This day in history

[August 03, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Aug. 3, the 215th day of 2010. There are 150 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that took him to the present-day Americas.

On this date:

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr went on trial before a federal court in Richmond, Va., charged with treason. (He was acquitted less than a month later.)

In 1914, Germany declared war on France at the onset of World War I.

In 1923, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the United States following the death of Warren G. Harding.

In 1943, Gen. George S. Patton slapped a private at an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice. (Patton was later ordered by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to apologize for this and a second, similar episode.)

In 1949, the National Basketball Association was formed as a merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League.

In 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

In 1960, the African country of Niger (nee-ZHEHR') achieved full independence from French rule.

In 1980, closing ceremonies were held in Moscow for the Summer Olympic Games, which had been boycotted by dozens of countries, including the United States.

In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike, despite a warning from President Ronald Reagan they would be fired, which they were.

In 1994, Arkansas carried out the nation's first triple execution in 32 years. Stephen G. Breyer was sworn in as the Supreme Court's newest justice in a private ceremony at Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's Vermont summer home.

Ten years ago: George W. Bush accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Philadelphia, presenting himself as an outsider who would return "civility and respect" to Washington politics.

Five years ago: Fourteen Marines from a Reserve unit in Ohio were killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq. Spacewalking astronaut Stephen Robinson removed two worrisome pieces of filler material from the shuttle Discovery's belly in an unprecedented space repair job.

One year ago: Iran's supreme leader formally endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) for a second term as president. A court in Los Angeles appointed Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, permanent guardian of the late pop star's children.

Today's birthdays: Author P.D. James is 90. Broadway composer Richard Adler is 89. Singer Gordon Stoker (The Jordanaires) is 86. Football Hall-of-Fame coach Marv Levy is 85. Singer Tony Bennett is 84. Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.) is 73. Actor Martin Sheen is 70. College and Pro Foootball Hall of Famer Lance Alworth is 70. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 69. Singer Beverly Lee (The Shirelles) is 69. Rock musician B.B. Dickerson is 61. Movie director John Landis is 60. Actress JoMarie Payton is 60. Actor Jay North ("Dennis the Menace") is 59. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Marcel Dionne is 59. Country musician Randy Scruggs is 57. Actor John C. McGinley is 51. Rock singer-musician Lee Rocker (The Stray Cats) is 49. Actress Lisa Ann Walter is 49. Rock singer James Hetfield (Metallica) is 47. Rock singer-musician Ed Roland (Collective Soul) is 47. Actor Isaiah Washington is 47. Country musician Dean Sams (Lonestar) is 44. Rock musician Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) is 40. Hip-hop artist Spinderella (Salt-N-Pepa) is 39. Actress Brigid Brannagh is 38. Country musician Jimmy De Martini (Zac Brown Band) is 34. NFL quarterback Tom Brady is 33. Actress Evangeline (ee-VAN'-gel-een) Lilly (TV: "Lost") is 31. Country singer Whitney Duncan is 26. Actor Jon Foster is 26. Singer Holly Arnstein (Dream) is 25. Pop-rock musician Brent Kutzle (OneRepublic) is 25.

Thought for today: "It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature." -- Henry James, American author (1843-1916)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.