Today in History

Today is Thursday, July 9, the 190th day of 2015. There are 175 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 9, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York.

On this date:

In 1540, England's King Henry VIII had his 6-month-old marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled.

In 1816, Argentina declared independence from Spain.

In 1850, the 12th president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, died after serving only 16 months of his term. (He was succeeded by Millard Fillmore.)

In 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous "cross of gold" speech at the Democratic national convention in Chicago.

In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tennessee. The Distinguished Service Cross was established by an Act of Congress.

In 1938, Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo, 68, died in Port Chester, New York.

In 1945, architect Frank Lloyd Wright unveiled his design for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a spiral structure on Manhattan's Upper East Side that was completed in 1959.

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman asked Congress to formally end the state of war between the United States and Germany. (An official end to the state of war was declared in October 1951.)

In 1965, the Sonny & Cher single "I Got You Babe" was released by ATCO Records.

In 1974, former U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren died in Washington at age 83.

In 1986, the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography released the final draft of its report, which linked hard-core porn to sex crimes.

In 1995, Jerry Garcia performed for the final time as frontman of the Grateful Dead during a concert at Chicago's Soldier Field (Garcia died a month later).

Ten years ago: A purported Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan said the group had beheaded a missing American commando, but he offered no proof and the U.S. military said it was still searching for the Navy SEAL. (The body of the commando was found the next day; officials said it appeared he died as a result of fighting, and was never abducted.) Hurricane Dennis dealt a glancing blow to the Florida Keys. A panda cub, later named Tai Shan, was born at the National Zoo in Washington.

Five years ago: The largest U.S.-Russia spy swap since the Cold War took place on a remote stretch of Vienna airport tarmac as planes from New York and Moscow arrived within minutes of each other with 10 Russian sleeper agents and four prisoners accused by Russia of spying for the West.

One year ago: President Barack Obama began a two-day visit to Texas, where he met with state officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, to discuss the influx of unaccompanied children at the U.S.-Mexico border. Stephen and Katie Stay and four of their five children were shot to death at their suburban Houston home; the couple's 15-year-old daughter, who survived by playing dead, identified the shooter as her aunt's ex-husband, Ronald Lee Haskell, who faces multiple charges of capital murder. Modeling agency founder Eileen Ford, 92, died in Morristown, New Jersey.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Ed Ames is 88. Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is 83. Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks is 82. Actor James Hampton is 79. Actor Brian Dennehy is 77. Actor Richard Roundtree is 73. Author Dean Koontz is 70. Football Hall-of-Famer O.J. Simpson is 68. Actor Chris Cooper is 64. TV personality John Tesh is 63. Country singer David Ball is 62. Business executive/TV personality Kevin O'Leary (TV: "Shark Tank") is 61. Rhythm-and-blues singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 61. Actor Jimmy Smits is 60. Actress Lisa Banes is 60. Actor Tom Hanks is 59. Singer Marc Almond is 58. Actress Kelly McGillis is 58. Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 56. Actress-rock singer Courtney Love is 51. Rock musician Frank Bello (Anthrax) is 50. Actor David O'Hara is 50. Rock musician Xavier Muriel (Buckcherry) is 47. Actor Scott Grimes is 44. Actor Enrique Murciano is 42. Rock singer-musician Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) is 40. Musician/producer Jack White is 40. Rock musician Dan Estrin (Hoobastank) is 39. Actor-director Fred Savage is 39. Country musician Pat Allingham is 37. Actress Linda Park is 37. Actress Megan Parlen is 35. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kiely Williams (3lw) is 29. Actor Mitchel (cq) Musso is 24. Actress Georgie Henley is 20.

Thought for Today: "If writers were good business men, they'd have too much sense to be writers." -- Irvin S. Cobb, American humorist (1876-1944).

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