Today in History
Today is Monday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2022. There are 152 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 1, 1936, the Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
On this date:
In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state.
In 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps established an aeronautical division, the forerunner of the U.S. Air Force.
In 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.
In 1957, the United States and Canada announced they had agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on an armed rampage at the University of Texas in Austin that killed 14 people, most of whom were shot by Whitman while he was perched in the clock tower of the main campus building. (Whitman, who had also slain his wife and mother hours earlier, was finally gunned down by police.)
In 1975, a 35-nation summit in Finland concluded with the signing of a declaration known as the Helsinki Accords dealing with European security, human rights and East-West contacts.
In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley confirmed they’d been secretly married 11 weeks earlier. (Presley filed for divorce from Jackson in January 1996, citing irreconcilable differences.)
In 2001, Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, 27, died of heat stroke, a day after collapsing at the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp on the hottest day of the year.
In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.
In 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, 269-161, emergency legislation to avert the nation’s first-ever financial default; Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords returned to the House for the first time since being shot in Jan. 2011 to cast a “yes” vote.
In 2013, defying the United States, Russia granted Edward Snowden temporary asylum, allowing the National Security Agency leaker to slip out of the Moscow airport where he had been holed up for weeks.
In 2014, a medical examiner ruled that a New York City police officer’s chokehold caused the death of Eric Garner, whose videotaped arrest and final pleas of “I can’t breathe!” had sparked outrage.
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama made his rival’s personal millions a front-and-center issue in the race for the White House, telling a swing-state audience in Ohio that Mitt Romney “is asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a big tax cut.” Four teams from China, South Korea and Indonesia were kicked out of the women’s badminton doubles at the London Olympics for trying to lose on purpose in order to earn an easier matchup in the knockout round.
Five years ago: By a vote of 92-5, the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Christopher Wray as FBI director. He replaced James Comey, who was fired by Trump amid the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.
One year ago: After much delay, senators unveiled a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. American swimmer Caeleb Dressel captured his fourth and fifth gold medals of the Tokyo Olympics, while Australia’s Emma McKeon won two more golds and became the first female swimmer – and second woman in any sport – to claim seven medals at one Olympics. Texas-born Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs won gold in the 100 meters, Italy’s first medal in the event. Belarusian track sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who faced punishment at home after criticizing the way the track team was managed, said her Olympic team officials tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. (She would later find refuge in Poland.) Rapper DaBaby was cut from Lollapalooza’s closing lineup following crude and homophobic remarks he had made at a Miami-area music festival.
Today’s Birthdays: Singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is 91. Former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., is 85. Actor Giancarlo Giannini is 80. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 72. Blues singer-musician Robert Cray is 69. Singer Michael Penn is 64. Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 63. Rock singer-musician Suzi Gardner (L7) is 62. Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 62. Actor Jesse Borrego is 60. Actor Demian Bichir is 59. Rapper Coolio is 59. Actor John Carroll Lynch is 59. Rock singer Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) is 58. Movie director Sam Mendes is 57. Country singer George Ducas is 56. Actor Jennifer Gareis is 52. Actor Charles Malik Whitfield is 50. Actor Tempestt Bledsoe is 49. Actor Jason Momoa is 43. Actor Honeysuckle Weeks is 43. Singer Ashley Parker Angel is 41. Actor Taylor Fry is 41. Actor Elijah Kelley is 36.