Today in History
Today is Tuesday, July 11, the 192nd day of 2023. 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, New Jersey. (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 General 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 (sreh-breh-NEET’-sah) in Bosnia-Herzegovina fell to Bosnian Serb forces, who then carried out the killings of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
In 2006, eight bombs hit a commuter rail network during evening rush hour in Mumbai, India, killing more than 200 people.
In 2020, President Donald Trump wore a mask during a visit to a military hospital; it was the first time he had been seen in public with one.
Ten years ago: In a potential setback for George Zimmerman, the jury at the neighborhood watch captain’s second-degree murder trial in Sanford, Florida, was given the option of convicting him on the lesser charge of manslaughter in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman ended up being acquitted of all charges.) Tens of thousands of workers across Brazil walked off their jobs in a mostly peaceful nationwide strike, demanding better working conditions and improved public services in Latin America’s largest nation.
Five years ago: At a NATO summit in Brussels, President Donald Trump declared that a gas pipeline venture had left Germany’s government “captive to Russia,” and questioned the necessity of the NATO alliance. John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s, resigned as chairman of the board of the pizza chain, and apologized for using a racial slur during a conference call in May. Porn star Stormy Daniels was arrested at an Ohio strip club, accused of touching and being touched by patrons in violation of state law; prosecutors dropped the charges hours later, saying the law had been improperly applied.
One year ago: President Joe Biden revealed the first image from NASA’s new space telescope, the farthest humanity had ever seen in both time and distance, closer to the dawn of the universe and the edge of the cosmos. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree expanding a fast-track procedure to give Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians, part of an effort to expand Moscow’s influence in war-torn Ukraine. The Biden administration told hospitals they “must” provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk, saying federal law on emergency treatment guidelines preempts state laws in jurisdictions banning the procedure without any exceptions.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Susan Seaforth Hayes is 80. Singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 76. Ventriloquist-actor Jay Johnson is 74. Actor Bruce McGill is 73. Actor Stephen Lang is 71. Actor Mindy Sterling is 70. Actor Sela Ward is 67. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) is 66. Singer Peter Murphy is 66. Actor Mark Lester is 65. Jazz musician Kirk Whalum is 65. Singer Suzanne Vega is 64. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 64. Actor Lisa Rinna is 60. Rock musician Scott Shriner (Weezer) is 58. Actor Debbe (correct) Dunning is 57. Actor Greg Grunberg is 57. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 56. Actor Justin Chambers is 53. Actor Leisha Hailey is 52. Actor Michael Rosenbaum is 51. Pop-rock singer Andrew Bird is 50. Country singer Scotty Emerick is 50. Rapper Lil’ Kim is 49. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is 48. Actor Jon Wellner is 48. Rapper Lil’ Zane is 42. Pop-jazz singer-musician Peter Cincotti is 40. Actor Serinda Swan is 39. Actor Robert Adamson is 38. Actor David Henrie is 34. Actor Connor Paolo is 33. Former tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is 33. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 27.
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