Today in History: 'In God We Trust' made the national motto
Today in history:
On July 30, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure making 'In God We Trust' the national motto, replacing 'E Pluribus Unum.'
Also on this date:
In 1619, the first representative assembly in Colonial America convened in Jamestown in the Virginia Colony.
In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces tried to take Petersburg, Virginia, by exploding a gunpowder-laden mine shaft beneath Confederate defense lines; the attack failed.
In 1916, German saboteurs blew up a munitions plant on Black Tom, an island near Jersey City, New Jersey, killing about a dozen people.
In 1930, Uruguay won the first FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 4-2.
In 1945, the Portland class heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, having just delivered components of the atomic bomb to Tinian in the Mariana Islands during World War II, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine; only 316 out of nearly 1,200 service members survived.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which led to the creation of Medicare and Medicaid.
In 1976, Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner, set a world record of 8,618 points and won the gold medal in the Olympic decathlon at the Montreal Summer Games.
In 2008, ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was extradited to The Hague to face genocide charges after nearly 13 years on the run. (He was sentenced by a U.N. court in 2019 to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.)
In 2012, three electric grids in India collapsed in a cascade, cutting power to 620 million people in the world's biggest blackout.
In 2013, U.S. Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy — the most serious charge she faced — but was convicted of espionage, theft and other charges at Fort Meade, Maryland, more than three years after she'd spilled secrets to WikiLeaks. (The former intelligence analyst was later sentenced to up to 35 years in prison, but the sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in his final days in office.)
In 2016, 16 people died when a hot air balloon caught fire and exploded after hitting high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture near Lockhart, Texas, about 70 miles northeast of San Antonio.
Today's Birthdays: Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is 91. Blues musician Buddy Guy is 89. Singer Paul Anka is 84. Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is 78. Actor Jean Reno is 77. Actor Ken Olin is 71. Actor Delta Burke is 69. Law professor Anita Hill is 69. Singer-songwriter Kate Bush is 67. Film director Richard Linklater is 65. Actor Laurence Fishburne is 64. TV personality Alton Brown is 63. Actor Lisa Kudrow is 62. Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin is 62. Actor Vivica A. Fox is 61. Actor Terry Crews is 57. Actor Simon Baker is 56. Film director Christopher Nolan is 55. Actor Tom Green is 54. Actor Christine Taylor is 54. Actor Hilary Swank is 51. Olympic gold medal beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor is 48. Actor Jaime Pressly is 48. Alt-country singer-musician Seth Avett (AY'-veht) is 45. Former soccer player Hope Solo is 44. Actor Yvonne Strahovski is 43. Actor Martin Starr is 43. Actor Gina Rodriguez is 41. Actor Nico Tortorella is 36. Actor Joey King is 26.
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