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Highlight in History
On July 6, 1962, Nobel Prize-winning American author William Faulkner, one of the giants of Southern literature, died in Byhalia, Miss., at age 64.
On this date
In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga.
In 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an anti-rabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies.
In 1917, during World War I, Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi captured the port of Aqaba from the Turks.
In 1942, Anne Frank, her parents and sister entered a “secret annex” in an Amsterdam building where they were later joined by four other people; they hid from Nazi occupiers for two years before being betrayed and arrested.
In 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom.
In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.
In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when a series of explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform.
Ten years ago
Gunmen assassinated Afghan Vice President Abdul Qadir , who was considered key to U.S.-backed efforts to stabilize the war-fractured nation. Serena Williams beat older sister Venus 7-6 (4), 6-3 to win her first Wimbledon title and second straight Grand Slam tournament. Movie director John Frankenheimer died in Los Angeles; he was 72.
Five years ago
A man on a balcony over the New York-New York casino floor in Las Vegas opened fire on the gamblers below, wounding four people before he was tackled by off-duty military reservists. (Steven Zegrean was later convicted of charges including attempted murder and was sentenced to 26 to 90 years in prison; he died in April 2010 less than a year into his term.) Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, pioneer of the modern historical romance novel, died in Princeton, Minn., at age 68.
One year ago
President Barack Obama held his first Twitter town hall, which focused on jobs and the economy. Jury selection began in the perjury trial of former baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, who was accused of lying under oath to Congress when he denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs during his career (the proceedings ended abruptly in a mistrial; Clemens was later acquitted in a retrial). The 2018 Winter Olympics were awarded to the South Korean city of Pyeongchang, sending the winter games to Asia for the first time since 1998.
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Related Photos
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Flames shoot from the top of the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus during a performance at Hartford, Connecticut on July 6, 1944. Shortly after, the tent collapsed, trapping many of the patrons who were still in the arena. The Associated Press
Discussion
Today in History for Friday, July 6, 2012
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