This day in history

[July 08, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, July 8, the 189th day of 2010. There are 176 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 8, 1950, President Harry S. Truman named Gen. Douglas MacArthur commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea. (But Truman ended up sacking MacArthur for insubordination nine months later, replacing him with Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway.)

On this date:

In 1663, King Charles II of England granted a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.

In 1776, Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, in Philadelphia.

In 1853, an expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Yedo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.

In 1889, The Wall Street Journal was first published.

In 1907, Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theater.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles (vehr-SY') Peace Conference in France.

In 1947, demolition work began in New York City to make way for the new permanent headquarters of the United Nations.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower began a visit to Canada, where he conferred with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and addressed the Canadian Parliament.

In 1989, Carlos Saul Menem was inaugurated as president of Argentina in the country's first transfer of power from one democratically elected civilian leader to another in six decades.

In 1994, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.

Ten years ago: Venus Williams beat Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6 (3) for her first Grand Slam title, becoming the first black women's champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1957-58. The Pentagon's missile defense project suffered its latest setback when a rocket that had taken off from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific failed to intercept a target missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Five years ago: Group of Eight leaders meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, unveiled a $50 billion package to help lift Africa from poverty and pledged new joint efforts against terrorism in response to the deadly London bombings the day before. Hurricane Dennis pounded Cuba, resulting in 16 deaths.

One year ago: Group of Eight leaders, including President Barack Obama, pledged to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as they met in L'Aquila, Italy. South Korea blamed North Korea for cyber attacks targeting its Web sites as well as those in the U.S.

Today's birthdays: Singer Jerry Vale is 78. Singer Steve Lawrence is 75. Actor Jeffrey Tambor is 66. Ballerina Cynthia Gregory is 64. Actress Kim Darby is 63. Children's performer Raffi is 62. Actress Anjelica Huston is 59. Writer Anna Quindlen is 58. Actor Kevin Bacon is 52. Rock musician Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode) is 49. Country singer Toby Keith is 49. Rock musician Graham Jones (Haircut 100) is 49. Rock singer Joan Osborne is 48. Writer-producer Rob Burnett is 48. Actor Corey Parker is 45. Actor Billy Crudup is 42. Actor Michael Weatherly is 42. Singer Beck is 40. Country singer Drew Womack (Sons of the Desert) is 40. Christian rock musician Stephen Mason (Jars of Clay) is 35. Actor Milo Ventimiglia (MEE'-loh vehn-tih-MEEL'-yuh) is 33. Rock musician Tavis Werts is 33. Singer Ben Jelen (YEL'-in) is 31. Actor Lance Gross is 29. Actress Sophia Bush is 28. Rock musician Jamie Cook (Arctic Monkeys) is 25. Actor Jake McDorman is 24. Actor Jaden Smith is 12.

Thought for today: "For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, poet and philosopher (1803-1882)

[Associated Press]

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