Today in History
Today is Saturday, July 22, 2023, marking the 203rd day of the year with 162 days remaining.
Historical Highlights for Today:
On July 22, 1937, the U.S. Senate rejected President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposal to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court.
Other significant events on this date include:
- In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln presented a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet.
- In 1934, notorious bank robber John Dillinger was fatally shot by federal agents outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater.
- In 1942, the Nazis commenced the transportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp, while gasoline rationing, involving coupon usage, began along the Atlantic seaboard.
- In 1943, General George S. Patton’s American forces captured Palermo, Sicily, during World War II.
- In 1967, American author and poet Carl Sandburg passed away at his home in North Carolina at the age of 89.
- In 1975, the House of Representatives, following the Senate’s lead, voted to restore the American citizenship of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
- In 1991, Milwaukee police arrested Jeffrey Dahmer, who later confessed to the murder of 17 men and boys.
- In 1992, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his luxury prison near Medellin. (He was killed by security forces in December 1993.)
- In 2011, self-described “militant nationalist” Anders Breivik massacred 69 people at a Norwegian island youth retreat after detonating a bomb in nearby Oslo.
- In 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Dylann Roof, the suspect in the Charleston church shooting, with 33 counts, including hate crimes.
- In 2020, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was tear-gassed by U.S. federal agents during protests outside a federal courthouse. California surpassed New York in confirmed coronavirus cases.
- Ten years ago, Pope Francis embarked on a seven-day visit to his home continent of South America, while the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to Prince George.
- Five years ago, a gunman killed two people and wounded 13 others in Toronto, and a tourist boat sinking in Missouri claimed 17 lives.
- One year ago, Steve Bannon was convicted of contempt charges related to the January 6 Capitol riot, and Russia and Ukraine signed agreements for the export of grain across the Black Sea.
Today’s Birthdays:
Notable individuals celebrating their birthdays today include author Tom Robbins (91), actor Terence Stamp (85), singer George Clinton (82), actor-singer Bobby Sherman (80), and former Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (80).