This day in history

[July 28, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, July 28, the 209th day of 2010. There are 156 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 28, 1945, a U.S. Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York's Empire State Building, killing 14 people.

On this date:

In 1540, King Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed, the same day Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

In 1609, the English ship Sea Venture, commanded by Admiral Sir George Somers, ran ashore on Bermuda, where the passengers and crew founded a colony.

In 1821, Peru declared its independence from Spain.

In 1914, World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

In 1932, federal troops forcibly dispersed the so-called "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans who had gathered in Washington to demand money they weren't scheduled to receive until 1945.

In 1945, the U.S. Senate ratified the United Nations Charter by a vote of 89-2.

In 1960, Henry Cabot Lodge, Richard Nixon's choice to be running mate, was nominated for vice president by the Republican national convention in Chicago.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he was increasing the number of American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000 "almost immediately."

In 1990, political newcomer and upset winner Alberto Fujimori was sworn in for his first term as president of Peru.

In 2002, nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek (KYOO'-kreek) Mine in Somerset, Pa., were rescued after 77 hours underground.

Ten years ago: Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sworn in for an unprecedented third term of office, infuriating demonstrators who set government buildings ablaze.

Five years ago: NASA said space shuttle Discovery had escaped any serious damage from the potentially deadly piece of foam that broke off from the fuel tank during liftoff and looked safe to fly home in a week. The Irish Republican Army renounced the use of violence against British rule in Northern Ireland and said it would disarm. Lightning struck a group of Boy Scouts taking shelter from a storm in Sequoia National Park in California, killing an assistant troop leader and a teenage Scout.

One year ago: The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice, over nearly solid Republican opposition. Anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder pleaded not guilty in Wichita, Kan. to killing late-term abortion provider George Tiller. (Roeder was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.)

Today's birthdays: Movie director Andrew V. McLaglen is 90. Actor Darryl Hickman is 79. Ballet dancer-choreographer Jacques d'Amboise is 76. Art critic Robert Hughes is 72. The former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, is 72. Musical conductor Riccardo Muti is 69. Former Senator and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley is 67. "Garfield" creator Jim Davis is 65. Singer Jonathan Edwards is 64. Actress Linda Kelsey is 64. TV producer Dick Ebersol is 63. Actress Sally Struthers is 62. Actress Georgia Engel is 62. Rock musician Simon Kirke (Bad Company) is 61. Rock musician Steve Morse (Deep Purple) is 56. CBS newsman Scott Pelley is 53. Alt-country-rock musician Marc Perlman is 49. Actor Michael Hayden is 47. Actress Lori Loughlin is 46. Jazz musician-producer Delfeayo Marsalis is 45. Former hockey player turned general manager Garth Snow is 41. Actress Elizabeth Berkley is 38. Singer Afroman is 36. Country musician Todd Anderson (Heartland) is 35. Rock singer Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach) is 34. Country singer Carly Goodwin is 29. Actor Dustin Milligan is 25. Actor Nolan Gerard Funk is 24. Rapper Soulja Boy is 20.

Thought for today: "It is impossible to write ancient history because we lack source materials, and impossible to write modern history because we have far too many." -- Charles Peguy (pay-GEE'), French poet and writer (1873-1914)

[Associated Press]

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