Today in History: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare into law

Today in History

Today is Sunday, July 30, the 211th day of 2023. There are 154 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 30, 1945, the Portland class heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, having just delivered components of the atomic bomb to Tinian in the Mariana Islands during World War II, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine; only 317 out of nearly 1,200 men survived.

On this date:

In 1619, the first representative assembly in America convened in Jamestown in the Virginia Colony.

In 1729, Baltimore, Maryland, was founded.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces tried to take Petersburg, Virginia, by exploding a gunpowder-laden mine shaft beneath Confederate defense lines; the attack failed.

In 1916, German saboteurs blew up a munitions plant on Black Tom, an island near Jersey City, New Jersey, killing about a dozen people.

In 1918, poet Joyce Kilmer, a sergeant in the 165th U.S. Infantry Regiment, was killed during the Second Battle of the Marne in World War I. Kilmer is remembered for his poem “Trees.”

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure making “In God We Trust” the national motto, replacing “E Pluribus Unum.”

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a measure creating Medicare, which began operating the following year.

In 1980, Israel’s Knesset passed a law reaffirming all of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.

In 2008, ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic (RA’-doh-van KA’-ra-jich) was extradited to The Hague to face genocide charges after nearly 13 years on the run. (He was sentenced by a U.N. court in 2019 to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.)

In 2010, the Afghan Taliban confirmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and appointed his successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.

In 2016, 16 people died when a hot air balloon caught fire and exploded after hitting high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture near Lockhart, Texas, about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio.

In 2020, John Lewis was eulogized in Atlanta by three former presidents and others who urged Americans to continue the work of the civil rights icon in fighting injustice during a moment of racial reckoning.

Ten years ago: U.S. Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy — the most serious charge she faced — but was convicted of espionage, theft and other charges at Fort Meade, Maryland, more than three years after she’d spilled secrets to WikiLeaks. (The former intelligence analyst was later sentenced to up to 35 years in prison, but the sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in his final days in office.) Harry F. Byrd, a newspaper publisher who served as governor of Virginia then Senator for the state for more than 30 years, leading the Senate’s conservative coalition in opposition to the New Deal policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, died at age 98.

Five years ago: Zimbabwe voted for the first time without Robert Mugabe on the ballot; there were long lines at some polling stations. President Donald Trump said he’d be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “anytime” with “no preconditions.” More than 27,000 people remained evacuated because of a Northern California wildfire that ranked as the ninth most destructive blaze in the state’s history; the fire in the area of Redding had destroyed more than 800 homes and left two firefighters and four civilians dead. Ron Dellums, an anti-war activist who championed social justice as Northern California’s first black congressman, died of cancer at his home in Washington at the age of 82.

One year ago: At least 25 people died — including four children — when torrential rains swamped towns across Appalachia. A ticket bought in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, Illinois beat the odds and won a $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot. Samuel Sandoval, one of the last remaining of hundreds of members of the Navajo Nation to serve as Code Talkers for the U.S. military during World War II, died in Shiprock, New Mexico at age 98.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is 89. Blues musician Buddy Guy is 87. Feminist activist Eleanor Smeal is 84. Singer Paul Anka is 82. Jazz musician David Sanborn is 78. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is 76. Actor William Atherton is 76. Actor Jean Reno is 75. Blues singer-musician Otis Taylor is 75. Actor Frank Stallone is 73. Actor Ken Olin is 69. Actor Delta Burke is 67. Law professor Anita Hill is 67. Singer-songwriter Kate Bush is 65. Country singer Neal McCoy is 65. Actor Richard Burgi is 65. Movie director Richard Linklater is 63. Actor Laurence Fishburne is 62. Actor Lisa Kudrow is 60. Bluegrass musician Danny Roberts (The Grascals) is 60. Country musician Dwayne O’Brien is 60. Actor Vivica A. Fox is 59. Actor Terry Crews is 55. Actor Simon Baker is 54. Actor Donnie Keshawarz is 54. Movie director Christopher Nolan is 53. Actor Tom Green is 52. Rock musician Brad Hargreaves (Third Eye Blind) is 52. Actor Christine Taylor is 52. Actor-comedian Dean Edwards is 50. Actor Hilary Swank is 49. Olympic gold medal beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor is 46. Actor Jaime Pressly is 46. Alt-country singer-musician Seth Avett (AY’-veht) is 43. Actor April Bowlby is 43. Former soccer player Hope Solo is 42. Actor Yvonne Strahovski is 41. Actor Martin Starr is 41. Actor Gina Rodriguez is 39. Actor Nico Tortorella is 35. Actor Joey King is 24.