Today in History
Today is Thursday, July 12, the 193rd day of 2018. There are 172 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 12, 1909, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing for a federal income tax, and submitted it to the states. (It was declared ratified in February 1913.)
On this date:
In 1543, England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr.
In 1812, United States forces led by Gen. William Hull entered Canada during the War of 1812 against Britain. (However, Hull retreated shortly thereafter to Detroit.)
In 1817, author, poet and naturalist Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts.
In 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorizing the Army Medal of Honor.
In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was flown by helicopter from the White House to a secret mountaintop location as part of a drill involving a mock nuclear attack on Washington.
In 1960, the Etch A Sketch Magic Screen drawing toy, invented by French electrician Andre Cassagnes, was first produced by the Ohio Art Co.
In 1962, The Rolling Stones played their first-ever gig at The Marquee in London.
In 1967, rioting erupted in Newark, New Jersey, over the police beating of a black taxi driver; 26 people were killed in the five days of violence that followed.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter defended Supreme Court limits on government payments for poor women’s abortions, saying, “There are many things in life that are not fair.”
In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced his choice of U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running-mate; Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton, visiting Germany, went to the eastern sector of Berlin, the first U.S. president to do so since Harry Truman.
In 2001, Abner Louima (loo-EE’-mah), the Haitian immigrant tortured in a New York City police station, agreed to an $8.7 million settlement with the city and its police union.
Ten years ago: Former White House press secretary Tony Snow died in Washington, D.C. at age 53. Former All-Star outfielder and longtime Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer died in Oklahoma City at age 62. Angelina Jolie gave birth at a hospital on the French Riviera to twins Knox and Vivienne, making a family of eight with Brad Pitt.
Five years ago: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced her resignation. A train carrying hundreds of passengers derailed and crashed outside Paris; at least six people were killed and dozens injured. NSA leaker Edward Snowden emerged from weeks of hiding in a Moscow airport, meeting with Russian officials and rights activists. The Texas Senate passed sweeping new abortion restrictions, sending them to Gov. Rick Perry to sign into law after weeks of protests and rallies that drew thousands of people to the Capitol.
One year ago: President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Christopher Wray, told a Senate panel that he did not believe that a special counsel investigation into possible Russian ties between Russia and the Trump campaign was a “witch hunt,” as Trump had characterized it. Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was found guilty of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to almost 10 years in prison.
Today’s Birthdays: Movie director Monte Hellman is 89. Actor-comedian Bill Cosby is 81. Singer-musician Christine McVie is 75. Actress Denise Nicholas is 74. Singer-songwriter Butch Hancock is 73. Fitness guru Richard Simmons is 70. Singer Walter Egan is 70. Writer-producer Brian Grazer is 67. Actress Cheryl Ladd is 67. Country singer Julie Miller is 62. Gospel singer Sandi Patty is 62. Actress Mel Harris is 62. Actor Buddy Foster is 61. Rock guitarist Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) is 56. Actress Judi Evans is 54. Rock singer Robin Wilson (Gin Blossoms) is 53. Actress Natalie Desselle Reid is 51. Actress Lisa Nicole Carson is 49. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is 47. Country singer Shannon Lawson is 45. Rapper Magoo is 45. Actress Anna Friel is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tracie Spencer is 42. Actress Alison Wright is 42. Actor Steve Howey is 41. Actor Topher Grace is 40. Actress Michelle Rodriguez is 40. Actress Kristen Connolly is 38. Country singer-musician Kimberly Perry (The Band Perry) is 35. Actor Matt Cook (TV: “Man With a Plan”) is 34. Actress Natalie Martinez is 34. Actor Bernard David Jones is 33. Actress Ta’Rhonda Jones is 30. Golfer Inbee Park is 30. Actress Rachel Brosnahan is 28. Actor Erik Per Sullivan is 27. Olympic gold medal gymnast Jordyn Wieber is 23. Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai (mah-LAH’-lah YOO’-suhf-zeye) is 21.
Thought for Today: “The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that they are not mended again.” — Alan Paton (PAYT’-uhn), South African author (1903-1988).