Features

Today’s Highlight in History: 

On July 12, 100 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was born. 

On this date: 

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

In 1817, naturalist-author Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Mass. 

In 1972, George McGovern won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Miami Beach. 

In 1977, President Carter defended Supreme Court decisions limiting government payments for poor women’s abortions, saying, “There are many things in life that are not fair.” 

In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced he’d chosen 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 1993, 196 people were killed when an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.8 struck northern Japan.  

Ten years ago: In an emotional farewell speech, Benjamin Hooks, outgoing executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, urged the group’s convention in Nashville, Tenn., to show the world that it remained vital. 

Five years ago: In Copenhagen, the last stop of an eight-day European tour, President Clinton said political divisions in Europe were closing. In Spain, kidnapped Basque politician Miguel Angel Blanco was found mortally wounded shortly after a deadline set by his militant Basque captors. 

One year ago: Abner Louima, the Haitian immigrant tortured in a New York City police station, agreed to an $8.7 million settlement.  

Today’s Birthdays: Rock guitarist Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) is 40. Rock singer Robin Wilson is 37. Actress Lisa Nicole Carson is 33. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is 31. Country singer Shannon Lawson is 29. Rapper Magoo is 29. Singer Tracie Spencer is 26. Actor Topher Grace is 24. Actor Erik Per Sullivan is 11. 

Thought for Today: “The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that they are not mended again.” — Alan Paton, South African author (1903-1988).