Today in History

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.

On this date

1483: England’s King Richard III was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

1885: French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an anti-rabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies.

1945: President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom.

2018: Six followers of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult were hanged along with its leader, Shoko Asahara; they had been convicted of crimes including a 1995 sarin gas attack that killed 13 people and made thousands of others sick on the Tokyo subway system.

2020: The Trump administration formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization; President Donald Trump had criticized the WHO’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. (The pullout was later halted by President Joseph Biden’s administration.)

Today’s birthdays

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is 90. Country singer Jeannie Seely is 85. Former President George W. Bush is 79. Actor-director Sylvester Stallone is 79. Retired MLB All-Star Willie Randolph is 71. Actor-writer Jennifer Saunders (“Absolutely Fabulous”) is 67. Political reporter/moderator John Dickerson is 57. Rapper 50 Cent is 50. Comedian-actor Kevin Hart is 46. San Diego Padres infielder Manny Machado is 33.