TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS MONDAY, JULY 5, the 186th day of 2021. There are 179 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1971, President Richard Nixon certified the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.
In 1687, Isaac Newton first published his Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.
In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.
In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act.
In 1943, the Battle of Kursk began during World War II; in the weeks that followed, the Soviets were repeatedly repelled the Germans, who eventually withdrew in defeat.
In 1947, Larry Doby made his debut with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first Black player in the American League three months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the National League. In the game against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, Doby, pinch-hitting for Bryan Stephens, struck out in his first at-bat during the seventh inning; Chicago won 6-5.
In 1948, Britain’s National Health Service Act went into effect, providing publicly financed medical and dental care.
In 1954, Elvis Presley’s first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee; the song he recorded was “That’s All Right.”
In 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first
Black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors, 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
In 1977, Pakistan’s army, led by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, seized power from President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. (Bhutto was executed in 1979.)
In 2003, Serena Williams beat sister Venus 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 for her second straight Wimbledon title.
In 2009, a bankruptcy judge ruled that General Motors Corp. could sell the bulk of its assets to a new company, clearing the way for the automaker to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
In 2015, the first pope from Latin America, Francis, landed in Ecuador, returning to South America for the first time bearing a message of solidarity with the region’s poor.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Singermusician Robbie Robertson is 78. Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 73. Rock star Huey Lewis is 71. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rich “Goose” Gossage is 70. Country musician Charles Ventre is 69. Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn is 62. Actors John Marshall Jones and Dorien Wilson are 59. Actor Edie Falco is 58. Actor Jillian Armenante is 57. Actor Kathryn Erbe is 56. Actor Michael Stuhlbarg is 53. R&B singer Joe and rock musician Bengt Lagerberg (The Cardigans) are 48. Actor Dale Godboldo is 46. Rapper Bizarre is 45. Rock singer Jason Wade (Lifehouse) is 41. Actor Ryan Hansen is 40. Country musician Dave Haywood (Lady A) is 39. Rock musician Nick O’Malley (Arctic Monkeys) is 36. Actor Jason Dolley is 30.