On This Day: Discovery becomes first shuttle in space since disaster

July 26 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1775, Congress establishes the U.S. postal system.

In 1847, Liberia became a republic and Africa's first sovereign, black-ruled democratic nation.

In 1908, the FBI was born as the Bureau of Investigation, or BOI, when a group of newly hired investigators reported to the Justice Department. The special unit officially became the FBI in 1935.

In 1941, Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines.

File Photo by US Army/UPI

In 1945, voters ousted Winston Churchill as prime minister of Britain after five years in the position. His Conservative Party would be voted back into power in 1951, and he would regain his position.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman ordered desegregation of the U.S. military.

In 1956, Egypt created a crisis by nationalizing the British- and French-owned Suez Canal.

In 1984, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson became the first network television program to be broadcast in stereo.

File Photo by Mike Hill/UPI

In 1984, serial killer Ed Gein, the inspiration for the movie Psycho, dies of cancer.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, prohibiting discrimination against the disabled in employment, public accommodations, in telecommunications, and on public or private buses or trains.

In 1992, under pressure, Iraq agreed to allow U.N. inspectors to look for documentation on weapons of mass destruction.

In 2005, the Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral in the first shuttle launch since the 2003 Columbia tragedy.

In 2007, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed anti-terrorism legislation that enhanced screening of air and sea cargo and allocated more funds to states deemed at risk of attack.

In 2010, the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, said it was decided to post more than 75,000 secret U.S. Afghan war documents on the Internet to give a more complete picture of the conflict. The White House said the deed had "a potential to be very harmful."

In 2013, Ariel Castro agreed to a plea bargain in the kidnapping of three Ohio women who were held for a decade. He was sentenced to life in prison. On September 3, 2013, Castro hanged himself in his cell.