Today in History

Today is Monday, July 14, the 195th day of 2014. There are 170 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 14, 1789, in an event symbolizing the start of the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners inside.

On this date:

In 1881, outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias "Billy the Kid," was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner in present-day New Mexico.

In 1913, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Neb.

In 1914, scientist Robert H. Goddard received a U.S. patent for a liquid-fueled rocket apparatus.

In 1921, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted in Dedham, Massachusetts, of murdering a shoe company paymaster and his guard. (Sacco and Vanzetti were executed six years later.)

In 1933, all German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed. Cartoon character Popeye the Sailor made his movie debut in the Fleischer Studios animated short, "Popeye the Sailor."

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure providing funds for a national monument honoring scientist George Washington Carver; the monument was built at Carver's birthplace near Diamond, Missouri.

In 1958, the army of Iraq overthrew the monarchy.

In 1964, in a speech to the Republican national convention in San Francisco, New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller was booed by supporters of Barry Goldwater as he called on the GOP to denounce political extremists.

In 1966, eight student nurses were murdered by Richard Speck in a Chicago dormitory.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York.

in 1980, the Republican national convention opened in Detroit, where nominee-apparent Ronald Reagan told a welcoming rally he and his supporters were determined to "make America great again."

In 1999, race-based school busing in Boston came to an end after 25 years.

Ten years ago: The Senate scuttled a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (Forty-eight senators voted to advance the measure -- 12 short of the 60 needed -- and 50 voted to block it). In Iraq, a suicide attacker detonated a massive car bomb at a checkpoint near the British Embassy and the interim government's headquarters in Baghdad, killing 11 people; the governor of Nineveh province was killed in an attack on his convoy.

Five years ago: At her Senate confirmation hearing, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor pushed back vigorously against Republican charges that she would bring bias and a liberal agenda to the nation's highest bench. Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff arrived at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina to begin serving a 150-year sentence for his massive Ponzi scheme. The American League continued its dominance over the National League with a 4-3 win in the All-Star game at new Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

One year ago: Thousands of demonstrators across the country protested a Florida jury's decision the day before to clear George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a TV interview, called for tougher European and global rules on data protection amid fallout from recent revelations about U.S. surveillance programs.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Harry Dean Stanton is 88. Actress Nancy Olson is 86. Actress Polly Bergen is 84. Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 82. Actor Vincent Pastore is 68. Former music company executive Tommy Mottola is 65. Rock musician Chris Cross (Ultravox) is 62. Actor Jerry Houser is 62. Actor-director Eric Laneuville is 62. Actor Stan Shaw is 62. Movie producer Scott Rudin is 56. Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass is 54. Country musician Ray Herndon (McBride and the Ride) is 54. Actress Jane Lynch is 54. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 53. Actor Matthew Fox is 48. Rock musician Ellen Reid (Crash Test Dummies) is 48. Rock singer-musician Tanya Donelly is 48. Actress Missy Gold is 44. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tameka Cottle (Xscape) is 39. Country singer Jamey Johnson is 39. Hip-hop musician taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 39. Actor Scott Porter is 35.

Thought for Today: "A man must be both stupid and uncharitable who believes there is no virtue or truth but on his own side." -- Joseph Addison, English essayist and poet (1672-1719).

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