This day in history

[July 05, 2012]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, July 5, the 187th day of 2012. There are 179 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 5, 1687, Isaac Newton first published his Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.

On this date:

In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.

In 1865, William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London.

In 1912, a collision between a passenger coach and a freight train near Wilpen, Pa., claimed 26 lives.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act.

In 1946, the bikini, created by Louis Reard (ray-AHRD'), was worn by Micheline Bernardini during a poolside fashion show in Paris.

In 1947, Larry Doby made his debut with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black player in the American League.

In 1948, Britain's National Health Service Act went into effect, providing government-financed medical and dental care.

In 1962, independence took effect in Algeria; the same day, civilians of European descent, mostly French, came under attack by extremists in the port city of Oran (reports of the death toll vary from about a hundred to the thousands).

In 1971, President Richard Nixon certified the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.

In 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors.

In 1984, the Supreme Court weakened the 70-year-old "exclusionary rule," deciding that evidence seized in good faith with defective court warrants could be used against defendants in criminal trials.

In 1991, a worldwide financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to express condolences for the deaths of Afghan civilians killed in a U.S. bombing four days earlier. Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams died in Citrus County, Fla., at age 83.

Five years ago: In a setback to President George W. Bush's war strategy, GOP stalwart Sen. Pete Domenici said he wanted to see an end to combat operations and U.S. troops heading home from Iraq by spring 2008. French opera soprano Regine Crespin died in Paris at age 80.

One year ago: A jury in Orlando, Fla., found Casey Anthony, 25, not guilty of murder, manslaughter and child abuse in the 2008 disappearance and death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Today's birthdays: Actress Katherine Helmond is 83. Actress Shirley Knight is 76. Singer-musician Robbie Robertson is 69. Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 64. Rock star Huey Lewis is 62. Baseball Hall-of-Fame pitcher Rich "Goose" Gossage is 61. Country musician Charles Ventre is 60. Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn is 53. Actor Dorien Wilson is 50. Actress Edie Falco is 49. Actress Kathryn Erbe (er-BEE') is 47. Actor Michael Stuhlbarg (STOOL'-bahrg) is 44. Country musician Brent Flynn (Flynnville Train) is 43. Rapper RZA (RIH'-zuh) is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Joe is 39. Rock musician Bengt Lagerberg (The Cardigans) is 39. Actor Dale Godboldo is 37. Rapper Bizarre is 36. Rapper Royce da 5'9" is 35. Rock singer Jason Wade (Lifehouse) is 32. Actor Ryan Hansen is 31. Country musician Dave Haywood (Lady Antebellum) is 30. Rock musician Nick O'Malley (Arctic Monkeys) is 27. Actor Jason Dolley is 21.

Thought for today: "Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." -- Cecil Beaton, English fashion photographer and costume designer (1904-1980)

[Associated Press]

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