Today in History

On July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, granting citizenship and “equal protection under the laws” to anyone “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people.

On this date

1850: President Zachary Taylor died of gastrointestinal illness after consuming a large amount of cherries and iced milk on a hot day five days earlier; Vice President Millard Fillmore was sworn in as president the following day.

937: A fire at 20th Century Fox’s storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, destroyed most of the studio’s silent films.

1947: The engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.

2004: A Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration had relied on to justify going to war.

2011: South Sudan officially became an independent nation.

2018: President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Today’s birthdays

Author Dean Koontz is 80. Musician and TV personality John Tesh is 73. Singer Debbie Sledge is 71. Actor Jimmy Smits is 70. Actor Tom Hanks is 69. Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 66. Actor-rock singer Courtney Love is 61. Musician/producer Jack White is 50. Rock singer-musician Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) is 50. Actor-director Fred Savage is 49. Animator/writer/producer Rebecca Sugar is 38. Actor Mitchel Musso is 34.