Associated Press
Today in History: Sunday, July 26, 2015
On July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro began a revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba.
On this date in:
1788- New York became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution.
1856- Playwright George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland.
1945- Winston Churchill resigned as Britain’s prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labor Party. He was succeeded by Clement Attlee.
1947- President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1948- President Harry S. Truman signed executive orders prohibiting discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and federal employment.
1952- Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
1956- Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.
1964- Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa and six others were convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the handling of a union pension fund.
1971- Apollo 15 was launched on a manned mission to the moon.
1990- The House of Representatives reprimanded Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., for ethics violations.
1990- President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act.
1990- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a young woman – later identified as Kimberly Bergalis of Florida – had been infected with the AIDS virus, apparently by her dentist.
2000- A federal judge approved a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and more than a half million plaintiffs who alleged the banks had hoarded money deposited by Holocaust victims.
2006- A jury in Houston found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning of her children in a bathtub in the second trial she faced on the charges; she was committed to a state mental hospital.
Today’s Birthdays:
Actor Kevin Spacey turns 56 years old today.
Marjorie Lord, Actress (“Make Room for Daddy”), 97
Bob Lilly, Football Hall of Famer, 76
Darlene Love, R&B singer, actress, 74
Mick Jagger, Rock singer (Rolling Stones), 72
Roger Taylor, Rock musician (Queen), 66
Susan George, Actress, 65
Dorothy Hamill, Figure skater, 59
Sandra Bullock, Actress, 51
Jeremy Piven, Actor (“Entourage”), 50
Chris Harrison, TV host (“The Bachelor”), 44
Kate Beckinsale, Actress, 42
Actress Helen Mirren turns 70 years old today.