TODAY IN HISTORY - JULY 8TH

1775 – The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies of North America.

1776 – Church bells are rung after the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence of the United States, possibly including the Liberty Bell.

1822 – Chippewas turn over a huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.

1838 – Eli Lilly, American soldier, chemist, and businessman, founded Eli Lilly and Company (d. 1898) is born.

1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company (d. 1937) is born.

1876 – White supremacists kill five Black Republicans in Hamburg, South Carolina.

1889 – The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published.

1885 – Hugo Boss, German fashion designer, founded Hugo Boss (d. 1948) is born.

1898 – The death of crime boss Soapy Smith, killed in the Shootout on Juneau Wharf, releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.

1908 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (d. 1979) is born.

1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.

1933 – The first rugby union test match between the Wallabies of Australia and the Springboks of South Africa is played at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.

1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico in what became known as the Roswell UFO incident.

1948 – The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).

1949 – Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-American chef and actor is born.

1957 – Grace Coolidge, American wife of Calvin Coolidge, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1879) dies.

1961 – Toby Keith, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor is born.

1968 – The Chrysler wildcat strike begins in Detroit, Michigan.

1970 – Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.

2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.

2011 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (b. 1918) dies.

2015 – Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1945)