Today In History

Today in History - Jul. 23

By The Associated Press The Associated Press
Monday, July 23, 2012 12:00 AM EDT
  • Email
  • Print

Today is Monday, July 23, the 205th day of 2012. There are 161 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 23, 1962, the first public TV transmissions over Telstar 1 took place during a special program featuring live shots beamed from the United States to Europe, and vice versa.

On this date:

In 1885, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, died in Mount McGregor, N.Y., at age 63.

In 1886, a legend was born as Steve Brodie claimed to have made a daredevil plunge from the Brooklyn Bridge into New York's East River. (However, there are doubts about whether the dive actually occurred.)

In 1914, Austria-Hungary issued a list of demands to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute led to World War I.

In 1942, Harry James and his Orchestra recorded "I Had the Craziest Dream" in Hollywood for Columbia Records.

In 1945, French Marshal Henri Petain (ahn-REE' pay-TAN'), who had headed the Vichy (vee-shee) government during World War II, went on trial, charged with treason. (He was convicted and condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted.)

In 1951, Henri Petain died in prison.

In 1952, Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser launched a successful coup against King Farouk I.

In 1967, a week of deadly race-related rioting that claimed 43 lives erupted in Detroit.

In 1977, a jury in Washington, D.C., convicted 12 Hanafi (hah-NAH'-fee) Muslims of charges stemming from the hostage siege at three buildings the previous March.

In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were killed when a helicopter crashed on top of them during filming of a Vietnam War scene for "Twilight Zone: The Movie." (Director John Landis and four associates were later acquitted of manslaughter charges.)

In 1986, Britain's Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London. (The couple divorced in 1996.)

In 1997, the search for Andrew Cunanan, the suspected killer of designer Gianni Versace (JAH'-nee vur-SAH'-chee) and others, ended as police found his body on a houseboat in Miami Beach, an apparent suicide.

Ten years ago: Thousands of Palestinians marched to bury their dead after an Israeli airstrike killed a top Hamas leader and 14 civilians, including nine children. Welsh archbishop Rowan Williams was chosen to be the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans. A frail but determined Pope John Paul II arrived in Toronto at the start of an 11-day trip that also took him to Guatemala and Mexico. Novelist Chaim Potok died in Merion, Pa., at age 73. Actor Leo McKern died in Bath, England, at age 82.


Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rating:
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Email
  • Print

Video

Car plows into Va. Parade Play

Car plows into Va. Parade

A car plows into a crowd viewing a parade in Damascus,...

Play Video

Train derailment delays service Play

Train derailment delays service

Officials are trying to figure out how a commuter train...

Play Video

Victim: Why won't Madoff stop talking? Play

Victim: Why won't Madoff stop talking?

Mike DeVita, a victim of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme,...

Play Video

Bernard Madoff: I live with remorse Play

Bernard Madoff: I live with remorse

CNN's Aaron Smith talks with Poppy Harlow about his...

Play Video

Slideshow

AP

Missing Women Escape

The amazing story of 3 Ohio women who escaped torture after being held captive for over a decade.

Most Popular

Watch Now

Play
 

Flash is required to view this content. Please install the Adobe Flash Player.

Quick Vote


Do you think the Obama administration was involved in the unfair targeting of conservative groups by the IRS?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Unsure