TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Monday, July 11, the 192nd day of 2022. There are 173 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight in history

On July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, N.J. (Hamilton died the next day.)

On this date

In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally re-established by a congressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band. In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.

In 1864, Confederate forces led by Gen. Jubal Early began an abortive invasion of Washington, D.C., turning back the next day.

In 1914, Babe Ruth made his Major League baseball debut, pitching the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over Cleveland.

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 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.

In 1995, the U.N.-designated “safe haven” of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina fell to Bosnian Serb forces, who then carried out the killings of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. The United States normalized relations with Vietnam.

In 2006, eight bombs hit a commuter rail network during evening rush hour in Mumbai, India, killing more than 200 people.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Susan Seaforth Hayes is 79. Singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 75. Ventriloquist-actor Jay Johnson is 73. Actor Bruce McGill is 72. Actor Stephen Lang is 70. Actor Mindy Sterling is 69. Actor Sela Ward is 66. Singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) is 65. Singer Peter Murphy is 65. Actor Mark Lester is 64. Musician Kirk Whalum is 64. Singer Suzanne Vega is 63. Musician Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 63. Actor Lisa Rinna is 59. Musician Scott Shriner (Weezer) is 57.Actor Greg Grunberg is 56. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 55. Actor Justin Chambers is 52. Singer Andrew Bird is 49. Singer Scotty Emerick is 49. Rapper Lil’ Kim is 48. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is 47. Former tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is 32.