Today in History

Today is Friday, July 13, the 194th day of 2018. There are 171 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 13, 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination on the first ballot at his party's convention in Los Angeles, outdrawing rivals including Lyndon B. Johnson, Stuart Symington and Adlai Stevenson.

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 1923, a sign consisting of 50-foot-tall letters spelling out "HOLLYWOODLAND" was dedicated in the Hollywood Hills to promote a subdivision (the last four letters were removed in 1949).

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 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 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.)

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.)

Ten years ago: An assault by militants on a remote U.S. base in Afghanistan close to the Pakistan border killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15. Anheuser-Busch agreed to a takeover by giant Belgian brewer InBev SA. Talk show host Les Crane died in Greenbrae, Calif., at age 74.

Five years ago: A jury in Sanford, Florida, cleared neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman of all charges in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager whose killing unleashed furious debate over racial profiling, self-defense and equal justice. Actor Cory Monteith, who'd shot to fame in the hit TV series "Glee" but was beset by addiction struggles, was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; he was 31. Attorney Leonard Garment, 89, a friend and adviser to President Richard Nixon, died in New York.

One year ago: A federal judge in Hawaii weakened President Donald Trump's travel ban by vastly expanding the list of U.S. family relationships that visitors from six Muslim-majority countries could use to get into the country. President Donald Trump defended his son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the presidential campaign, characterizing it as standard campaign practice. China's most prominent political prisoner, Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights campaigner Liu Xiaobo (lee-OO' show-BOH') died in prison of liver cancer at the age of 61.

Today's Birthdays: Game show announcer Johnny Gilbert (TV: "Jeopardy!") is 94. Actor Patrick Stewart is 78. Actor Robert Forster is 77. Actor Harrison Ford is 76. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 76. Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 72. Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid is 70. Actress Didi Conn is 67. Singer Louise Mandrell is 64. Rock musician Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (Twisted Sister) is 62. Actor-director Cameron Crowe is 61. Tennis player Anders Jarryd is 57. Rock musician Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera (Marcy Playground) is 56. Comedian Tom Kenny is 56. Country singer-songwriter Victoria Shaw is 56. Bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent is 56. Actor Kenny Johnson is 55. Roots singer/songwriter Paul Thorn is 54. Country singer Neil Thrasher is 53. Actor Ken Jeong is 49. Bluegrass musician Mike Barber (The Gibson Brothers) is 48. Singer Deborah Cox is 45. Actress Ashley Scott is 41. Rock musician Will Champion (Coldplay) is 40. Actor Fran Kranz is 37. Actress Aya Cash is 36. Actor Colton Haynes is 30. Actor Steven R. McQueen is 30. Soul singer Leon Bridges is 29. Actress Hayley Erin ("General Hospital") is 24. Actor Kyle Harrison Breitkopf is 13.

Thought for Today: "If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never." -- Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (1813-1855).