Today in History

Today is Monday, July 12, the 193rd day of 2021. There are 172 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 12, 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced his choice of U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running-mate; Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket.

On this date:

In 1812, United States forces led by Gen. William Hull entered Canada during the War of 1812 against Britain. (However, Hull retreated shortly thereafter to Detroit.)

In 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorizing the Army Medal of Honor.

In 1909, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing for a federal income tax, and submitted it to the states. (It was declared ratified in February 1913.)

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was flown by helicopter from the White House to a secret mountaintop location as part of a drill involving a mock nuclear attack on Washington.

In 1960, the Etch A Sketch Magic Screen drawing toy, invented by French electrician Andre Cassagnes, was first produced by the Ohio Art Co.

In 1962, The Rolling Stones played their first-ever gig at The Marquee in London.

In 1965, the Beach Boys single "California Girls" was released by Capitol Records.

In 1967, rioting erupted in Newark, New Jersey, over the police beating of a Black taxi driver; 26 people were killed in the five days of violence that followed.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed a measure creating the Congressional Budget Office. Former White House aide John Ehrlichman and three others were convicted of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Daniel Ellsberg's former psychiatrist.

In 1991, a Japanese professor (Hitoshi Igarashi) who had translated Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" was found stabbed to death, nine days after the novel's Italian translator was attacked in Milan.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton, visiting Germany, went to the eastern sector of Berlin, the first U.S. president to do so since Harry Truman.

In 2003, the USS Ronald Reagan, the first carrier named for a living president, was commissioned in Norfolk, Virginia.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry, who'd lost his right hand grabbing a live grenade to save his comrades in Afghanistan. A memorial service for former first lady Betty Ford in Palm Desert, California, was attended by Michelle Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rosalynn Carter and former President George W. Bush.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama visited Dallas, where five police officers were killed the previous week by a Black man seeking vengeance for police killings; Obama said a week of deeply troubling violence seemed to expose "the deepest fault lines of our democracy," but insisted the nation was not as divided as it seemed. With hugs and handshakes, Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president during an appearance in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

One year ago: Florida set a national record with more than 15,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in a day. Twenty-one people suffered minor injuries in an explosion and fire aboard a Navy amphibious assault vessel, the USS Bonhomme Richard, at Naval Base San Diego; the fire would burn for more than four days. Actor Kelly Preston, whose films included "Jerry Maguire" and "Twins," died at 57 after a two-year battle with breast cancer; word of her death came from husband John Travolta.

Today's Birthdays: Singer-musician Christine McVie is 78. Actor Denise Nicholas is 77. Singer-songwriter Butch Hancock is 76. Fitness guru Richard Simmons is 73. Singer Walter Egan is 73. Writer-producer Brian Grazer is 70. Actor Cheryl Ladd is 70. Gospel singer Ricky McKinnie is 69. Country singer Julie Miller is 65. Gospel singer Sandi Patty is 65. Actor Mel Harris is 65. Actor Buddy Foster is 64. Rock guitarist Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) is 59. Actor Judi Evans is 57. Rock singer Robin Wilson (Gin Blossoms) is 56. Actor Lisa Nicole Carson is 52. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is 50. Country singer Shannon Lawson is 48. CBS newsman Jeff Glor is 46. Actor Anna Friel is 45. R&B singer Tracie Spencer is 45. Actor Alison Wright is 45. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is 45. Actor Steve Howey is 44. Actor Topher Grace is 43. Actor Michelle Rodriguez is 43. Actor Kristen Connolly is 41. Country singer-musician Kimberly Perry (The Band Perry) is 38. Actor Matt Cook (TV: "Man With a Plan") is 37. Actor Natalie Martinez is 37. Actor Bernard David Jones is 36. Actor Ta'Rhonda Jones is 33. Golfer Inbee Park is 33. Actor Melissa O'Neil is 33. Actor Rachel Brosnahan is 31. Actor Erik Per Sullivan is 30. Olympic gold medal gymnast Jordyn Wieber is 26. Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai is 24.