This Day In History: July 26

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 26, 1908, U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte issued an order creating a force of special agents that was a forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On this date:
In 1775, Benjamin Franklin became Postmaster-General.

In 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1856, playwright Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1945, Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party. (Clement Attlee became the new prime minister.)

In 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act.

In 1952, Argentina's first lady, Eva Peron, died in Buenos Aires at age 33.

In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.

In 1958, Britain's Prince Charles, age 9, was made the Prince of Wales by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, although his investiture did not take place until the following year.

In 1971, Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy, Fla.

In 1986, kidnappers in Lebanon released the Rev. Lawrence Martin Jenco, an American hostage held for nearly 19 months.

Ten years ago: The White House said President Clinton's lawyers were working with prosecutor Kenneth Starr to avert Clinton's direct testimony to a grand jury about the Monica Lewinsky case. (The president ended up testifying via closed-circuit television.) AT&T and British Telecommunications PLC announced they were forming a joint venture that would combine their international operations and develop a new Internet system. (The joint venture, known as Concert, proved a money-loser and was shut down.)

Five years ago: Backers of a drive to oust California Gov. Gray Davis held a boisterous celebration at the state Capitol in Sacramento, more than two months before the Oct. 7 recall election. Cuba celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start of Fidel Castro's revolution against Fulgencio Batista. New York Times music critic Harold C. Schonberg died in New York at age 87.

One year ago: The Senate passed, 85-8, a measure intensifying anti-terror efforts in the U.S. Wall Street suffered one of its worst losses of 2007, closing down more than 310 points.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Marjorie Lord is 90. Movie director Blake Edwards is 86. Actor James Best is 82. Rhythm-and-blues singer-songwriter Bobby Hebb is 70. Singer Dobie Gray is 68. Actress-singer Darlene Love is 67. Singer Brenton Wood is 67. Rock star Mick Jagger is 65. Movie director Peter Hyams is 65. Actress Helen Mirren is 63. Rock musician Roger Taylor (Queen) is 59. Actress Susan George is 58. Actor Kevin Spacey is 49. Rock singer Gary Cherone is 47. Actress Sandra Bullock is 44. Rock singer Jim Lindberg (Pennywise) is 43. Actor Jeremy Piven is 43. Rapper-reggae singer Wayne Wonder is 42. Actor Cress Williams is 38. Actress Kate Beckinsale is 35. Rock musician Dan Konopka (OK Go) is 34. Gospel/Contemporary Christian singer Rebecca St. James is 31. Christian rock musician Jamie Sharpe (Rush of Fools) is 19.

Thought for Today: "One brave deed makes no hero." — John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and essayist (1807-1892).

Courtesy of Edwin1961 of the Catholic.com forums