Today in History

Today is Wednesday, July 23rd, the 205th day of 2008. There are 161 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On July 23rd, 1967, a week of deadly race-related rioting that claimed 43 lives erupted in Detroit.

On this date: In 1885, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, died in Mount McGregor, New York, at age 63.

In 1892, Emperor Haile Selassie (HY'-lee suh-LAH'-see) of Ethiopia was born.

In 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute led to World War I.

In 1945, French Marshal Henri Petain (ahn-REE' pay-TAN'), who had headed the Vichy (vee-shee) government during World War II, went on trial, charged with treason. (He was condemned to death, but his sentence was commuted; Petain died in prison on this date in 1951.) In 1948, American pioneer Filmmaker D.W. Griffith died in Los Angeles at age 73.

In 1952, Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser launched a successful coup against King Farouk I.

In 1958, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II named the first four women to peerage in the House of Lords.

In 1977, a jury in Washington, D.C., convicted 12 Hanafi (hah-NAH'-fee) Muslims of charges stemming from the hostage siege at three buildings the previous March.

In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Chen, were killed when a helicopter crashed on top of them during filming of a Vietnam War scene for "Twilight Zone: The Movie." (Director John Landis and four associates were later acquitted of manslaughter charges.) In 1986, Britain's Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London. (The couple divorced in 1996.)


Ten years ago: Scientists at the University of Hawaii announced they had turned out more than 50 carbon-copy mice with a cloning technique said to be more reliable than the one used to create Dolly the sheep.

Five years ago: A new audiotape purported to be from toppled dictator Saddam Hussein called on Iraqis to resist the U.S.

occupation. Massachusetts' attorney general issued a report saying clergy members and others in the Boston Archdiocese probably sexually abused more than 1,000 people over a period of six decades. New York City Councilman James Davis was shot to death by political rival Othniel Askew (AHTH'-neel AS'-kyoo) at City Hall; a police officer shot and killed Askew.

One year ago: In the first political debate of its kind, all eight Democratic Party contenders, appearing on CNN, fielded questions submitted by the public on the Internet video-sharing site YouTube. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in his new capacity as a Mideast envoy, opened his mission to help Palestinians build solid foundations for their future state. Two suspects were arrested in the slayings of a woman and her two daughters during a violent home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut.

Genial comic Drew Carey was tapped to replace legend Bob Barker on the CBS daytime game show "The Price is Right."


Today's Birthdays: Actress Gloria DeHaven is 83. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is 72. Actor Ronny Cox is 70. Radio personality Don Imus is 68. Country singer Tony Joe White is 65.

Rock singer David Essex is 61. Actor Larry Manetti is 61.

Singer-songwriter John Hall is 60. Actress Belinda Montgomery is 58. Rock musician Blair Thornton (Bachman Turner Overdrive) is 58.

Actor Woody Harrelson is 47. Rock musician Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) is 47. Actor Eriq Lasalle is 46. Rock musician Yuval Gabay is 45. Rock musician Slash is 43. Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is 41.

Rock musician Nick Menza is 40. Model-actress Stephanie Seymour is 40. Actress Charisma Carpenter is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sam Watters is 38. Country singer Alison Krauss is 37. Rhythm-and-blues singer Dalvin DeGrate is 37. Rock musician Chad Gracey (Live) is 37. Actor-comedian Marlon Wayans is 36. Country singer Shannon Brown is 35. Actor Omar Epps is 35. Baseball player Nomar Garciaparra is 35. Actress Stephanie March is 34. Country musician David Pichette (Emerson Drive) is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Michelle Williams is 28. Actor Daniel Radcliffe is 19.

Thought for Today: "Troubles impending always seem worse than troubles surmounted, but this does not prove that they really are." Arthur M. Schlesinger Junior, American historian.

(Above Advance for Use Wednesday, July 23rd)


Copyright 2008, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 07-13-08 0832CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list