This day in history

[July 20, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, July 20, the 201st day of 2010. There are 164 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after landing their lunar module.

On this date:

In 1810, Bogota, the capital of Nueva Granada (present-day Colombia), declared independence from Spanish rule.

In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Va.

In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as a Canadian province.

In 1917, the draft lottery in World War I went into operation.

In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion at Hitler's Rastenburg headquarters only wounded the Nazi leader. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term of office at the Democratic convention in Chicago.

In 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into northern and southern entities.

In 1960, a pair of Polaris missiles were fired from the submerged USS George Washington off Cape Canaveral, Fla. at a target more than 1,100 miles away.

In 1976, America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.

In 1988, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Atlanta.

In 1990, Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of the court's most liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.

Ten years ago: A federal grand jury indicted two former Utah Olympic officials for their alleged roles in paying $1 million in cash and gifts to help bring the 2002 games to Salt Lake City. (However, the trial of Thomas Welch and David Johnson ended abruptly in Dec. 2003 when the judge acquitted the defendants, citing inadequate evidence.)

Five years ago: A day after being tapped by President George W. Bush, Supreme Court nominee John Roberts paid courtesy calls on senators while a conservative group purchased TV ad time in support of his nomination and abortion rights groups staged protests. Actor James Doohan, who played Scotty the engineer in the original "Star Trek" TV series and several movies, died in Redmond, Wash. at age 85.

One year ago: A roadside bomb killed four American troops in eastern Afghanistan. The astronauts aboard the shuttle-station complex celebrated the 40th anniversary of man's first moon landing with their own spacewalk.

Today's birthdays: Actress-singer Sally Ann Howes is 80. Rockabilly singer Sleepy LaBeef is 75. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) is 74. Actress Diana Rigg is 72. Rock musician John Lodge (The Moody Blues) is 67. Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 66. Singer Kim Carnes is 65. Rock musician Carlos Santana is 63. Rock musician Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols, Man Raze) is 54. Actress Donna Dixon is 53. Rock musician Mick McNeil (Simple Minds) is 52. Country singer Radney Foster is 51. Actor Frank Whaley is 47. Rock singer Chris Cornell is 46. Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 44. Actor Reed Diamond is 43. Actor Josh Holloway ("Lost") is 41. Singer Vitamin C is 41. Actor Simon Rex is 36. Actress Judy Greer is 35. Actor Charlie Korsmo is 32. Singer Elliott Yamin (yah-MEEN') (American Idol) is 32. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 30. Rock musician Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects) is 30. Actor Percy Daggs III is 28. Actor John Francis Daley is 25. Country singer-ballroom dancer Julianne Hough is 22. Actress Billi Bruno is 14.

Thought for today: "Courage without conscience is a wild beast." -- Robert G. Ingersoll, American lawyer and politician (1833-1899)

[Associated Press]

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