On this Day

Tuesday, July 5th
The 186th day of 2005
There are 179 days left in the year

Today's Highlights in History

On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors. (Go to article.)

On July 5, 1810, P. T. Barnum, the great American showman, was born. Following his death on April 7, 1891, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. Other Birthdays)

On July 5, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)


Reference: The New York Times



The following courtesy Iraq War Today

Today in History
1643 - Essex County, Massachusetts, sees the first recorded tornado in the U.S.
1687 - Isaac Newton's PRINCIPIA is published in England.
1808 - Battle of Buenos Aires.
1811 - Venezuela becomes the first South American country to gain independence from Spain.
1814 - American forces defeat the British and Canadians at Chippewa, Ontario.
1830 - France invades Algeria, beginning a forty-year conquest.
1859 - Captain N.C. Brooks discovers the Midway Islands.
1861 - Fighting at Carthage, Missouri.
1865 - William Booth founds the Salvation Army.
1935 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the National Labor Relations Act.
1940 - The British break off diplomatic relations with the Vichy government in France.
1944 - Harry Crosby takes the first rocket airplane, the MX-324, for its maiden flight.
1950 - The Law of Return is passed, guaranteeing all Jews the right to live in Israel.
1962 - Algeria gains its independence after 132 years of French rule.
1966 - The National Guard mobilizes in Omaha after a third night of riots; the Saturn I rocket launches at Cape Kennedy.
1970 - An Air Canada DC-8 crashes only seven miles from Toronto's airport, killing 109.
1978 - The Soyuz 30 spacecraft touches down in Soviet Kazakhstan.
1984 - The Supreme Court rules that evidence seized with defective warrants can now be used in criminal trials, weakening the 70-year-old "exclusionary rule

Birthdays
1794 - Sylvester Graham (inventor of the Graham Cracker)
1801 - David G. Farragut, naval hero
1810 - Phineas Taylor ("P.T.") Barnum, circus promoter (Barnum & Bailey)
1891 - John Northrop, American biochemist (crystallized enzymes), Nobel Prize winner
1902 - Henry Cabot Lodge, politician/ambassador/VP candidate
1904 - Don Goddard, news ancher (ABC Evening News)
1909 - Andrei Gromyko, Soviet President
1952 - Terence T. "Tom" Henricks, Lt. Colonel, USAF/astronaut (STS 44)

Passings
1950 - U.S. Army Pvt. Kenneth Shadrick of WV, the first American KIA in the Korean War.

Reported Missing in Action - July 4th
1967
Craig, Phillip C., USN (NY); A4C shot down, remains returned November, 1986
1969
Fallon, Patrick M., USAF (PA); A1H shot down over Laos
1970
Bookout, Charles F., US Army SF (OK); KIA during ambush

Reported Missing in Action - July 5th
1965
Eisenbraun, William F., US Army SF (CA); fourth tour of duty (1 Korea, 3 Vietnam) - DIC August, 1965
1966
Jackson, James E., Jr., US Army SF (NY); captured during an ambush, released in Cambodia November, 1967
1967
Dodge, Ward Kent, USAF (KS); F105G shot down, remains returned March, 1974.
Frederick, William V., USAF (OH); F105D shot down, remains returned January, 1990
Waddell, Dewey W., USAF (GA); F105D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel in 1987 - alive and well as of 1998
1968
Burns, Michael T., USAF (IN); F4D shot down, released by DRV in March, 1973 - alive as of 1998
Crumpler, Carl B., USAF (FL); F4D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel as of 1996 - alive and well as of 1998
Dewberry, Jerry D., USMC (OK); KIA while on patrol, body not recovered
Lawrence, Bruce E., USAF (NJ); F4C shot down, believed KIA, body not recovered (see Silver, Edward D.)
Silver, Edward D., USAF (OR); F4C shot down, POW reported seeing VC propaganda film showing body in flight suit with name of "Silver," believed KIA, body not recovered
1972
Elander, William J., Jr., USAF (NC); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as Lt. Colonel as of 1996 - alive as of 1998
Logan, Donald K., USAF (CA); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998
Spencer, William A., USAF (TX); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel as of 1996 - alive and well as of 1998
Seek, Brian J., USAF (CA); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel as in 1995 - alive and well as of 1998