Today in history - July 13

By The Associated PressWed Jul 12, 8:00 PM ET

Today is Thursday, July 13, the 194th day of 2006. There are 171 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 13, 1793, French revolutionary writer Jean Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday.

On this date:

In 1787, Congress enacted an ordinance governing the Northwest Territory.

In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City.

In 1878, the Treaty of Berlin amended the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, which had ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.

In 1886, Father Edward Joseph Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, was born in Roscommon, Ireland.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination at his party's convention in Los Angeles.

In 1967, race-related rioting that claimed 27 lives broke out in Newark, N.J.

In 1977, a blackout lasting 25 hours hit the New York City area.

In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II.

In 1979, a 45-hour siege by Palestinian guerrillas began at the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

In 1985, "Live Aid," an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa's starving people.

Ten years ago: After battering the Carolina coast, the weakened remnants of Hurricane Bertha moved north, spawning tornadoes and dumping rain from Maryland to Massachusetts.

Five years ago: Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympics. A judge in San Jose, Calif., sentenced Andrew Burnett, the man who'd tossed a fluffy little dog to its death in a bout of road rage, to the maximum three years behind bars.

One year ago: A suicide car bomb exploded next to U.S. troops handing out candy and toys in Iraq, killing more than two dozen people, including 18 children and teenagers and an American soldier. Former WorldCom Inc. boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history. A fuel gauge that mistakenly read full instead of empty forced NASA to call off the first shuttle launch in 2 1/2 years.

Today's Birthdays: Former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp is 71. Actor Patrick Stewart is 66. Actor Robert Forster is 65. Actor Harrison Ford is 64. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 64. Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 60. Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid is 58. Actress Didi Conn is 55. Singer Louise Mandrell is 52. Actor-director Cameron Crowe is 49. Tennis player Anders Jarryd is 45. Rock musician Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera (Marcy Playground) is 44. Country singer-songwriter Victoria Shaw is 44. Bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent is 44. Actor Michael Jace is 41. Country singer Neil Thrasher is 41. Singer Gerald Levert is 40. Singer Deborah Cox is 33. Rock musician Will Champion (Coldplay) is 28.

Thought for Today: "The worst cynicism — a belief in luck." — Joyce Carol Oates, American author.

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