Today in History

On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

On this date

1898: President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, approving the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii.

1976: The United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980.

2005: Terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 people and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.

2010: Los Angeles police arrested and charged Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the city’s “Grim Sleeper” serial killings. (Franklin, who was sentenced to death for the killings of nine women and a teenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.)

2013: Andy Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

Today’s birthdays

Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 98. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is 85. World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin is 81. Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson is 65. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 59. Actor Jorja Fox is 57. Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie is 53. Olympic figure skating medalist Michelle Kwan is 45. Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer) is 31. Country singer Maddie Font (Maddie and Tae) is 30.