Today is Saturday, July 20, the 202nd day of the yr 2024. There are 164 days left within the yr.

Today’s highlight of the story:

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the primary people to walk on the moon after they reached the surface with their Apollo 11 lunar module.

Also on this date:

In 1917, the American draft lottery for World War I started when Secretary of War Newton Baker, blindfolded, reached right into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule bearing the number 258 during a ceremony within the Senate constructing.

In 1944, an attempt by a bunch of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed, because the Nazi leader was only injured by the explosion.

In 1951, Jordan's King Abdullah I used to be assassinated in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman who was shot dead on the spot by security forces.

In 1976, the American robotic space probe Viking 1 made the primary successful landing on Mars.

In 1977, a flash flood occurred in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing over 80 people and causing $350 million in damage.

In 1990, Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one in every of the court's most liberal voices, announced his retirement.

In 1993, 48-year-old White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster Jr. was found shot to death in a park near Washington DC. It was ruled a suicide.

In 2006, the Senate voted 98-0 to increase the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 for an additional quarter century.

In 2007, President George W. Bush signed an executive order prohibiting cruel and inhumane treatment, including humiliation or denigration of spiritual beliefs, within the detention and interrogation of terror suspects.

In 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to nominate Elena Kagan because the fourth Supreme Court justice.

In 2012, gunman James Holmes opened fire in a crowded movie show in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. (Holmes was later convicted of murder and attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity of parole.)

In 2015, the United States and Cuba fully restored diplomatic relations after greater than five many years of frosty Cold War-era relations.

Today's birthdays:

• Former Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 88.
• Tony Oliva, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, is 86.
• The artist Judy Chicago is 85.
• Country singer TG Sheppard is 80.
• Singer Kim Carnes is 79.
• Rock musician Carlos Santana is 77.
• The creator and commentator Thomas Friedman is 71.
• Rock musician Paul Cook (Sex Pistols) is 68.
• Actor Frank Whaley is 61.
• Conservationist and tv personality Terri Irwin is 60.
• Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 58.
• Actor Josh Holloway (TV: “Lost”) is 55.
• The vitamin C content of Singer is 55.
• Actress Sandra Oh is 53.
• Peter Forsberg, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, is 51.
• Actor Omar Epps is 51.
• Ray Allen, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is 49.
• Pavel Datsyuk, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, is 46.
• Supermodel Gisele Bündchen is 44.
• Actor Percy Daggs III is 42.
• Actor John Francis Daley is 39.
• Dancer, singer and actress Julianne Hough is 36.

Originally published: July 20, 2024 at 01:00