Today in History – Sunday Edition

Today is Sunday, July 14, the 195th day of 2013. There are 170 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 14, 1913, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Neb.

On this date:

In 1789, during the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners inside.

In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry relayed to Japanese officials a letter from President Millard Fillmore requesting trade relations. (Fillmore's term of office had already expired by the time the letter was delivered.)

In 1881, outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias "Billy the Kid," was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner in present-day New Mexico.

In 1911, Harry N. Atwood became the first pilot to land an airplane (a Wright Model B biplane) on the grounds of the White House after flying in from Boston; he was greeted by President William Howard Taft.

In 1921, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted in Dedham, Mass., of murdering a shoe company paymaster and his guard. (Sacco and Vanzetti were executed six years later.)

In 1933, all German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed. Cartoon character Popeye the Sailor made his movie debut in the Fleischer Studios animated short, "Popeye the Sailor."

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure providing funds for a national monument honoring scientist George Washington Carver; the monument was built at Carver's birthplace near Diamond, Mo.

In 1960, British researcher Jane Goodall arrived at the Gombe (GAHM'-bay) Stream Reserve in the Tanganyika Territory (in present-day Tanzania) to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.

In 1966, eight student nurses were murdered by Richard Speck in a Chicago dormitory.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York.

In 1980, the Republican national convention opened in Detroit, where nominee-apparent Ronald Reagan told a welcoming rally he and his supporters were determined to "make America great again."

In 1999, race-based school busing in Boston came to an end after 25 years.

Ten years ago: Iraq's new governing council, in its first full day on the job, voted to send a delegation to the U.N. Security Council and assert its right to represent Baghdad on the world stage. President George W. Bush, facing questions about his credibility, said the United States was working overtime to prove Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction before the United States invaded Iraq. Newspaper columnist Robert Novak publicly revealed the CIA employment of Valerie Plame, wife of Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador in Africa who said the administration had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush lifted an executive ban on offshore oil drilling which had stood since his father was president. The New Yorker magazine featured a satirical cover showing Barack Obama dressed as a Muslim and his wife, Michelle, as a terrorist in the Oval Office. (The Obama campaign called the cover "tasteless and offensive.")

One year ago: A suicide bomber blew himself up among guests at a wedding hall in northern Afghanistan, killing 23 people, including a prominent ex-Uzbek warlord turned lawmaker who was the father of the bride. The boss of British security group G4S went on television to say he was sorry that his company had bungled the contract to help protect the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Harry Dean Stanton is 87. Actress Nancy Olson is 85. Actress Polly Bergen is 83. Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 81. Actor Vincent Pastore is 67. Former music company executive Tommy Mottola (muh-TOH'-luh) is 64. Rock musician Chris Cross (Ultravox) is 61. Actor Jerry Houser is 61. Actor-director Eric Laneuville is 61. Actor Stan Shaw is 61. Movie producer Scott Rudin is 55. Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass is 53. Country musician Ray Herndon (McBride and the Ride) is 53. Actress Jane Lynch is 53. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 52. Actor Matthew Fox is 47. Rock musician Ellen Reid (Crash Test Dummies) is 47. Rock singer-musician Tanya Donelly is 47. Actress Missy Gold is 43. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tameka Cottle (Xscape) is 38. Country singer Jamey Johnson is 38. Hip-hop musician taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 38. Actor Scott Porter is 34.

Thought for Today: "If the government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have." — President Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006).

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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