July 28th

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 28th, 1750, composer Johann Sebastian Bach died in Leipzig, Germany.

On this date:
In 1540, King Henry the Eighth's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed, the same day Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

In 1794, Maximilien Robespierre, a leading figure of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine.

In 1821, Peru declared its independence from Spain.

In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, guaranteeing due process of law, was declared in effect.

In 1896, the city of Miami, Florida, was incorporated.

In 1929, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, was born in Southampton, New York.

In 1943, President Roosevelt announced the end of coffee rationing.

In 1945, a US Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York's Empire State Building, killing 14 people.

In 1965, President Johnson announced he was increasing the number of American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.

In 1977, Roy Wilkins turned over leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to Benjamin L. Hooks.

Ten years ago: Political newcomer and upset winner Alberto Fujimori was sworn in as president of Peru.

Five years ago: A jury in Union, South Carolina, rejected the death penalty for Susan Smith, sentencing her instead to life in prison for drowning her two young sons (Smith will be eligible for parole after 30 years).

One year ago: The Senate opened debate on the Republicans' $792 billion tax cut bill. Surgeon General David Satcher declared suicide a serious national threat, saying, "People should not be afraid or ashamed to seek help."

"Verily, when the day of judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done."

-- Thomas a Kempis, German theologian (1380-1471).