Today is Thursday, July 23, the 204th day of 2015 with 161 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Saturn and Venus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include detective novelist Raymond Chandler in 1888; Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in 1892; British actor Michael Wilding in 1912; Broadway restaurateur Vincent Sardi Jr. in 1915; baseball Hall of Fame member Pee Wee Reese in 1918; actor Gloria DeHaven in 1925 (age 90); baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale in 1936; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in 1936 (age 79); actor Ronny Cox in 1938 (age 77); talk show host Don Imus in 1940 (age 75); drummer Dino Danelli (The Rascals) in 1944 (age 71); drummer John Rutsey (Rush) in 1952; musician David Essex in 1947 (age 68); actor Edie McClurg in 1951 (age 64); Dutch film director Theo van Gogh in 1957; actor Woody Harrelson in 1961 (age 54); actor Eriq La Salle in 1962 (age 53); actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in 1967; singer Alison Krauss in 1971 (age 44); former White House intern Monica Lewinsky in 1973 (age 42); actor Daniel Radcliffe in 1989 (age 26).
On this day in history:
In 1829, William Burt of Mount Vernon, Mich., patented the “typographer,” believed to be the first typewriter.
In 1948, legendary pioneer movie director D.W. Griffith, maker of several silent classics, including “The Birth of a Nation,” died at the age of 73.
In 1967, rioting erupted on 12th Street in the heart of Detroit’s predominantly African-American inner city. (By the time it was quelled four days later by 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops, 43 people were dead, 342 injured.)
In 1973, Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox served subpoenas on the White House after U.S. President Richard Nixon refused to turn over requested tapes and documents.
In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed when a helicopter disabled by special effects explosives crashed on the movie set of “The Twilight Zone.”
In 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals Judge David Souter of New Hampshire to replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. (Souter was on the court until his retirement in 2009.)
In 1999, U.S. Air Force Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a space shuttle flight, with the launch of Columbia on a four-day mission.
In 2002, a laser-guided bomb fired from an Israeli warplane hit the Gaza home of Sheik Salah Shehada, founder of the military wing of Hamas, killing him and 14 others and wounding more than 140 people.
In 2003, the Massachusetts attorney general said an investigation indicated nearly 1,000 cases of abuse by Roman Catholic priests and other church personnel in the Boston diocese over 60 years.
In 2005, three synchronized terrorist bombings struck Sharm el-Sheik, an Egyptian resort, killing at least 90 people and injuring 240.
In 2009, after a two-year federal investigation, 44 people, including three New Jersey mayors, two state assemblymen and five rabbis were arrested on charges of corruption and international money laundering.
In 2011, a high-speed bullet train slammed into the rear of a stalled train during a storm in eastern China, killing at least 40 people and injuring nearly 200 others. The stopped train had lost power after being struck by lightning.
In 2012, the NCAA imposed severe penalties, including a $60 million fine, on Penn State University. One official accused the university of a “conspiracy of silence” about child abuse involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a scientific review that said mint flavoring makes it easier to start smoking cigarettes and then harder to quit. The FDA said it would seek public comment on “potential regulation”of the cigarettes.
In 2014, a TransAsia Airways twin turboprop plane crashed in stormy weather during an emergency landing on a Taiwanese island, killing 48 people and injuring 10.
A thought for the day: “There can be no real freedom without the freedom to fail.” — Erich Fromm
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