This day in history

[July 23, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, July 23, the 204th day of 2011. There are 161 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 23, 1886, a legend was born as Steve Brodie claimed to have made a daredevil plunge from the Brooklyn Bridge into New York's East River. (However, the exact circumstances of the jump are in dispute, with skeptics saying it never actually occurred.)

On this date:

In 1829, William Austin Burt received a patent for his "typographer," a forerunner of the typewriter.

In 1885, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, died in Mount McGregor, N.Y., at age 63.

In 1914, Austria-Hungary issued a list of demands to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute led to World War I.

In 1945, French Marshal Henri Petain (ahn-REE' pay-TAN'), who had headed the Vichy (vee-shee) government during World War II, went on trial, charged with treason. (He was convicted and condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted.)

In 1951, Henri Petain died in prison.

In 1952, Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser launched a successful coup against King Farouk I.

In 1967, a week of deadly race-related rioting that claimed 43 lives erupted in Detroit.

In 1977, a jury in Washington, D.C., convicted 12 Hanafi (hah-NAH'-fee) Muslims of charges stemming from the hostage siege at three buildings the previous March.

In 1986, Britain's Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London. (The couple divorced in 1996.)

In 1996, at the Atlanta Olympics, Kerri Strug made a heroic final vault despite torn ligaments in her left ankle as the U.S. women gymnasts clinched their first-ever Olympic team gold medal.

Ten years ago: Pope John Paul II urged President George W. Bush in their first meeting, held at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, to bar creation of human embryos for medical research. Indonesia's national assembly ousted President Abdurahman Wahid, electing Megawati Sukarnoputri (meh-gah-WAH'-tee soo-kahr-noh-POOT'-rih) as head of state. Negotiators from 178 nations rescued the 1997 Kyoto Protocol after marathon talks in Bonn, Germany. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Eudora Welty died in Jackson, Miss., at age 92.

Five years ago: Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was hospitalized on the 17th day of a hunger strike; he appeared thinner but healthy at his trial a few days later. American Floyd Landis won the Tour de France (however, he was later disqualified for doping). Tiger Woods became the first player since Tom Watson in 1982-83 to win consecutive British Open titles. Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss Universe 2006.

One year ago: The city manager, assistant manager and police chief of Bell, Calif., agreed to resign after outraged residents found out through a Los Angeles Times investigation that they were making a total of more than $1.6 million a year. Daniel Schorr, longtime journalist with stints at CBS, CNN and NPR, died in Washington at age 93.

Today's birthdays: Actress Gloria DeHaven is 86. Concert pianist Leon Fleisher (FLY'-shur) is 83. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is 75. Actor Ronny Cox is 73. Radio personality Don Imus is 71. Country singer Tony Joe White is 68. Rock singer David Essex is 64. Actor Larry Manetti is 64. Singer-songwriter John Hall is 63. Actress Belinda Montgomery is 61. Rock musician Blair Thornton (Bachman Turner Overdrive) is 61. Actress Edie McClurg is 60. Actress-writer Lydia Cornell is 58. Actor Woody Harrelson is 50. Rock musician Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) is 50. Actor Eriq Lasalle is 49. Rock musician Yuval Gabay is 48. Rock musician Slash is 46. Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is 44. Rock musician Nick Menza is 43. Model-actress Stephanie Seymour is 43. Actress Charisma Carpenter is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sam Watters is 41. Country singer Alison Krauss is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Dalvin DeGrate is 40. Rock musician Chad Gracey (Live) is 40. Actor-comedian Marlon Wayans is 39. Country singer Shannon Brown is 38. Actress Kathryn Hahn is 38. Retired MLB All-Star Nomar Garciaparra is 38. Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky is 38. Actress Stephanie March is 37. Country musician David Pichette (Emerson Drive) is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Michelle Williams is 31. Actor Paul Wesley is 29. Actor Daniel Radcliffe is 22.

Thought for today: "There is nothing harder than the softness of indifference." -- Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorean essayist and political writer (1832-1889)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.