This day in history

[July 22, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, July 22, the 203rd day of 2009. There are 162 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 22, 1934, bank robber John Dillinger was shot to death by federal agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater, where he had just watched the Clark Gable movie "Manhattan Melodrama."

On this date:

In 1587, an English colony fated to vanish under mysterious circumstances was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina.

In 1796, Cleveland, Ohio, was founded by General Moses Cleaveland.

In 1929, inmates at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. made an unsuccessful mass escape attempt.

In 1933, American aviator Wiley Post completed the first solo flight around the world as he returned to New York's Floyd Bennett Field after traveling for seven days, 18 3/4 hours.

In 1937, the Senate rejected President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court.

In 1942, the Nazis began transporting Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp.

In 1943, American forces led by General George S. Patton captured Palermo, Sicily, during World War II.

In 1946, Jewish extremists blew up a wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing 90 people.

In 1975, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting to restore the American citizenship of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

In 1983, Samantha Smith and her parents returned home to Manchester, Maine, after completing a whirlwind tour of the Soviet Union.

Ten years ago: Family members watched mournfully from the deck of a Navy destroyer as the ashes of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, were cast into the sea off Martha's Vineyard, consigned to the depths where they'd died.

Five years ago: The September 11th commission issued a report saying America's leaders failed to grasp the gravity of terrorist threats before the devastating attacks of 9/11, but stopping short of blaming President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton. The Army Inspector General's office released a report on abuses by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The report found 94 cases of confirmed or alleged abuse and 39 deaths. A new high-speed passenger train derailed in northwestern Turkey, killing 37 people.

One year ago: Tropical Storm Dolly spun into a hurricane as it headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border. European Union foreign ministers agreed to toughen sanctions against Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to pressure him to share power with the opposition. Actress Estelle Getty died in Los Angeles at age 84.

Today's birthdays: Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., is 86. Singer Margaret Whiting is 85. Actor-comedian Orson Bean is 81. Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta is 77. Actress Louise Fletcher is 75. R&B singer Chuck Jackson is 72. Actor Terence Stamp is 71. Game show host Alex Trebek is 69. Singer George Clinton is 68. Actor-singer Bobby Sherman is 66. Movie writer-director Paul Schrader is 63. Actor Danny Glover is 62. Actor-comedian-director Albert Brooks is 62. Rock singer Don Henley is 62. Movie composer Alan Menken is 60. Singer-actress Lonette McKee is 56. Jazz musician Al Di Meola is 55. Actor Willem Dafoe is 54. R&B singer Keith Sweat is 48. Actress Joanna Going is 46. Actor Rob Estes is 46. Folk singer Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls) is 46. Actor John Leguizamo is 45. Actor-comedian David Spade is 45. Actor Patrick Labyorteaux is 44. Rock musician Pat Badger is 42. Actress Irene Bedard is 42. Actor Rhys Ifans is 42. Actor Colin Ferguson is 37. Former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson is 37. Seattle Mariners first baseman Mike Sweeney is 36. Rock musician Daniel Jones is 36. Singer Rufus Wainwright is 36. Actress Franka Potente is 35. Actress A.J. Cook is 31. Actress Selena Gomez is 17.

Thought for today: "The love we give away is the only love we keep." -- Elbert Hubbard, American author (1856-1915)

[Associated Press]

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