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On This Day: August 7

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On Aug. 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on United States forces.

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On Aug. 7, 1904, Ralph Bunche, the American diplomat who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, was born. Following his death on Dec. 9, 1971, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

1942	U.S. forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.
1957	Oliver Hardy of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy died at age 65.
1964	Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers to deal with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.
1971	Apollo 15 returned to Earth after a manned mission to the moon.
1974	French stuntman Philippe Petit walked a tightrope strung between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center.
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.
2000	Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore chose Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman as his running mate, making him the first Jewish candidate on a major party ticket.
2002	Major league baseball players and owners agreed on the sport's first tests for steroids.
2007	Barry Bonds became baseball's career home run leader when he hit No. 756 during a home game in San Francisco, passing Hank Aaron's mark.
2008	Georgia shelled the capital of breakaway republic South Ossetia. (Russia responded by occupying much of Georgia in a five-day war.)
2009	Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin accused President Barack Obama of proposing a "death panel" that would decide who receives treatment in his health care plan.

Current Birthdays

Actor David Duchovny ("The X Files," "Californication") turns 51 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

Actress Charlize Theron turns 36 years old today.

AP Photo/Peter Kramer

1942	Garrison Keillor, Writer, humorist ("A Prairie Home Companion"), turns 69
1942	B.J. Thomas, Singer, turns 69
1944	John Glover, Actor, turns 67
1955	Wayne Knight, Actor ("Seinfeld"), turns 56
1958	Alberto Salazar, Marathon runner, turns 53
1963	Harold Perrineau, Actor ("Lost"), turns 48
1975	Edgar Renteria, Baseball player, turns 36
1982	Abbie Cornish, Actress, turns 29
1987	Sidney Crosby, Hockey player, turns 24

Historic Birthdays

Ralph Bunche8/7/1904 - 12/9/1971American civil rights activist and diplomat awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.Go to obituary »

61	Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga 8/7/1533 - 11/29/1594 Spanish soldier and poet
80	Carl Ritter 8/7/1779 - 9/28/1859 German geographer
77	John Heathcoat 8/7/1783 - 1/18/1861 English inventor of lace-making machinery
63	Paulina Kellogg Davis 8/7/1813 - 8/24/1876 American feminist and social reformer
71	Ellen Fitz Pendleton 8/7/1864 - 7/26/1936 American educator; president of Wellesley College (1911-36)
41	Mata Hari 8/7/1876 - 10/15/1917 Dutch dancer executed by the French for espionage during World War I
77	Alan Hazeltine 8/7/1886 - 5/24/1964 American electrical engineer and physicist
69	Louis S. B. Leakey 8/7/1903 - 10/1/1972 Kenyan archaeologist and anthropologist
67	Nicholas Ray 8/7/1911 - 6/16/1979 American film writer and director
41	Abebe Bikila 8/7/1932 - 10/25/1973 Ethiopian Olympic gold medal marathon winner (1960, 1964)