Today in History

Today is Friday, July 6, the 187th day of 2018. There are 178 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. The Harry S. Truman Library, the nation's first presidential library, was dedicated in Independence, Missouri. Sixteen-year-old John Lennon first met 15-year-old Paul McCartney when Lennon's band, the Quarrymen skiffle group, performed a gig at St. Peter's Church in Woolton, Liverpool.

On this date:

In 1535, Sir Thomas More was executed in England for high treason.

In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga.

In 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an anti-rabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies.

In 1917, during World War I, Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi captured the port of Aqaba from the Ottoman Turks.

In 1933, the first All-Star baseball game was played at Chicago's Comiskey Park; the American League defeated the National League, 4-2.

In 1942, Anne Frank, her parents and sister entered a "secret annex" in an Amsterdam building where they were later joined by four other people; they hid from Nazi occupiers for two years before being discovered and arrested.

In 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1964, the movie "A Hard Day's Night," starring The Beatles, had its world premiere in London. British colony Nyasaland became the independent country of Malawi.

In 1967, war erupted as Nigeria sent troops into the secessionist state of Biafra. (The Biafran War lasted 2 1/2 years and resulted in a Nigerian victory.)

In 1971, jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong died in New York at age 69.

In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform. Medical waste and other debris began washing up on New York City-area seashores, forcing the closing of several popular beaches.

In 1997, the rover Sojourner rolled down a ramp from the Mars Pathfinder lander onto the Martian landscape to begin inspecting the soil and rocks of the red planet.

Ten years ago: The U.S. launched an airstrike in Afghanistan's Nuristan province; the Afghan government later said 47 civilians died. President George W. Bush arrived in Japan for his eighth and final Group of Eight summit, where he emphasized the urgency of providing aid to Africa. Rafael Nadal won a riveting five-set Wimbledon final, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7, denying Roger Federer a sixth straight title in a match that lasted 4 hours, 48 minutes.

Five years ago: A runaway train carrying crude oil derailed in eastern Quebec, igniting fires and explosions that destroyed much of the town of Lac-Megantic and killed 47 people. An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 from Seoul, South Korea, crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport; of the 307 people on board Flight 214, three Chinese teens were killed. A solar-powered aircraft, the Solar Impulse, completed the final leg of a history-making cross-country flight, gliding to a smooth stop at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Marion Bartoli won her first major title, defeating Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final. Jimmie Johnson became the first driver in 31 years to sweep Daytona International Speedway.

One year ago: The maker of opioid painkiller Opana ER said it would stop selling the drug at the request of the Food and Drug Administration in an effort to curb abuse.

Today's Birthdays: The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is 83. Actor Ned Beatty is 81. Singer Gene Chandler is 78. Country singer Jeannie Seely is 78. Actor Burt Ward is 73. Former President George W. Bush is 72. Actor-director Sylvester Stallone is 72. Actor Fred Dryer is 72. Actress Shelley Hack is 71. Actress Nathalie Baye is 70. Actor Geoffrey Rush is 67. Actress Allyce Beasley is 67. Rock musician John Bazz (The Blasters) is 66. Actor Grant Goodeve is 66. Country singer Nanci Griffith is 65. Retired MLB All-Star Willie Randolph is 64. Jazz musician Rick Braun is 63. Actor Casey Sander is 63. Country musician John Jorgenson is 62. Former first daughter Susan Ford Bales is 61. Hockey player and coach Ron Duguay is 61. Actress-writer Jennifer Saunders is 60. Rock musician John Keeble (Spandau Ballet) is 59. Actor Pip Torrens is 58. Actor Brian Posehn is 52. Actor Robb Derringer is 51. Political reporter/moderator John Dickerson is 50. Actor Brian Van Holt is 49. Rapper Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan) is 48 TV host Josh Elliott is 47. Rapper 50 Cent is 43. Actress Tamera Mowry is 40. Actress Tia Mowry is 40. Comedian-actor Kevin Hart is 39. Actress Eva Green is 38. Actor Gregory Smith is 35. Rock musician Chris "Woody" Wood (Bastille) is 33. Rock singer Kate Nash is 31. Actor Jeremy Suarez is 28.

Thought for Today: "Fear is forward. No one is afraid of yesterday." -- Renata Adler, American writer.