Today in History

Today is Sunday, July 8, the 189th day of 2018. There are 176 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 8, 1776, Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, outside the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia.

On this date:

In 1663, King Charles II of England granted a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.

In 1889, The Wall Street Journal was first published.

In 1907, Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theater.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France.

In 1947, a New Mexico newspaper, the Roswell Daily Record, quoted officials at Roswell Army Air Field as saying they had recovered a "flying saucer" that crashed onto a ranch; officials then said it was actually a weather balloon. (To this day, there are those who believe what fell to Earth was an alien spaceship carrying extra-terrestrial beings.)

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman named Gen. Douglas MacArthur commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea. (Truman ended up sacking MacArthur for insubordination nine months later.)

In 1965, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21, a Douglas DC-6B, crashed in British Columbia after the tail separated from the fuselage; all 52 people on board were killed in what authorities said was the result of an apparent bombing.

In 1967, Academy Award-winning actress Vivien Leigh, 53, died in London.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford announced he would seek a second term of office.

In 1986, Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria despite controversy over his alleged ties to Nazi war crimes. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, widely regarded as father of the nuclear navy, died in Arlington, Virginia.

In 1994, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.

In 2007, Roger Federer won his fifth straight Wimbledon championship, beating Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2.

In 2011, former first lady Betty Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93. Atlantis thundered into orbit on a cargo run that would close out the three-decade U.S. space shuttle program.

Ten years ago: A bipartisan group chaired by former secretaries of state James Baker III and Warren Christopher released a study saying the next time the president goes to war Congress should be consulted and vote on whether it agrees. A well-organized assault by gunmen on horseback on a United Nations-African Union patrol in Darfur left seven peacekeepers dead and 22 wounded.

Five years ago: Breaking their public silence, three women who'd been held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade issued a YouTube video; in it, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight thanked the public for the encouragement and financial support allowing them to restart their lives.

One year ago: At the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, world powers lined up against President Donald Trump on climate change, reaffirming their support for international efforts to fight global warming. On trade, the U.S. and international partners endorsed open markets while acknowledging that countries had a right to put up barriers to block unfair practices. After their first face-to-face meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he thought Trump believed his denials of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential vote.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Steve Lawrence is 83. Actor Jeffrey Tambor is 74. Ballerina Cynthia Gregory is 72. Actress Kim Darby is 71. Actress Jonelle Allen is 70. Children's performer Raffi is 70. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is 69. Actress Anjelica Huston is 67. Writer Anna Quindlen is 66. Actor Kevin Bacon is 60. Actor Robert Knepper is 59. Rock musician Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode) is 57. Country singer Toby Keith is 57. Rock musician Graham Jones (Haircut 100) is 57. Rock singer Joan Osborne is 56. Writer-producer Rob Burnett is 56. Actor Rocky Carroll is 55. Actor Corey Parker is 53. Actor Lee Tergesen is 53. Actor Michael B. Silver is 51. Actor Billy Crudup is 50. Actor Michael Weatherly is 50. Singer Beck is 48. Country singer Drew Womack (Sons of the Desert) is 48. Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco is 45. Actress Kathleen Robertson is 45. Christian rock musician Stephen Mason (Jars of Clay) is 43. Actor Milo Ventimiglia is 41. Rock musician Tavis Werts is 41. Singer Ben Jelen is 39. Actor Lance Gross is 37. Actress Sophia Bush is 36. Rock musician Jamie Cook (Arctic Monkeys) is 33. Actor Jake McDorman is 32. Actress Maya Hawke is 20. Actor Jaden Smith is 20.

Thought for Today: "America is not just a power, it is a promise." -- Nelson A. Rockefeller, American politician and businessman (born this date in 1908, died 1979).