Today is Thursday, July 25, the 206th day of 2023 with 159 to follow.
The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus. Evening stars are Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include Revolutionary War Gen. Henry Knox in 1750; first lady Anna Harrison in 1775; artist Thomas Eakins in 1844; scientist Rosalind Franklin in 1920; actor Estelle Getty in 1923; civil rights figure Emmett Till in 1941; musician Jim McCarty (Yardbirds) in 1943 (age 81); musician Jose Areas in 1946 (age 78); musician Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire) in 1951 (age 73); Football Hall of Fame member Walter Payton in 1954; model/actor Iman Abdulmajid in 1955 (age 69); musician Jem Finer (Pogues) in 1955 (age 69); musician Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) in 1958 (age 66); celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian in 1959 (age 65); actor Katherine Kelly Lang in 1961 (age 63); actor Illeana Douglas in 1961 (age 63); actor Matt LeBlanc in 1967 (age 57); actor Wendy Raquel Robinson in 1967 (age 57); actor D.B. Woodside in 1969 (age 55); actor Jay R. Ferguson in 1974 (age 50); Louise Joy Brown, the first “test-tube” baby, in 1978 (age 46); actor Juan Pablo Di Pace in 1979 (age 45); actor Shantel VanSanten in 1985 (age 39); actor James Lafferty in 1985 (age 39); actor Michael Welch in 1987 (age 37); actor/musician Jaafar Jackson in 1996 (age 28); actor Brad Renfro in 1982; actor Zawe Ashton in 1984 (age 40); actor Mason Cook in 2000 (age 24); actor Meg Donnelly in 2000 (age 24).
On this date in history:
In 1909, French pioneer aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly a “heavier-than-air machine” across the English Channel. It took him 36 minutes.
In 1917, Mata Hari was sentenced to death in France as a spy for Germany in World War I. She was executed by firing squad less than three months later and her name became a synonym for a seductive female spy.
In 1934, Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated by Nazis during a failed coup attempt.
In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.
In 1956, the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria and Swedish liner Stockholm collided at night in heavy fog off Nantucket, Mass. The accident had a death toll of 52. Hundreds of people were rescued. The Andrea Doria sank the next morning.
In 1965, folk legend Bob Dylan performed for the first time with electric instruments, so upsetting his fans that they booed him.
In 1978, the world’s first “test-tube” baby, Louise Brown, was born in Oldham, England.
In 1986, former Navy radioman Jerry Whitworth was convicted of selling U.S. military secrets to the Soviets through the John Walker spy ring. The government called it the most damaging espionage case since World War II. Whitworth was sentenced to 365 years in prison.
In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein signed a declaration that ended the 46-year state of war between their countries.
In 2000, an Air France Concorde supersonic jet crashed on takeoff from Paris, killing 113 people, including four on the ground. It was the first crash of a Concorde.
In 2007, as Iraqis celebrated their national soccer team’s victory over South Korea in the Asian Cup semifinals, two suicide bombers attacked crowds in Baghdad, killing at least 50 people and injuring about 140.
In 2008, California banned the use of trans fats in all restaurants and retail bakeries in the state, beginning in 2010.
In 2012, North Korea announced its leader, Kim Jong Un, had married Ri Sol Ju.
In 2019, U.S. Attorney General William Barr ordered the federal Bureau of Prisons to resume capital punishment 16 years after the last federal execution. After a yearlong series of court battles, the government carried out its first execution on July 14, 2020, on Daniel Lewis Lee.
In 2020, Hurricane Hanna made landfall in Texas, bringing life-threatening flooding. The storm killed at least four people.
In 2023, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation designating three national memorials for civil rights icon Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley — one at Graball Landing in Mississippi, where Till’s body was discovered in 1955; one at the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Miss., where those who killed him were acquitted; and one at the Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, Ill., where his funeral was held.
A thought for the day: “If you could go back and change things, you might not be the person you are right now.” — American football star Walter Payton
Sarah Wilson is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
