1769 - Mission San Diego de Alcala was dedicated and blessed by Father Junipero Serra.  After high mass, the royal standard of Spain was unfurled over the mission, which was named in honor of San Diego de Alcala.  The mission, located in what is now San Diego, California, was the first of 21 California missions to the Indians
http://www.missionsandiego.com/
http://www.californiamissions.com/cahistory/sandiego.html
http://sandiegohistory.org/journal/97summer/missionrevolt.htm
http://www.chiptaylor.com/ttlmnp0216-.html
    1775 – John Adams, future US President, graduated from Harvard College.
    1779 - The first Revolutionary War bayonet charge was led by General Anthony Wayne, known as “Mad Anthony,” who charged the British garrison at Stony Point, NY, with 1,200 men and forced it to surrender.  He was slightly wounded. The British loss was 63 killed and 553 wounded; the Americans loss, 15 killed and 83 wounded. http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/wayne.html
http://tristate.pgh.net/~bsilver/GALLERY.htmn
    1790 - George Washington signed legislation that selected the District of Columbia as the permanent capital of the US. Boundaries of the district were established in 1792.  Plans called for the government to remain housed at Philadelphia, PA, until 1800, when the new national capital would be ready for occupancy.
(lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul16.html   )
    1808 - Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, two of the few white men who had actually seen the mysterious territory of the Far West, help form a new company to exploit the region's abundant fur-bearing animals. On the journey, they were overwhelmed by the abundance for beaver, otter, and other fur-bearing creatures they saw. The territory was ripe for fur trapping, they reported to President Thomas Jefferson. Both Lewis and Clark recognized that sizeable fortunes could be made in fur trapping, and they were not averse to using their exclusive knowledge to gain a share of the profits.
    1821 - Birthday of Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), Founder of Christian Science, born near Concord, NH.  She is one of the very few, if not the only woman to found a major religion.   In 1874, she founded the Christian Science movement after recovering from illnesses with the use of spiritual healing. She studied the process and developed her own system that preached that the mind is the only reality and that illnesses and infirmities of the body are merely illusions and can be cured by mental effort, chiefly the reading of Jesus's words in the New Testament.
    1849 - Clara Shortridge Foltz (1849-1934) was born in Lafayette, Indiana.  U.S. reformer, attorney, editor, and publisher who changed California's sexist laws. She had read law and then found out California did not allow non-male attorneys.  Together with Laura D. Gorden, they got that law changed. When she was denied admission to a San Francisco law school, she brought suit and along with Ms. Gorden, argued it to victory to the California Supreme Court.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/WLHP/clara/clara.shtml
http://www.firstladylawyer.com/
http://www.firstladylawyer.com/about_clara.asp http://www.elmhurst.edu:8413/articles/11/1100962.html
    1853 - The New York Clipper publishes what is believed to be the first tabulated box score of a baseball game. The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York defeated the Gotham Club, 21 - 12, on July 5th.
    1861 –At the order of President Lincoln, Union troops began the 25-mile march into the Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the Civil War that would begin July 21, 1861.  Each side had about 18,000 poorly trained and poorly led troops in their first battle. It was a Confederate victory followed by a disorganized retreat of the Union forces.  Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union Army across Bull Run against the equally inexperienced Confederate Army of Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, camped near Manassas Junction. McDowell's ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack on the Confederate left was poorly executed by his officers and men; nevertheless, the Confederates, who had been planning to attack the Union left flank, found themselves at an initial disadvantage.  Confederate reinforcements under Brig. Gen. Joe Johnston arrived by railroad and the course of the battle quickly changed. A Brigade of Virginians under the relatively unknown brigadier general from the VMI, Thomas J. Jackson, stood their ground and Jackson received his famous nickname, "Stonewall Jackson". The Confederates launched a strong counterattack, and as the Union troops began withdrawing under fire, many panicked and the retreat turned into a rout. McDowell's men frantically ran without order in the direction of Washington, D.C. Both armies were sobered by the fierce fighting and many casualties, and realized the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than either had anticipated.
    1862 – David Farragut became the first Rear Admiral in the US Navy.
    1862 – African-American journalist and anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was born the daughter of slaves at Holly Springs, Mississippi and grew up as Jim Crow and lynching were becoming prevalent.  Wells argued that lynchings occurred not to defend white women, but because of whites' fear of economic competition from blacks. She traveled extensively, founding anti-lynching societies and black women's clubs.  Wells' “Red Record” (1895) was one of the first accounts of lynchings in the South.
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/wells.html
http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/barn-ida.htm
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/ibw.html http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/idawells.html
    1863 - Nearly 1000 persons were killed or wounded in New York City before federal troops restored order and end of three days of anti-draft riots.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/draftriots.htm
http://www.civilwarhome.com/fryor.htm
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/381/23843
http://www.oup-usa.org/docs/0195071301.html
http://nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/social/ais/N-HIdentityCrisis/NYCDraftRiots.htm
http://www.nyhistory.org/education/teachers/draftriots.html
    1867 - Averill Paint Company of New York City produced the first ready-mixed paint. The company went out of business in the early 1900's, not being able to maintain a consistent standard of color.  The first manufacturer to do so was Henry Alden Sherwin, founder of Sherwin-Williams, Cleveland, OH, which began producing paint in 1890.
    1877 - President Rutherford B. Hayes called out Federal troops to suppress the strike by railroad employees.  This was in response for aid from the governors of West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and other states.
    1880 - Writer Kathleen Norris (1880-1966) was born in Washington, DC.  A highly popular U.S. author, she wrote 81 novels and many short stories.
http://www.barclayagency.com/norris.html
http://www.lion-publishing.co.uk/authors/meet_kathleen_norris.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/173129/103-5362656-4423850
    1882 - Birthday of V.A. Johnson, the first Black female to argue before the US Supreme Court.
    1889 - Birthday of Joseph Jefferson (Shoeless Joe) Jackson (1889-1951), baseball player, at Brandon Mills, SC.  According to Jackson, he got his nickname during a mill game. Jackson suffered from blisters on his foot from a new pair of cleats, and they hurt so much that he had to take his shoes off before he was at bat. As play continued, a heckling fan noticed Jackson running to third base in his socks, and shouted "You shoeless son of a gun, you!" and the resulting nickname "Shoeless Joe" stuck with him throughout the remainder of his life.  Jackson's legendary excellence as one of the game's finest right-hand hitters is besmirched by his alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal of 1919.  Jackson stood accused of participating in the conspiracy to throw the World Series, and he, along with seven teammates, was banned for life. Jackson played LF for most of his career, and currently has the third-highest career batting average in Major League history, .351. In 1911, Jackson hit .408, still the sixth-highest single-season total since 1901, which marked the beginning of the modern era. His average that year also set the record for batting average in a single season by a rookie.  Babe Ruth said that he modeled his hitting technique after Jackson's.  If they let Pete Rose into the Baseball Hall of Fame, they surely must bring Shoeless Joe with him.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=jacksjo01
http://www.charm.net/~marc/chronicle/bookrev3_may02.shtml
    1894 - Negro miners in Alabama were killed by striking white miners
    1897 - At the age of 45, Cap Anson became the first Major Leaguer with 3,000 hits when he singled off Baltimore’s George Blackburn.
    1900 - His Master's Voice, the logo of the Victor Recording Company and later RCA Victor, was registered with the US Patent Office. The logo shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone.
    1902 – John McGraw, who many consider to be among baseball’s greatest managers, took over the New York Giants.
    1904 – The islands of the Manu'a group (Samoa) were ceded to the US by their chiefs.
    1907 - Actress Barbara Stanwyck (1907-90) was born Ruby Stevens at the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, NY. At the age of 18, she won a leading role in the Broadway melodrama “Noose”, appearing for the first time as Barbara Stanwyck. She appeared in 82 films including “Stella Dallas”, “Double Indemnity”, “Sorry, Wrong Number”, “The Lady Eve” and the television series “The Big Valley.” In 1944, the government listed her as the nation's highest paid woman, earning $400,000 per year. My late father, Lawrence Menkin, worked on two of her films as a writer in the late 1940's, but did not like “life” in Hollywood. He returned in 1954, and did stories for her television show.
http://lynnpdesign.com/classicmovies/stanwyck/bio.html
http://www.moviesunlimited.com/stanwyck.htm
    1907 – Frances Horwich (1907-2001) was born in Ottawa, OH.  Who is she?  Remember “Ding Dong School”?  She was the host of the popular children's television program that ran from 1952-56.
    1907 – Orville Redenbacher (1907-95) was born in Brazil, IN.
    1909 – The Detroit Tigers and the Washington Senators played the AL’s longest scoreless tie, 18 innings.
    1911 – Ginger Rogers (1911-95) was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, MO.  An American actress, dancer and singer who appeared in films, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century, she made 73 films, collaborating with Fred Astaire as a romantic lead actress and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musicals that revolutionized the genre. She achieved great success on her own in a variety of film roles and won the Academy award for Best Actress for her performance in “Kitty Foyle” (1940). She ranks #14 on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars list of actress screen legends.
    1920 - In his first season with the New York Yankees, Babe Ruth hit his 30th home run to break his own record set in 1919 as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Ruth finished the year with 54 home runs.  He hit 59 in 1921 and 60 in 1927.
    1924 – Bess Myerson (1924-2014) was born in The Bronx.  She was Miss America, 1945 and remains the only Jewish woman to win that title.  Myerson was seen frequently on television during the 1950s and 1960s, and was a regular on the celebrity quiz show “I’ve Got a Secret”. She was a commissioner in the New York City government in two administrations and ran unsuccessfully for the Senate from New York in 1980.
    1925 – Dr. Frank Jobe (1925-2014), the orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic who pioneered both elbow ligament replacement and major reconstructive shoulder surgery for baseball players, was born in Greensboro, NC. In 1974, Jobe performed the first ever "Tommy John Surgery" on then-Dodgers pitcher Tommy John. The procedure has become so prevalent an estimated one-third of all major league pitchers have undergone it.  Jobe also performed the first major reconstructive shoulder surgery on a big league player in 1990, which allowed Dodger star Orel Hershiser to continue his career. Jobe served as a special adviser to the team until his death.
    1925 - Birthday of vibe player Cal Tjader (1925-82), St. Louis, MO.
http://www.spaceagepop.com/tjader.htm
http://www.caltjader.com/forum/index.php
    1925 - Pianist Nat Pierce’s (1925-92) birthday in Somerville, MA.
http://www.hepjazz.com/natbiog.htm
http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Nat%20Pierce%20Story.htm
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1927006233
    1926 - National Geographic took the first natural-color undersea photos.
    1928 - Birthday of guitarist Bola Sete (1928-97) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/REVIEWS/r0600_124.HTM http://www.who2.com/bolasete.html
    1928 - Cow Cow Davenport records “Cow Cow Blues” (Vo 1198).
http://www.alamhof.org/davenport.htm
http://www.worldofgramophones.com/charlesdavenport.html
http://www.bluesrolls.com/
    1934 - Beginning of the San Francisco General Strike. 127,000 workers participate. A longshoreman's strike spreads to paralyze the area and lead to a successful settlement.  The strike lasted eighty-three days, triggered by sailors and this four-day general strike, and led to the unionization of all of the west coast ports of the United States.  The San Francisco General Strike, along with the 1934 Toledo Auto-Lite Strike, led by the American Workers Party, and the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike, led by the Communist League of America, were important catalysts for the rise of industrial unionism in the 1930s, much of which was organized through the CIO, Congress of Industrial Organizations.
    1935 - Oklahoma City, OK, installed the first automatic parking
Twenty-foot spaces were painted on the pavement and a parking meter that accepted nickel was installed at the head of each space by the Dual Parking Meter Co. of Oklahoma City.
http://www.alamhof.org/davenport.htm meter. 
    1936 - Photographer Walker Evans (1903-75) starts his assignment of sharecroppers in Hale County, Alabama http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul16.html
    1936 – The first X-ray photo of arterial circulation was taken in Rochester, NY.
    1938 - Larry Clinton, with Bea Wain, records, “My Reverie”.
    1940 - Inkspots record “We Three “, “Java Jive” for Decca.
    1941 - Birthday of singer Desmond Dekker (1941-2006), one of the pioneers of reggae music, in Kingston, Jamaica. He was named the island's top singer five times between 1963 and 1969. Dekker's recording of "The Israelites" sold a million copies worldwide in 1969, hitting number one in Britain and making the top ten in North America as well. http://www.findthefun.com/events/e0009055.htm
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/9229/itmek.htm
    1941 - 100ø F (38ø C) highest temperature ever recorded in Seattle, Washington.
    1941 – Hitting in his 56th consecutive game, still the Major League record, Joe DiMaggio went 3-for-4.  On the following day, at Cleveland Stadium, the streak was finally snapped, thanks in part to two backhand stops by Indians 3B Ken Keltner. DiMaggio batted .408 during the streak, with 15 home runs and 55 RBI.  The day after the streak ended, DiMaggio started another streak that lasted 16 games. The distinction of hitting safely in 72 of 73 games is also a record.
    1943 – “How ’bout them Cowboys!”  Jimmy Johnson was born in Port Arthur, TX.  During five years as head coach of the University of Miami, Johnson compiled a 52–9 record, appeared in five New Year's Day bowl games, winning one national championship (1987) and losing one to the Penn State Nittany Lions (1986).  In 1989, Jerry Jones, the new owner of the Dallas Cowboys, a long-time friend and former University of Arkansas teammate of Johnson, asked him to be the new head coach, replacing Tom Landry, who had been the Cowboys’ only coach since its beginning in 1960.  Johnson served as head coach of the Cowboys from 1989 through 1993 and he is one of only six men in NFL history (including Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Mike Shanahan, and Bill Belichick) to coach consecutive Super Bowl winners, winning in 1992 and 1993.
    1945 – In the New Mexican desert at Alamogordo Air Base, 125 miles southeast of Albuquerque, the experimental atomic bomb was set off at 5:30 AM. Dubbed “Fat Boy” by its creator, the plutonium bomb vaporized the steel scaffolding holding it as the immense fireball rose 8,000 ft. in a fraction of a second—ultimately creating a mushroom cloud to a height of 41,000 ft. At ground zero, the bomb emitted heat three times the temperature of the interior of the sun. All plant and animal life for a mile around ceased to exist. When informed by President Truman at Potsdam of the successful experiment, Winston Churchill responded, “It’s the Second Coming in wrath!”  The US cruiser, Indianapolis, left San Francisco with another atom bomb, “Little Boy”, aboard, bound for Tinian Island in the Pacific.
    1946 – The temperature at Medford, OR, soared to an all-time high of 115 degrees to begin a two week heat wave. During that Oregon heat wave the mercury hit 100 degrees at Sexton Summit for the only time in forty years of records.
    1948 – After 8 ½ seasons as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Leo Durocher resigned abruptly to accept the manager’s job with the New York Giants, replacing Mel Ott. With Durocher at the helm, the Giants won two NL pennants:  in 1951 by defeating the Dodgers in a playoff and in 1954 when they swept the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.
    1949 – Top Hits
“Some Enchanted Evening” – Perry Como
“Bali Ha’I” – Perry Como
“Again” – Gordon Jenkins
“One Kiss Too Many” – Eddy Arnold
    1951 – “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger was first published.
    1951 - The Yankees optioned rookie Mickey Mantle to Kansas City, their AA farm team. Mantle, plagued with strikeouts, fanning three times on the 13th and in a slump, went 0-for-22 in his start with the Blues, before ending with a tear at .361. The Yankees recalled him on August 20 in time for their stretch run to the pennant.
    1956 – The Detroit Tigers and Briggs Stadium were both sold for a then-record sum of $5.5 million.  Rookies’ bonuses are now more than that.
    1956 – The Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus performed under a canvas tent for the last time.
    1957 – Marine Maj. John Glenn set the transcontinental speed record (03:28:08).
    1957 – Top Hits
“Teddy Bear” – Elvis Presley
“Searchin’/Young Blood” – The Coasters
“Valley of Tears/It’s You I Love” – Fats Domino
“Bye Bye Love” – The Everly Brothers
    1959 – The Coasters record “Poison Ivy” at the Atlantic Recording Studio in New York City. The song was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
    1959 – Adios Butler, driven by Clint Hodgins, won the Cane Pace, the first jewel in pacing’s triple crown, at Yonkers Raceway.  Adios Oregon finished second. Adios Butler went on to win the Messenger Stakes and the Little Brown Jug to become the first triple crown winner in pacing history.
    1961 – Ralph Boston sets the long jump record at 27’ 2”
    1963 – Phoebe Cates was born in NYC…”Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, “Gremlins’, “Private School”.
    1964 – Republicans selected Barry Goldwater as their Presidential candidate.  "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" and "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."
    1965 – Top Hits
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – The Rolling Stones
“Wonderful World” – Herman’s Hermits
“Yes, I’m Ready” – Barbara Mason
“Before You Go” – Buck Owens
    1966 – Tommy James and The Shondells started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart with “Hanky Panky”, a song first recorded by The Raindrops in 1963. A Pittsburgh DJ had begun playing the two year old recording and regional record sales had reached over 80,000. James called the members of his now defunct band, but they were no longer interested. He recruited a group called The Raconteurs to be the new Shondells and took the master tape of “Hanky Panky” to Roulette Records, who released it. Tommy would later say, “One night I was playing for 20 drunks in a bar in Michigan, and the next night I’m playing for 10,000 screaming fans in Pittsburgh. It was literally overnight.”
    1966 – The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer In The City” is released.
    1966 – Guitarist Eric Clapton, formerly of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and the Yardbirds, joined two ex-members of the Graham Bond Organization, bass guitarist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, to form Cream. The influential blues-rock trio sold more than 15 million albums in their three years together.
    1966 – The Supreme Court hands down its decision in Miranda v. Arizona, establishing the principle that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before interrogation. Now considered standard police procedure, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you,” has been heard so many times in television and film dramas that it has become almost cliché.  The roots of the Miranda decision go back to March 2, 1963, when an 18-year-old Phoenix woman told police that she had been abducted, driven to the desert, and raped. Detectives investigating her story gave her a polygraph test, but the results were inconclusive. However, tracking the license plate number of a car that resembled that of her attacker brought police to Ernesto Miranda, who had a prior record as a Peeping Tom. Although the victim did not identify Miranda in a line-up, he was brought into police custody and interrogated. What happened next is disputed, but officers left the interrogation with a confession that Miranda later recanted, unaware that he didn’t have to say anything at all. The confession was extremely brief and differed in certain respects from the victim’s account of the crime. However, Miranda’s appointed defense attorney (who was paid a grand total of $100) didn’t call any witnesses, and Miranda was convicted after a short trial. While Miranda was in an Arizona state prison, the American Civil Liberties Union took up his appeal, claiming that the confession was false and coerced. The Supreme Court overturned his conviction, but ironically, Miranda was retried and convicted in October, 1966. As a result of the case against Miranda, each and every person must be informed of his or her rights upon arrest. In 1999, the Supreme Court agreed to re-examine the Miranda requirements in the face of persistent complaints that confessions should not be barred from evidence simply because a police officer failed to read the suspect his or her rights.
    1967 – On the last day of the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, 20 year old Arlo Guthrie performs his new song, a 20 minute ditty called “Alice’s Restaurant”…   
“You can get anything you want… at Alice’s Restaurant, exceptin’ Alice
You can get anything you want… at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half-a-mile from the railroad track
Oh… You can get anything you want
At Alice’s restaurant.”
 http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Arlo%20Guthrie
http://www.arlo.net/lyrics/alices.shtml
    1967 – Comedian, actor, part-time baseball player Will Ferrell was born in Irvine, CA.
    1968 – One of the NFL’s greatest running backs, Barry Sanders, was born in Wichita, KS.  Averaging over 1,500 rushing yards per season, Sanders left the game just 1,457 yards short of being first place on the list for the NFL all-time rushing record at that time, having spent his entire career with the Detroit Lions.  His career rushing yards stand at 15, 269, third all-time.
    1969 - The launch of Apollo II, the first US man sent to the moon. This launch resulted in man's first moon landing, the first landing on any extraterrestrial body.
    1969 - The Who's "I'm Free" is released.
    1970 - The Pittsburgh Pirates played their first game at Three Rivers Stadium. The Bucs had spent 61 baseball seasons at Forbes Field. Cincinnati's Reds spoiled the housewarming for the Pirates with a 3-2 win. The game also marked the first time the Pirates wore new double-knit uniforms which became commonplace throughout both the American and National Leagues.  Three Rivers Stadium was demolished in 2001 and the Pirates moved into their new home, PNC Park.
    1972 - Smokey Robinson performed for the last time with the Miracles at a concert in Washington, DC. They had been together since 1959. Robinson would have a successful solo career, as well as continuing with his songwriting and serving as a vice-president of Motown Records.
    1973 - President Richard M. Nixon appointed the first female Air Force General, Brigadier General Jeanne Marjorie Holm of Portland, OR.
http://afgw.libraries.psu.edu/profindex.html#holm
http://www.af.mil/bios/bio_5838.shtml
    1973 - Top Hits
“Will It Go Round in Circles” - Billy Preston
“Kodachrome” - Paul Simon
“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” - Jim Croce
“Love is the Foundation” - Loretta Lynn
    1973 - The Senate Armed Services Committee begins a probe into allegations that the U.S. Air Force made thousands of secret B-52 raids into Cambodia in 1969 and 1970 at a time when the United States recognized the neutrality of the Prince Norodom Sihanouk regime in Cambodia. The Pentagon acknowledged that President Richard Nixon and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird had authorized the raids against Cambodia, but Sihanouk denied the State Department claim that he had requested or authorized the bombing. Though it was established that the bombing records had been falsified, Laird and Henry Kissinger, Nixon's National Security Advisor, denied any knowledge of the falsification. The Senate hearings eventually exposed the extent of the secrecy involved in the bombing campaign and seriously damaged the credibility of the Nixon administration.
    1973 - The existence of what were to be called the “Watergate tapes,” recordings of White House conversations, was revealed by former White House aid Alexander P. Butterfield.  On July 23 special prosecutor Archibald Cox and the Senate committee subpoenaed the tapes.  On July 26, President Nixon refused to release them, appealing the case through the courts until October 19, when he offered a summary of requested tapes in return for no further requests for tapes or papers. This was rejected by Cox.  John Ehrlichman and G. Gordon Liddy were soon to be indicted along with two White House officials, and in October, Vice President Agnew resigned and pleaded nolo contendre (no contest) to one charge of income tax evasion in return for the dropping of other charges.   Agnew was fined and given three years' probation.  Representative Gerald R. Ford, Republican of Michigan, was nominated by President Nixon for the vice-presidency, who soon was to become the first president not elected to the office directly or through the vice-presidency.
    1973 - Bob Dylan releases the soundtrack to "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid." Dylan stars in the flick with Kris Kristofferson. One song off the LP, "Knocking On Heaven's Door" reaches #12 while the soundtrack goes to #16
    1976 - After six years, Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina decide to split up their partnership, which had three big hits in "Thinking Of You," "My Music," and "Your Mama Don't Dance."
    1977 - Lightning struck a key electrical transmission line in Westchester County of southeastern New York State plunging New York City into darkness.
    1979 - Saddam Hussein succeeded Premier al-Bakr and became president of Iraq and chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). He established a multilayered security system with 3-5 secret police units. He later put his son Qusai in charge of his 10,000 member Special Guards.
    1980 - Afternoon highs of 108 degrees at Memphis, TN, 108 degrees at Macon, GA, and 105 degrees at Atlanta, GA, established all-time records for those three cities. The high of 110 degrees at Newington, GA, was just two degrees shy of the state record.
    1980 – Ronald Reagan was selected to be the republican Presidential candidate.
    1980 - The California Supreme Court rules that Ted Giannoulas, better known as the man inside the San Diego Chicken suit, can appear publicly in chicken suits similar to the one that brought him fame, but not bearing the call letters of San Diego's KGB radio station. The station had fired Giannoulas when he began appearing publicly in the suit without permission, and claimed it had all rights to the costume, which was first used as a promotional device in 1975.
    1981 - Top Hits
“Bette Davis Eyes” - Kim Carnes
“All Those Years Ago” - George Harrison
“The One that You Love” - Air Supply
“Fire & Smoke” - Earl Thomas Conley
    1981 – America’s story teller, Harry Chapin (1942-81), was killed in an automobile accident on the Long Island Expressway on the way to performing a free concert.  A spokesman for the Nassau County Medical Center said Chapin had suffered a heart attack and died of cardiac arrest, but there was no way of knowing whether it occurred before or after the accident. 
    1987 – The Yankees’ Don Mattingly hit his 4th grand slam of season and tied the AL record of homers in 6 straight games, on way to tie major league record of 8.
    1988 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets women's hepathlete record of 7,215 pts
http://www.donegal.k12.pa.us/dms/Kif/77/summaryb.html
    1988 - Thirty-seven cities in the eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Highs of 96 degrees at Bluefield, WV, and 104 degrees at Charleston, WV were all-time records, and afternoon highs of 98 degrees at Binghamton, NY, 99 degrees at Elkins, WV, and 103 degrees at Pittsburgh, PA, tied all- time records. Highs of 104 degrees at Baltimore, MD, and 105 degrees at Parkersburg, WV were records for July, and Beckley, WV, equaled their record for July with a high of 94 degrees. Martinsburg, WV, was the hot spot in the nation with a reading of 107 degrees. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms raked the northeastern U.S. with large hail and damaging winds.
    1989 - Top Hits
“Satisfied” - Richard Marx
“Buffalo Stance” - Neneh Cherry
“Baby Don't Forget My Number” - Milli Vanilli
“I Don't Want to Spoil the Party” - Roseanne Cash
    1989 - A thunderstorm at Albany, GA, produced 1.40 inches of rain in forty minutes, along with wind gusts to 82 mph. Afternoon highs of 98 degrees at Corpus Christi, TX, 110 degrees at Tucson, AZ, and 114 degrees at Phoenix, AZ, equaled records for the date. Greenwood, MS, reported 55.65 inches of precipitation for the year, twice the amount normally received by mid-July.
    1992 - Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" is played (over and over) as Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton accepts the Democratic nomination for President.
    1993 - Lotus began shipping a new version of its popular 1-2-3 spreadsheet for Microsoft Windows. Lotus 1-2-3 quickly took over the spreadsheet market when it was first introduced in 1983. The product almost instantly wiped out the leading spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, which had also been the first spreadsheet. Lotus bought Software Arts, the company that invented VisiCalc, in 1985.
    1994 - Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed together before 56,000 people at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on the eve of the World Cup soccer final. It was a reprise of their performance before the World Cup final in Rome four years earlier. The recording of the first concert sold more than 10 million copies, making it the best-selling classical album of all time. The album made at the Los Angeles concert was also a best-seller.
    1994 - Bruce Springsteen showed up unannounced at the 20th anniversary celebration at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Springsteen and his wife, Patty Scialfa, Jon Bon Jovi and former E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg performed several songs with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. In 1974, the Jukes had been the house band and Springsteen a regular performer at the Stone Pony. http://asburypark.net/springsteen/
    1995 - Retired journalist Marj Carpenter, 68, was elected moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the church's highest elected position.
http://www.pres-outlook.com/marjaward.html
http://www.layman.org/layman/news/2003%20general%20assembly/dark-times.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/103-5362656-4423850?tag=fast-bkasin00-20&keyword=Marj%20Carpenter&mode=books
    1997 - The Dow-Jones Index of 30 major industrial stocks topped the 8,000 mark for the first time.
    1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, MA, killing him, his wife and his sister-in-law. The three had been en route to a Kennedy family wedding. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that Kennedy suffered from spatial disorientation, brought on by a loss of balance in the inner ear. Kennedy's problems were exacerbated by the hazy night sky and his inability to see the horizon, plus his lack of experience as a pilot. The NTSB also said investigators did not find any mechanical problems with Kennedy's plane, a single-engine Piper Saratoga II. The conclusion: pilot error.
    2000 - A 1919 Chicago 'Black Sox' autographed baseball is auctioned for $93,666 at eBay. The ball's value, believed to be the most for such an item, was unusually high because the autographs included Shoeless Joe Jackson who was considered illiterate and usually just signed ‘X’ to legal documents.
    2004 - Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by a federal judge for lying about a stock sale.
    2005 - The Vocal Group Hall of Fame inducted its seventh annual group of honorees in Wildwood, NJ: The Angels, Brooklyn Bridge, the Chiffons, the Chi-Lites, the Del-Vikings, Fleetwood Mac, The Hilltoppers, the Mel-Tones, The Neville Brothers, the Pointer Sisters, The Rascals, The Righteous Brothers, the Sons of the Pioneers, and the Tymes.
    2012 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada, the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection.
    2014 - Time Warner, Inc. may be offered $75 billion by Twenty-First Century Fox in a proposed merger deal that would create the world's largest media company; Time Warner rejected an earlier proposal by Fox.  The two remain independent, but stay tuned.
    2014 - The U.S. added new sanctions against Russia, prohibiting certain Russian international businesses from accessing U.S. capital markets; the move extended previous sanctions targeting specific individuals and their companies.