This Day in History

On July 10, 1940, during World War II, the Battle of Britain began as the German Luftwaffe launched attacks on southern England. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.)

Also on this date:

In 1509, theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Noyon, Picardy, France.

In 1890, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th US state.

In 1925, jury selection began in Dayton, Tennessee, in the trial of John T. Scopes, charged with violating the law by teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. (Scopes was convicted and fined, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.)

In 1929, American paper currency was reduced in size as the government began issuing bills that were approximately 25% smaller.

In 1951, armistice talks aimed at ending the Korean War began at Kaesong.

In 1962, the first active communications satellite, Telstar 1, was launched by NASA.

In 1985, the Greenpeace protest ship Rainbow Warrior was sunk with explosives in Auckland, New Zealand, by French intelligence agents; one activist was killed.

In 1991, Boris N. Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first elected president of the Russian republic.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush lifted U.S. economic sanctions against South Africa.

In 2002, the U.S. House approved a measure to allow airline pilots to carry guns in the cockpit to defend their planes against terrorists (President George W. Bush later signed the measure into law).

In 2015, South Carolina pulled the Confederate battle flag from its place of honor at the Statehouse after more than 50 years.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Mavis Staples is 87. Actor Robert Pine is 85. International Tennis Hall of Famer Virginia Wade is 81. Folk singer Arlo Guthrie is 79. Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson is 72. Rock singer Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) is 72. Banjo player Bela Fleck is 68. Actor Fiona Shaw is 68. Singer/actor Jacky Cheung is 65. Actor Alec Mapa is 61. Country singer Gary LeVox (leh-VOH') (Rascal Flatts) is 56. Actor Sofia Vergara is 54. Actor Adrian Grenier (grehn-YAY') is 50. Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (CHOO'-ih-tehl EHJ'-ee-oh-for) is 49. Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas is 46. Singer/actor Jessica Simpson is 46. Actor Emily Skeggs is 36. Pop singer Perrie Edwards (Little Mix) is 33. Actor Isabela Merced is 25.