July 15
1606 - The painter Rembrandt was born in Leiden, Netherlands.
1834 - The Spanish Inquisition was abolished more than 350 years after its creation.
1869 - Margarine was patented in France by Hippolyte Mege Mouries.
1870 - Georgia became the last of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
1913 - Democrat Augustus Bacon of Georgia became the first person elected to the U.S. Senate under the terms of the recently ratified 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for popular election of senators.
1918 - The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.
1940 - Robert Wadlow, who stood 8 feet, 11.1 inches tall as the world's tallest man, died.
1948 - John J. Pershing, whose leadership in World War I earned him the title General of the Armies (a six star rank of general held only by Pershing and George Washington) of the United States, died in Washington, D.C. at age 87.
1964 - Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco.
1971 - President Richard Nixon announced he would visit the People's Republic of China.
1975 - Three American astronauts blasted off aboard an Apollo spaceship hours after two Soviet cosmonauts were launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for a mission that included a linkup of the two ships in orbit.
1976 - A 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, California, by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed; the kidnappers were caught.)
1979 - President Jimmy Carter delivered a speech in which he lamented what he called a "crisis of confidence" in America. Though he didn't use the word, it became known as the "malaise" speech.
1992 - Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York City.
1996 - MSNBC, a 24-hour all-news network, made its debut on cable TV and the Internet.
1997 - Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot to death outside his home in Miami; suspected gunman Andrew Phillip Cunanan was found dead eight days later.
2002 - John Walker Lindh, an American who had fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to two felonies in a deal sparing him life in prison.
2002 - A Pakistani judge convicted four Islamic militants in the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl.
2007 - The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles announced it was settling clergy sex-abuse cases for $660 million.
2010 - After 86 days of gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico and several previous attempts to contain the flow failed, BP successfully capped its leaking oil well off the coast of Louisiana.
2011 - Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignation of The Wall Street Journal's publisher, Les Hinton, and the chief of his British operations, Rebekah Brooks, as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal.
2016 - Donald Trump chose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, an experienced politician with deep Washington connections, to be his running mate.
2018 - President Donald Trump arrived in Finland for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier, in an interview with CBS News, Trump named the European Union as a top adversary of the United States.
2019 - Avowed white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. was sentenced to life in prison plus 419 years for killing one and injuring dozens of others when he deliberately drove his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters during a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
2020 - George Floyd’s family filed a lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis and the four police officers charged in his death, alleging the officers violated Floyd’s rights when they restrained him and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish in its police force. (The city would agree to pay $27 million to settle the lawsuit in March 2021.)
Birthdays
29 - Ashley Moore (model)
30 - Medalion Rahimi (actress)
32 - Damian Lillard (basketball player)
33 - Tristan "Mack" Wilds (actor/singer)
34 - Aimee Carrero (actress)
41 - Taylor Kinney (actor)
43 - Travis Fimmel (actor)
43 - Laura Benanti (actress)
45 - Lana Parrilla (actress)
46 - Diane Kruger (actress)
49 - Brian Austin Green (actor)
50 - Scott Foley (actor)
51 - Jim Rash (actor)
53 - Reggie Hayes (actor)
54 - Eddie Griffin (actor/comedian)
55 - Adam Savage (TV host)
56 - Amanda Foreman (actress)
59 - Brigitte Nielsen (actress)
59 - Shari Headley (actress)
61 - Lolita Davidovich (actress)
61 - Forest Whitaker (actor)
62 - Willie Aames (actor)
62 - Kim Alexis (model)
70 - David Pack (singer)
70 - Terry O'Quinn (actor)
70 - Celia Imrie (actress)
76 - Linda Ronstadt (singer)
78 - Millie Jackson (singer)
83 - Patrick Wayne (actor)
=========================
Today in Sports History - July 15
1876 - George Washington Bradley of St. Louis pitched the first no-hitter in baseball in a 2-0 win over Hartford.
1973 - Nolan Ryan (California Angels) became the first pitcher in two decades to win two no-hitters in a season.
1980 - Johnny Bench breaks Yogi Berra's record for most home runs by a catcher in MLB history with 314.
1985 - Baseball players voted to strike on August 6th if no contract was reached with baseball owners. The strike turned out to be just a one-day interruption.
2018 - France defeats Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to win the World Cup.
2019 - Tampa Bay catcher Travis d'Arnaud becomes first player in MLB history to hit three home runs while catching and batting leadoff in the Rays' 5-4 win over the New York Yankees.
1606 - The painter Rembrandt was born in Leiden, Netherlands.
1834 - The Spanish Inquisition was abolished more than 350 years after its creation.
1869 - Margarine was patented in France by Hippolyte Mege Mouries.
1870 - Georgia became the last of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
1913 - Democrat Augustus Bacon of Georgia became the first person elected to the U.S. Senate under the terms of the recently ratified 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for popular election of senators.
1918 - The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.
1940 - Robert Wadlow, who stood 8 feet, 11.1 inches tall as the world's tallest man, died.
1948 - John J. Pershing, whose leadership in World War I earned him the title General of the Armies (a six star rank of general held only by Pershing and George Washington) of the United States, died in Washington, D.C. at age 87.
1964 - Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco.
1971 - President Richard Nixon announced he would visit the People's Republic of China.
1975 - Three American astronauts blasted off aboard an Apollo spaceship hours after two Soviet cosmonauts were launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for a mission that included a linkup of the two ships in orbit.
1976 - A 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, California, by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed; the kidnappers were caught.)
1979 - President Jimmy Carter delivered a speech in which he lamented what he called a "crisis of confidence" in America. Though he didn't use the word, it became known as the "malaise" speech.
1992 - Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York City.
1996 - MSNBC, a 24-hour all-news network, made its debut on cable TV and the Internet.
1997 - Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot to death outside his home in Miami; suspected gunman Andrew Phillip Cunanan was found dead eight days later.
2002 - John Walker Lindh, an American who had fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to two felonies in a deal sparing him life in prison.
2002 - A Pakistani judge convicted four Islamic militants in the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl.
2007 - The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles announced it was settling clergy sex-abuse cases for $660 million.
2010 - After 86 days of gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico and several previous attempts to contain the flow failed, BP successfully capped its leaking oil well off the coast of Louisiana.
2011 - Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignation of The Wall Street Journal's publisher, Les Hinton, and the chief of his British operations, Rebekah Brooks, as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal.
2016 - Donald Trump chose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, an experienced politician with deep Washington connections, to be his running mate.
2018 - President Donald Trump arrived in Finland for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier, in an interview with CBS News, Trump named the European Union as a top adversary of the United States.
2019 - Avowed white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. was sentenced to life in prison plus 419 years for killing one and injuring dozens of others when he deliberately drove his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters during a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
2020 - George Floyd’s family filed a lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis and the four police officers charged in his death, alleging the officers violated Floyd’s rights when they restrained him and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish in its police force. (The city would agree to pay $27 million to settle the lawsuit in March 2021.)
Birthdays
29 - Ashley Moore (model)
30 - Medalion Rahimi (actress)
32 - Damian Lillard (basketball player)
33 - Tristan "Mack" Wilds (actor/singer)
34 - Aimee Carrero (actress)
41 - Taylor Kinney (actor)
43 - Travis Fimmel (actor)
43 - Laura Benanti (actress)
45 - Lana Parrilla (actress)
46 - Diane Kruger (actress)
49 - Brian Austin Green (actor)
50 - Scott Foley (actor)
51 - Jim Rash (actor)
53 - Reggie Hayes (actor)
54 - Eddie Griffin (actor/comedian)
55 - Adam Savage (TV host)
56 - Amanda Foreman (actress)
59 - Brigitte Nielsen (actress)
59 - Shari Headley (actress)
61 - Lolita Davidovich (actress)
61 - Forest Whitaker (actor)
62 - Willie Aames (actor)
62 - Kim Alexis (model)
70 - David Pack (singer)
70 - Terry O'Quinn (actor)
70 - Celia Imrie (actress)
76 - Linda Ronstadt (singer)
78 - Millie Jackson (singer)
83 - Patrick Wayne (actor)
=========================
Today in Sports History - July 15
1876 - George Washington Bradley of St. Louis pitched the first no-hitter in baseball in a 2-0 win over Hartford.
1973 - Nolan Ryan (California Angels) became the first pitcher in two decades to win two no-hitters in a season.
1980 - Johnny Bench breaks Yogi Berra's record for most home runs by a catcher in MLB history with 314.
1985 - Baseball players voted to strike on August 6th if no contract was reached with baseball owners. The strike turned out to be just a one-day interruption.
2018 - France defeats Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to win the World Cup.
2019 - Tampa Bay catcher Travis d'Arnaud becomes first player in MLB history to hit three home runs while catching and batting leadoff in the Rays' 5-4 win over the New York Yankees.
