Today in History

Today is Saturday, July 14, the 195th day of 2018. There are 170 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 14, 1933, all German political parties, except the Nazi Party, were outlawed.

On this date:

In 1789, in an event symbolizing the start of the French Revolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners inside.

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

In 1881, outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias "Billy the Kid," was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner in present-day New Mexico.

In 1913, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska.

In 1914, scientist Robert H. Goddard received a U.S. patent for a liquid-fueled rocket apparatus.

In 1921, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted in Dedham, Massachusetts, of murdering a shoe company paymaster and his guard. (Sacco and Vanzetti were executed six years later.)

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

In 1964, in a speech to the Republican national convention in San Francisco, New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller was booed by supporters of Barry Goldwater as he called on the GOP to denounce political extremists.

In 1966, the city of Chicago awoke to the shocking news that eight student nurses had been brutally slain during the night in a South Side dormitory. Drifter Richard Speck was convicted of the mass killing and condemned to death, but had his sentence reduced to life in prison, where he died in 1991.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York.

In 1980, the Republican national convention opened in Detroit, where nominee-apparent Ronald Reagan told a welcoming rally he and his supporters were determined to "make America great again."

In 1999, race-based school busing in Boston came to an end after 25 years.

In 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).

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush lifted an executive ban on offshore oil drilling which had stood since his father was president. The New Yorker magazine featured a satirical cover showing Barack Obama dressed as a Muslim and his wife, Michelle, as a terrorist in the Oval Office. (The Obama campaign called the cover "tasteless and offensive.")

Five years ago: Thousands of demonstrators across the country protested a Florida jury's decision the day before to clear George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a TV interview, called for tougher European and global rules on data protection amid fallout from recent revelations about U.S. surveillance programs.

One year ago: A Russian-American lobbyist said he attended a June 2016 meeting with President Donald Trump's son that was billed as part of a Russian government effort to help the Republican campaign. Arab assailants opened fire from inside a major Jerusalem shrine, killing two Israeli policemen before being shot dead.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Nancy Olson is 90. Former football player and actor Rosey Grier is 86. Actor Vincent Pastore is 72. Music company executive Tommy Mottola is 70. Rock musician Chris Cross (Ultravox) is 66. Actor Jerry Houser is 66. Actor-director Eric Laneuville is 66. Actor Stan Shaw is 66. Movie producer Scott Rudin is 60. Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass is 58. Country musician Ray Herndon (McBride and the Ride) is 58. Actress Jane Lynch is 58. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 57. Actor Matthew Fox is 52. Rock musician Ellen Reid (Crash Test Dummies) is 52. Rock singer-musician Tanya Donelly is 52. Actress Missy Gold is 48. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tameka Cottle (Xscape) is 43. Country singer Jamey Johnson is 43. Hip-hop musician taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 43. Actor Scott Porter is 39. Rock singer Dan Smith (Bastille) is 32. Actress Sara Canning (TV: "The Vampire Diaries") is 31. Rock singer Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons) is 31.

Thought for Today: "A man must be both stupid and uncharitable who believes there is no virtue or truth but on his own side." -- Joseph Addison, English essayist and poet (1672-1719).