Today is Friday, July 10, the 191st day of 2009. There are 174 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

Five hundred years ago, on July 10, 1509, French theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born Jean Cauvin in Noyon, Picardy, France.

On this date

In 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson personally delivered the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate, and urged its ratification. (However, the Senate rejected it.)

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

In 1940, during World War II, the Battle of Britain began as Nazi forces began attacking southern England by air. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.)

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

In 1962, the Telstar 1 communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In 1973, the Bahamas became fully independent after three centuries of British colonial rule.

In 1979, conductor Arthur Fiedler, who had led the Boston Pops orchestra for a half-century, died in Brookline, Mass., at the age of 84.

In 1989, Mel Blanc, the “man of a thousand voices,” including such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, died in Los Angeles at age 81.

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

Ten years ago

The United States women’s soccer team won the World Cup, beating China 5-4 on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of scoreless play at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Five years ago

President George W. Bush said in his weekly radio address that legalizing gay marriage would redefine the most fundamental institution of civilization, and that a constitutional amendment was needed to protect traditional marriage.

Today’s Birthdays

Eunice Kennedy Shriver is 88. Former boxer Jake LaMotta is 88. Writer-producer Earl Hamner Jr. is 86. Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins is 82. Singer Mavis Staples is 70. Tennis player Virginia Wade is 64. Actor Ron Glass is 64. Folk singer Arlo Guthrie is 62. Country-folk singer-songwriter Cheryl Wheeler is 58. Country musician Shaw Wilson (BR549) is 49. Country singer Gary LeVox (Rascal Flatts) is 39. Singer-actress Jessica Simpson is 29.

Thought for Today

“A concept is stronger than a fact.”

— Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American economist and feminist (1860-1935)