Today in History

Today is Tuesday, July 14, the 195th day of 2015. There are 170 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 14, 1865, the Matterhorn, straddling Italy and Switzerland, was summited as a seven-member rope party led by British climber Edward Whymper reached the peak. (Four members of the party fell to their deaths during their descent; Whymper and two guides survived.)

On this date:

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

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, Nebraska.

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 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the red planet. United Nations Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II died in London at age 65.

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: Chief U.S. Justice William H. Rehnquist, ending a two-day stay in the hospital, pledged to continue working as long as his health permitted. (Rehnquist died in September 2005.)

Five years ago: An Iranian nuclear scientist who'd disappeared a year earlier headed back to Tehran, telling Iranian state media that he'd been abducted by CIA agents. (The U.S. said Shahram Amiri was a willing defector who'd changed his mind.)

One year ago: Citigroup agreed to pay $7 billion to settle a federal investigation into its handling of risky subprime mortgages. The Church of England voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing women to become bishops.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Harry Dean Stanton is 89. Actress Nancy Olson is 87. Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 83. Actor Vincent Pastore is 69. Music company executive Tommy Mottola is 67. Rock musician Chris Cross (Ultravox) is 63. Actor Jerry Houser is 63. Actor-director Eric Laneuville is 63. Actor Stan Shaw is 63. Movie producer Scott Rudin is 57. Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass is 55. Country musician Ray Herndon (McBride and the Ride) is 55. Actress Jane Lynch is 55. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 54. Actor Matthew Fox is 49. Rock musician Ellen Reid (Crash Test Dummies) is 49. Rock singer-musician Tanya Donelly is 49. Actress Missy Gold is 45. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tameka Cottle (Xscape) is 40. Country singer Jamey Johnson is 40. Hip-hop musician taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 40. Actor Scott Porter is 36. Rock singer Dan Smith (Bastille) is 29. Rock singer Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons) is 28.

Thought for Today: "The willing contemplation of vice is vice." -- Arabic proverb.

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.