Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, July 9, the 191st day of 2016. There are 175 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 9, 1816, Argentina declared independence from Spain.

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

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 1962, pop artist Andy Warhol's exhibit of 32 paintings of Campbell's soup cans opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.

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

In 1986, Attorney General Edwin Meese'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: S7 Airlines Flight 778, a Russian Airbus A310, crashed in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing 125 of 203 people on board. In a penalty-plagued final, Italy won the World Cup soccer title with a penalty shootout over France after a 1-1 draw. Roger Federer ended a five-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal, winning 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 to earn his fourth straight Wimbledon title.

Five years ago: South Sudan became the world's newest nation, officially breaking away from Sudan after two civil wars over five decades that had cost millions of lives. During his first visit to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that al-Qaida's defeat was "within reach." Derek Jeter homered for his 3,000th hit, making him the first player to reach the mark with the New York Yankees, who defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4.

One year ago: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley relegated the Confederate flag to the state's "relic room" after the legislature passed a measure removing the flag from the grounds of the Statehouse in the wake of the slaughter of nine African-Americans at a church Bible study. The Obama administration said hackers had stolen Social Security numbers, health histories and other highly sensitive data from more than 21 million people, acknowledging that the breach of U.S. government computer systems was far more severe than previously disclosed. Saudi Arabia's Prince Saud al-Faisal, who had been the world's longest-serving foreign minister with 40 years in the post until his retirement earlier in the year, died at age 75.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Ed Ames is 89. Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is 84. Actor James Hampton is 80. Actor Brian Dennehy is 78. Actor Richard Roundtree is 74. Author Dean Koontz is 71. Football Hall-of-Famer O.J. Simpson is 69. Actor Chris Cooper is 65. TV personality John Tesh is 64. Country singer David Ball is 63. Business executive/TV personality Kevin O'Leary (TV: "Shark Tank") is 62. Rhythm-and-blues singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 62. Actor Jimmy Smits is 61. Actress Lisa Banes is 61. Actor Tom Hanks is 60. Singer Marc Almond is 59. Actress Kelly McGillis is 59. Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 57. Actress-rock singer Courtney Love is 52. Rock musician Frank Bello (Anthrax) is 51. Actor David O'Hara is 51. Actress Pamela Adlon is 50. Rock musician Xavier Muriel (Buckcherry) is 48. Actor Scott Grimes is 45. Actor Enrique Murciano is 43. Rock singer-musician Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) is 41. Musician/producer Jack White is 41. Rock musician Dan Estrin (Hoobastank) is 40. Actor-director Fred Savage is 40. Country musician Pat Allingham is 38. Actress Linda Park is 38. Actress Megan Parlen is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kiely Williams (3lw) is 30. Actor Mitchel (cq) Musso is 25. Actress Georgie Henley is 21.

Thought for Today: "They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." -- Andy Warhol (1928-1987).