Today in History

Today is Monday, July 20, the 201st day of 2015. There are 164 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching the surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.

On this date:

In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States convened in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as a Canadian province.

In 1917, the World War I draft lottery went into operation.

In 1923, Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa was assassinated by gunmen in Parral.

In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a fourth term of office at the Democratic convention in Chicago.

In 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into northern and southern entities.

In 1965, the Bob Dylan single "Like a Rolling Stone" was released by Columbia Records.

In 1968, the first International Special Olympics Summer Games, organized by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, were held at Soldier Field in Chicago.

In 1976, America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.

In 1989, Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest by the military government of Myanmar.

In 1990, Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of the court's most liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.

In 2012, a gunman opened fire inside a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 people. (Defendant James Eagen Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to more than 160 counts of murder and attempted murder.)

Ten years ago: A day after being tapped by President George W. Bush, Supreme Court nominee John Roberts paid courtesy calls on senators while a conservative group purchased TV ad time in support of his nomination and abortion rights groups staged protests. Actor James Doohan, who played Scotty the engineer in the original "Star Trek" TV series and several movies, died in Redmond, Washington, at age 85. The competition show "So You Think You Can Dance" premiered on Fox.

Five years ago: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted almost totally along party lines, 13-6, to approve Elena Kagan to be the Supreme Court's fourth female justice. Actress Lindsay Lohan began a 14-day jail sentence -- reduced from 90 due to overcrowding -- for violating probation in 2007 drug case.

One year ago: Pro-Moscow rebels piled nearly 200 bodies from downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 into four refrigerated boxcars in eastern Ukraine, and cranes at the crash scene moved big chunks of the Boeing 777, drawing condemnation from Western leaders who said the rebels were tampering with the site. Rory McIlroy completed a wire-to-wire victory in the British Open to capture the third leg of the career Grand Slam, closing with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler.

Today's Birthdays: Actress-singer Sally Ann Howes is 85. Author Cormac McCarthy is 82. Rockabilly singer Sleepy LaBeef is 80. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 79. Actress Diana Rigg is 77. Artist Judy Chicago is 76. Rock musician John Lodge (The Moody Blues) is 72. Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 71. Singer Kim Carnes is 70. Rock musician Carlos Santana is 68. Rock musician Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister) is 63. Rock musician Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols, Man Raze) is 59. Actress Donna Dixon is 58. Rock musician Mick McNeil (Simple Minds) is 57. Country singer Radney Foster is 56. Actor Frank Whaley is 52. Rock singer Chris Cornell is 51. Actor Dean Winters is 51. Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 49. Actor Reed Diamond is 48. Actor Josh Holloway is 46. Singer Vitamin C is 46. Actor Omar Epps is 42. Actor Simon Rex is 41. Actress Judy Greer is 40. Actor Charlie Korsmo is 37. Singer Elliott Yamin (American Idol) is 37. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 35. Rock musician Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects) is 35. Actor Percy Daggs III is 33. Actor John Francis Daley is 30. Country singer Hannah Blaylock (Edens Edge) is 29. Country singer-dancer Julianne Hough is 27. Actress Billi Bruno is 19.

Thought for Today: "We may well go to the moon, but that's not very far. The greatest distance we have to cover still lies within us." -- Charles de Gaulle, French statesman (1890-1970).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.