Today in History
Today is Saturday, July 11, the 192nd day of 2026. There are 173 days left in the year.
Today in History:
On July 11, 1995, the U.N.-designated 鈥渟afe haven鈥� of Srebrenica (sreh-breh-NEET鈥�-sah) in Bosnia-Herzegovina fell to Bosnian Serb forces, who subsequently carried out the killings of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
Also on this date:
In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally reestablished by a congressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.
In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)
In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.
In 1864, Confederate forces led by Gen. Jubal Early began an abortive invasion of Washington, D.C.; the raid was turned back the next day.
In 1914, Babe Ruth made his Major League baseball debut, pitching the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over Cleveland.
In 1921, fighting in the Irish War of Independence ended with a truce.
In 1960, Harper Lee鈥檚 novel 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� was published.
In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union began play in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Fischer won after 21 games.)
In 1979, the abandoned U.S. space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.
In 1991, a Nigeria Airways DC-8 carrying Muslim pilgrims crashed at the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, international airport, killing all 261 people on board.
In 2006, eight bombs hit a commuter rail network during evening rush hour in Mumbai, India, killing more than 200 people.
In 2022, President Joe Biden revealed the first image from NASA鈥檚 James Webb Space Telescope, the farthest humanity had ever seen in both time and distance, closer to the dawn of the universe and the edge of the cosmos.
Today鈥檚 Birthdays: Actor Susan Seaforth Hayes is 83. Actor Bruce McGill is 76. Actor Stephen Lang is 74. Actor Mindy Sterling is 73. Actor Sela Ward is 70. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) is 69. Singer Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) is 69. Actor Mark Lester is 68. Saxophonist Kirk Whalum is 68. Singer Suzanne Vega is 67. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 67. Actor Lisa Rinna is 63. Author Jhumpa Lahiri is 59. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 59. Actor Justin Chambers (TV: 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy鈥�) is 56. Actor Michael Rosenbaum (TV: 鈥淪mallville鈥�) is 54. Rapper Lil鈥� Kim is 52. Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Johnson is 45. Pop-jazz singer-musician Peter Cincotti is 43. Actor Serinda Swan is 42. Actor David Henrie is 37. Actor Connor Paolo is 36. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 30.
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