Today is Thursday, July 9, the 191st day of 2020. 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 1816, Argentina declared independence from Spain.
In 1850, the 12th president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, died after serving only 16 months of his term. (He was succeeded by Millard Fillmore.)
In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tennessee. The Distinguished Service Cross was established by an Act of Congress.
In 1937, a fire at 20th Century Fox’s film 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 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 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton tapped Tennessee Sen. Al Gore to be his running mate. Former CBS News commentator Eric Sevareid died in Washington at age 79.
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.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor-singer Ed Ames is 93. Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is 88. Actor James Hampton is 84. Actor Richard Roundtree is 78. Singer Dee Dee Kenniebrew (The Crystals) is 75. Author Dean Koontz is 75. Football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson is 73. Actor Chris Cooper is 69. TV personality John Tesh is 68. Country singer David Ball is 67. Business executive/TV personality Kevin O’Leary (TV: “Shark Tank”) is 66. Rhythm-and-blues singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 66. Actor Jimmy Smits is 65. Actress Lisa Banes is 65. Actor Tom Hanks is 64. Singer Marc Almond is 63. Actress Kelly McGillis is 63. Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 61. Actress-rock singer Courtney Love is 56.
