Today in History

On July 10, 1940, during World War II, the Battle of Britain began as the German Luftwaffe launched attacks on southern England. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.)

On this date

1890: Wyoming was admitted as the 44th US state.

1925: Jury selection began in Dayton, Tennessee, in the trial of John T. Scopes, charged with violating the law by teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. (Scopes was convicted and fined, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.)

1951: Armistice talks aimed at ending the Korean War began at Kaesong.

1962: The first active communications satellite, Telstar 1, was launched by NASA.

1991: President George H.W. Bush lifted U.S. economic sanctions against South Africa.

2002: The U.S. House approved a measure to allow airline pilots to carry guns in the cockpit to defend their planes against terrorists (President George W. Bush later signed the measure into law).

2015: South Carolina pulled the Confederate battle flag from its place of honor at the Statehouse after more than 50 years.

Today’s birthdays

Singer Mavis Staples is 86. Actor Robert Pine is 84. International Tennis Hall of Famer Virginia Wade is 80. Folk singer Arlo Guthrie is 78. Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson is 71. Rock singer Neil Tennant is 71. Banjo player Bela Fleck is 67. Actor Fiona Shaw is 67. Singer/actor Jacky Cheung is 64.