Today in History

Today is Wednesday, July 11, the 192nd day of 2018. There are 173 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)

On this date:

In 1767, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was born in Braintree, Massachusetts.

In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally re-established by a congressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.

In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.

In 1937, American composer and pianist George Gershwin died at a Los Angeles hospital of a brain tumor; he was 38.

In 1952, the Republican National Convention, meeting in Chicago, nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower for president and Richard M. Nixon for vice president.

In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy swore in its first class of cadets at its temporary quarters at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado.

In 1960, the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee was first published by J.B. Lippincott and Co.

In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union began play in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Fischer won after 21 games.)

In 1977, the Presidential Medal of Freedom was presented to polio vaccine pioneer Dr. Jonas Salk and (posthumously) to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. by President Jimmy Carter.

In 1979, the abandoned U.S. space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

In 1991, a Nigeria Airways DC-8 carrying Muslim pilgrims crashed at the Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, international airport, killing all 261 people on board.

In 1995, the U.N.-designated "safe haven" of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina fell to Bosnian Serb forces, who then carried out the killings of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. The United States normalized relations with Vietnam.

Ten years ago: Oil prices reached a record high of $147.27 a barrel. IndyMac Bank's assets were seized by federal regulators. A North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist at a northern mountain resort, further straining relations between the two Koreas. Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, the cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such procedures as bypass surgery, died in Houston, Texas, at age 99.

Five years ago: In a potential setback for George Zimmerman, the jury at the neighborhood watch captain's second-degree murder trial in Sanford, Florida, was given the option of convicting him on the lesser charge of manslaughter in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman ended up being acquitted of all charges.) Tens of thousands of workers across Brazil walked off their jobs in a mostly peaceful nationwide strike, demanding better working conditions and improved public services in Latin America's largest nation.

One year ago: Emails released by Donald Trump Jr. revealed that he'd been told before meeting with a Russian attorney during the presidential campaign that the Russian government had information that could "incriminate" Hillary Clinton. MSNBC "Morning Joe" host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough announced that he was leaving the Republican party, partly because of its loyalty to President Donald Trump. Seattle's Robinson Cano homered off Cubs closer Wade Davis leading off the 10th inning and the American League beat the National League 2-1 in the All-Star game.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Tab Hunter is 87. Actress Susan Seaforth Hayes is 75. Singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 71. Ventriloquist-actor Jay Johnson is 69. Actor Bruce McGill is 68. Singer Bonnie Pointer is 68. Actor Stephen Lang is 66. Actress Mindy Sterling is 65. Boxer Leon Spinks is 65. Actress Sela Ward is 62. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) is 61. Singer Peter Murphy is 61. Actor Mark Lester is 60. Jazz musician Kirk Whalum is 60. Singer Suzanne Vega is 59. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 59. Actress Lisa Rinna is 55. Rock musician Scott Shriner (Weezer) is 53. Actress Debbe Dunning is 52. Actor Greg Grunberg is 52. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 51. Actor Justin Chambers is 48. Actress Leisha Hailey is 47. Actor Michael Rosenbaum is 46. Pop-rock singer Andrew Bird is 45. Country singer Scotty Emerick is 45. Rapper Lil' Kim is 43. Actor Jon Wellner is 43. Rock singer Ben Gibbard is 42. Rapper Lil' Zane is 36. Pop-jazz singer-musician Peter Cincotti is 35. Actress Serinda Swan is 34. Actor Robert Adamson is 33. Actor David Henrie is 29. Actor Connor Paolo is 28. Tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is 28. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 22.

Thought for Today: "Those people who think only of themselves, are hopelessly uneducated. They are not educated, no matter how instructed they may be." -- Nicholas Murray Butler, American educator (1862-1947).