Today in History

On July 14, 1789, in an event symbolizing the start of the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners held there.

Also on this date:

1798: Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it a federal crime to publish false, scandalous or malicious writing about the United States government.

1933: All German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed by the government of Nazi Germany.

1945: Italy formally declared war on Japan, its former Axis partner during World War II.

1960: 26-year-old Jane Goodall first arrived at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her study of the wild chimpanzees living there.

2004: The Senate scuttled a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (Forty-eight senators voted to advance the measure — 12 short of the 60 needed — and 50 voted to block it.)

2020: Researchers reported that the first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S. boosted people’s immune systems as scientists had hoped; the vaccine was developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.

Today’s Birthdays: Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 93. Actor Vincent Pastore (“The Sopranos”) is 79. . Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass (Tenacious D) is 65. Actor Jane Lynch is 65. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 64. Actor Matthew Fox is 59. Rock singer-musician Tanya Donelly is 59. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is 54. Country singer Jamey Johnson is 50.