Today is Sunday, July 29, the 211th day of 2012. There are 155 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 29, 1914, transcontinental telephone service in the U.S. began with the first test phone conversation between New York and San Francisco.

On this date:

In 1030, the patron saint of Norway, King Olaf II, was killed in battle.

In 1588, the English attacked the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines, resulting in an English victory.

In 1890, artist Vincent van Gogh, 37, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.

In 1900, Italian King Humbert I was assassinated by an anarchist; he was succeeded by his son, Victor Emmanuel III.

In 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader ("fuehrer") of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

In 1948, Britain's King George VI opened the Olympic Games in London.

In 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency was established. Jack Paar made his debut as host of NBC's "Tonight Show."

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA.

In 1967, an accidental rocket launch aboard the supercarrier USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin resulted in a fire and explosions that killed 134 servicemen.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford became the first U.S. president to visit the site of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland.

In 1981, Britain's Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. (However, the couple divorced in 1996.)

In 1985, the space shuttle Challenger began an 8-day mission that got off to a shaky start — the spacecraft achieved a safe orbit even though one of its main engines shut down prematurely after lift-off.

Ten years ago: In Afghanistan, a man identified by authorities as a would-be suicide bomber with more than a half-ton of explosives in his car was stopped by a chance traffic accident just 300 yards from the U.S. Embassy; a suspect was captured after a car chase. A visibly exhausted Pope John Paul II greeted thousands of Roman Catholic faithful as he arrived in Guatemala City. An Amtrak train derailed outside Washington, D.C., injuring more than 100 people.

• 1
• 2
• Next