Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, July 12, the 194th day of 2020. There are 172 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 12, 1967, rioting erupted in Newark, New Jersey, over the police beating of a Black taxi driver; 26 people were killed in the five days of violence that followed.

On this date:

In 1543, England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr.

In 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorizing the Army Medal of Honor.

In 1909, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing for a federal income tax, and submitted it to the states. (It was declared ratified in February 1913.)

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was flown by helicopter from the White House to a secret mountaintop location as part of a drill involving a mock nuclear attack on Washington.

In 1962, The Rolling Stones played their first-ever gig at The Marquee in London.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed a measure creating the Congressional Budget Office. Former White House aide John Ehrlichman and three others were convicted of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Daniel Ellsberg’s former psychiatrist.

In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced his choice of U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running-mate; Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket.

In 1991, a Japanese professor (Hitoshi Igarashi) who had translated Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” was found stabbed to death, nine days after the novel’s Italian translator was attacked in Milan.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton, visiting Germany, went to the eastern sector of Berlin, the first U.S. president to do so since Harry Truman.

In 2003, the USS Ronald Reagan, the first carrier named for a living president, was commissioned in Norfolk, Va.

In 2001, Abner Louima, the Haitian immigrant tortured in a New York City police station, agreed to an $8.7 million settlement with the city and its police union.

In 2005, Prince Albert II of Monaco acceded to the throne of a 700-year-old dynasty.

Ten years ago: Roman Polanski was declared a free man, no longer confined to house arrest in his Alpine villa, after Swiss authorities rejected a U.S. request for the Oscar-winning director’s extradition because of a 32-year-old sex conviction. NBA commissioner David Stern fined Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert $100,000 for releasing a sharp-tongued statement shortly after LeBron James announced he was leaving the Cavaliers for Miami.

Five years ago: On the final day of his three-nation South American tour, Pope Francis put into practice his call for the world’s poor and powerless to not be left on the margins of society by visiting a flood-prone slum in Paraguay and insisting that the Catholic Church be a place of welcome for all - sick and sinners especially. Defending champion Novak Djokovic outplayed Roger Federer in four sets, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3, to win his third Wimbledon title and ninth Grand Slam championship. Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma was crowned Miss USA during the pageant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

One year ago: The major U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs, with the S&P 500 ending above 3,000 for the first time. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced that he was stepping down, amid renewed focus over his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with financier Jeffrey Epstein when Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Miami. Roger Federer beat longtime rival Rafael Nadal in four sets in a Wimbledon semifinal, advancing to a final against defending champion Novak Djokovic.

Today’s Birthdays: Movie director Monte Hellman is 91. Actor-comedian Bill Cosby is 83. Singer-musician Christine McVie is 77. Actress Denise Nicholas is 76. Singer-songwriter Butch Hancock is 75. Fitness guru Richard Simmons is 72. Singer Walter Egan is 72. Writer-producer Brian Grazer is 69. Actress Cheryl Ladd is 69. Gospel singer Ricky McKinnie is 68. Country singer Julie Miller is 64. Gospel singer Sandi Patty is 64. Actress Mel Harris is 64. Actor Buddy Foster is 63. Rock guitarist Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) is 58. Actress Judi Evans is 56. Rock singer Robin Wilson (Gin Blossoms) is 55. Actress Natalie Desselle Reid is 53. Actress Lisa Nicole Carson is 51. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is 49. Country singer Shannon Lawson is 47. Rapper Magoo is 47. CBS newsman Jeff Glor is 45. Actress Anna Friel is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tracie Spencer is 44. Actress Alison Wright is 44. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is 44. Actor Steve Howey is 43. Actor Topher Grace is 42. Actress Michelle Rodriguez is 42. Actress Kristen Connolly is 40. Country singer-musician Kimberly Perry (The Band Perry) is 37. Actor Matt Cook (TV: “Man With a Plan”) is 36. Actress Natalie Martinez is 36. Actor Bernard David Jones is 35. Actress Ta’Rhonda Jones is 32. Golfer Inbee Park is 32. Actress Melissa O’Neil is 32. Actress Rachel Brosnahan is 30. Actor Erik Per Sullivan is 29. Olympic gold medal gymnast Jordyn Wieber is 25. Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai is 23.