26 July: Peron Dead; Paul Rubens Popped; We Celebrate 25 Yrs. Of Telebision In Stereo

Today is Sunday, July 26, the 207th day of 2009. There are 158 days left in the year. From an AP somewhere. A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On July 26, 1908, U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte ordered creation of a force of special agents that was a forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On this date: In 1775, Benjamin Franklin became America's first Postmaster-General. In 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1847, Liberia became a republic and Africa's first sovereign, black-ruled democratic nation. In 1856, playwright Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland. In 1941, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines. In 1945, Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party. (Clement Attlee became the new prime minister.) In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act, which established the National Military Establishment (later renamed the Department of Defense). In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed executive orders prohibiting discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and federal employment. In 1952, Argentina's first lady, Eva Peron, died in Buenos Aires at age 33, & Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 1953, Fidel Castro began a revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba.In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. In 1964, Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa and six others were convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the handling of a union pension fund. In 1971, Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy on America's fourth manned mission to the moon. In 1986, kidnappers in Lebanon released the Rev. Lawrence Martin Jenco, an American hostage held for nearly 19 months. Twenty years ago: Mark Wellman, a 29-year-old paraplegic, reached the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park after hauling himself up the granite cliff 6 inches at a time over nine days. Ten years ago: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, announced a second Washington-Moscow "hot line" would be installed to help avoid misunderstandings like those that had developed over Kosovo. Cary Stayner, a motel handyman, described in detail for an off-camera jailhouse interview with San Jose station KNTV-TV how he'd killed a naturalist and three Yosemite sightseers. In 2000, a federal judge approved a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and more than a half million plaintiffs who alleged the banks had hoarded money deposited by Holocaust victims. Five years ago: The Democratic Party's 44th national convention opened in Boston under extraordinarily tight security; a parade of speakers that included former President Bill Clinton castigated George W. Bush as a president who had mishandled the economy and bungled the war on terror. Mohammed Mamdouh Helmi Qutb, an Egyptian diplomat held hostage by militants in Iraq for three days, was released after successful negotiations. In 2005, Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs became the 13th pitcher in major league history to record his 3,000th career strikeout, in a game against the San Francisco Giants. In 2006, a jury in Houston found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning of her children in a bathtub in the second trial she faced on the charges; she was committed to a state mental hospital. [Insanity is inherited. You get it from your children. — Ed.] One year ago: At least 22 small bombs exploded in Ahmadabad in the Indian state of Gujarat, killing 58 people. Today's Birthdays: Actress Marjorie Lord is 91. Movie director Blake Edwards is 87. Actor James Best is 83. R&B singer-songwriter Bobby Hebb is 71. Singer Dobie Gray is 69. Actress-singer Darlene Love is 68. Singer Brenton Wood is 68. Rock star Mick Jagger is 66. Movie director Peter Hyams is 66. Actress Helen Mirren is 64. Rock musician Roger Taylor (Queen) is 60. Actress Susan George is 59. Olympic gold medal figure skater Dorothy Hamill is 53. Actor Kevin Spacey is 50. Rock singer Gary Cherone is 48. Actress Sandra Bullock is 45. Rock singer Jim Lindberg (Pennywise) is 44. Actor Jeremy Piven is 44. Rapper-reggae singer Wayne Wonder is 43. Actor Jason Statham is 42. Actor Cress Williams is 39. TV host Chris Harrison ("The Bachelor") is 38. Actress Kate Beckinsale is 36. Rock musician Dan Konopka (OK Go) is 35. Today In Entertainment History -- On July 26th, 1963, Motown Records released "Mickey's Monkey" by The Miracles. In 1977, Robert Plant's six-year old son died of a respiratory ailment. Led Zeppelin was on tour in the US at the time, and the remaining seven dates were canceled.

In 1984, "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" became the first network television show to be broadcast in stereo. In 1990, keyboardist Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead was found dead in his California home. He died of a drug overdose. He was 37. [Stop writing like a second-grader, AP! — Ed.] In 1991, actor Paul Reubens -- also known as Pee-Wee Herman -- was arrested inside a movie theater in Sarasota, Florida, for exposing himself. In 1992, singer Mary Wells, known for the hits "My Guy," and "You Beat Me To The Punch," died of cancer. She was 49. In 1996, singer Donnie Osmond apologized to TV host Rosie O'Donnell for making a comment about her weight during an earlier appearance on her show. She made him sing "Puppy Love" to her in a dog suit. Thought for Today: "Government is too big and important to be left to the politicians." — Chester Bowles, American diplomat, businessman, author — and politician (1901-1986).

UPDATED (Value added, one might say.) around 2200 PDT, 26 July 2009.