Today's Highlight in History:
On July 28, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the end of coffee rationing, which had limited people to one pound of coffee every five weeks since it began in November 1942.
On this date:
In 1540, King Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed, the same day Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
In 1794, Maximilien Robespierre, a leading figure of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine.
In 1821, Peru declared its independence from Spain.
In 1914, World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
Local
In 1928, the Summer Olympic games opened in Amsterdam.
In 1932, federal troops forcibly dispersed the so-called "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans who had gathered in Washington to demand payments they weren't scheduled to receive until 1945.
In 1945, a U.S. Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York's Empire State Building, killing 14 people. The U.S. Senate ratified the United Nations Charter by a vote of 89-2.
In 1959, in preparation for statehood, Hawaiians voted to send the first Chinese-American, Republican Hiram L. Fong, to the U.S. Senate and the first Japanese-American, Democrat Daniel K. Inouye, to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1973, the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen took place in upstate New York.
In 1976, an earthquake devastated northern China, killing at least 242,000 people, according to an official estimate.
In 1990, political newcomer and upset winner Alberto Fujimori was sworn in for his first term as president of Peru.
In 2002, nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset, Pa., were rescued after 77 hours underground.
Ten years ago: Rebels in Liberia captured Buchanan, the country's second-largest city.
Five years ago: President George W. Bush received Pakistan's new prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, at the White House, praising him as a reliable partner in confronting terrorism. Four suicide bombers believed to be women struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300.
One year ago: Syria's government launched an offensive to retake rebel-held neighborhoods in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo. At the London Olympics, Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen set the first world record, winning the women's 400-meter individual medley in 4:28.43. Ryan Lochte of the U.S. won the men's 400-meter individual medley in 4:05.18.
Today's Birthdays: Movie director Andrew V. McLaglen is 93. Actor Darryl Hickman is 82. Ballet dancer-choreographer Jacques d'Amboise is 79. Musical conductor Riccardo Muti is 72. Former Senator and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley is 70. "Garfield" creator Jim Davis is 68. Singer Jonathan Edwards is 67. Actress Linda Kelsey is 67. TV producer Dick Ebersol is 66. Actress Sally Struthers is 65. Actress Georgia Engel is 65. Rock musician Simon Kirke (Bad Company) is 64. Rock musician Steve Morse (Deep Purple) is 59. CBS anchorman Scott Pelley is 56. Alt-country-rock musician Marc Perlman is 52. Actor Michael Hayden is 50. Actress Lori Loughlin is 49. Jazz musician-producer Delfeayo Marsalis is 48. Former hockey player turned general manager Garth Snow is 44. Actress Elizabeth Berkley is 41. Singer Afroman is 39. Country musician Todd Anderson (Heartland) is 38. Rock singer Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach) is 37. Country singer Carly Goodwin is 32. Actor Dustin Milligan is 28. Actor Nolan Gerard Funk is 27. Rapper Soulja Boy is 23.
Thought for Today: "All youth is bound to be 'misspent'; there is something in its very nature that makes it so, and that is why all men regret it." — Thomas Wolfe, American author (1900-1938).
