Associated Press
On July 8, 1839, American oilman John D. Rockefeller was born in Richford, N.Y.
1663 King Charles II of England granted a charter to Rhode Island.
1776 Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered at Independence Square in Philadelphia.
1853 An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Yedo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.
1889 The Wall Street Journal was first published.
1891 Warren G. Harding married Florence K. DeWolfe in Marion, Ohio.
1907 Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first “Follies,” on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.
1919 President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France.
1950 Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea.
1986 Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria despite controversy over his alleged ties to Nazi war crimes.
1994 Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.
2004 Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay pleaded innocent to charges related to the energy company’s collapse. (He was convicted, but died while the case was on appeal.)
2010 During an ESPN prime-time special, basketball free agent LeBron James announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat.
2011 Former first lady Betty Ford died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 93.
Today’s Birthdays:
Actor Billy Crudup turns 47 years old today.
John Dingell, U S. representative, D-Mich., 89
Steve Lawrence, Singer, 80
Phil Gramm, Former U.S. senator, R-Texas, 73
Jeffrey Tambor, Actor (“Arrested Development”), 71
Kim Darby, Actress, 68
Anjelica Huston, Actress, 64
Jack Lambert, Football Hall of Famer, 63
Anna Quindlen, Writer, 63
Kevin Bacon Actor 57
Toby Keith, Country singer, 54
Rob Burnett, Writer, producer, 53
Joan Osborne, Rock singer, 53
Beck, Rock musician, 45
Milo Ventimiglia, Actor (“Heroes”), 38
Jamie Cook, Rock musician (Arctic Monkeys), 30
Jaden Smith, Actor (“The Pursuit of Happyness”), 17
Actress Sophia Bush (“One Tree Hill”) turns 33 years old today.