TODAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, July  21, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On July 21, 1925, the Scopes "monkey trial" ended in Dayton, Tenn., with John T. Scopes convicted of violating state law for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. (The conviction was later overturned.) Read the original AP story   AP Photo
On this date in: 1831 Belgium became independent as Leopold I was proclaimed King of the Belgians. 1861 The first Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Va., during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory. 1899 Author Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Ill. 1944 The Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominated Sen. Harry S. Truman to be vice president. 1949 The U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty. 1954 France surrendered North Vietnam to the Communists. 1961 Capt. Virgil "Gus" Grissom became the second American to rocket into a sub-orbital pattern around the Earth, flying on the Liberty Bell 7. 1969 Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module. 1988 Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Atlanta. 1998 Astronaut Alan Shepard died at age 74. 2002 Telecommunications giant WorldCom Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection after disclosing it had inflated profits by nearly $4 billion through deceptive accounting. 2007 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final volume in the book series by J.K. Rowling, went on sale. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth 2008 Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's top war crimes fugitives, was arrested in a Belgrade suburb by Serbian security forces. 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. lending and high finance rules since the 1930s. 2011 The space shuttle program came to an end after 30 years as Atlantis landed at Cape Canaveral, Fla..		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., turns 71 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Vucci Name Profession Age Kay Starr Singer 90 Norman Jewison Director ("Moonstruck") 86 Janet Reno Former attorney general 74 John Negroponte Former national intelligence director 73 Edward Herrmann Actor 69 Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) Singer, songwriter 64 Garry Trudeau Cartoonist ("Doonesbury") 64 Robin Williams Actor, comedian 61 Eric Bazilian Rock musician (The Hooters) 59 Dan Malloy Governor of Connecticut 57 Jon Lovitz Actor, comedian ("Saturday Night Live") 55 Brandi Chastain Soccer player 44 Sprague Grayden Actress 34 Josh Hartnett Actor 34 Blake Lewis Singer ("American Idol") 31 Kellen Winslow Football player 29 Vanessa Lengies Actress ("American Dreams") 27 New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia turns 32 years old today. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar