Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, July 13, the 194th day of 2017. There are 171 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 13, 1977, a blackout hit New York City in the mid-evening as lightning strikes on electrical equipment caused power to fail; widespread looting broke out. (The electricity was restored about 25 hours later.)

On this date:

In 1787, the Congress of the Confederation adopted the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory, an area corresponding to the eastern half of the present-day Midwest.

In 1793, French revolutionary writer Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.

In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City. (The insurrection was put down three days later.)

In 1939, Frank Sinatra made his first commercial recording, "From the Bottom of My Heart" and "Melancholy Mood," with Harry James and his Orchestra for the Brunswick label.

In 1955, Britain hanged Ruth Ellis, a 28-year-old former model convicted of killing her boyfriend, David Blakely (to date, Ellis is the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom).

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination on the first ballot at his party's convention in Los Angeles.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to be U.S. Solicitor General; Marshall became the first black jurist appointed to the post. (Two years later, Johnson nominated Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

In 1972, George McGovern received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach.

In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II.

In 1985, "Live Aid," an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa's starving people.

In 1999, Angel Maturino Resendiz, suspected of being the "Railroad Killer," surrendered in El Paso, Texas. (Resendiz was executed in 2006.)

In 2013, a jury in Sanford, Florida, acquitted neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman of all charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager; news of the verdict prompted Alicia Garza, an African-American activist in Oakland, California, to declare on Facebook that "black lives matter," a phrase that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ten years ago: Former media mogul Conrad Black was convicted in Chicago of swindling the Hollinger International newspaper empire out of millions of dollars. (Black was sentenced to 61/2 years in federal prison, but had his sentence reduced to three years; he was freed in May 2012.) Family prayer services and a huge public outpouring in Austin, Texas, ushered in three days of memorial ceremonies honoring the late Lady Bird Johnson.

Five years ago: His credibility under attack, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney insisted he had "no role whatsoever in the management" of Bain Capital, a private equity firm, after early 1999, and demanded that President Barack Obama apologize for campaign aides who persisted in alleging otherwise. JPMorgan Chase said its traders may have tried to conceal the losses from a soured investment bet that embarrassed the bank and cost it almost $6 billion -- far more than its chief executive first suggested. Movie producer Richard Zanuck, 77, died in Beverly Hills, California.

One year ago: With emotions running raw, President Barack Obama met privately at the White House with elected officials, law enforcement leaders and members of the Black Lives Matter movement with the goal of getting them to work together to curb violence and build trust. Theresa May entered No. 10 Downing Street as Britain's new prime minister following a bittersweet exit by David Cameron, who resigned after voters rejected his appeal to stay in the European Union.

Today's Birthdays: Game show announcer Johnny Gilbert (TV: "Jeopardy!") is 93. Actor Patrick Stewart is 77. Actor Robert Forster is 76. Actor Harrison Ford is 75. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 75. Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 71. Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid is 69. Actress Didi Conn is 66. Singer Louise Mandrell is 63. Rock musician Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (Twisted Sister) is 61. Actor-director Cameron Crowe is 60. Tennis player Anders Jarryd is 56. Rock musician Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera (Marcy Playground) is 55. Comedian Tom Kenny is 55. Country singer-songwriter Victoria Shaw is 55. Bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent is 55. Actor Kenny Johnson is 54. Roots singer/songwriter Paul Thorn is 53. Country singer Neil Thrasher is 52. Actor Ken Jeong is 48. Bluegrass musician Mike Barber (The Gibson Brothers) is 47. Singer Deborah Cox is 44. Actress Ashley Scott is 40. Rock musician Will Champion (Coldplay) is 39. Actor Fran Kranz is 36. Actress Aya Cash is 35. Actor Colton Haynes is 29. Actor Steven R. McQueen is 29. Soul singer Leon Bridges is 28. Actor Kyle Harrison Breitkopf is 12.

Thought for Today: "Individuality is freedom lived." -- John Dos Passos, American author (1896-1970).