Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, July 7, the 189th day of 2016. There are 177 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On July 7, 1976, President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford hosted a White House dinner for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980.

On this date:

In 1846, U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.

In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln: Lewis Powell (aka Lewis Payne), David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the U.S. federal government.

In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.

In 1919, the first Transcontinental Motor Convoy, in which a U.S. Army convoy of motorized vehicles crossed the United States, departed Washington, D.C. (The trip ended in San Francisco on Sept. 6, 1919.)

In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War erupted into full-scale conflict as Imperial Japanese forces attacked the Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing.

In 1946, Jimmy Carter, 21, married Rosalynn Smith, 18, in Plains, Georgia.

Also in 1946, Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American saint by Pope Pius XII.

In 1948, six female U.S. Navy reservists became the first women to be sworn in to the regular Navy.

In 1954, Elvis Presley made his radio debut as Memphis, Tennessee, station WHBQ played his first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right."

In 1969, Canada's House of Commons gave final approval to the Official Languages Act, making French equal to English throughout the national government.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1987, Lt. Col. Oliver North began his long-awaited public testimony at the Iran- Contra hearing, telling Congress that he had "never carried out a single act, not one," without authorization.

In 1990, the first "Three Tenors" concert took place as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed amid the brick ruins of Rome's Baths of Caracalla on the eve of the World Cup championship.

Ten years ago: Over Chinese and Russian objections, Japan introduced a draft U.N. Security Council resolution to sanction North Korea for test-launching a series of missiles. (The Council unanimously adopted a compromise resolution on July 15.) Syd Barrett, co-founder of Pink Floyd, died in Cambridge, England, at age 60.

Five years ago: Rupert Murdoch's media empire unexpectedly jettisoned News of the World, Britain's best-selling Sunday newspaper, after a public backlash over claims it had used phone hacking and other illegal tactics to expose the rich and famous, royals and ordinary citizens. A Texas Rangers fan, 39-year-old Shannon Stone, died from a fatal fall when reaching out to grab a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton during a Rangers game. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the final movie based on the wizard fantasy books, debuted in London on its way to becoming the year's top-grossing movie.

One year ago: President Barack Obama met at the White House with the head of Vietnam's Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, as the U.S. pressed ahead to conclude talks on a groundbreaking Asia-Pacific economic pact. Subway said it had mutually agreed with Jared Fogle to suspend their relationship after the home of the sandwich chain's longtime pitchman was raided by federal and state investigators. (Fogle later pleaded guilty to one count each of distributing and receiving child porn and traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a child, and was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.) Three people were shot to death in a Baltimore neighborhood near the University of Maryland campus.

Today's Birthdays: Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 89. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough is 83. Rock star Ringo Starr is 76. Rock musician Jim Rodford is 75. Comedian Bill Oddie is 75. Singer-musician Warren Entner (The Grass Roots) is 73. Actor Joe Spano is 70. Pop singer David Hodo (The Village People) is 69. Country singer Linda Williams is 69. Actress Shelley Duvall is 67. Actress Roz Ryan is 65. Actor Billy Campbell is 57. Actor Robert Taylor is 56. Rock musician Mark White (Spin Doctors) is 54. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 53. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 50. Rhythm-and-blues musician Ricky Kinchen (Mint Condition) is 50. Actress Amy Carlson is 48. Actress Jorja Fox is 48. Actress Cree Summer is 47. Actress Robin Weigert is 47. Actress Kirsten Vangsness is 44. Actor Troy Garity is 43. Actress Berenice Bejo is 40. Actor Hamish Linklater is 40. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan is 36. Rapper Cassidy is 34. Country singer Gabbie Nolen is 34. Actor Ross Malinger is 32. Pop singer Ally Hernandez (Fifth Harmony) (TV: "The X Factor") is 23. Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer) is 22. Country singer Maddie Marlow (Maddie and Tae) is 21.

Thought for Today: "Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work." -- Booker T. Washington, American educator and author (1856-1915).