Today In History

Today is Friday, July 13, the 194th day of 2007. There are 171 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 13, 1793, French revolutionary writer Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.

On this date:

In 1787, Congress enacted an ordinance governing the Northwest Territory.

In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City.

In 1878, the Treaty of Berlin amended the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, which had ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.

In 1886, Father Edward Joseph Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, was born in County Roscommon, Ireland.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination at his party's convention in Los Angeles.

In 1967, race-related rioting that claimed some two dozen lives broke out in Newark, N.J.

In 1972, George McGovern claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach, Fla.

In 1977, a blackout lasting 25 hours hit the New York City area.

In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II.

In 1985, "Live Aid," an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa's starving people.

Ten years ago: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright returned to her Jewish roots in the Czech Republic, finding the names of family members killed by the Nazis inscribed on a Prague synagogue wall. (News reports revealed that Albright, who had been raised a Roman Catholic, had Jewish relatives, many of whom had died in the Holocaust.)

Five years ago: The nation's governors opened their summer meeting in Boise, Idaho, with high health care costs the main topic. Photographer Yousuf Karsh died in Boston at age 93.

One year ago: Israel imposed a naval blockade against Lebanon and blasted the Beirut airport and army air bases; Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into Israel. Former CIA officer Valerie Plame sued Vice President Dick Cheney, presidential adviser Karl Rove and other White House officials, saying they orchestrated a "whispering campaign" to destroy her career. Actor-comedian Red Buttons died in Los Angeles at age 87.

Thought for Today: "There are people who want to be everywhere at once, and they get nowhere." — Carl Sandburg, American writer (1878-1967).