Today in history: July 11

updated 12:25 a.m. ET July 11, 2006

Today is Tuesday, July eleventh, the 192nd day of 2006. There are 173 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
On July eleventh, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.

On this date:
In 1533, Pope Clement the Seventh excommunicated England’s King Henry the Eighth.

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

In 1798, the U-S Marine Corps was formally re-established by a congressional act that also created the U-S Marine Band.

In 1864, Confederate forces led by General Jubal Early began an abortive invasion of Washington D-C, turning back the next day.

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

In 1955, the U-S Air Force Academy was dedicated at its temporary quarters, Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado.

In 1977, the Medal of Freedom was awarded posthumously to the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior.

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.

In 1980, American hostage Richard I. Queen, freed by Iran after eight months of captivity because of poor health, left Tehran for Switzerland.

In 1995, the United States normalized relations with Vietnam.

Ten years ago: An Air Force F-16 jet trying to make an emergency landing slammed into a house in Pensacola, Florida, setting the home on fire, killing a four-year-old boy and badly burning his mother. (The pilot ejected safely.)

Five years 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.

One year ago: A top al-Qaida lieutenant and three other terror suspects escaped from a U-S military jail in Afghanistan. (The identity of Omar al-Farouq isn’t acknowledged until November 2005.)

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Brett Somers is 82. Actor Tab Hunter is 75. Actress Susan Seaforth Hayes is 63. Singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 59. Actor Bruce McGill is 56. Singer Bonnie Pointer is 56. Actor Stephen Lang is 54. Actress Mindy Sterling is 53. Actress Sela Ward is 50. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) is 49. Singer Peter Murphy is 49. Actor Mark Lester is 48. Jazz musician Kirk Whalum is 48. Singer Suzanne Vega is 47. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 47. Actress Lisa Rinna is 43. Rock musician Scott Shriner (Weezer) is 41. Actress Debbe (correct) Dunning is 40. Actor Justin Chambers is 36. Actor Michael Rosenbaum is 34. Country singer Scotty Emerick is 33. Rapper Lil’ Kim is 31. Rapper Lil’ Zane is 24. Pop-jazz singer-musician Peter Cincotti is 23. Actor David Henri is 17.

Thought for Today: “You come into the world alone and you go out of the world alone yet it seems to me you are more alone while living than even going and coming.” -- Emily Carr, Canadian artist and author (1871-1945).

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