July 8
1776 - The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was given in Philadelphia at the State House (now Independence Hall) by Col. John Nixon.
1777 - Vermont became the first colony to abolish slavery.
1853 - An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay, Japan on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.
1889 - "The Wall Street Journal" began publication.
1947 - A New Mexico newspaper, the Roswell Daily Record, quoted officials at Roswell Army Air Field as saying they had recovered a "flying saucer" that crashed onto a ranch; officials then said it was actually a weather balloon.
1950 - Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of the United Nations forces in Korea by President Harry S. Truman. (MacArthur would be removed nine months later for insubordination.)
1958 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the first official gold album; it was for the soundtrack to "Oklahoma!"
1972 - The Nixon administration announced a deal to send $750 million in grain to the Soviet Union. (However, the Soviets were also engaged in secretly buying subsidized American grain, resulting in what critics dubbed "The Great Grain Robbery.")
1986 - Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria.
1994 - Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.
2010 - The largest spy swap between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War unfolded as 10 people accused of spying in suburban America pleaded guilty to conspiracy and were ordered deported to Russia in exchange for the release of four prisoners accused of spying for the West.
2011 - The space shuttle Atlantis launched into space for the final time, the 135th and final flight of the space shuttle program, which began in 1981.
2018 - Divers rescued four of the 12 boys who’d been trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand with their soccer coach for more than two weeks. (The remaining eight boys and their coach were rescued over the next two days.)
2021 - President Joe Biden said the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan would end on Aug. 31; in a speech in the White House East Room, Biden made an impassioned argument for exiting the nearly 20-year war without sacrificing more America lives, but acknowledged that there would be no “mission accomplished” moment to celebrate.
2022 - Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on a street in western Japan by a gunman who opened fire on him from behind as he delivered a campaign speech.
Birthdays
23 - Riele Downs (actress)
26 - Jaden Smith (actor)
26 - Maya Hawke (actress)
31 - David Corenswet (actor)
37 - Vlada Roslyakova (model/actress)
42 - Sophia Bush (actress)
43 - Lance Gross (actor)
45 - Emily Rohm (actress)
47 - Milo Ventimiglia (actor)
51 - Kathleen Robertson (actress)
54 - Beck (musician)
56 - Michael Weatherly (actor)
56 - Billy Crudup (actor)
62 - Joan Osborne (singer)
66 - Kevin Bacon (actor)
72 - Jack Lambert (football player)
73 - Anjelica Huston (actress)
75 - Wolfgang Puck (chef)
77 - Kim Darby (actress)
80 - Jeffrey Tambor (actor)
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Today in Sports History - July 8
1889 - John L. Sullivan defeated Jake Kilrain, in the last officially sanctioned bare-knuckle championship fight. The fight lasted 75 rounds, one-minute rounds near Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
1953 - Notre Dame announced that the next five years of its football games would be shown in theaters over closed-circuit TV.
1957 - Baseball owners re-elect Ford Frick to serve as commissioner.
1970 - Jim Ray Hart of the San Francisco Giants becomes the first National League player in 59 years to collect six RBIs in a single inning.
1982 - Billy Martin records his 1,000th career major league victory as a manager.
1990 - West Germany defeats Argentina 1-0 to win the World Cup.
2000 - Venus Williams defeats Lindsay Davenport for her first Grand Slam title, becoming the first Black champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1958.
2003 - Dominik Hasek announced that he planned to come out of retirement and rejoin the Detroit Red Wings.
2010 - During the first round of the John Deere Classic, Paul Goydos becomes the fourth player in PGA Tour history to shoot a round of 59.
2014 - Germany defeats Brazil by a record score of 7-1 in the semifinals of the World Cup tournament.
2015 - The NFL's Washington Redskins have their trademark vacated on grounds it may be offensive to Native Americans.
2018 - South Korean golfer Sei Young Ki breaks the LPGA 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under-par 257 in winning the Thornberry Creek Clasic. She also became the first in LPGA history to score below a -30.
2022 - President Joe Biden awards gymnast Simone Biles the Presidential Medal of Freedom, who at age 25, becomes the youngest to ever receive the honor.
1776 - The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was given in Philadelphia at the State House (now Independence Hall) by Col. John Nixon.
1777 - Vermont became the first colony to abolish slavery.
1853 - An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay, Japan on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.
1889 - "The Wall Street Journal" began publication.
1947 - A New Mexico newspaper, the Roswell Daily Record, quoted officials at Roswell Army Air Field as saying they had recovered a "flying saucer" that crashed onto a ranch; officials then said it was actually a weather balloon.
1950 - Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of the United Nations forces in Korea by President Harry S. Truman. (MacArthur would be removed nine months later for insubordination.)
1958 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the first official gold album; it was for the soundtrack to "Oklahoma!"
1972 - The Nixon administration announced a deal to send $750 million in grain to the Soviet Union. (However, the Soviets were also engaged in secretly buying subsidized American grain, resulting in what critics dubbed "The Great Grain Robbery.")
1986 - Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria.
1994 - Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.
2010 - The largest spy swap between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War unfolded as 10 people accused of spying in suburban America pleaded guilty to conspiracy and were ordered deported to Russia in exchange for the release of four prisoners accused of spying for the West.
2011 - The space shuttle Atlantis launched into space for the final time, the 135th and final flight of the space shuttle program, which began in 1981.
2018 - Divers rescued four of the 12 boys who’d been trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand with their soccer coach for more than two weeks. (The remaining eight boys and their coach were rescued over the next two days.)
2021 - President Joe Biden said the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan would end on Aug. 31; in a speech in the White House East Room, Biden made an impassioned argument for exiting the nearly 20-year war without sacrificing more America lives, but acknowledged that there would be no “mission accomplished” moment to celebrate.
2022 - Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on a street in western Japan by a gunman who opened fire on him from behind as he delivered a campaign speech.
Birthdays
23 - Riele Downs (actress)
26 - Jaden Smith (actor)
26 - Maya Hawke (actress)
31 - David Corenswet (actor)
37 - Vlada Roslyakova (model/actress)
42 - Sophia Bush (actress)
43 - Lance Gross (actor)
45 - Emily Rohm (actress)
47 - Milo Ventimiglia (actor)
51 - Kathleen Robertson (actress)
54 - Beck (musician)
56 - Michael Weatherly (actor)
56 - Billy Crudup (actor)
62 - Joan Osborne (singer)
66 - Kevin Bacon (actor)
72 - Jack Lambert (football player)
73 - Anjelica Huston (actress)
75 - Wolfgang Puck (chef)
77 - Kim Darby (actress)
80 - Jeffrey Tambor (actor)
====================================
Today in Sports History - July 8
1889 - John L. Sullivan defeated Jake Kilrain, in the last officially sanctioned bare-knuckle championship fight. The fight lasted 75 rounds, one-minute rounds near Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
1953 - Notre Dame announced that the next five years of its football games would be shown in theaters over closed-circuit TV.
1957 - Baseball owners re-elect Ford Frick to serve as commissioner.
1970 - Jim Ray Hart of the San Francisco Giants becomes the first National League player in 59 years to collect six RBIs in a single inning.
1982 - Billy Martin records his 1,000th career major league victory as a manager.
1990 - West Germany defeats Argentina 1-0 to win the World Cup.
2000 - Venus Williams defeats Lindsay Davenport for her first Grand Slam title, becoming the first Black champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1958.
2003 - Dominik Hasek announced that he planned to come out of retirement and rejoin the Detroit Red Wings.
2010 - During the first round of the John Deere Classic, Paul Goydos becomes the fourth player in PGA Tour history to shoot a round of 59.
2014 - Germany defeats Brazil by a record score of 7-1 in the semifinals of the World Cup tournament.
2015 - The NFL's Washington Redskins have their trademark vacated on grounds it may be offensive to Native Americans.
2018 - South Korean golfer Sei Young Ki breaks the LPGA 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under-par 257 in winning the Thornberry Creek Clasic. She also became the first in LPGA history to score below a -30.
2022 - President Joe Biden awards gymnast Simone Biles the Presidential Medal of Freedom, who at age 25, becomes the youngest to ever receive the honor.
