On This Day, July 26: Truman orders desegregation of military

UPI Staff
·3 min read
Graduating midshipmen arrive for the graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. on May 26, 2017. On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman ordered desegregation of the U.S. military. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
Graduating midshipmen arrive for the graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. on May 26, 2017. On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman ordered desegregation of the U.S. military. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

July 26 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1775, Congress establishes the U.S. postal system.

In 1847, Liberia became a republic and Africa's first sovereign, black-ruled democratic nation.

In 1908, the FBI was born as the Bureau of Investigation, or BOI, when a group of newly hired investigators reported to the Justice Department. The special unit officially became the FBI in 1935.

In 1931, swarms of grasshoppers decimated millions of acres of crops throughout the southwestern United States.

The Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off for a mission to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on July 26, 2005. This first shuttle mission since the Columbia disaster was originally scheduled for launch in May, but technical glitches delayed the return to human space flight. File Photo by Marino-Cantrell/UPI

In 1941, Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines.

File Photo by US Army/UPI
File Photo by US Army/UPI
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media after appearing at Belmarsh Magistrates court in Woolwich on January 11, 2011. On July 26, 2010, Assange, said it was decided to post more than 75,000 secret U.S. Afghan war documents on the Internet to give a more complete picture of the conflict. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media after appearing at Belmarsh Magistrates court in Woolwich on January 11, 2011. On July 26, 2010, Assange, said it was decided to post more than 75,000 secret U.S. Afghan war documents on the Internet to give a more complete picture of the conflict. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI

In 1945, voters ousted Winston Churchill as prime minister of Britain after five years in the position. His Conservative Party would be voted back into power in 1951, and he would regain his position.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman ordered desegregation of the U.S. military.

Smoke rises from oil tanks beside the Suez Canal hit during the initial Anglo-French assault on Port Said, on November 5, 1956. On July 26, 1956, Egypt sparked the crisis by nationalizing the British- and French-owned Suez Canal. File Photo courtesy Imperial War Museum
Smoke rises from oil tanks beside the Suez Canal hit during the initial Anglo-French assault on Port Said, on November 5, 1956. On July 26, 1956, Egypt sparked the crisis by nationalizing the British- and French-owned Suez Canal. File Photo courtesy Imperial War Museum

In 1956, Egypt created a crisis by nationalizing the British- and French-owned Suez Canal.

In 1984, serial killer Ed Gein, the inspiration for the movie Psycho, dies of cancer.

On July 26, 1945, voters ousted Winston Churchill as prime minister of Britain after five years in the position. His Conservative Party would be voted back into power in 1951, and he would regain his position. File Photo courtesy Cecil Beaton/Imperial War Museums
On July 26, 1945, voters ousted Winston Churchill as prime minister of Britain after five years in the position. His Conservative Party would be voted back into power in 1951, and he would regain his position. File Photo courtesy Cecil Beaton/Imperial War Museums

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, prohibiting discrimination against the disabled in employment, public accommodations, in telecommunications, and on public or private buses or trains.

Participants march in the Heartland Disability Rights March and Rally on July 25, 1999, to celebrate the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act of July 26, 1994. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Participants march in the Heartland Disability Rights March and Rally on July 25, 1999, to celebrate the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act of July 26, 1994. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

In 1992, under pressure, Iraq agreed to allow U.N. inspectors to look for documentation on weapons of mass destruction.

In 2005, the Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral in the first shuttle launch since the 2003 Columbia tragedy.

In 2010, the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, said the site decided to post more than 75,000 secret U.S. Afghan war documents on the Internet to give a more complete picture of the conflict. The White House said the deed had "a potential to be very harmful."

In 2018, Facebook had the worst single day of trading in history, losing some $110 billion.

In 2022, two studies strongly suggest that COVID-19 most likely began with a jump to humans from animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, in 2019.

File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI
File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI