Today in History

Today is Wednesday, July 15, the 196th day of 2015. There are 169 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 15, 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.

On this date:

In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt discovered the Rosetta Stone, which proved instrumental in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

In 1834, the Spanish Inquisition was abolished more than 3 1/2 centuries after its creation.

In 1870, Georgia became the last Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union. Manitoba entered confederation as the fifth Canadian province.

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 1948, President Harry S. Truman was nominated for another term of office by the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.

In 1954, a prototype of the Boeing 707, the model 367-80, made its maiden flight from Renton Field south of Seattle.

In 1964, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in San Francisco.

In 1975, three American astronauts blasted off aboard an Apollo spaceship hours after two Soviet cosmonauts were launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for a mission that included a linkup of the two ships in orbit.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his "malaise" speech in which he lamented what he called a "crisis of confidence" in America.

In 1985, a shockingly gaunt Rock Hudson appeared at a news conference with actress Doris Day (it was later revealed Hudson was suffering from AIDS).

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

In 1995, Park Seung-hyun, a 19-year-old sales clerk, was rescued after being buried in the rubble of the Sampoong Department Store in Seoul (sohl), South Korea, for 16 days.

Ten years ago: A federal appeals court ruled that a Guantanamo detainee who once was Osama bin Laden's driver could be tried by a military tribunal. (However, the Supreme Court struck down the tribunals in June 2006, saying they violated U.S. and international law. Salim Ahmed Hamdan was later convicted by a military court of material support for terrorism and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison, but his conviction was tossed out by a federal appeals court; Hamdan was given credit for time served and freed.) Bankrupt energy company Enron Corp. agreed to pay a settlement of up to $1.5 billion to resolve claims that it had gouged California and other western states during the 2000-2001 energy crisis.

Five years ago: After 85 days, BP stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico using a 75-ton cap lowered onto the well earlier in the week. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Goldman Sachs & Co. would pay a record $550 million penalty to settle charges that the Wall Street giant had misled buyers of mortgage investments. Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage.

One year ago: Israel resumed heavy bombing of Gaza after the Islamic militant group Hamas rejected an Egyptian truce plan and instead unleashed more rocket barrages at the Jewish state. A suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives near a busy market and a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 89 people. At least 22 people died when a Moscow subway train derailed during rush hour.

Today's Birthdays: Author Clive Cussler is 84. Actor Ken Kercheval is 80. Former Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, is 79. Actor Patrick Wayne is 76. Actor Jan-Michael Vincent is 71. Rhythm-and-blues singer Millie Jackson is 71. Rock singer-musician Peter Lewis (Moby Grape) is 70. Singer Linda Ronstadt is 69. Rock musician Artimus Pyle is 67. Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post news website, is 65. Actress Celia Imrie is 63. Actor Terry O'Quinn is 63. Rock singer-musician David Pack is 63. Rock musician Marky Ramone is 59. Rock musician Joe Satriani is 59. Country singer-songwriter Mac McAnally is 58. Model Kim Alexis is 55. Actor Willie Aames is 55. Actor-director Forest Whitaker is 54. Actress Lolita Davidovich is 54. Actress Shari Headley is 52. Actress Brigitte Nielsen is 52. Rock musician Jason Bonham is 49. Actress Amanda Foreman is 49. Actor Kristoff St. John is 49. Rock musician Phillip Fisher is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Stokley (Mint Condition) is 48. Actor-comedian Eddie Griffin is 47. Actor Stan Kirsch is 47. Actor Reggie Hayes is 46. Actor-screenwriter Jim Rash is 44. Rock musician John Dolmayan is 43. Actor Scott Foley is 43. Actor Brian Austin Green is 42. Rapper Jim Jones is 39. Actress Diane Kruger is 39. Actress Lana Parrilla is 38. Rock musician Ray Toro (My Chemical Romance) is 38. Actress Laura Benanti is 36. Actor Travis Fimmel is 36. Actor Taylor Kinney is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kia Thornton (Divine) is 34. Actor-singer Tristan "Mack" Wilds is 26.

Thought for Today: "A sure way to lose happiness, I found, is to want it at the expense of everything else." -- Bette Davis, American actress (1908-1989).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.