July 26th
Today in America's Present Past
1739 | Vice President George Clinton was born.
1759 | 11,000 British troops drive a token French garrison of 400 out of Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
1764 | Indian Wars: Enoch Brown school massacre.
1775 | Congress: The Continental Congress creates the United States Post Office (U.S.P.O.) in Philadelphia under Benjamin Franklin.
1788 | Statehood: New York granted statehood.
1790 | Congress: Passed the Funding Act of 1790, making the federal government responsible for debts incurred by states.
1796 | Painter George Catlin was born.
1797 | POTUS: President John Quincy Adams wed Louisa Catherine Johnson
1814 | War of 1812: Battle of Mackinac Island.
1846 | Frontiersman Texas Jack Omohundro was born.
1863 | Civil War: The Battle of Salineville, Ohio.
1863 | Republic of Texas President Sam Houston died.
1872 | Historian George Louis Beer was born.
1878 | Poet and outlaw calling himself "Black Bart" makes his last clean getaway when he steals a safe box from a Wells Fargo stagecoach. The empty box was later found to contain a taunting poem inside.
1890 | Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan was born.
1892 | SCOTUS: Justice George Shiras was sworn in.
1895 | Comedian Gracie Allen was born.
1897 | Author Paul Gallico was born.
1908 | Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
1916 | Nurse Sally Louisa Tompkins died.
1917 | J. Edgar Hoover starts working at the Department of Justice.
1919 | Civil Rights: “Red Summer race riots” in Hobson City, Alabama.
1921 | Author and entertainer Jean Shepherd was born.
1922 | Director Blake Edwards was born.
1925 | Politician William Jennings Bryan died.
1926 | The legal union, the National Bar Association, is incorporated.
1926 | Actor James Best was born.
1928 | Director Stanley Kubrick was born.
1935 | Entrepreneur James L. Easton was born.
1940 | Political aide Mary Jo Kopechne was born.
1944 | Olympic diver Micki King was born in Pontiac, Michigan.
1945 | WWII: The US, Britain, and China demand the unconditional surrender of Japan during World War II in the Declaration of Potsdam.
1947 | POTUS: Democrat President Truman signs the National Security Act (1947), establishing the Department of Defense, the CIA, the National Security Council, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1948 | Film: “The Babe Ruth Story” debuted.
1948 | POTUS: Democrat President Truman issues Executive Order No. 9981 to desegregate the armed forces, directing "equality of treatment and opportunity" in the military.
1949 | Astronaut William M. Shepherd was born.
1953 | Civil Rights: The Short Creek Raids occurred.
1956 | Figure skater Dorothy Hamill was born.
1959 | Actor Kevin Spacey was born.
1964 | Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa was convicted of fraud and conspiracy.
1964 | Actress Sandra Bullock was born.
1967 | Civil Rights: A Long, hot summer of riots continues in Saginaw, Michigan.
1974 | Entrepreneur Arthur K. Watson died.
1983 | Wrestler Roderick Strong was born.
1984 | Serial killer Ed Gein died.
1984 | Polling pioneer George Gallup died.
1990 | POTUS: Republican President Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act.
1993 | General
Matthew Ridgway died.
1995 | Politician George W. Romney died.
2017 | POTUS: Republican President Trump bans transsexuals from military service.
2020 | Actress Oliva de Havilland died.