Associated Press
On July 9, 1947, the engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth, the future queen, to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.
1776 The Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington’s troops in New York.
1816 Argentina declared independence from Spain.
1850 Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., after serving only 16 months in office.
1896 William Jennings Bryan denounced supporters of the gold standard with his “cross of gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
1974 Former Chief Justice Earl Warren died at age 83.
1992 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton tapped Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee to be his running mate.
1995 The rock band the Grateful Dead played their last concert, at Soldier Field in Chicago, after a 30-year run, much of it spent on the road. (Lead guitarist Jerry Garcia died the following month.)
1997 Boxer Mike Tyson was banned from the ring and fined $3 million for biting opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear.
2002 The baseball All-Star game in Milwaukee finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.
2004 A Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration relied on to justify going to war.
2011 South Sudan became the world’s newest nation, officially breaking away from Sudan after two civil wars over five decades that had cost millions of lives.
Today’s Birthdays:
Actor Tom Hanks turns 59 years old today.
Ed Ames, Actor, singer, 88
Donald Rumsfeld, Former defense secretary, 83
Brian Dennehy, Actor, 77
Richard Roundtree, Actor, 73
Dean Koontz, Author, 70
O.J. Simpson, Football Hall of Famer, 68
John Tesh, Musician, TV personality, 63
Kevin O’Leary, Businessman, TV personality (“Shark Tank”), 61
Jimmy Smits, Actor, 60
Lindsey Graham, U.S. senator, R-S.C., 60
Kelly McGillis, Actress, 58
Jim Kerr, Rock singer (Simple Minds), 56
Courtney Love, Rock singer, 51
Scott Grimes, Actor, 44
Enrique Murciano, Actor (“Without a Trace”), 42
Jack White, Rock musician (The White Stripes), 40
Fred Savage, Actor (“The Wonder Years”), 39
Actor Chris Cooper turns 64 years old.