Today is Wednesday, August 7, the 219th day of 2013. There are 146 days left in the year.
1498 ― Columbus arrives in Caribbean
1620 ― Kepler’s mother arrested for witchcraft
1934 ― U.S. Court of Appeals upheld lower court ruling striking down government’s attempt to ban controversial James Joyce novel “Ulysses”
1940 ― Largest amount paid for a stamp ($45,000 for one made in British Guiana in 1856)
1964 ― U.S. Congress approves Gulf of Tonkin resolution
1970 ― Four, including presiding judge, killed in courthouse shootout in San Rafael, Calif.
1983 ― First World Track & Field Championships
1984 ― Japan beats U.S. for Olympic gold medal in baseball
1988 ― Writers guild end their six- month strike
1990 ― Saudi Arabia allows U.S. troops on their soil to stop an Iraqi invasion