Today in History

Today is Monday, July 13, the 194th day of 2015. There are 171 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 13, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to be U.S. Solicitor General; Marshall became the first black jurist appointed to the post. (Two years later, Johnson nominated Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

On this date:

In 1793, French revolutionary writer Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.

In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City. (The insurrection was put down three days later.)

In 1923, a sign consisting of 50-foot-tall letters spelling out "HOLLYWOODLAND" was dedicated in the Hollywood Hills to promote a subdivision (the last four letters were removed in 1949).

In 1939, Frank Sinatra made his first commercial recording, "From the Bottom of My Heart" and "Melancholy Mood," with Harry James and his Orchestra for the Brunswick label.

In 1955, Britain hanged Ruth Ellis, a 28-year-old former model and nightclub hostess convicted of killing her boyfriend, David Blakely (to date, Ellis is the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom).

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination on the first ballot at his party's convention in Los Angeles.

In 1972, George McGovern received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach.

In 1977, a blackout lasting 25 hours hit the New York City area.

In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II.

In 1985, "Live Aid," an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa's starving people.

In 1990, the romantic fantasy "Ghost," starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, was released by Paramount Pictures.

In 1999, Angel Maturino Resendiz, suspected of being the "Railroad Killer," surrendered in El Paso, Texas. (Resendiz was executed in 2006.)

Ten years ago: A suicide car bomb exploded next to U.S. troops handing out candy and toys in Iraq, killing more than two dozen people, including 18 children and teenagers and an American soldier. Former WorldCom boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison for leading a massive corporate fraud. A fuel gauge aboard Discovery that mistakenly read full instead of empty forced NASA to call off the first shuttle launch in 2 1/2 years.

Five years ago: New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died in Tampa, Florida, nine days after turning 80. The National League won the All-Star Game, defeating the American League 3-1 in Anaheim, California, to capture its first Midsummer Classic since 1996. Vernon Baker, a black U.S. soldier who belatedly received the Medal of Honor for World War II valor in 1997 after historians concluded he'd been wrongly denied the award because of his race, died at his home near St. Maries, Idaho; he was 90.

One year ago: Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell met privately with dozens of governors as the Obama administration tried to get support from states that would host thousands of Central American children who had crossed the Mexican border on their own. Thousands of Palestinian residents fled their homes to seek safety in U.N. shelters, heeding warnings from the Israeli military about impending plans to bomb the area in the sixth day of an offensive against Hamas. Germany scored a 1-0 victory over Argentina to win the World Cup final. Death claimed conductor Lorin Maazel, 84; Nobel Prize-winning author Nadine Gordimer, 90; author Thomas Berger, 89.

Today's Birthdays: Game show announcer Johnny Gilbert (TV: "Jeopardy!") is 91. Actor Patrick Stewart is 75. Actor Robert Forster is 74. Actor Harrison Ford is 73. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 73. Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 69. Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid is 67. Actress Didi Conn is 64. Singer Louise Mandrell is 61. Actor-director Cameron Crowe is 58. Tennis player Anders Jarryd is 54. Rock musician Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera (Marcy Playground) is 53. Actor Michael Jace is 53. Comedian Tom Kenny (TV: "SpongeBob SquarePants") is 53. Country singer-songwriter Victoria Shaw is 53. Bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent is 53. Actor Kenny Johnson is 52. Roots singer/songwriter Paul Thorn is 51. Country singer Neil Thrasher is 50. Singer Deborah Cox is 42. Actress Ashley Scott is 38. Rock musician Will Champion (Coldplay) is 37. Actor Fran Kranz is 34. Actor Colton Haynes is 27. Actor Steven R. McQueen is 27. Actor Kyle Harrison Breitkopf (TV: "The Whispers") is 10.

Thought for Today: "Back of every mistaken venture and defeat is the laughter of wisdom, if you listen." -- Carl Sandburg, American writer (1878-1967).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.