This day in history

[August 01, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2011. There are 152 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 1, 1911, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to receive a U.S. pilot's certificate from the Aero Club of America. (Quimby's accomplishments included being the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She was killed in an accident in July 1912 at age 37.)

On this date:

In 1714, Britain's Queen Anne died at age 49; she was succeeded by George I.

In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state.

In 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War erupted.

In 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps established an aeronautical division, the forerunner of the U.S. Air Force.

In 1936, the Summer Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

In 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.

In 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the Fulbright Program into law. The Atomic Energy Commission was established.

In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on a shooting rampage at the University of Texas in Austin, killing 14 people. Whitman, who had also murdered his wife and mother hours earlier, was gunned down by police.

In 1971, the Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, took place at New York's Madison Square Garden.

In 1981, the rock music video channel MTV made its debut. Mohammed Oudeh, a mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes, survived an attempt on his life in Warsaw, Poland. Oscar-winning screenwriter and playwright Paddy Chayefsky died in New York at age 58.

Ten years ago: The Federal Trade Commission cleared the way for PepsiCo to acquire Quaker Oats for about $13.4 billion in stock. Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, 27, died of heat stroke, a day after collapsing at the Minnesota Vikings' training camp on the hottest day of the year.

Five years ago: Mel Gibson issued a statement in which he denied being a bigot; he also apologized to "everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words" he'd used when he was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. Fidel Castro released a statement a day after temporarily ceding power to his brother Raul in which he sought to reassure Cubans that his health was stable after intestinal surgery.

One year ago: The United States announced that it would provide Pakistan with $10 million in humanitarian assistance in the wake of deadly flooding. Lolita Lebron, a Puerto Rico independence activist who'd spent 25 years in prison for participating in a gun attack on the U.S. Congress in 1954, died in San Juan at age 90.

Today's birthdays: Actor-director Geoffrey Holder is 81. Singer Ramblin' Jack Elliott is 80. Cartoonist Tom Wilson (retired creator of "Ziggy") is 80. Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., is 74. Actor Giancarlo Giannini is 69. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 61. Blues singer-musician Robert Cray is 58. Singer Michael Penn is 53. Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 52. Rock singer-musician Suzi Gardner (L7) is 51. Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 51. Actor Jesse Borrego is 49. Rapper Coolio is 48. Actor John Carroll Lynch is 48. Rock singer Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) is 47. Movie director Sam Mendes is 46. Country singer George Ducas is 45. Country musician Charlie Kelley is 43. Actress Jennifer Gareis is 41. Actor Charles Malik Whitfield is 39. Actress Tempestt Bledsoe is 38. Actor Jason Momoa is 32. Singer Ashley Parker Angel is 30. Actress Taylor Fry is 30. Actor Elijah Kelley is 25. Actor James Francis Kelly is 22.

Thought for today: "As scarce as truth is, the supply is always greater than the demand." -- "Josh Billings" (Henry Wheeler Shaw), American author (1818-1885)

[Associated Press]

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