Today’s Highlights in History: On July 21, 1944, American forces landed on Guam during World War II,
capturing it from the Japanese some three weeks later. The Democratic national convention in Chicago
nominated Sen. Harry S. Truman to be vice president.
On this date:
In 1773, Pope Clement XIV issued an order suppressing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. (The Society was
restored by Pope Pius VII in 1814.)
In 1861, during the Civil War, the first Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Virginia. a,
resulting in a Confederate victory
In 1925, the so-called "Monkey Trial" ended in Dayton, Tennessee, with John T. Scopes found
guilty of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. (The conviction was later
overturned on a technicality.)
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed an executive order establishing the Veterans Administration
(later the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs).
In 1949, the U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.
In 1959, the NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, was christened by first lady Mamie
Eisenhower at Camden, New Jersey.
In 1961, Capt. Virgil "Gus" Grissom became the second American to rocket into a sub-orbital
pattern around the Earth, flying aboard the Liberty Bell 7.
In 1972, the Irish Republican Army carried out 22 bombings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing nine
people and injuring 130 in what became known as "Bloody Friday."
In 1980, draft registration began in the United States for 19- and 20-year-old men.
In 1994, Britain’s Labor Party elected Tony Blair its new leader, succeeding the late John Smith. Former
Senate Republican leader Hugh Scott died in Falls Church, Virginia, at age 93.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush sketched out a second-term domestic agenda, telling campaign
donors he would shift focus to improving high school education and expanding access to health care.