Editorials

Today’s Highlight in History: 

Fifty years ago, on July 11, 1952, the Republican national convention, meeting in Chicago, nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower for president and Richard M. Nixon for vice president. 

On this date: 

In 1767, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was born in Braintree, Mass. 

In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel near Weehawken, N.J. 

In 1934, President Roosevelt became the first chief executive to travel through the Panama Canal. 

In 1979, the abandoned U.S. space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia. 

Ten years ago: Undeclared presidential hopeful Ross Perot, addressing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention in Nashville, Tenn., startled and offended his listeners by referring to the predominantly black audience as “you people.” 

Five years ago: President Clinton was cheered by tens of thousands of people in Bucharest, Romania, where he raised hopes for NATO membership.  

One year ago: The Democratic-led Senate voted to bar coal mining and oil and gas drilling on pristine federally protected land in the West, dealing a fresh blow to President Bush’s energy production plans.  

Today’s Birthdays: Jazz musician Kirk Whalum is 44. Singer Suzanne Vega is 43. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 43. Actress Debbe Dunning is 36. Actor Michael Rosenbaum is 30.