Today in History: July 6

In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga. In this 2016 photo an historical interpreter tailors trousers in a window of barracks at Fort Ticonderoga. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

circa 1880:  French chemist Dr Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895), the father of modern bacteriology,  pursues his studies in his laboratory at the Ecole Normale in Paris.  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
On July 6, 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an anti-rabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies. circa 1880: French chemist Dr Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895), the father of modern bacteriology, pursues his studies in his laboratory at the Ecole Normale in Paris. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The most frequently published photograph of Anne Frank is prepared for display Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004, at the Holocaust Museum Houston. The photo is one of dozens from the Frank family album to be on exhibit at the museum from Thursday through Dec. 31. Anne Franks' diary was published after the end of World War II making her arguably the most famous of the nearly 6 million victims of Hitler's attempt to exterminate the Jews. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
In 1942, Anne Frank, her parents and sister entered a “secret annex” in an Amsterdam building where they were later joined by four other people; they hid from Nazi occupiers for two years before being discovered and arrested. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
This was the scene of pandemonium at Hartford, Conn., on July 6, 1944, when a fire in which over 145 persons died, struck the tented Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.  On July 16, the circus folded its mammoth tent for the last time after a performance at Pittsburgh, Pa., and then appeared in 1957 in indoor arenas.  Labor troubles, bad weather, and rising costs sounded the death knell for the circus tour which thrilled millions of youngsters and grownups.  (AP Photo)
In 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut. (One of the survivors of the blaze was future actor Charles Nelson Reilly, then age 13.) This was the scene of pandemonium at Hartford, Conn. when the fire struck the tented Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus. (AP Photo)

In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. In this 1957 file photo, Gibson, holding the large gold plate presented to her as the winner of the Women’s Singles Tennis title at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, is kissed by her opponent, Darlene Hard. (AP Photo, File)

In 1971, jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong died in New York at age 69. In a 1971 file photo, Armstrong practices with his horn at his Corona, New York home. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams, File)

Smoke rises from the burnt out shell of the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, July 7, 1988. More than 150 oil rig workers died, when the rig exploded and caught fire Wednesday night. (AP Photo)

In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform. Medical waste and other debris began washing up on New York City-area seashores, forcing the closing of several popular beaches. Here, smoke rises from the burnt out shell of the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland. (AP Photo)

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circa 1880:  French chemist Dr Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895), the father of modern bacteriology,  pursues his studies in his laboratory at the Ecole Normale in Paris.  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The most frequently published photograph of Anne Frank is prepared for display Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004, at the Holocaust Museum Houston. The photo is one of dozens from the Frank family album to be on exhibit at the museum from Thursday through Dec. 31. Anne Franks' diary was published after the end of World War II making her arguably the most famous of the nearly 6 million victims of Hitler's attempt to exterminate the Jews. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
This was the scene of pandemonium at Hartford, Conn., on July 6, 1944, when a fire in which over 145 persons died, struck the tented Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.  On July 16, the circus folded its mammoth tent for the last time after a performance at Pittsburgh, Pa., and then appeared in 1957 in indoor arenas.  Labor troubles, bad weather, and rising costs sounded the death knell for the circus tour which thrilled millions of youngsters and grownups.  (AP Photo)
Smoke rises from the burnt out shell of the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, July 7, 1988. More than 150 oil rig workers died, when the rig exploded and caught fire Wednesday night. (AP Photo)

Today is Saturday, July 6, the 187th day of 2019. There are 178 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On July 6, 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an anti-rabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies.

On this date:

In 1535, Sir Thomas More was executed in England for high treason.

In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga.

In 1942, Anne Frank, her parents and sister entered a “secret annex” in an Amsterdam building where they were later joined by four other people; they hid from Nazi occupiers for two years before being discovered and arrested.

In 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom. Nicaragua became the first nation to ratify the United Nations Charter.

In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. Sixteen-year-old John Lennon first met 15-year-old Paul McCartney when Lennon’s band, the Quarrymen skiffle group, performed a gig at St. Peter’s Church in Woolton, Liverpool.

In 1962, Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner, one of the giants of Southern literature, died in Byhalia, Mississippi, at age 64.

In 1964, the movie “A Hard Day’s Night,” starring The Beatles, had its world premiere in London.

In 1971, jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong died in New York at age 69.

In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform. Medical waste and other debris began washing up on New York City-area seashores, forcing the closing of several popular beaches.

In 1994, 14 firefighters were killed while battling a several-days-old blaze on Storm King Mountain in Colorado.

In 1997, the rover Sojourner rolled down a ramp from the Mars Pathfinder lander onto the Martian landscape to begin inspecting the soil and rocks of the red planet.

Ten years ago: Robert McNamara, the Pentagon chief who’d directed the escalation of the Vietnam War despite private doubts, died in Washington, D.C., at 93. President Barack Obama opened a two-day Moscow summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Doctors at four hospitals in four states (Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma and Michigan) finished transplanting eight kidneys over three weeks.

Five years ago: Israel arrested six Jewish suspects in the slaying of a Palestinian teenager who was abducted and burned alive, apparently in retaliation for the killings of three Israeli teenagers. Novak Djokovic won his second Wimbledon title and denied Roger Federer his record eighth by holding off the Swiss star in five sets, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4.

One year ago: The United States and China imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s goods in what Beijing called the “biggest trade war in economic history.” Japan’s Justice Ministry confirmed that six followers of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult had been hanged along with its leader, Shoko Asahara; they had been convicted of crimes including a 1995 sarin gas attack that killed 13 people and sickened thousands of others on the Tokyo subway system. A former Thai navy SEAL died while diving in flooded cave passageways to deliver supplies to 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach who’d been trapped for nearly two weeks.

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