Today in History

Today is Thursday, July 5, the 186th day of 2018. There are 179 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 5, 1947, Larry Doby made his debut with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black player in the American League three months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the National League. In the game against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, Doby, pinch-hitting for Bryan Stephens, struck out in his first at-bat during the seventh inning; Chicago won 6-5.

On this date:

In 1687, Isaac Newton first published his Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.

In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.

In 1865, the Secret Service Division of the U.S. Treasury Department was founded in Washington, D.C. with the mission of suppressing counterfeit currency.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act.

In 1940, during World War II, Britain and the Vichy government in France broke off diplomatic relations.

In 1946, the bikini, created by Louis Reard, was modeled by Micheline Bernardini during a poolside fashion show in Paris.

In 1954, Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee; the song he recorded was "That's All Right."

In 1962, independence took effect in Algeria; the same day, civilians of European descent, mostly French, came under attack by extremists in the port city of Oran.

In 1977, Pakistan's army, led by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, seized power from President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. (Bhutto was executed in 1979.)

In 1984, the Supreme Court weakened the 70-year-old "exclusionary rule," deciding that evidence seized in good faith with defective court warrants could be used against defendants in criminal trials.

In 1991, a worldwide financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Actress Mildred Dunnock died in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, at age 90.

In 2011, a jury in Orlando, Florida, found Casey Anthony, 25, not guilty of murder, manslaughter and child abuse in the 2008 disappearance and death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Ten years ago: Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, beating younger sister Serena 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Gas station owner Kent Couch flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert, landing in a field in Cambridge, Idaho.

Five years ago: Pope Francis cleared two of the 20th Century's most influential popes to become saints in the Roman Catholic church, approving a miracle needed to canonize Pope John Paul II and waiving Vatican rules to honor Pope John XXIII. Enraged Islamists pushed back against the toppling of President Mohammed Morsi, as tens of thousands of his supporters took to the streets vowing to win his reinstatement and clashed with their opponents in violence that killed some three dozen people.

One year ago: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that two laws passed by Congress did not end the right to a bond hearing for unaccompanied immigrant children who are detained by federal authorities.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Katherine Helmond is 89. Actress Shirley Knight is 82. Singer-musician Robbie Robertson is 75. Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 70. Rock star Huey Lewis is 68. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rich "Goose" Gossage is 67. Country musician Charles Ventre is 66. Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn is 59. Actor John Marshall Jones is 56. Actor Dorien Wilson is 56. Actress Edie Falco is 55. Actress Jillian Armenante is 54. Actress Kathryn Erbe is 53. Actor Michael Stuhlbarg is 50. Country musician Brent Flynn (Flynnville Train) is 49. Rapper RZA is 49. Rhythm and blues singer Joe is 45. Rock musician Bengt Lagerberg (The Cardigans) is 45. Actor Dale Godboldo is 43. Rapper Bizarre is 42. Rapper Royce da 5'9" is 41. Rock singer Jason Wade (Lifehouse) is 38. Actor Ryan Hansen is 37. Country musician Dave Haywood (Lady Antebellum) is 36. Rock musician Nick O'Malley (Arctic Monkeys) is 33. Actor Jason Dolley is 27.

Thought for Today: "Without promotion something terrible happens: Nothing!" -- P.T. Barnum, American showman (born this date 1810, died 1891).