Today is Saturday, July 8, the 189th day of 2017 with 176 to follow.
Today is Saturday, July 8, the 189th day of 2017 with 176 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning star is Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include chemist John Pemberton, inventor of Coca-Cola, in 1936; German dirigible inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1838; oil magnate John D. Rockefeller in 1839; former U. S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller (John D.’s grandson) in 1908; actor Marty Feldman in 1934; actor Jeffrey Tambor in 1944 (age 73) ; ballet dancer Cynthia Gregory in 1946 (age 71) ; actor Kim Darby in 1947 (age 70) ; musician/children’s singer Raffi (Cavoukian) in 1948 (age 69) ; chef Wolfgang Puck in 1949 (age 68) ; actor Anjelica Huston in 1951 (age 66) ; writer Anna Quindlen in 1953 (age 64) ; actor Kevin Bacon in 1958 (age 59) ; country singer Toby Keith in 1961 (age 56) ; actor Rocky Carroll in 1963 (age 54) ; actor Billy Crudup in 1968 (age 49) ; singer Beck (Hansen) in 1970 (age 47) ; actor Milo Ventimiglia in 1977 (age 40) ; actor Sophia Bush in 1982 (age 35) ; actor Jaden Smith in 1998 (age 19) .
On this date in history:
In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read in public for the first time, to people gathered at Philadelphia’s Independence Square.
In 1835, the Liberty Bell cracked while being rung during the funeral of U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall in Philadelphia.
In 1889, The Wall Street Journal was first published.
In 1909, the Wright Brothers demonstrated their airplane for an enthusiastic crowd at Fort Myer, Virginia.
In 1950, U. S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur was designated commander of U. N. forces in Korea.
In 1951, Paris celebrated its 2,000th birthday. The city was founded sometime around 250 A. D. by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii.
In 1969, U. S. troops began withdrawing from Vietnam .
In 1991, Yugoslav leaders signed an accord calling for an internationally observed cease-fire in Slovenia and Croatia.
In 1994, North Korean President Kim Il Sung died at age 82. He had led the country since its founding in 1948.
In 2006, Atlantic City’s 12 casinos reopened after being forced to shut down for three days, as were a number of New Jersey state offices, in a political dispute that virtually closed government over a proposed 1-cent raise in the sales tax. The state, which employs inspectors at the casinos, lost about $4 million in gambling taxes.
In 2009, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, benefiting from a robust economy, was easily re-elected .
In 2010, a French surgeon said he had performed the first successful transplant of a complete face, giving a 35-year-old disfigured man every feature, including tear ducts.
In 2011, space shuttle Atlantis began the 135th and final mission of the U. S. space shuttle program that started in 1981, a two-week voyage to the International Space Station with a cargo of supplies and spare parts.
In 2012, Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine (“Marty”) died in Los Angeles. He was 95.
In 2014, in an escalating conflict, Israeli airstrikes pounded the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and rockets were fired at Israel. A statement from the military said the strikes were made to “stop the terror Israel’s citizens face on a daily basis.” The airstrikes began a 50-day war between the two sides.
A thought for the day: “No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.” — Elbert Hubbard
