This day in history

[July 15, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, July 15, the 196th day of 2009. There are 169 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon startled the country by announcing he would visit the People's Republic of China.

On this date:

In 1606, Dutch painter Rembrandt was born in Leiden, Netherlands.

In 1870, Georgia became the last Confederate state readmitted to the Union. Manitoba entered confederation as the fifth Canadian province.

In 1916, Boeing Co., originally known as Pacific Aero Products Co., was founded in Seattle.

In 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne, resulting in an Allied victory, began during World War I.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman was nominated for another term of office by the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered U.S. Marines to Lebanon, at the request of that country's president, Camille Chamoun, in the face of a perceived threat by Muslim rebels. (The Americans withdrew in October 1958.)

In 1964, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in San Francisco.

In 1976, a 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, Calif., by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed.)

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his "malaise" speech in which he lamented what he called a "crisis of confidence" in America.

In 1997, fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot dead outside his Miami home; suspected gunman Andrew Phillip Cunanan was found dead eight days later.

Ten years ago: The government acknowledged for the first time that thousands of workers were made sick while making nuclear weapons and announced a plan to compensate many of them. China declared that it had invented its own neutron bomb. The Seattle Mariners played their first game in their new home, Safeco Field, losing to the San Diego Padres 3-2.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush signed into law a measure imposing mandatory prison terms for criminals who use identity theft in committing terrorist acts and other offenses. The Senate approved a plan to pay tobacco farmers $12 billion to give up federal quotas propping up their prices. Retired Air Force Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, who'd piloted the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki in the final days of World War II, died in Boston at age 84.

One year ago: President George W. Bush said the nation's troubled financial system was "basically sound," and he urged lawmakers to quickly enact legislation to prop up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, to two consecutive life terms each for murdering two indigent men to collect insurance policies taken out on their lives. In an All-Star game that began at dusk and ended at 1:37 a.m. the next morning, the American League defeated the National League 4-3 in 15 innings at Yankee stadium.

Today's birthdays: Author Clive Cussler is 78. Actor Alex Karras is 74. Actor Ken Kercheval is 74. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, is 73. Actor Patrick Wayne is 70. Actor Jan-Michael Vincent is 65. R&B singer Millie Jackson is 65. Rock singer-musician Peter Lewis (Moby Grape) is 64. Singer Linda Ronstadt is 63. Rock musician Artimus Pyle is 61. Actor Terry O'Quinn is 57. Rock musician Marky Ramone is 53. Rock musician Joe Satriani is 53. Country singer-songwriter Mac McAnally is 52. Model Kim Alexis is 49. Actor Willie Aames is 49. Actor-director Forest Whitaker is 48. Actress Lolita Davidovich is 48. Actress Brigitte Nielsen is 46. Rock musician Jason Bonham is 43. Actor Kristoff St. John is 43. Rock musician Phillip Fisher is 42. R&B singer Stokley (Mint Condition) is 42. Actor-comedian Eddie Griffin is 41. Actor Stan Kirsch is 41. Actor Reggie Hayes is 40. Rock musician Chi Cheng (Deftones) is 39. Rock musician John Dolmayan is 37. Actor Scott Foley is 37. Actor Brian Austin Green is 36. Rapper Jim Jones is 33. Actress Diane Kruger is 33. Actress Lana Parrilla is 32. Rock musician Ray Toro (My Chemical Romance) is 32. Actor Travis Fimmel is 30. R&B singer Kia Thornton (Divine) is 28.

Thought for today: "There are two kinds of worries -- those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on the latter." -- Duke Ellington, American jazz artist (1899-1974)

[Associated Press]

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