On this date:
In 1846, U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.
In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii. [Stop it, greedy Yanqui pig-dogs. What's next, Guam? — Ed.]
In 1908, the Democratic national convention, which nominated William Jennings Bryan for president, opened in Denver.
Ninety years ago, in 1919, the first Transcontinental Motor Convoy, in which a U.S. Army convoy of motorized vehicles crossed the United States, departed Washington, D.C. (The trip ended in San Francisco on Sept. 6, 1919.)
In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).
In 1946, Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American saint.
In 1948, six female reservists became the first women to be sworn into the regular U.S. Navy.
Forty years ago, in 1969, Canada's House of Commons gave final approval to the Official Languages Act, making French equal to English throughout the national government.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. President Reagan babbles. The original AP story.
In 1983, 11-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, left for a visit to the Soviet Union at the personal invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov.
In 1987, Lt. Col. Oliver North began his public testimony at the Iran-Contra hearing, telling Congress that he had "never carried out a single act, not one" without authorization. The original AP story.
Ten years ago: In the first class-action lawsuit by smokers to go to trial, a jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for making a defective product that caused emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses. (The jury later ordered the tobacco industry to pay $145 billion in punitive damages, but the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 voided the award, saying each smoker's case had to be decided individually.) President Bill Clinton became the first chief executive since Franklin D. Roosevelt to visit an Indian reservation as he toured the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Five years ago: Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was indicted on criminal charges related to the energy company's collapse. (Lay was later convicted of fraud and conspiracy, but died in July 2006 before he could be sentenced.) Jeff Smith, public television's popular "Frugal Gourmet" until a sex scandal ruined his career, died at age 65.
In 2005, suicide terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 victims and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.
One year ago: A suicide bomber struck the Indian Embassy in Kabul, killing at least 60 people. President George W. Bush met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time at the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. Actress Nicole Kidman gave birth to a girl; she and her husband, country star Keith Urban, named their daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban.
Today's Birthdays: Blues musician Pinetop Perkins is 96. Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 82. Country singer Charlie Louvin is 82. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough is 76. Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is 69. Singer-musician Warren Entner (The Grass Roots) is 65. Rock musician Jim Rodford is 64. Actor Joe Spano is 63. Pop singer David Hodo (The Village People) is 62. Country singer Linda Williams is 62. Actress Shelley Duvall is 60. Actress Roz Ryan is 58. Actor Billy Campbell is 50. Rock musician Mark White (Spin Doctors) is 47. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 46. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 43. R&B musician Ricky Kinchen (Mint Condition) is 43. Actress Jorja Fox is 41. Actress Cree Summer is 40. Actress Kirsten Vangsness is 37. Actor Troy Garity is 36. Actor Hamish Linklater is 33. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan is 29.
Today In Entertainment History -- Sixty years ago, in 1949, the police drama "Dragnet," starring Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough, premiered on NBC radio.
In 1954, Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips of WHBQ became the first DJ to play an Elvis Presley record. He premiered "That's All Right," and he also interviewed Elvis. Two versions of "Sh-Boom" were in the top ten: the original by The Chords was at number nine, and the cover version by a white group, The Crew-Cuts, was at number five. [A nation divided against itself cannot stand. — Ed.]
In 1968, The Yardbirds broke up. Guitarist Jimmy Page formed the New Yardbirds, which became Led Zeppelin.
In 1971, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog of Abba married in Verum, Sweden. They have since split up.
In 1975, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones was charged with possession of an offensive weapon and reckless driving in Arkansas. Hundreds of teenaged girls stormed the jail where he was being held.
In 1978, Morris the Cat of the "Nine Lives" cat food commercials was rescued by trainer Bob Martwick from the pound just a few minutes before he was to be put to sleep.
In 1979, the Montreaux Pop Festival in Switzerland presented its first country show. Barbara Mandrell and the Oak Ridge Boys were booed offstage, while the more traditional Roy Clark and Doc Watson were more warmly welcomed.
In 1980, the original lineup of Led Zeppelin gave its final show.
In 1995, Rod Stewart's jet made a forced landing after a mid-air collision with a bird. Aviation authorities called the incident "undramatic," but Stewart was visible shaken and said, "I nearly crashed."
In 2002, Michael Jackson made a bizarre appearance at a rally in New York to denounce the recording industry as racist and Sony chairman Tommy Mottola as devilish. [Now we know who killed him. — Ed.]
In 2007, the Live Earth concerts were held to draw attention to environmental issues. Concerts were held in Johannesburg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Hamburg, Rio de Janieiro and New York. Actress Eva Longoria married San Antonio Spurs player Tony Parker in Paris.And last year, actress Nicole Kidman gave birth to a girl; she and her husband, country star Keith Urban, named their daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban.
Thought for Today: "Only a mediocre person is always at his best." — W. Somerset Maugham, English author and dramatist (1874-1965).
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