This day in history
Today is Wednesday, July 5, the 186th day of 2023. There are 179 days left in the year.
▶ Birthdays: The Band’s singerguitarist Robbie Robertson is 80. Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 75. Rock star Huey Lewis is 73. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rich “Goose” Gossage is 72. Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn is 64. Actor Edie Falco is 60. Actor Kathryn Erbe is 58. Actor Michael Stuhlbarg is 55. The Cardigans drummer Bengt Lagerberg is 50. Rapper Bizarre is 47. Rapper Royce da 5’9’’ is 46. Actor and soccer player Megan Rapinoe is 38. Rock musician Nick O’Malley of Arctic Monkeys is 38. Actor Jason Dolley is 32. California Angels pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is 29.
▶ 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 1865, the Secret Service Division of the Treasury Department was founded in Washington, D.C., with the mission of suppressing counterfeit currency.
▶ In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act.
▶ In 1940, during World War II, Britain and the Vichy government in France broke off diplomatic relations.
▶ In 1943, the Battle of Kursk began during World War II; in the weeks that followed, the Soviets were able to repeatedly repel 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 1954, Elvis Presley’s first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis; the song he recorded was “That’s All Right.”
▶ In 1971, President Nixon certified the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, which lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.
▶ In 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first Black man to win a Wimbledon singles title when he defeated Jimmy Connors.
▶ In 2011, a jury in Orlando, Fla, found Casey Anthony, 25, not guilty of murder, manslaughter, and child abuse in the 2008 disappearance and death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
▶ Last year, police said a gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing at least seven people, legally bought two high-powered rifles and three other weapons despite authorities being called to his home twice since 2019 after he threatened suicide and violence. A Georgia prosecutor investigating the conduct of former president Trump and his allies after the 2020 election subpoenaed Lindsey Graham, Rudy Giuliani, and other members of Trump’s campaign legal team to testify before a grand jury, marking a major escalation in the case.