Today in History: August 7, Twin Tower tightrope walk

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 7, the 220th day of 2024. There are 146 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 7, 1974, French highwire artist Philippe Petit performed an unapproved tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York, over 1,300 feet above the ground; the event would be chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary film “Man on Wire.”

Also on this date:

In 1789, the U.S. Department of War was established by Congress.

In 1942, U.S. and other allied forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.

In 1960, Cote d’Ivoire gained independence from France.

In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.

In 1971, the Apollo 15 moon mission ended successfully as its command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared the Love Canal environmental disaster in Niagara Falls, N.Y. a federal health emergency; it would later top the initial list of Superfund cleanup sites.

In 1989, a plane carrying U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 15 others disappeared over Ethiopia. (The wreckage of the plane was found six days later; there were no survivors.)

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the oil-rich desert kingdom against a possible invasion by Iraq.

In 1998, terrorist bombs at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

In 2007, San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit home run No. 756 to break Hank Aaron’s storied record with one out in the fifth inning of a game against the Washington Nationals, who won, 8-6.

In 2012, to avoid a possible death penalty, Jared Lee Loughner agreed to spend the rest of his life in prison, accepting that he went on a deadly shooting rampage at an Arizona political gathering in 2011 that left six people dead and 13 injured, including U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.

In 2015, Colorado theater shooter James Holmes was spared the death penalty in favor of life in prison after a jury in Centennial failed to agree on whether he should be executed for his murderous attack on a packed movie premiere that left 12 people dead.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Lana Cantrell is 81. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is 80. Actor John Glover is 80. Actor David Rasche is 80. Former diplomat, talk show host and activist Alan Keyes is 74. Country singer Rodney Crowell is 74. Actor Caroline Aaron is 72. Comedian Alexei Sayle is 72. Actor Wayne Knight is 69. Rock singer Bruce Dickinson is 66. Marathon runner Alberto Salazar is 66. Actor David Duchovny is 64. Actor Delane Matthews is 63. Actor Harold Perrineau is 61. Jazz musician Marcus Roberts is 61. Country singer Raul Malo is 59. Actor David Mann is 58. Actor Charlotte Lewis is 57. Actor Sydney Penny is 53. Actor Greg Serano is 52. Actor Michael Shannon is 50. Actor Charlize Theron is 49. Rock musician Barry Kerch is 48. Actor Eric Johnson is 45. Actor Randy Wayne is 43. Actor-writer Brit Marling is 42. NHL center Sidney Crosby is 37. MLB All-Star Mike Trout is 33. Actor Liam James is 28.