UPI Almanac for Sunday, July 8, 2018

Today is Sunday, July 8, the 189th day of 2018 with 176 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include chemist John Pemberton, inventor of Coca-Cola, in 1936; German dirigible inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1838; oil magnate John D. Rockefeller in 1839; former U.S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller (John D.'s grandson) in 1908; actor Marty Feldman in 1934; actor Jeffrey Tambor in 1944 (age 74); ballet dancer Cynthia Gregory in 1946 (age 72); actor Kim Darby in 1947 (age 71); musician/children's singer Raffi (Cavoukian) in 1948 (age 70); chef Wolfgang Puck in 1949 (age 69); actor Anjelica Huston in 1951 (age 67); writer Anna Quindlen in 1953 (age 65); actor Kevin Bacon in 1958 (age 60); actor Robert Knepper in 1959 (age 59); country singer Toby Keith in 1961 (age 57); actor Rocky Carroll in 1963 (age 55); actor Billy Crudup in 1968 (age 50); actor Michael Weatherly in 1968 (age 50); singer Beck (Hansen) in 1970 (age 48); actor Milo Ventimiglia in 1977 (age 41); actor Lance Gross in 1981 (age 37); actor Sophia Bush in 1982 (age 36); actor Jake McDorman in 1986 (age 32); actor Jamie Blackley in 1991 (age 27); actor Maya Thurman-Hawke in 1998 (age 20); actor Jaden Smith in 1998 (age 20).

On this date in history:

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read in public for the first time, to people gathered at Philadelphia's Independence Square.

In 1835, the Liberty Bell cracked while being rung during the funeral of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall in Philadelphia.

In 1909, the Wright Brothers demonstrated their airplane for an enthusiastic crowd at Fort Myer, Virginia.

In 1950, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur was designated commander of U.N. forces in Korea.

In 1951, Paris celebrated its 2,000th birthday. The city was founded sometime around 250 A.D. by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii.

In 1969, U.S. troops began withdrawing from Vietnam.

In 1991, Yugoslav leaders signed an accord calling for an internationally observed cease-fire in Slovenia and Croatia.

In 1994, North Korean President Kim Il Sung died at age 82. He had led the country since its founding in 1948.

In 2009, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, benefiting from a robust economy, was easily re-elected.

In 2010, a French surgeon said he had performed the first successful transplant of a complete face, giving a 35-year-old disfigured man every feature, including tear ducts.

In 2011, space shuttle Atlantis began the 135th and final mission of the U.S. space shuttle program that started in 1981, a two-week voyage to the International Space Station with a cargo of supplies and spare parts.

In 2012, Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine ("Marty") died in Los Angeles. He was 95.

In 2014, in an escalating conflict, Israeli airstrikes pounded the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and rockets were fired at Israel. A statement from the military said the strikes were made to "stop the terror Israel's citizens face on a daily basis." The airstrikes began a 50-day war between the two sides.

In 2015, a federal judge rejected the Washington Redskins' trademark registration because the symbol may disparage Native Americans.

A thought for the day: "No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one." -- Elbert Hubbard