5th July: Today In History

Today is Wednesday, July 5th, the 186th day of 2017. There are 179 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

Events:

1947:  Larry Doby made his debut with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black player in the American League three months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the National League. In the game against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, Doby, pinch-hitting for Bryan Stephens, struck out in his first at-bat during the seventh inning; Chicago won 6-5.

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

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

1865:  The Secret Service Division of the U.S. Treasury Department was founded in Washington, D.C. with the mission of suppressing counterfeit currency.

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

1940:  During World War II, Britain and the Vichy government in France broke off diplomatic relations.

1946:  The bikini, created by Louis Reard (ray-AHRD’), was modeled by Micheline Bernardini during a poolside fashion show in Paris.

1954:  Elvis Presley’s first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee; the song he recorded was “That’s All Right.”

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.

1977:  Pakistan’s army, led by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, seized power from President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZUL’-fih-kahr ah-LEE’ BOO’-toh). (Bhutto was executed in 1979.)

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.

1991:  A worldwide financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Actress Mildred Dunnock died in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, at age 90.

2011:  A jury in Orlando, Florida, 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.

Birthdays:

Actress Katherine Helmond is 88. 

Actress Shirley Knight is 81.

Singer-musician Robbie Robertson is 74.

Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 69.

Rock star Huey Lewis is 67.

Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rich “Goose” Gossage is 66.

Country musician Charles Ventre is 65.

Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn is 58.

Quotes Of The Day:

We waste time looking for the perfect lover instead of creating the perfect love.
— Tom Robbins

Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.

— Lady Gaga