TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, JULY 11, the 192nd day of 2021. There are 173 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1995, the U.N.-designated “safe haven” of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina fell to Bosnian Serb forces, who then killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally reestablished by a congressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.
In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)
In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.
In 1936, New York City’s Triborough Bridge (now officially the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge) linking Manhattan, Queens and The Bronx was opened to traffic.
In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy swore in its first class of cadets at its temporary quarters at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado.
In 1960, the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee was first published by J.B. Lippincott and Co.
In 1966, the game show “The Newlywed Game,” hosted by Bob Eubanks, premiered on ABC-TV.
In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union began play in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Fischer won after 21 games.)
In 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.
In 1989, actor and director Laurence Olivier died in Steyning, West Sussex, England, at age 82.
In 1991, a Nigeria Airways DC-8 carrying Muslim pilgrims crashed at the Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, international airport, killing all 261 people on board.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Susan Seaforth Hayes is 78. Singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 74. Actor Bruce McGill is 71. Actor Stephen Lang is 69. Actor Mindy Sterling is 68. Actor Sela Ward is 65. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) and singer Peter Murphy are 64. Actor Mark Lester and jazz musician Kirk Whalum are 63. Singer Suzanne Vega and rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) are 62. Actor Lisa Rinna is 58. Rock musician Scott Shriner (Weezer) is 56. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 54. Actor Justin Chambers is 51. Actor Leisha Hailey is 50. Actor Michael Rosenbaum is 49. Pop-rock singer Andrew Bird and country singer Scotty Emerick are 48. Rapper Lil’ Kim is 47. Rapper Lil’ Zane is 40. Pop-jazz singer-musician Peter Cincotti is 38. Actor Serinda Swan is 37. Actors Robert Adamson and David Henrie are 32. Actor Connor Paolo and former tennis player Caroline Wozniacki are 31. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 25.