Today is Monday, July 20, the 201st day of 2009. There are 164 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after landing their lunar module. As he set foot on the lunar surface, Armstrong spoke his famous line, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Aldrin, who followed, described the scene as “magnificent desolation.”

On this date

In 1810, Colombia declared independence from Spain.

In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Va.

In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as a Canadian province.

In 1917, the draft lottery in World War I went into operation.

In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion at Hitler’s Rastenburg headquarters only wounded the Nazi leader. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term of office at the Democratic convention in Chicago.

In 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into northern and southern entities.

In 1976, America’s Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.

In 1977, a flash flood hit Johns-town, Pa., killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.

In 1982, Irish Republican Army bombs exploded in two London parks, killing 11 soldiers, along with seven horses belonging to the Queen’s Household Cavalry.

In 1988, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Atlanta.

Ten years ago

After 38 years at the bottom of the Atlantic, astronaut Gus Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule was lifted to the surface.

Five years ago

Former national security adviser Sandy Berger quit as an informal adviser to Democrat John Kerry’s presidential campaign after disclosure of a criminal investigation into whether he had mishandled classified terrorism documents.

Iraqi militants freed a Filipino truck driver after the Philippines government gave in to their demands to withdraw troops from Iraq. The head of slain American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr. was found in a raid in Saudi Arabia. The U.N. General Assembly demanded that Israel tear down the barrier it was building to seal off the West Bank; Israel vowed to continue construction.

One year ago

Pope Benedict XVI wrapped up a six-day World Youth Day Festival in Sydney by challenging young people to shed the greed and cynicism of their time to create a new age of hope for humankind. Padraig Harrington became the first European in more than a century to win the British Open two years in a row.

Today’s Birthdays

Actress-singer Sally Ann Howes is 79. Rockabilly singer Sleepy LaBeef is 74. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., is 73. Actress Diana Rigg is 71. Rock musician John Lodge (The Moody Blues) is 66. Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 65. Singer Kim Carnes is 64. Rock musician Carlos Santana is 62. Rock musician Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols, Man Raze) is 53. Actress Donna Dixon is 52. Rock musician Mick McNeil (Simple Minds) is 51. Country singer Radney Foster is 50. Actor Frank Whaley is 46. Rock singer Chris Cornell is 45. Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 43. Actor Reed Diamond is 42. Actor Josh Holloway (“Lost”) is 40. Singer Vitamin C is 40. Former baseball catcher Charles Johnson is 38. Actor Simon Rex is 35. San Francisco Giants catcher Bengie Molina is 35. Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen is 34. Actress Judy Greer is 34. Actor Charlie Korsmo is 31. Singer Elliott Yamin (“American Idol”) is 31. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 29. Rock musician Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects) is 29. Actor Percy Daggs III is 27. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Troy Smith is 25. Actor John Francis Daley is 24. Country singer-ballroom dancer Julianne Hough is 21. Actress Billi Bruno is 13.

Thought for Today

“The regret on our side is, they used to say years ago, ‘We are reading about you in science class.’ Now they say, ‘We are reading about you in history class.’”

— Neil Armstrong,

American astronaut (1930- )