Today's Highlight in History:
On July 21, 1973, Israeli agents in Lillehammer, Norway, killed Ahmed Bouchikhi, a Moroccan waiter, in a case of mistaken identity, apparently thinking he was an official with Black September, the group that attacked Israel's delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics and killed 11 athletes. Five people identified as members of the Mossad spy agency served brief prison terms in Norway for murder and were then pardoned.
On this date:
In 1773, Pope Clement XIV issued an order suppressing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. The Society was restored by Pope Pius VII in 1814.
In 1861, during the Civil War, the first Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Va., resulting in a Confederate victory.
In 1925, the so-called Monkey Trial ended in Dayton, Tenn., with John T. Scopes found guilty of violating state law for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The conviction was later overturned on a technicality.
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed an executive order establishing the Veterans Administration, which later became the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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In 1944, American forces landed on Guam during World War II.
In 1949, the Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.
In 1952, the Democratic National Convention, which nominated Adlai Stevenson for president, opened in Chicago.
In 1959, the NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, was christened by first lady Mamie Eisenhower at Camden, N.J.
In 1961, Capt. Virgil "Gus" Grissom became the second American to rocket into a sub-orbital pattern around the Earth, flying aboard the Liberty Bell 7.
In 1972, the Irish Republican Army carried out 22 bombings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing nine people and injuring 130 in what became known as "Bloody Friday."
In 1980, draft registration began in the United States for 19- and 20-year-old men.
In 1998, astronaut Alan Shepard died in Monterey, Calif., at age 74; actor Robert Young died in Westlake Village, Calif., at age 91.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush told reporters at his Texas ranch he was working to persuade more nations to help in Iraq, saying, "The more people involved in Iraq, the better off we will be." Carlton Dotson Jr., the roommate of missing Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy, was arrested and charged with Dennehy's murder. Dotson later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Five years ago: In a face-to-face meeting with Iraq's leaders, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama gained fresh support for the idea of pulling all U.S. combat forces out of the war zone by 2010. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's top war crimes fugitives, was arrested in a Belgrade suburb by Serbian security forces. Eric Dowling, who helped excavate tunnels used in the breakout from a World War II German prison camp that became known as the "Great Escape," died in Bristol, England, a day before his 93rd birthday.
One year ago: The president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, rejected the latest calls for a minute of silence for the Israeli victims of the 1972 Munich massacre at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. Staff Sgt. Luis Walker, an Air Force training instructor at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes that included rape and sexual assault.
Today's Birthdays: Singer Kay Starr is 91. Movie director Norman Jewison is 87. Former Attorney General Janet Reno is 75. Actress Patricia Elliott is 71. Actor David Downing is 70. Actor Edward Herrmann is 70. Actor Leigh Lawson is 68. Actor Wendell Burton is 66. Actor Art Hindle is 65. Singer Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) is 65. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau is 65. Comedian-actor Robin Williams is 62. Actor Jamey Sheridan is 62. Rock singer-musician Eric Bazilian (The Hooters) is 60. Comedian Jon Lovitz is 56. Actor Lance Guest is 53. Actor Matt Mulhern is 53. Comedian Greg Behrendt is 50. Rock musician Koen Lieckens (K's Choice) is 47. Rock singer Emerson Hart is 44. Country singer Paul Brandt is 41. Actress Ali Landry is 40. Actor-comedian Steve Byrne ("Sullivan & Son") is 39. Actor Justin Bartha is 35. Actor Josh Hartnett is 35. Contemporary Christian singer Brandon Heath is 35. Actress Sprague Grayden is 35. Reggae singer Damian Marley is 35. Country singer Brad Mates (Emerson Drive) is 35. MLB All-Star pitcher CC Sabathia is 33. Singer Blake Lewis ("American Idol") is 32. Rock musician Will Berman (MGMT) is 31. Rock musician Johan Carlsson (Carolina Liar) is 29. Actress Vanessa Lengies is 28. Actor Jamie Waylett ("Harry Potter" films) is 24.
Thought for Today: "Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get." — Ingrid Bergman, Swedish-born actress (1915-1982).
