Today in History

On July 19, 1848, the first “Convention to discuss the social, civil and religious condition and rights of Woman” convened at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

Also on this date:

1969: Apollo 11 and its astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, went into orbit around the moon.

1990: Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, was sentenced in Cincinnati to five months in prison for tax evasion.

1993: President Bill Clinton announced a policy allowing gays to serve in the military under a compromise dubbed “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue.”

2013: In a rare and public reflection on race, President Barack Obama called on the nation to do some soul searching over the death of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his shooter, George Zimmerman, saying the slain Black teenager “could have been me 35 years ago.”

2021: Paul Allard Hodgkins, a Florida man who breached the U.S. Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021received an eight-month prison term in the first resolution of a felony case arising from the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

Today’s Birthdays: Civil rights activist and educator Rachel Robinson, widow of baseball’s Jackie Robinson, is 103. Blues singer-musician Little Freddie King is 85. Singer-musician Alan Gorrie (Average White Band) is 79. International Tennis Hall of Famer Ilie Nastase is 79. Rock musician Brian May (Queen) is 78. Rock musician Bernie Leadon is 78. Movie director Abel Ferrara is 74. Movie director Atom Egoyan is 65. Actor Campbell Scott is 64.