Today in History

On June 29, 2007, the first version of the iPhone went on sale to the public; over 2.3 billion iPhones have been sold to date.

On this date

1520: Montezuma II, the ninth and last emperor of the Aztecs, died in Tenochtitlan under unclear circumstances.

1613: London’s original Globe Theatre, where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed, was destroyed by a fire sparked by a cannon shot during a performance of “Henry VIII.”

1767: Britain approved the Townshend Revenue Act, which imposed import duties on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper and tea shipped to the American colonies.

1776: The Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry was made the state’s governor.

1967: Jerusalem was reunified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from the Israeli sector.

1995: The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis docked with Russia’s Mir space station as they orbited the earth.

2006: The Supreme Court ruled, 5-3, that President George W. Bush’s plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law.

Today’s birthdays

Songwriter L. Russell Brown is 85. Former actor and politician Fred Grandy is 77. Singer Don Dokken is 72. Rock singer Colin Hay (Men At Work) is 72. Actor Maria Conchita Alonso is 70. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is 62. Actor Brian D’Arcy James is 57. Rock musician Sam Farrar (Maroon 5) is 47. Actor Luke Kirby is 47. Comedian-writer Colin Jost is 43. NBA forward Kawhi Leonard is 34.