TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, July 20, the 201st day of 2018. There are 164 days left in the year.

HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching the surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

• Author Cormac McCarthy is 85. • Actress Diana Rigg is 80. • Rock musician John Lodge (the Moody Blues) is 75. • Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 74. • Singer Kim Carnes is 73. • Rock musician Carlos Santana is 71. • Country singer Radney Foster is 59. • Actress Sandra Oh is 47.• Actor Omar Epps is 45. • Actress Judy Greer (“Arested Development”) is 43. • Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 38. • Dancer-singer-actress Julianne Hough is 30.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“The regret on our side is, they used to say years ago, we are reading about you in science class. Now they say, we are reading about you in history class.” — Neil Armstrong, American astronaut (1930-2012).

ON THIS DATE

In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States convened in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1923, Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa was assassinated by gunmen in Parral.

In 1942, the first detachment of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps — later known as WACs — began basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.

In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.

In 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into northern and southern entities.

In 1968, the first International Special Olympics Summer Games, organized by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, were held at Soldier Field in Chicago.

In 2012, gunman James Holmes opened fire inside a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and wounding 70 others.