Today is Thursday, July 21, the 202nd day of 2005. There are 163 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 21, 1925, the so-called Monkey Trial ended in Dayton, Tenn., with John T. Scopes convicted of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. (The conviction was later overturned.)
On this date:
In 1831, Belgium became independent as Leopold I was proclaimed King of the Belgians.
In 1861, the first Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Va., resulting in a Confederate victory.
In 1899, author Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Ill.; poet Hart Crane was born in Garrettsville, Ohio.
In 1944, American forces landed on Guam during World War II.
In 1949, the U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.
In 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into northern and southern entities.
In 1955, during the Geneva summit, President Eisenhower presented his “open skies” proposal under which the U.S. and the Soviet Union would trade information on each other’s military facilities.
In 1961, Captain Virgil “Gus” Grissom became the second American to rocket into a suborbital pattern around the Earth, flying aboard the Liberty Bell 7.
In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module.
In 1980, draft registration began in the United States for 19-and 20-year-old men.
Ten years ago: At a 16-nation conference in London, the United States and NATO allies warned Bosnian Serbs that further attacks on U.N. safe havens would draw a “substantial and decisive response.”
Five years ago: Special Counsel John C. Danforth concluded “with 100 percent certainty” that the federal government was innocent of wrongdoing in the siege that killed 80 members of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in 1993. Group of 8 leaders met for an economic summit on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where President Clinton also sought to soothe long-simmering tensions over the huge American military presence.
One year ago: President Bush sketched out a second-term domestic agenda, telling campaign donors he would shift focus to improving high school education and expanding access to health care. Academy Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 75. Richard Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, the world’s largest tax preparer, died in Kansas City, Miss., at age 78.
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz musician-critic Billy Taylor is 84. Singer Kay Starr is 83. Actor-comedian Don Knotts is 81. Movie director Norman Jewison is 79. Actor Paul Burke is 79. Former Attorney General Janet Reno is 67. Actress Patricia Elliott is 63. Actor David Downing is 62. Actor Edward Herrmann is 62. Actor Leigh Lawson is 60. Actor Wendell Burton is 58. Actor Art Hindle is 57. Singer Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) is 57. Comedian-actor Robin Williams is 54. Comedian Jon Lovitz is 48. Actor Lance Guest is 45. Actor Matt Mulhern is 45. Rock musician Koen Lieckens (K’s Choice) is 39. Rock singer Emerson Hart (Tonic) is 36. Country singer Paul Brandt is 33. Actor Josh Hartnett is 27. Country singer Brad Mates (Emerson Drive) is 27. Actress Vanessa Lengies (“American Dreams”) is 20. Actor Jamie Waylett (“Harry Potter” films) is 16.
Thought for Today: “Happiness is good health and a bad memory.” — Ingrid Bergman, Swedish-born actress (1915-1982).