TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, July 14, the 195th day of 2021. There are 170 days left in the year.
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY
On July 14, 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it a federal crime to publish false, scandalous or malicious writing about the United States government.
1789 — In an event symbolizing the start of the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners inside.
1881 — Outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias “Billy the Kid,” was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner in present-day New Mexico.
1914 — Scientist Robert H. Goddard received a US patent for a liquid-fueled rocket apparatus.
1933 — All German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed.
1945 — Italy formally declared war on Japan, its former Axis partner during World War II.
1980 — The Republican national convention opened in Detroit, where nominee-apparent Ronald Reagan told a welcoming rally he and his supporters were determined to “make America great again.” 2004 — The Senate scuttled a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (Forty-eight senators voted to advance the measure — 12 short of the 60 needed — and 50 voted to block it.)
2009 — Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff arrived at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina to begin serving a 150-year sentence for his massive Ponzi scheme. (Madoff died in prison in April 2021.)
2014 — The Church of England voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing women to become bishops.
2015 — World powers and Iran struck a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
Ten years ago — A federal judge in Washington declared a mistrial in baseball star Roger Clemens’ perjury trial over inadmissible evidence shown to jurors. (Clemens, who was accused of lying under oath to Congress when he denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs during his career, was acquitted in a retrial.)
Five years ago — Terror struck Bastille Day celebrations in the French Riviera city of Nice as a large truck plowed into a festive crowd, killing 86 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State extremists; the driver was shot dead by police.
One year ago — Researchers reported that the first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the US revved up people’s immune systems as scientists had hoped; the vaccine was developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. A Confederate monument
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Nancy Olson is 93. Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 89. Actor Vincent Pastore is 75. Music company executive Tommy Mottola is 73. Rock musician Chris Cross (Ultravox) is 69.