Today in History

Today is Friday, July 12, the 194th day of 2024. There are 172 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 12, as an angry reaction to the popularity of disco music, the Chicago White Sox held the “Disco Demolition Night” promotion, in which a crate of disco records was blown up on the field between games of a double-header; the ensuing riot and damage to the field caused the White Sox to forfeit the second game.

Also on this date:

In 1543, England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr.

In 1812, United States forces led by Gen. William Hull entered Canada during the War of 1812 against Britain. (However, Hull retreated shortly thereafter to Detroit.)

In 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorizing the Army Medal of Honor.

In 1909, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing for a federal income tax, and submitted it to the states. (It was declared ratified in February 1913.)

In 1962, the Rolling Stones played their first show, at the Marquee Club in London.

In 1967, rioting erupted in Newark, New Jersey, over the police beating of a Black taxi driver; 26 people were killed in the five days of violence that followed.

In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced his choice of U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running-mate; Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket.

In 1991, Japanese professor Hitoshi Igarashi, who had translated Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses,” was found stabbed to death, nine days after the novel’s Italian translator was attacked in Milan.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton, visiting Germany, went to the eastern sector of Berlin, the first U.S. president to do so since Harry Truman.

In 2003, the USS Ronald Reagan, the first carrier named for a living president, was commissioned in Norfolk, Virginia.

In 2012, a scathing report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh said the late Joe Paterno and other top Penn State officials had buried child sexual abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky more than a decade earlier to avoid bad publicity.

In 2022, Twitter sued Elon Musk to force him to complete the $44 billion acquisition of the social media company after Musk said he was backing off his agreement to buy the company. (He would eventually become Twitter’s owner three months later.)

Today’s Birthdays: Writer Delia Ephron is 80. Fitness guru Richard Simmons is 76. Singer Walter Egan is 76. Writer-producer Brian Grazer is 73. Actor Cheryl Ladd is 73. Gospel singer Ricky McKinnie (The Blind Boys of Alabama) is 72. Gospel singer Sandi Patty is 68. Actor Mel Harris is 68. Boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez is 62. Rock singer Robin Wilson (Gin Blossoms) is 59. Actor Lisa Nicole Carson is 55. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is 53. CBS newsman Jeff Glor is 49. Actor Anna Friel is 48. R&B singer Tracie Spencer is 48. US Senator Kyrsten Sinema is 48. Actor Topher Grace is 46. Actor Michelle Rodriguez is 46. Country singer-musician Kimberly Perry (The Band Perry) is 41. Actor Natalie Martinez is 40. Actor Ta’Rhonda Jones is 36. Golfer Inbee Park is 36. Actor Rachel Brosnahan is 34. Olympic gold medal gymnast Jordyn Wieber is 29. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai is 27. NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is 26. Soccer player Vinicius Junior is 24.