Major League Baseball’s first All-Star Game, held on this day in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The American League defeated the National League by a score of 4-2.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (July 4) and first quarter moon (July 11).