Today in history: July 30

updated 12:01 a.m. ET July 30, 2006

Today is Sunday, July 30th, the 211th day of 2006. There are 154 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History
On July 30th, 1945, during World War Two, the battle cruiser USS Indianapolis, which had just delivered components for the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine; only 316 out of 1,196 men survived the sinking and shark-infested waters.

On this date
In 1729, the city of Baltimore was founded.

In 1792, the French national anthem “La Marseillaise,” by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, was first sung in Paris.

In 1844, the New York Yacht Club was founded.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces tried to take Petersburg, Virginia, by exploding a mine under Confederate defense lines -- the attack failed.

In 1932, the Summer Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles.

In 1942, President Roosevelt signed a bill creating a women’s auxiliary agency in the Navy known as “Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service” — WAVES for short.

In 1965, President Johnson signed into law the Medicare bill, which went into effect the following year.

In 1975, former Teamsters union president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in suburban Detroit — although presumed dead, his remains have never been found.

In 1975, representatives of 35 countries convened in Finland for a conference on security and human rights that resulted in the Helsinki accords.

In 1980, the Israeli Knesset passed a law reaffirming all of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.

Ten years ago: A federal law enforcement source said security guard Richard Jewell had become a focus of the investigation into the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park. (Jewell was later cleared as a suspect, and Eric Rudolph eventually pleaded guilty.) The U.S. Olympic softball team defeated China, 3-1, to win the gold medal. Actress Claudette Colbert died in Barbados at age 92.

Five years ago: Robert Mueller, President Bush’s choice to head the FBI, promised the Senate Judiciary Committee that if confirmed, he would move forcefully to fix problems at the agency. Typhoon Toraji churned through Taiwan, killing some 200 people. Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s ruling party won a special parliamentary election.

One year ago: President Bush was pronounced “fit for duty” after a checkup that showed that the 59-year-old commander in chief, an avid mountain bike rider, had lost eight pounds since his last physical exam in December 2004. Wim Duisenberg, the former European Central Bank chief who’d helped create the euro currency, died in Faucon, France, at age 70.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Dick Wilson (“Mr. Whipple”) is 90. Actor Richard Johnson is 79. Actor Edd “Kookie” Byrnes is 73. Blues musician Buddy Guy is 70. Movie director Peter Bogdanovich is 67. Feminist activist Eleanor Smeal is 67. Former U-S Representative Patricia Schroeder (D-Colorado) is 66. Singer Paul Anka is 65. Jazz musician David Sanborn is 61. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is 59. Actor William Atherton is 59. Actor Jean Reno is 58. Blues singer-musician Otis Taylor is 58. Actor Frank Stallone is 56. Actor Ken Olin is 52. Actress Delta Burke is 50. Singer-songwriter Kate Bush is 48. Country singer Neal McCoy is 48. Actor Richard Burgi is 48. Director Richard Linklater is 46. Actor Laurence Fishburne is 45. Actress Lisa Kudrow is 43. Country musician Dwayne O’Brien is 42. Actress Vivica A. Fox is 42. Actor Terry Crews (“Everybody Hates Chris”) is 38. Actor Simon Baker is 37. Director Christopher Nolan is 36. Actor Tom Green is 35. Actress Christine Taylor is 35. Actor-comedian Dean Edwards is 33. Actress Hilary Swank is 32. Actress Jaime Pressly is 29.

Thought for Today
“An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty.” -- Former U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005).

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