Today in History

Today is Sunday, July 15, the 197th day of 2012. There are 169 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 15, 1912, Britain's National Insurance Act, which provided the British working class with its first contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, went into effect.

On this date:

In 1870, Georgia became the last Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union. Manitoba entered confederation as the fifth Canadian province.

In 1916, Boeing Co., originally known as Pacific Aero Products Co., was founded in Seattle.

In 1932, President Herbert Hoover announced he was slashing his own salary by 20 percent, from $75,000 to $60,000 a year; he also cut Cabinet members' salaries by 15 percent, from $15,000 to $12,750 a year.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman was nominated for another term of office by the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.

In 1964, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in San Francisco.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon delivered a televised address in which he announced that he had accepted an invitation to visit the People's Republic of China.

In 1976, a 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, Calif., by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed.)

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his "malaise" speech in which he lamented what he called a "crisis of confidence" in America.

In 1985, a gaunt-looking Rock Hudson appeared at a news conference with actress Doris Day (it was later revealed Hudson was suffering from AIDS).

In 1992, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in New York.

In 1997, fashion designer Gianni Versace, 50, was shot dead outside his Miami home; suspected gunman Andrew Phillip Cunanan was found dead eight days later, a suicide.

In 2010, after 85 days, BP stopped the flow of oil from a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico using a 75-ton cap lowered onto the wellhead earlier in the week.

Ten years ago: John Walker Lindh, an American who'd fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to two felonies in deal sparing him life in prison. A Pakistani judge convicted four Islamic militants in the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl. Five-year-old Samantha Runnion was kidnapped outside an apartment complex in Stanton, Calif. (Her body was found the next day; a suspect, Alejandro Avila, was later convicted and sent to death row.)

Five years ago: The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles announced it was settling clergy sex-abuse cases for $660 million. The Philadelphia Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10-2, to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

One year ago: Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignation of The Wall Street Journal's publisher, Les Hinton, and the chief of his British operations, Rebekah Brooks, as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announced they were breaking up after seven years of marriage. The Atlanta Braves earned their 10,000th win in franchise history with an 11-1 rout of the Washington Nationals.

Today's Birthdays: Author Clive Cussler is 81. Actor Alex Karras is 77. Actor Ken Kercheval is 77. Former Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, is 76. Actor Patrick Wayne is 73. Actor Jan-Michael Vincent is 68. Rhythm-and-blues singer Millie Jackson is 68. Rock singer-musician Peter Lewis (Moby Grape) is 67. Singer Linda Ronstadt is 66. Rock musician Artimus Pyle is 64. Actor Terry O'Quinn is 60. Rock musician Marky Ramone is 56. Rock musician Joe Satriani is 56. Country singer-songwriter Mac McAnally is 55. Model Kim Alexis is 52. Actor Willie Aames is 52. Actor-director Forest Whitaker is 51. Actress Lolita Davidovich is 51. Actress Brigitte Nielsen is 49. Rock musician Jason Bonham is 46. Actress Amanda Foreman is 46. Actor Kristoff St. John is 46. Rock musician Phillip Fisher is 45. Rhythm-and-blues singer Stokley (Mint Condition) is 45. Actor-comedian Eddie Griffin is 44. Actor Stan Kirsch is 44. Actor Reggie Hayes is 43. Rock musician Chi Cheng (Deftones) is 42. Rock musician John Dolmayan is 40. Actor Scott Foley is 40. Actor Brian Austin Green is 39. Rapper Jim Jones is 36. Actress Diane Kruger is 36. Actress Lana Parrilla is 35. Rock musician Ray Toro (My Chemical Romance) is 35. Actor Travis Fimmel is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kia Thornton (Divine) is 31. Actor Tristan Wilds is 23.

Thought for Today: "If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it." -- Margaret Fuller, American journalist and social critic (1810-1850).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.