1629 – The first non-Separatist Congregational Church in the U.S. was founded, at Salem, MA.
    1775 - Horatio Gates issued orders excluding blacks from serving in the Continental Army.
    1795 - President George Washington issued the first “presidential amnesty”, extending a full pardon to participants in the Whiskey Rebellion who were willing to sign an oath of allegiance to the United States. This is studied in school as it was not only about a 25% tax imposed on whiskey, but defined the relationship and powers of the federal government and individual states.
http://wa.essortment.com/whiskeyrebellio_rzjj.htm
http://www.whiskeyrebellion.org/rebell.HTM
    1797 – The first U.S. frigate, the "United States," was launched in Philadelphia.
    1834 - Birthday of James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was born at Lowell, MA.  American painter, especially known for painting of his mother.  When a woman declared that a landscape reminded her of Whistler's paintings, he reportedly said, ”Yes, madam. Nature is creeping up.”
http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/whistler/
    1851 - California Wesleyan College was chartered in Santa Clara, under sponsorship of the Methodist Church. In 1911, its name was changed to the College of the Pacific, then became the University of the Pacific in 1961 and is located in Stockton, CA.
http://www.cho.ci.santa-clara.ca.us/41036.html#PartVI
    1861 – President Lincoln wrote to Kentucky's militia and said the Union troops will not enter that state
    1862 - The first Medal of Honor to a Marine was presented to Sergeant John Freeman Mackie (1835-1910) by Commander Henry Rolando under authorized of General Order No.17. During the attack on Fort Darling at Crewry’s Bluff, James River, VA, on May 15, 1862, Mackie rallied the Marine Guard on the U.S.S. Galena after the entire 3rd Division was killed or wounded. He cleared the deck and resumed the action without awaiting orders. “As enemy shellfire raked the deck of his ship, Corporal Mackie fearlessly maintained his musket fire against the rifle pits along the shore and, when ordered to fill vacancies at guns caused by men wounded and killed in action, manned the weapons with skill and courage".
http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1862_cwh/mackie_john.html
full story:
http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/mackiearch.htm
    1866 - Edson P. Clark of Northampton, MA obtained a patent for an indelible pencil. It had a “filling composed of silver, black lead, calcined gypsum and lamp-black or asphaltum” that was shellacked to the groove in the wood.  a: that cannot be removed, washed away, or erased b: making marks that cannot easily be removed <an indelible pencil>
    1869 - Birthday of John Arnold Heydler, baseball executive born at Lafargeville, NY. Heydler was president of the National League from 1918 to 1934. He helped to found the Baseball Hall of Fame and, in 1929, suggested a rules change that became known as the designated hitter. Died at San Diego, CA, April 18, 1956.
    1875 - Birthday of African-American educator Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), Mayesville, South Carolina. In 1904, with $150 of her own money, she opened the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, with five girls paying 50 cents a week; in those days a lot of money for families steeped in poverty. In less than two years, she had 250 pupils, and within 12 years, eight buildings. Most of the pupils were girls because she knew from experience that girls were held back from improvement by not only the white culture but also the Black patriarchy.  She hunted the trash sites for broken furniture that could be repaired enough to be used by those who had nothing. She used charcoal sticks because there was no money for pencils. She tramped the bypaths of the Daytona countryside for any sort of materials. It was a feat that gained her world-wide attention for she taught her girls to be fine human beings and she educated them far better than most girls of her era could ever dream of.  In 1936, she was appointed Director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration. She was a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, which enabled her to act as a special adviser to President Roosevelt. She was an official observer for the U.S. at organizational meetings of the United Nations. She founded the National Council of Negro Women, served as president of the National Association of Colored Women, and the Florida Federation of Colored Women, and was vice-president of the NAACP, 1940-1955. For 30 years, she was the most influential Black person in the nation, advocating education as the way out of poverty and prejudice - especially for Black women. Her philosophy was conciliation rather than confrontation, urging Blacks to become active in politics as the one sure way of progress. Her influence went beyond just committee meetings and schools. She was a symbol - a first - that marched first into the White House, the first into luncheon meetings, the first into government hearings - the first black person to take a majority role in U.S. politics.  At nine, she picked 250 pounds of cotton a day. She finally learned to read when a school for blacks opened about five miles away. Being the youngest and the one who could be spared from the fields, she walked both ways and taught other members of her family at night. When Mary Crissman, a white Denver, Colorado, dressmaker, offered to pay for the education of a worthy girl, Mary was chosen. No more worthy a student could have been chosen. MMB shared her education with other black children by teaching school in several locations and then, after marriage, settled in Daytona Beach, where a large black population stayed after the building of the railroad into Florida. In 1923, her school was amalgamated with a Black men's college from Jacksonville, Florida, and became the Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona. She was the president until 1942 and then president emeritus until 1947. Under her direction, the enrollment exceeds 1,000 and attained full accreditation.
http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/beth-mar.htm
http://www.usca.sc.edu/aasc/bethune.htm
http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1428&
ResourceType=Building
http://women.eb.com/women/articles/Bethune_Mary_McLeod.html
    1885 - Mary O'Hara (1885-1980) birthday in Cape May, NJ.  U.S. novelist and screenwriter whose “My Friend Flicka” (1941) was a runaway best seller. It also became a very popular movie as did several of her other books. As a screenwriter, her most noted film adaptation was that of “Prisoner of Zenda”. Leaving Hollywood, she ran a dairy farm in Wyoming single-handedly.
http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/cl166.htm
    1886 - Captain George Wellington Streeter's scow, the "Reutan" ran aground on a sandbar in Lake Michigan on the Chicago waterfront. The wreck caused the sandbar to grow, marshland filled it in, and Streeter proclaimed it a free district open to the poor, homeless, tramps, etc.
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_George_Streeter
http://virtualchicagoland.com/c/details.php?id=755
http://condor.depaul.edu/~lincoln/dischi/ashore.html
    1889 - Birthday of songwriter, bandleader Noble Sissle, Indianapolis, IN
http://www.redhotjazz.com/sissleio.html
http://www.jass.com/sissle.html
http://www.redhotjazz.com/sissleandblake.html
    1890 - Wyoming became the 44th state. After the adoption of the constitution, Wyoming became the first state to grant voting rights to women. Women had voted in Wyoming from the beginning of its existence as a territory. The first territorial legislation extended the vote to women on December 10, 1869. The 44th state was named after an Algonquin Indian word meaning ‘large prairie place'. The Indian paintbrush that covers much of the large prairie is the state flower and the meadowlark, frequently seen circling the prairie land, is the state bird. Another Indian term, Cheyenne, is also the name of the state capital. Wyoming is called the Equality State because it is the first state to have granted women the right to vote (1869).
http://www.state.wy.us/
    1892 – The first concrete-paved street was built, in Bellefontaine, Ohio.
    1905 - Singer Ivie Marie Anderson’s (1905-1949) birthday in Gilroy, CA. She was discovered in the famed Cotton Club revues in Harlem and became the featured singer with the Duke Ellington band 1931-42.
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/638/
The_Voice_of_Ellington_Ivie_Anderson
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/jazz/2001/Dec01/ebony.htm
    1907 - Birthday of guitarist Blind Boy Fuller (1907-41), born Fulton Allen in Wadesboro, NC
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/2541/blbboyf.htm
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?p=amg&sql=B342
http://www.yazoorecords.com/1060.htm
http://www.bobdylanroots.com/bbfuller.html
http://members.aol.com/Trucknlittlemama/bbfhms.htm
    1910 – The Chicago White Sox opened their new home, Comiskey Park, but lost to the St. Louis Browns, 2-0.
    1911 – Sherry Magee, star OF for the Phillies, knocked out umpire Bill Finneran with one punch after being ejected for disputing a called third strike. He was suspended for the season, but upon appeal he will be reinstated after five weeks and 36 games. The Phils won, 4-2, behind Grover Cleveland Alexander, who struck out 9.
    1913 - The mercury hit 134 degrees at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, CA, the hottest reading of record for the North American continent. Sandstorm conditions accompanied the heat. The high the previous day was 129 degrees, following a morning low of 93 degrees.
    1914 – The Boston Red Sox purchased 19 year-old Babe Ruth from the Baltimore Orioles.
    1915 - Pianist/Organ player Milt Buckner’s (1915-77) birthday in St. Louis.
http://www.spaceagepop.com/buckner.htm
    1919 – President Woodrow Wilson personally delivered the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate.
    1922 - Jean Kerr birthday (1922-2003), born Bridget Jean Collins in Scranton, PA.  U.S. playwright and humorist. She became a best-selling author with “Please Don't Eat the Daisies”. (1957).
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/77193.html
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Jean_Kerr/
    1925 - The famous 'Scopes Monkey Trial' began in Dayton, TN, after high school biology teacher John T. Scopes, 24, was charged with teaching evolution to his students.
http://www.dimensional.com/~randl/scopes.htm
    1926 - Lightning set off an ammunition magazine in Lake Denmark, NJ, causing a red ball of fire and triggering a series of explosions destroying all buildings within 1/2 mile radius. Debris from the explosion fell as far as 25 miles away. 16 people were killed and property damage set at $70 million
    1929 - The dollar bill actually got smaller as $823 million bills were printed to replace the older large-size currency; $4,997 million was in circulation.
http://www.bep.treas.gov/document.cfm/18/106
http://www.ginniemae.gov/homezone/brainfood/coolfacts.html
In addition to the above, for more trivia, the size of computer cards, used by IBM and others came about due to the size of dollar boxes that the inventor Hollerith used for his machine to calibrate the census (the US was growing so fast that by the time the census was completed, often four to five years or longer with many errors, a tabulating machine was used, invented by Hollerith, which lead to other computing type machines. The card measures 3.25 by 7.375 inches, the same size as the 1887 US paper currency because Hollerith used Treasury Department containers as card boxes (US banknotes were reduced in size by about 20% to their present dimensions in 1929).
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/hollerith.html
    1929 - In a game between the Pirates and Phillies, 9 home runs were hit, 1 in each inning.
    1932 – Cleveland Indians OF Johnny Burnett collected a record nine hits in 11 at-bats in an 18-inning game in which the A’s outscored the Tribe, 18 - 17. Jimmie Foxx hit 3 home runs, and has 16 total bases and 8 RBI for the A's. After Philadelphia starter Lew Krausse was knocked out in the 1st inning, Eddie Rommel was forced to hurl 17 innings in relief as manager/owner Connie Mack, trying to save train fare, has brought only two pitchers; Rommel gave up a record 29 hits in the longest relief stint in MLB history.
    1933 - The first police radio system connecting headquarters to patrol cars, and from patrol cars to other patrol cars, was installed in Eastchester Township, NY. The cars were placed in operation on July 10 and were under the direction of Sergeant William E. Robinson.
    1933 - Birthday of vocalist Jumpin' Gene Simmons (1933-2006), Tupelo, MS
http://www.countrymusicplanet.com/gene.htm
http://www.rockabilly.nl/lyrics2/h0053.htm
http://rocker99.rockabilly.nl/artists/gsimmons.htm
    1934 - In baseball's second All-Star game, National League pitcher Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession. All five were later inducted into the Hall of Fame. Hubbell gave up only two hits in three innings, but the American League won the game, 9-7.
    1936 - Afternoon highs of 112 degrees at Martinsburg, WV, 109 degrees at Cumberland, MD, and Frederick, MD, 110 degrees at Runyon, NJ, and 111 degrees at Phoenixville, PA, established all-time record highs for those four states. It was the hottest day of record for the Middle Atlantic Coast Region.
    1936 - 111ø F (44ø C), Phoenixville, Pennsylvania (state record)
    1936 - Billie Holiday recorded "Billie's Blues" for Okeh Records, along with Bunny Berigan, Artie Shaw and Cozy Cole.
http://www.heptune.com/billiesb.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001NKA
/recommendedrea06/
102-8917386-9557756
http://www.billie-holiday.net/intro.html
http://www.duke.edu/~miness/index.htm
http://www.billieholidaycircle.freeserve.co.uk/
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/2964/Billie.html
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/grp/product.asp?pid=9125
    1936 - Outfielder Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies became the fourth player in Major League history to hit four homes runs in one game. He completed the feat in a 10-inning game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Forbes Field. The Phillies won, 9-6.
    1938 - Birthday of trumpet player Lee Morgan (1938-72) in Philadelphia, PA.
http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/mogie.html
http://blackhistory.eb.com/micro/726/95.html
http://www.fsinet.or.jp/~lee/lee/leebio.htm
http://www.jpc-music.com/5556805.htm
http://www.fsinet.or.jp/~lee/lee/leemorgn.htm
    1938 – Howard Hughes completed his flight around the world in 91 hours.
    1941 - Trumpeter Bobby Hackett joins the Glenn Miller Band (“String of Pearls” and many other “historic” jazz solos, also a great Dixieland trumpet player, plus was featured in the great Jackie Gleason Orchestra recordings. Outstanding).
http://www.libertyhall.com/bobby.html
http://www.spaceagepop.com/hackett.htm
http://www.landing.com/profiles/hackett.htm
    1941 - Normally we only salute birthdays, but since the Library of Congress notes this, we also note the death of pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941), who claimed he invented jazz, died in Los Angeles at age 50. Morton, born Ferdinand La Menthe in New Orleans, claimed he invented jazz. Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton is perhaps most notable as jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential spirit and characteristics when notated.  His composition "Jelly Roll Blues" was the first published jazz composition, in 1915.  Among the other jazz classics that flowed from Morton's pen were "Wolverine Blues" and "King Porter Stomp." Morton's peak years of popularity were from 1917 to 1922, when his Red Hot Peppers Band played college and hotel dates and recorded for the Victor Company. But with the coming of the swing era in the 1930's, Morton's combination of ragtime and blues was considered old-fashioned. He recorded his music and his life story for the Library of Congress three years before his death.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul10.html
http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html
http://www.doctorjazz.freeserve.co.uk/page10.html
http://www.jazzitude.com/morton.htm
http://www.canehdian.com/non/artists/m/jellyrollmorton/biography.html
http://www.geocities.com/infrogmation/Morton.html
http://www.southernmusic.net/jellybio.htm
http://www.redhotjazz.com/jrmtrio.html
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_morton_jelly_roll.htm
    1943 - *PARLE, JOHN JOSEPH, Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve. Born: 26 May 1920, Omaha, Nebr. Accredited to: Nebraska. Citation: For valor and courage above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of Small Boats in the U.S.S. LST 375 during the amphibious assault on the island of Sicily, 9-10 July 1943. Realizing that a detonation of explosives would prematurely disclose to the enemy the assault about to be carried out, and with full knowledge of the peril involved, Ens. Parle unhesitatingly risked his life to extinguish a smoke pot accidentally ignited in a boat carrying charges of high explosives, detonating fuses and ammunition. Undaunted by fire and blinding smoke, he entered the craft, quickly snuffed out a burning fuse, and after failing in his desperate efforts to extinguish the fire pot, finally seized it with both hands and threw it over the side. Although he succumbed a week later from smoke and fumes inhaled, Ens. Parle's heroic self-sacrifice prevented grave damage to the ship and personnel and insured the security of a vital mission. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
    1943 - “Operation Husky” began.  The Allied infantry attacked Italy on the island of Sicily. The British entry into Syracuse was the first Allied success in Europe. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied Commander in Chief, described the invasion as “the first page in the liberation of the European Continent.”
    1943 - Birthday of tennis legend Arthur Ashe (1943-93) in Richmond, VA.  Also the first male African-American tennis player of any renown. He was chosen for the US Davis Cup team in 1963 and became captain in 1980. He won the US men's singles championship and US Open in 1968 and, in 1975, the men's singles at Wimbledon. Ashe won a total of 33 career titles. In 1985, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. A social activist, Ashe worked to eliminate racism and stereotyping. He helped create inner-city tennis programs for young and wrote the three-volume “A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete.” Aware that USA Today intended to publish an article revealing the he was infected with the AIDS virus, Ashe announced, April 8, 1992, that he probably contracted HIV through a transfusion during bypass surgery in 1983. He began fund-raising activities and during his last years, campaigned for public awareness regarding the AID epidemic.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0710.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/monument/ashe.html
http://www.arthurasheinstitute.org/
    1947 - Singer Arlo Guthrie was born in Coney Island, New York, the eldest son of famed folk singer Woody Guthrie. Arlo is best known for the underground favorite, "Alice's Restaurant," released in 1967, and the 1972 hit "City of New Orleans." One of Arlo Guthrie's first professional appearances was on the CTV network show "Let's Sing Out" in 1966.
http://www.arlo.net/
http://www.newberkshire.com/adg.html
    1948 - Reliever Satchel Paige got his first Major League win as Larry Doby hit a two-run homer and the Indians beat Philadelphia, 8-5.
    1950 - The Victor Talking Machine Company, later to become RCA Victor and the world's first great record label, trademarked its slogan "His Master's Voice," which referred to the iconic image of the Victor dog, Nipper, cocking an ear to the gramophone as if his master were actually in the room.
    1950 - The nation's favorite popular music countdown, "Your Hit Parade," gets its own home on NBC TV to match its longtime radio counterpart.
    1951 - Top Hits
“Too Young” - Nat King Cole
“Mister and Mississippi” - Patti Page
“On Top of Old Smokey” - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
“I Want to Be with You Always” - Lefty Frizzell
    1954 - New York radio station WINS announced the hiring of pioneer rock disc jockey Alan Freed to be the host of their "Rock 'n' Roll Party." As he did on his earlier "Moondog's Rock 'n Roll Party Show" on WJW in Cleveland, Freed programmed records by black R'n'B artists that many white teenagers had never heard before. Freed is often credited with coining the term rock 'n' roll.  Freed would move across town to WABC two years later, where he would eventually be fired for his participation in the "payola scandal."
http://www.alanfreed.com/biography.html
    1954 - Producer Sam Phillips took an acetate of Elvis Presley singing "That's All Right" to DJ Dewey Phillips at Memphis radio station WHBQ. After Dewey played the song on the air around 9:30 that evening, listeners flooded the phone lines, requesting to hear the song again.
    1955 - SCHOONOVER, DAN D., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company A, 13th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Sokkogae, Korea, 8 to 10 July 1953. Entered service at: Boise, Idaho. Born: 8 October 1933, Boise, Idaho. G.O. No.: 5, 14 January 1955. Citation: Cpl. Schoonover, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. He was in charge of an engineer demolition squad attached to an infantry company which was committed to dislodge the enemy from a vital hill. Realizing that the heavy fighting and intense enemy fire made it impossible to carry out his mission, he voluntarily employed his unit as a rifle squad and, forging up the steep barren slope, participated in the assault on hostile positions. When an artillery round exploded on the roof of an enemy bunker, he courageously ran forward and leaped into the position, killing 1 hostile infantryman and taking another prisoner. Later in the action, when friendly forces were pinned down by vicious fire from another enemy bunker, he dashed through the hail of fire, hurled grenades in the nearest aperture, then ran to the doorway and emptied his pistol, killing the remainder of the enemy. His brave action neutralized the position and enabled friendly troops to continue their advance to the crest of the hill. When the enemy counterattacked he constantly exposed himself to the heavy bombardment to direct the fire of his men and to call in an effective artillery barrage on hostile forces. Although the company was relieved early the following morning, he voluntarily remained in the area, manned a machine gun for several hours, and subsequently joined another assault on enemy emplacements. When last seen he was operating an automatic rifle with devastating effect until mortally wounded by artillery fire. Cpl. Schoonover's heroic leadership during 2 days of heavy fighting, superb personal bravery, and willing self-sacrifice inspired his comrades and saved many lives, reflecting lasting glory upon himself and upholding the honored traditions of the military service.
    1959 - Top Hits
“Lonely Boy” - Paul Anka
“Dream Lover” - Bobby Darin
“Bobby Sox to Stockings” - Frankie Avalon
“The Battle of New Orleans” – Johnny Horton
    1959 - One of the most popular Fifties "rock and roll movies," Alan Freed's “Go, Johnny, Go!” opened nationwide, featuring Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran, Sandy Stewart, the Cadillacs, Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows, Jimmy Clanton, and -- in his one and only film appearance -- Ritchie Valens, who died in February in the Iowa plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
    1961 – “Tossin' and Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis topped the charts and stayed there for 7 weeks.
    1962 - The "Telstar" communications satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, FL. "Telstar" would usher in a new age of communication via telephone and TV, with voice and picture transmission from Europe to America and back. Signals were picked up by a 38-ton antenna in Andover, Maine. To commemorate the event, an instrumental hit by the Tornadoes, an English surf-rock group, made it to number one for three weeks in November, 1962. It was titled, "Telstar", of course.
    1963 - Martha and the Vandellas release "Heatwave", which will reach #4 in the US by mid-August.
    1965 - Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" is released, as is Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe".
    1965 - The Rolling Stones, who took their name from a Muddy Waters song, hit the top spot on the "Billboard" chart. It was their first time at the top.  “Satisfaction" stayed at number one for 4 weeks. Considered by many to be the greatest rock band in the world, "Satisfaction" remains the Stones' signature.
    1967 - Top Hits
“Windy” - The Association
“Little Bit o' Soul” - The Music Explosion
“Can't Take My Eyes Off You” - Frankie Valli
“All the Time” - Jack Greene
    1966 - Cat Stevens cuts his first record, "I Love My Dog" at Decca Records' studio in London. It would peak at #28 in the UK the following November.
    1967 - Kenny Rogers and several other members of the New Christy Minstrels quit to form the First Edition. The new group received their first national exposure on the Smothers Brothers TV show, and went on to have such hits as "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" in 1968, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" in 1969 and 1971's "Something's Burning." Kenny Rogers began his solo career in 1974.
http://www.delafont.com/music_acts/Kenny-Rogers.htm 
    1967 - Bobbie Gentry records "Ode to Billie Joe", which will top the Billboard chart by next August.
    1968 - Guitarist Eric Clapton announced the breakup of Cream, the power rock trio he had formed with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. Cream played a farewell concert in London in November, and Clapton and Baker then formed the short-lived Blind Faith.
http://www.claptononline.com/
   1968 - Democratic National Convention (July 10-14) nominated Senator George S. McGovern of South Dakota for President and Senator Thomas F. Eagleton of Missouri for Vice-President. On July 25 Eagleton confirmed rumors that he had received psychiatric treatment three times from 1960 to 1966 for nervous exhaustion and fatigue. On July 31, Eagleton withdrew from the campaign. On August 8, R. Sargent Shriver, former head of the Peace Corps, succeeded Eagleton on the ticket. Richard M. Nixon went on the win the greatest Republican landslide in history with Spiro T. Agnew re-elected Vice-President. The electoral vote was Nixon, 521; Senator George S. McGovern, 17. The popular vote was Nixon 45,767,218 to McGovern 28,357,668. The landslide victory of President Richard M. Nixon was interpreted by some as a vote of confidence in the Nixon administration's policies; however, in 1973, the Watergate burglary brought about an investigation and call for copies of the tapes of conversation. In August, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew revealed he was under investigation in connection with official corruption in Maryland that took place when he served as Baltimore County executive and governor of Maryland, including payments brought to his desk at the White House. By the year's end, his administration was in deep trouble and Nixon was under great pressure by those in his cabinet to resign, which he did on Aug. 8, 1974, the only President to do so.
    1975 - Top Hits
“Love Will Keep Us Together” - The Captain & Tennille
“The Hustle” - Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
“Listen to What the Man Said” - Wings
“Lizzie and the Rainman” - Tanya Tucker
    1975 - After being married for only ten days, Cher petitioned for divorce from Greg Allman.
http://www.epiccenter.com/greggallman/
    1976 - The Starland Vocal Band, the first act to be signed to John Denver's new Windsong label, had the top tune on the Billboard chart with "Afternoon Delight".
    1980 - Ayatollah Khomeini releases Iran hostage Richard I Queen, US Vice-Consul, due to his illness.    1980 - The temperature in downtown Kansas City, MO, hit 109 degrees, following a sultry overnight low of 89 degrees. The daily low of 89 degrees was the warmest of record for Kansas City, and overall it was the hottest July day of record. It was the seventh of a record seventeen consecutive days of 100 degree heat, and the mean temperature for the month of 90.2 degrees was also an all-time record for Kansas City.
    1983 - Top Hits
“Every Breath You Take” - The Police
“Never Gonna Let You Go” - Sergio Mendez
“Too Shy” - Kajagoogoo
“Highway 40 Blues” - Ricky Skaggs
    1985 - The Coca-Cola Company announced that the former (regular) Coke was coming back to share shelf space with the New Coke, after a consumer furor. The original formula was renamed Coca-Cola Classic.  It remains one of history’s marketing disasters.
    1986 - Grateful Dead lead guitarist Jerry Garcia lapsed into a diabetic coma in Greenbrae, California. He recovered, and was released from hospital three weeks later - on his 44th birthday.
    1989 - One of the northeast's largest severe weather outbreaks with at least 15 tornadoes.  Severe thunderstorms spawned seventeen tornadoes in the northeastern U.S.  A powerful (F-4) tornado struck Hamden, CT and New Haven, CT, causing 100 million dollars damage at Hamden, and another 20 million dollars damage around New Haven. Forty persons were injured in the tornado. Seventy persons were injured in a tornado which traveled from Watertown, NY to Waterbury, CT, and another powerful (F-4) tornado touched down near Ames, NY, injuring twenty persons along its 43.5 mile track. It was the strongest tornado of record for eastern New York State. An F3 tornado ripped through Montgomery, Schoharie, Albany and Greene counties in New York causing $20 million in damage and injuring 20 people. Another F3 tornado nearly wiped out the town of Bantam, CT. $100 million damage was done by another tornado, rated an F4 over Hamden, CT. Other tornadoes struck New York City, northern New Jersey, central and eastern Massachusetts Oxford, CT had over 4.4 inches in just 30 minutes from the same complex that spawned the tornadoes in New York and Connecticut. That complex in the first 5 hours produced well over 12,500 lightning strikes
    1991 - Top Hits
“Rush, Rush” - Paula Abdul
“Unbelievable” - EMF
“Right Here, Right Now” - Jesus Jones
“Don't Rock the Jukebox” - Alan Jackson
    1991 - President George Bush lifted US trade and investment sanctions against South Africa. The sanctions had been imposed through the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which Congress had passed to punish South Africa for policies of racial separation.
    1993 - "Weak" by SWV topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.
    1998 - "Lethal Weapon 4" premiered, garnering $34.05 box-office bucks its opening weekend. Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are on the hit list of the nasty Chinese Triads. Riggs and Murtaugh are joined by Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) and Lee Butters (Chris Rock). Lorna Cole (played by Rene Russo) is Riggs' sweetie this time around.
    1999 - The Yankees' winning streak of 124 consecutive games when they led entering the ninth ends as pinch-hitter Matt Franco singles off Mariano Rivera giving the Mets a dramatic come-from-behind Subway Series inter-league victory, 9-8.
    2001 - In his final All-Star appearance, Cal Ripken is named the MVP of the game. His home run along with consecutive dingers from Derek Jeter and Magglio Ordonez power the AL to its fifth victory in a row beating the National League at Seattle's Safeco Field, 4-1.
    2002 - Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell, Ted Williams' oldest daughter, in an open letter, urges former Senator John Glenn and President Bush to help in preventing her half-brother, John Henry, from freezing the body of their dad at a cryonics lab in Arizona. She believes it her father's wish to be cremated and not frozen.
    2013 - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appears for the first time in court since his arrest April 19; he pleads not guilty to 30 charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction.