Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, July 14, the 196th day of 2016. There are 170 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 14, 1966, the city of Chicago awoke to the shocking news that eight student nurses had been brutally slain during the night in a South Side dormitory. The victims, ranging in age from 20 to 24, were Pamela Wilkening; Suzanne Farris; Mary Ann Jordan; Nina Jo Schmale; Valentina Pasion; Merlita Gargullo; Patricia Matusek; and Gloria Jean Davy. (One woman, Corazon Amurao, survived by hiding under a bed.) Drifter Richard Speck was convicted of the mass killing and condemned to death, but had his sentence reduced to life in prison, where he died in 1991.

On this date:

In 1789, in an event symbolizing the start of the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners inside.

In 1865, the Matterhorn, straddling Italy and Switzerland, was summited as a seven-member rope party led by British climber Edward Whymper reached the peak. (Four members of the party fell to their deaths during their descent; Whymper and two guides survived.)

In 1881, outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias "Billy the Kid," was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner in present-day New Mexico.

In 1913, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska.

In 1921, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted in Dedham, Massachusetts, of murdering a shoe company paymaster and his guard. (Sacco and Vanzetti were executed six years later.)

In 1933, all German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed. Cartoon character Popeye the Sailor made his movie debut in the Fleischer Studios animated short, "Popeye the Sailor."

In 1945, Italy formally declared war on Japan, its former Axis partner during World War II.

In 1958, the army of Iraq overthrew the monarchy.

In 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the red planet. United Nations Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II died in London at age 65.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York.

In 1980, the Republican national convention opened in Detroit, where nominee-apparent Ronald Reagan told a welcoming rally he and his supporters were determined to "make America great again."

In 1999, race-based school busing in Boston came to an end after 25 years.

Ten years ago: Israel destroyed the home and office of Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and tightened its seal on Lebanon, blasting its air and road links to the outside world. Spurred by Mideast fighting, oil prices rose to an intraday record $78.40 a barrel. Actress Carrie Nye died in New York at age 69.

Five years ago: A federal judge in Washington, D.C. declared a mistrial in baseball star Roger Clemens' perjury trial over inadmissible evidence shown to jurors. (Clemens, who was accused of lying under oath to Congress when he denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs during his career, was acquitted in a retrial.)

One year ago: World powers and Iran struck a deal to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions. President Barack Obama laid out an expansive vision for fixing America's criminal justice system in a speech to the NAACP's annual convention in Philadelphia. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft got humanity's first up-close look at Pluto, sending word of its triumphant flyby across 3 billion miles to scientists waiting breathlessly back home. Mike Trout became the first player in 38 years to lead off the All-Star Game with a home run, and the American League beat the National League 6-3. Veteran television journalist Marlene Sanders, 84, died in New York.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Harry Dean Stanton is 90. Actress Nancy Olson is 88. Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 84. Actor Vincent Pastore is 70. Music company executive Tommy Mottola is 68. Rock musician Chris Cross (Ultravox) is 64. Actor Jerry Houser is 64. Actor-director Eric Laneuville is 64. Actor Stan Shaw is 64. Movie producer Scott Rudin is 58. Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass is 56. Country musician Ray Herndon (McBride and the Ride) is 56. Actress Jane Lynch is 56. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 55. Actor Matthew Fox is 50. Rock musician Ellen Reid (Crash Test Dummies) is 50. Rock singer-musician Tanya Donelly is 50. Actress Missy Gold is 46. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is 45. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tameka Cottle (Xscape) is 41. Country singer Jamey Johnson is 41. Hip-hop musician taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 41. Actor Scott Porter is 37. Rock singer Dan Smith (Bastille) is 30. Rock singer Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons) is 29.

Thought for Today: "Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don't change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow." -- Woody Guthrie, American folk singer-songwriter (born this date in 1912, died in 1967).