On This Day, July 19: Clinton announces 'don't ask, don't tell' policy

July 19 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1799, a French soldier discovered the Rosetta Stone, an ancient stele that served as the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics.

In 1848, "bloomers," a radical departure in women's clothing, were introduced to the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y. They were named after Amelia Jenks Bloomer.

In 1911, Pennsylvania became the first U.S. state to pass laws censoring movies.

In 1943, U.S. planes bombed key railway, steel factory and airport targets in Rome, killing thousands of civilians as part of World War II.

In 1946, Marilyn Monroe was given her first screen test at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios. Even without sound, the test was enough to earn Monroe her first contract. She divorced her first husband, James Dougherty, he told UPI, because of a no-marriage clause in the contract.

In 1969, John Fairfax of Britain arrived at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to become the first person to row across the Atlantic alone.

In 1989, a crippled DC-10 jetliner crash-landed in a cornfield in Sioux City, Iowa. One-hundred-eighty-five of the 296 people aboard survived.

In 1991, boxer Mike Tyson raped a contestant in the Miss Black America pageant in Indianapolis. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, but was convicted in 1992.

File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced its "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy toward homosexuals in the U.S. military. The policy was lifted in 2011.

In 1996, the Summer Olympics opened in Atlanta with a record 197 countries taking part.

In 1997, the IRA declared a cease-fire in its long war to force Britain out of Northern Ireland.

In 2005, U.S. Appeals Court Judge John Roberts was nominated by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court, replacing Sandra Day O'Connor, who resigned. After the death of William Rehnquist, Roberts' nomination was changed to make him chief justice.

File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI

In 2010, a speeding express train slammed into the rear of a train preparing to leave a West Bengal station in India, killing more than 60 people and injuring about 100 others.

In 2012, the U.S. Defense Department said military personnel would be permitted to march in uniform in a San Diego Gay Pride Parade.

In 2018, Israel passed a law declaring the country a Jewish nation-state, giving only Jewish people self-determination. A month later, tens of thousands protested the controversial law in Tel Aviv, calling it a form of apartheid.