Today in History

Today is Sunday, July 9, the 190th day of 2023. There are 175 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 9, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York.

On this date:

In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1937, a fire at 20th Century Fox's storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, destroyed most of the studio's silent films.

In 1943, during World War II, the Allies launched Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.

In 1944, during World War II, American forces secured Saipan as the last Japanese defenses fell.

In 1947, the engagement of Britain's Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.

In 1965, the Sonny & Cher single "I Got You Babe" was released by ATCO Records.

In 1982, Pan Am Flight 759, a Boeing 727, crashed in Kenner, Louisiana, shortly after takeoff from New Orleans International Airport, killing all 145 people aboard and eight people on the ground.

In 2004, a Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration had relied on to justify going to war.

In 2010, the largest U.S.-Russia spy swap since the Cold War was completed on a remote stretch of Vienna airport tarmac as planes from New York and Moscow arrived within minutes of each other with 10 Russian sleeper agents and four prisoners accused by Russia of spying for the West.

In 2015, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley relegated the Confederate flag to the state's "relic room" after the legislature passed a measure removing the flag from the grounds of the Statehouse in the wake of the slaughter of nine African-Americans at a church Bible study.

In 2020, The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a New York prosecutor's demands for President Donald Trump's tax records.

Ten years ago: Egypt's military-backed interim leader, Adly Mansour, named economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister, ending days of political deadlock. Francesco Schettino, the former captain of the luxury liner Costa Concordia, went on trial for the 2012 shipwreck off Giglio that claimed 32 lives. A massive memorial service in Arizona honored 19 members of the Prescott-based Granite Mountain Hotshots who died when a wind-fueled, out-of-control fire overran them. Defensemen Scott Niedermayer and Chris Chelios, along with forward Brendan Shanahan, were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame; they were joined in the class of 2013 by Geraldine Heaney, the third woman to be enshrined in the hall.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative, politically connected federal appeals court judge, for the Supreme Court to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Kavanaugh would be confirmed in October after a contentious nomination fight.) Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to new sexual assault charges in New York involving a third woman.

One year ago: Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to resign after the nation's most chaotic day in months of economic and political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials' homes. A top police official acknowledged possible security lapses that allowed an assassin to fire his gun into former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while he was addressing a campaign rally, raising questions how could the attacker get so close behind him. Abe had been shot and killed in the western city of Nara a day earlier. Oprah Winfrey's father, Vernon Winfrey, died at the age of 89.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Actor Richard Roundtree is 81. Singer Dee Dee Kenniebrew (The Crystals) is 78. Author Dean Koontz is 78. Football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson is 76. Actor Chris Cooper is 72. TV personality John Tesh is 71. Country singer David Ball is 70. Business executive/TV personality Kevin O'Leary (TV: "Shark Tank") is 69. R&B singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 69. Actor Jimmy Smits is 68. Actor Tom Hanks is 67. Singer Marc Almond is 66. Actor Kelly McGillis is 66. Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 64. Actor-rock singer Courtney Love is 59. Rock musician Frank Bello (Anthrax) is 58. Actor David O'Hara is 58. Actor Pamela Adlon is 57. Actor Scott Grimes is 52. Actor Enrique Murciano is 50. Rock singer-musician Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) is 48. Musician/producer Jack White is 48. Rock musician Dan Estrin (Hoobastank) is 47. Actor-director Fred Savage is 47. Actor Linda Park is 45. Actor Megan Parlen is 43. Actor Mitchel Musso is 32. Actor Georgie Henley is 28.