Today In History

Today in History: Monday, July  18, 2016
AP Highlight in History:
On July 18, 1936, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominated President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term in office.
AP Photo
On this date in:
1536 Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England.
1872 Britain enacted voting by secret ballot.
1918 Nelson Mandela, a leading anti-apartheid figure and South Africa’s first black president, was born in Mvezo.
1927 Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb got his 4,000th career hit.
1969 A car driven by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha’s Vineyard. His passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
AP Photo
1989 Actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, was shot to death at her Los Angeles home by an obsessed fan. (The killing prompted California in 1990 to pass the nation’s first anti-stalking law.)
1998 A 23-foot tsunami along the coast of Papua New Guinea killed nearly 3,000 people.
1999 David Cone of the New York Yankees pitched the 14th perfect game in modern major league baseball history in a game against the Montreal Expos.
AP Photo/Jeff Zelevansky
2005 An unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Ala., to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse.
2011 Gen. David Petraeus handed over command of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan to Gen. John Allen.

 

Today’s Birthdays:
Retired baseball player-manager Joe Torre turns 76 years old today.
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Name Profession Age
John Glenn Astronaut; former U.S. senator, D-Ohio 95
Dick Button Figure skater, sportscaster 87
Paul Verhoeven Director (“Basic Instinct,” “Robocop”) 78
Dion DiMucci Rock singer (Dion and the Belmonts) 77
James Brolin Actor 76
Martha Reeves R&B singer (Martha and the Vandellas) 75
Craig Fuller Rock singer (Little Feat, Pure Prairie League) 67
Ricky Skaggs Country singer 62
Elizabeth McGovern Actress 55
Vin Diesel Actor 49
Torii Hunter Baseball player 41
M.I.A. Singer, songwriter 41
Kristen Bell Actress (“Veronica Mars”) 36
Chace Crawford Actor (“Gossip Girl”) 31
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo. turns 66 years old today.
AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Sound Off!

Top