This day in history

[July 17, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, July 17, the 198th day of 2010. There are 167 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 17, 1918, Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.

On this date:

In 1821, Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic.

In 1935, the entertainment trade publication Variety ran its legendary headline, "Sticks Nix Hick Pix" (which might be translated as, "Rural audiences reject rural-themed movies").

In 1944, during World War II, 320 men, two-thirds of them African-Americans, were killed when a pair of ammunition ships exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California.

In 1955, Disneyland had its opening day in Anaheim, Calif.

In 1959, influential jazz vocalist Billie Holiday, known to her fans as "Lady Day," died in a New York City hospital at age 44.

In 1968, a coup in Iraq returned the Baath Party to power, five years after it was ousted.

In 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower link-up of its kind.

In 1981, 114 people were killed when a pair of walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed, one atop the other, during a tea dance.

In 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Paris-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, N.Y., shortly after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people aboard.

Ten years ago: Bashar Assad, son of Hafez Assad, began a seven-year term as Syria's 16th head of state. A jet smashed into two homes in Patna, India, killing a total of 60 people on board and on the ground (three passengers survived).

Five years ago: The Iraqi Special Tribunal filed its first criminal case against Saddam Hussein for a 1982 massacre of Shiites. Tiger Woods closed with a 2-under 70 to win the British Open for his tenth career major. Sir Edward Heath, former British prime minister, died in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, at age 89. Actress Geraldine Fitzgerald died in New York City at age 91.

One year ago: Former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite died in New York at 92. Bombs ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing seven and wounding at least 50 more. The space shuttle Endeavour arrived at the international space station to deliver the third and final component of a billion-dollar Japanese lab. Gordon Waller, of the pop duo Peter and Gordon, died in Norwich, Conn. at 64.

Today's birthdays: Comedian Phyllis Diller is 93. Jazz singer Jimmy Scott is 85. Actor Donald Sutherland is 75. Actress-singer Diahann Carroll is 75. Rock musician Spencer Davis is 68. Rock musician Terry "Geezer" Butler is 61. Actress Lucie Arnaz is 59. Actor David Hasselhoff is 58. Rock musician Fran Smith Jr. (The Hooters) is 58. Singer Phoebe Snow is 58. Television producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice") is 50. Actress Nancy Giles is 50. Singer Regina Belle is 47. Country singer Craig Morgan is 46. Rock musician Lou Barlow is 44. Contemporary Christian singer Susan Ashton is 43. Actor Andre Royo is 42. Actress Bitty Schram is 42. Actor Jason Clarke is 41. Singer JC (PM Dawn) is 39. Rapper Sole' is 37. Country singer Luke Bryan is 34. Actor Eric Winter is 34. Hockey player Marc Savard is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jeremih (jehr-uh-MY') is 23. Actress Summer Bishil (BIHSH'-ihl) is 22.

Thought for today: "Dreams have as much influence as actions." -- Stephane Mallarme (stay-FAN' ma-lar-MAY'), French essayist and poet (1842-1898)

[Associated Press]

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