13 July: Marat/Corday

From The Associated Press: Today is Monday, July 13, the 194th day of 2009. There are 171 days left in the year.
AP (Off-brand). A/V. UPI Almanac.
Today's Highlight in History:
On July 13, 1793, French revolutionary writer Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.
On this date:
In 1787, Congress enacted an ordinance governing the Northwest Territory.
In 1859, Mexican President Benito Juarez ordered property of the Roman Catholic Church confiscated throughout Mexico.
In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City. (About 1,000 people died over three days.)
In 1878, the Treaty of Berlin amended the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, which had ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.
In 1886, Father Edward Joseph Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, was born in County Roscommon, Ireland. [Knowing what we know now, it would be irresponsible not to speculate. — Ed.]
In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi was awarded a patent for wireless telegraphy, the radio.
In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination at his party's convention in Los Angeles.In 1967, race-related rioting broke out in Newark, N.J.; 27 people died in four days of violence.In 1972, George McGovern claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach, Fla.
In 1977, a blackout lasting 25 hours hit the New York City area.
In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II.
In 1979, four Palestinian guerrillas stormed the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, killing two guards and taking some 20 hostages. (The guerrillas surrendered 45 hours later.)
In 1985, the Constitution's presidential disability clause was invoked for the first time as President Ronald Reagan transferred power temporarily to Vice President George H. W. Bush before undergoing surgery for colon cancer. [Why'd they let him back? Because they knew what a douchewad "Poppy" Bush was? — Ed.]
Ten years ago: Angel Maturino Resendiz, suspected of being the "Railroad Killer," surrendered in El Paso, Texas. (Resendiz was executed in 2006.) In Tehran, police fired tear gas to disperse 10,000 demonstrators on the sixth day of protests against Iranian hard-liners. The American League won the All-Star Game for the third straight time, defeating the National League 4-1 at Boston's Fenway Park.
Five years ago: A confidant of Osama bin Laden's (Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi) surrendered to Saudi diplomats in Iran and was flown to Saudi Arabia. The American League cruised past the National League 9-4 in the All-Star game at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
In 2007, former media mogul Conrad Black was convicted of swindling the newspaper empire he once ran out of millions of dollars. (He is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence at a federal prison in Florida.)
One year ago: An assault by militants on a remote U.S. base in Afghanistan close to the Pakistan border killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15. Anheuser-Busch agreed to a takeover by giant Belgian brewer InBev SA.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Patrick Stewart is 69. Actor Robert Forster is 68. Actor Harrison Ford is 67. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 67. Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 63. Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid is 61. Actress Didi Conn is 58. Singer Louise Mandrell is 55.Writer-director Cameron Crowe is 52. Tennis player Anders Jarryd is 48. Rock musician Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera (Marcy Playground) is 47. Country singer-songwriter Victoria Shaw is 47. Bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent is 47. Actor Kenny Johnson is 46. Actor Michael Jace is 44. Country singer Neil Thrasher is 44. Singer Deborah Cox is 36. Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray is 33. Rock musician Will Champion (Coldplay) is 31.
Today In Entertainment History -- Seventy years ago, on July 13th, 1939, Frank Sinatra made his first record, singing "From the Bottom of My Heart" and "Melancholy Mood" with the Harry James Orchestra.
In 1977, a Boz Scaggs concert in New York was cut short due to the citywide power failure. NRBQ was playing that night in a different venue and improvised by taping flashlights to their microphones stands and playing an acoustic set.
Twenty-five years ago, in 1984, Philippe Wynne, a former lead singer of The Spinners, died of a heart attack while on stage in Oakland, California.
In 1985, the Live Aid concerts to help starving people in Africa were held in London, Philadelphia and other cities. Live Aid was organized by singer Bob Geldof and featured dozens of top entertainers. It's estimated more than 1.5 billion people either watched Live Aid on television or listened to a radio broadcast.Twenty years ago, in 1989, Roseanne Barr filed for divorce in Los Angeles from William Pentland.
In 1990, the movie "Ghost" was released.
Ten years ago, in 1999, Stanley Kubrick's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut" starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, had its premiere in Los Angeles. (The movie opened in wide release three days later.)
In 2008, talk show host Les Crane died in Greenbrae, Calif., at age 74. Thought for Today: "Individuality is freedom lived." — John Dos Passos, American author (1896-1970).

(This version CORRECTS that Cameron Crowe is a writer-director, sted actor-director.)