This day in history

[July 31, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Friday, July 31, the 212th day of 2009. There are 153 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 31, 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army.

On this date:

In 1556, St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus -- the Jesuit order of Catholic priests and brothers -- died in Rome.

In 1875, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, died in Carter County, Tenn., at age 66.

In 1919, Germany's Weimar Constitution was adopted by the republic's National Assembly.

In 1945, Pierre Laval, premier of the pro-Nazi Vichy government, surrendered to U.S. authorities in Austria; he was turned over to France, which later tried and executed him.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman helped dedicate New York International Airport (later John F. Kennedy International Airport) at Idlewild Field.

In 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 reached the moon, transmitting pictures back to Earth before crashing onto the lunar surface.

In 1969, the American space probe Mariner 6 flew by Mars, sending back images of the Red Planet.

In 1972, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the ticket with George McGovern following disclosures Eagleton had once undergone psychiatric treatment.

In 1989, a pro-Iranian group in Lebanon released a grisly videotape showing the body of American hostage William R. Higgins, a Marine lieutenant-colonel, dangling from a rope.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Moscow.

Ten years ago: Chicago authorities said as many as 46 more residents had died as a result of a relentless heat wave that enveloped much of the nation and produced the hottest July on record in New York City.

Five years ago: The Vatican issued a document denouncing feminism for trying to blur differences between men and women and threatening the institution of families based on a mother and a father. Actress Virginia Grey died in Woodland Hills, Calif., at age 87.

One year ago: Three teenagers in Wisconsin were shot to death when a gunman opened fire on a group of young people who'd gathered to go swimming in the Menominee River. (The gunman, Scott J. Johnson, was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.) Scientists reported the Phoenix spacecraft had confirmed the presence of frozen water in Martian soil.

Today's birthdays: Actor Don Murray is 80. Jazz composer-musician Kenny Burrell is 78. Actor Geoffrey Lewis is 74. Actress France Nguyen is 70. Actress Susan Flannery is 66. Singer Lobo is 66. Actress Geraldine Chaplin is 65. Former movie studio executive Sherry Lansing is 65. Singer Gary Lewis is 64. Rock singer Bob Welch is 63. Tennis player Evonne Goolagong Cawley is 58. Actor Barry Van Dyke is 58. The mayor of Fresno, Calif., actor Alan Autry, is 57. Actor James Read is 56. Actor Michael Biehn is 53. Masssachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is 53. Rock singer-musician Daniel Ash (Love and Rockets) is 52. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban is 51. Rock musician Bill Berry is 51. Actor Wesley Snipes is 47. Country singer Chad Brock is 46. Musician Fatboy Slim is 46. Rock musician Jim Corr is 45. Author J.K. Rowling is 44. Actor Dean Cain is 43. Actor Ben Chaplin is 40. Actor Loren Dean is 40. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte is 38. Former NFL player Jonathan Ogden is 35. Actress Annie Parisse is 34. Football player Marty Booker is 33. Actor Robert Telfer is 32. Actor-producer-writer B.J. Novak is 30. Actor Eric Lively is 28. Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware is 27. Country singer Blaire Stroud (3 of Hearts) is 26. Singer Shannon Curfman is 24.

Thought for today: "The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided." -- Casey Stengel, American baseball manager (born this date in 1890 or 1891, died 1975)

[Associated Press]

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