This day in history

[August 07, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, Aug. 7, the 219th day of 2010. There are 146 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 7, 1782, Gen. George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart, a decoration to recognize merit in enlisted men and non-commissioned officers.

On this date:

In 1789, the U.S. War Department was established by Congress.

In 1882, the famous feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky erupted into full-scale violence.

In 1942, U.S. and allied forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.

In 1947, the balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki, which had carried a six-man crew 4,300 miles across the Pacific Ocean, crashed into a reef in a Polynesian archipelago; all six crew members reached land safely.

In 1959, the United States launched the Explorer 6 satellite, which sent back images of the Earth.

In 1960, the West African nation of Ivory Coast became independent of France.

In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.

In 1970, an attempt by San Quentin inmate James David McClain, accused of stabbing a guard, to escape his trial in Marin County, Calif. ended in a shootout with police that claimed the lives of McClain, two of three cohorts, and Judge Harold J. Haley, one of several hostages.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the oil-rich desert kingdom against a possible invasion by Iraq.

In 1998, terrorist bombs at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

Ten years ago: Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore selected Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman as his running mate; Lieberman became the first Jew on a major party's presidential ticket.

Five years ago: ABC anchorman Peter Jennings died in New York at age 67. Seven people in a Russian mini-submarine trapped for nearly three days under the Pacific Ocean were rescued after a British remote-controlled vehicle cut away undersea cables that snarled their vessel. Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resigned from his post to protest an upcoming withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank.

One year ago: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on a tour of Africa, urged South Africans to press for political and economic reforms in neighboring Zimbabwe.

Today's birthdays: Writer-producer Stan Freberg is 84. Rhythm-and-blues singer Herb Reed (The Platters) is 82. Magician, author and lecturer James Randi is 82. Former baseball pitcher Don Larsen is 81. Bluesman Magic Slim is 73. Actress Verna Bloom is 71. Humorist Garrison Keillor is 68. Singer B.J. Thomas is 68. Singer Lana Cantrell is 67. Actor John Glover is 66. Actor David Rasche is 66. Rhythm-and-blues singer Harold Hudson is 61. Former diplomat, talk show host and activist Alan Keyes is 60. Country singer Rodney Crowell is 60. Actress Caroline Aaron is 58. Comedian Alexei Sayle is 58. Actor Wayne Knight is 55. Rock singer Bruce Dickinson is 52. Marathon runner Alberto Salazar is 52. Actor David Duchovny is 50. Country musician Michael Mahler (Wild Horses) is 49. Actress Delane Matthews is 49. Actor Harold Perrineau is 47. Jazz musician Marcus Roberts is 47. Country singer Raul Malo is 45. Actress Charlotte Lewis is 43. Actress Sydney Penny is 39. Actor Michael Shannon is 36. Actress Charlize Theron (shar-LEES' THAYR'-en) is 35. Rock musician Barry Kerch (Shinedown) is 34.

Thought for today: "You must learn day by day, year by year, to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about -- the more you have left when anything happens." -- Ethel Barrymore, American actress (1879-1959)

[Associated Press]

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