Wednesday, July 29th
The 210th day of 2009.
There are 155 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On July 29, 1981, Britain's Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. (Go to article.)
On July 29, 1905, Dag Hammarskjold, the Nobel Prize-winning Swedish statesman and secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961, was born. Following his death on September 18, 1961, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On July 29, 1871, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Orange Riots in New York City. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1588 The English soundly defeated the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines.
1890 Artist Vincent van Gogh died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Auvers, France, at age 37.
1914 Transcontinental telephone service began with the first phone conversation between New York and San Francisco.
1957 Jack Paar made his debut as host of NBC's "Tonight" show.
1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
1966 Rock musician Bob Dylan was injured in a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, N.Y.
1967 Fire swept the USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin, killing 134 servicemen.
1968 Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's stance against artificial methods of birth control.
1975 President Gerald R. Ford became the first U.S. president to visit the site of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland.
1993 The Israeli Supreme Court acquitted retired Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk of being Nazi death camp guard "Ivan the Terrible" and threw out his death sentence. (Demjanjuk was deported in May 2009 to Germany to face similar charges.)
1998 Choreographer Jerome Robbins died at age 79.
1999 A day trader opened fire in two Atlanta brokerage offices, killing nine people and wounding 13 before shooting himself to death; he had earlier killed his wife and two children.
2003 Boston Red Sox batter Bill Mueller became the first player in major league history to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in a single game in a 14-7 win at Texas.
Current Birthdays
Martina McBride turns 43 years old today.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles Country singer Martina McBride turns 43 years old today.
85 Robert Horton
Actor
77 Nancy Kassebaum Baker
Former U.S. senator, R-Kansas
75 Robert Fuller
Actor
73 Elizabeth Dole
Former U.S. senator, R-N.C.
68 David Warner
Actor
63 Neal Doughty
Rock musician (REO Speedwagon)
60 Marilyn Quayle
Wife of former Vice President Dan Quayle
59 Mike Starr
Actor
56 Ken Burns
Documentary filmmaker
56 Tim Gunn
TV personality ("Project Runway")
56 Geddy Lee
Rock singer, musician (Rush)
56 Patti Scialfa
Rock singer, musician (The E Street Band)
46 Alexandra Paul
Actress
42 Chris Gorman
Rock musician
40 Tim Omundson
Actor
37 Wil Wheaton
Actor
36 Stephen Dorff
Actor
36 Wanya Morris
R&B singer (Boyz II Men)
35 Josh Radnor
Actor ("How I Met Your Mother")
32 Danger Mouse
DJ (Gnarls Barkley)
29 Rachel Miner
Actress
27 Allison Mack
Actress ("Smallville")
19 Matt Prokop
Actor ("High School Musical 3'")
