July 19th

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 19th, 1848, a pioneer women's rights convention convened in Seneca Falls, New York.

On this date:
In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war began.

In 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill launched his "V for Victory" campaign in Europe.

In 1943, allied air forces raided Rome during World War Two.

In 1969, "Apollo Eleven" and its astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, went into orbit around the moon.

In 1975, the "Apollo" and "Soyuz" space capsules that were linked in orbit for two days separated.

In 1979, the Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrillas, two days after President Anastasio Somoza had fled the country.

In 1980, the Moscow Summer Olympics began, minus dozens of nations that were boycotting the games because of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

In 1985, Christa McAuliffe of New Hampshire was chosen to be the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the space shuttle. (McAuliffe and six other crew members died when the "Challenger" exploded shortly after lift-off.)

In 1986, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, married Edwin A. Schlossberg in Centerville, Massachusetts.

In 1989, 112 people were killed when a United Air Lines DC-10 crashed while making an emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa; 184 other people survived.

Ten years ago: President Bush joined former presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald R. Ford and Richard M. Nixon at ceremonies dedicating the Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. Baseball's all-time hits leader Pete Rose was sentenced in Cincinnati to five months in prison for tax evasion.

Five years ago: The Dow Jones industrial average ended at 4628.87, down 57.41, after plunging more than 130 points earlier in the session. A pair of House subcommittees held a joint hearing on the federal government's raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas.

One year ago: Federal officials said radar data showed the plane piloted by John F. Kennedy Junior dropped 11,000 feet in just 14 seconds. Senator Edward Kennedy released a statement saying, "We are filled with unspeakable grief and sadness by the loss of John and Carolyn and of Lauren Bessette."

"I always turn to the sports page first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page nothing but man's failure."

-- Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States (1891-1974).