TODAY IN HISTORY

Sunday, July  08, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On July 8, 1839, American oilman John D. Rockefeller was born in Richford, N.Y.   AP Photo
On this date in: 1663 King Charles II of England granted a charter to Rhode Island. 1776 Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered at Independence Square in Philadelphia. 1853 An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Yedo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese. 1889 The Wall Street Journal was first published. 1891 Warren G. Harding married Florence K. DeWolfe in Marion, Ohio. 1907 Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City. 1919 President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France. 1950 Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea. 1986 Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria despite controversy over his alleged ties to Nazi war crimes. 1994 Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82. AP Photo/Neal Ulevich 2004 Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay pleaded innocent to charges related to the energy company's collapse. (He was convicted, but died while the case was on appeal.) 2010 During an ESPN prime-time special, basketball free agent LeBron James announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. 2011 Former first lady Betty Ford died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 93.		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actor Billy Crudup turns 44 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini Name Profession Age John Dingell U S. representative, D-Mich. 86 Jerry Vale Singer 80 Steve Lawrence Singer 77 Phil Gramm Former U.S. senator, R-Texas 70 Jeffrey Tambor Actor ("Arrested Development") 68 Kim Darby Actress 65 Anjelica Huston Actress 61 Jack Lambert Football Hall of Famer 60 Anna Quindlen Writer 60 Kevin Bacon Actor 54 Toby Keith Country singer 51 Rob Burnett Writer, producer 50 Joan Osborne Rock singer 50 Beck Rock musician 42 Milo Ventimiglia Actor ("Heroes") 35 Jamie Cook Rock musician (Arctic Monkeys) 27 Jaden Smith Actor ("The Pursuit of Happyness") 14 Actress Sophia Bush ("One Tree Hill") turns 30 years old today. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg