Today in History

Today is Monday, July 15, the 196th day of 2013. There are 169 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 15, 1913, Augustus Bacon, D-Ga., became the first person elected to the U.S. Senate under the terms of the recently ratified 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for popular election of senators.

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 1943, the Diligenti Quintuplets -- three girls and two boys -- were born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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 1983, eight people were killed when a suitcase bomb planted by Armenian extremists exploded at the Turkish Airlines counter at Orly Airport in Paris.

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

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: The Bush administration dramatically raised its budget deficit projections to $455 billion for fiscal year 2003 and $475 billion for fiscal 2004, record levels fed by the limp economy, tax cuts and the battle against terrorism. Scott McClellan assumed his duties as White House press secretary. Philadelphia's archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, retired. Tex Schramm, who'd turned the Dallas Cowboys into "America's Team," died at age 83. American-born singer Elisabeth Welch, 99, died in London. The American League beat the National League in the All-Star game 7-6.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush said the nation's troubled financial system was "basically sound," and he urged lawmakers to quickly enact legislation to prop up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, to two consecutive life terms each for murdering two indigent men to collect insurance policies taken out on their lives. In an All-Star game that began at dusk and ended at 1:37 a.m. the next morning, the American League defeated the National League 4-3 in 15 innings at Yankee Stadium.

One year ago: Syria's 16-month bloodbath crossed an important symbolic threshold as the international Red Cross formally declared the conflict a civil war, a status with implications for potential war crimes prosecutions. A Russian Soyuz craft launched into the morning skies over Kazakhstan, carrying three space travelers, including NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, to the International Space Station. Microsoft pulled out of the joint venture with NBC News that owned MSNBC.com, which was rebranded as NBCNews.com. Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm, 95, died in New York.

Today's Birthdays: Author Clive Cussler is 82. Actor Ken Kercheval is 78. Former Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, is 77. Actor Patrick Wayne is 74. Actor Jan-Michael Vincent is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Millie Jackson is 69. Rock singer-musician Peter Lewis (Moby Grape) is 68. Singer Linda Ronstadt is 67. Rock musician Artimus Pyle is 65. Actor Terry O'Quinn is 61. Rock musician Marky Ramone is 57. Rock musician Joe Satriani is 57. Country singer-songwriter Mac McAnally is 56. Model Kim Alexis is 53. Actor Willie Aames is 53. Actor-director Forest Whitaker is 52. Actress Lolita Davidovich is 52. Actress Brigitte Nielsen is 50. Rock musician Jason Bonham is 47. Actress Amanda Foreman is 47. Actor Kristoff St. John is 47. Rock musician Phillip Fisher is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Stokley (Mint Condition) is 46. Actor-comedian Eddie Griffin is 45. Actor Stan Kirsch is 45. Actor Reggie Hayes is 44. Actor-screenwriter Jim Rash is 42. Rock musician John Dolmayan is 41. Actor Scott Foley is 41. Actor Brian Austin Green is 40. Rapper Jim Jones is 37. Actress Diane Kruger is 37. Actress Lana Parrilla is 36. Rock musician Ray Toro (My Chemical Romance) is 36. Actor Travis Fimmel is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kia Thornton (Divine) is 32. Actor Tristan Wilds is 24.

Thought for Today: "There are two kinds of worries -- those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on the latter." -- Duke Ellington, American jazz artist (1899-1974).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.