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• In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
• In 1983, 11-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, left for a visit to the Soviet Union at the personal invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov (ahn-DROH'-pawf).
• In 1987, Lt. Col. Oliver North began his long-awaited public testimony at the Iran-Contra hearing, telling Congress that he had "never carried out a single act, not one," without authorization.
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• Ten years ago: A chunk of foam insulation fired at shuttle wing parts blew open a gaping 16-inch hole, yielding what one member of the Columbia investigation team said was the "smoking gun" proving what brought down the spaceship in February 2003. NASA launched its second Mars rover, Opportunity, which arrived on the red planet in January 2004. A federal judge approved a settlement fining WorldCom $750 million for its $11 billion accounting scandal. Hilary Lunke won the U.S. Women's Open.
• Five years ago: A suicide bomber struck the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghani

stan, killing at least 60 people. President George W. Bush met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time at the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido, Japan. Actress Nicole Kidman gave birth to a girl; she and her husband, country star Keith Urban, named their daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban.
• One year ago: Jubilant Libyans chose a new parliament in their first nationwide vote in decades. The Obama administration declared Afghanistan the United States' newest "major non-NATO ally." Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska (ahg-nee-ESH'-kuh rahd-VAHN'-skuh) of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to win a fifth Wimbledon singles championship; about five hours later, she and sister Venus were back on Centre Court to beat Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-5, 6-4 in the doubles final; it was the Williamses' fifth Wimbledon doubles title together. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank tied the knot with his longtime partner, Jim Ready, in a ceremony officiated by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
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• Today's Birthdays: Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 86. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough is 80. Rock star Ringo Starr is 73. Comedian Bill Oddie (TV: "The Goodies") is 72. Singer-musician Warren Entner (The Grass Roots) is 70. Rock musician Jim Rodford is 68. Actor Joe Spano is 67. Pop singer David Hodo (The Village People) is 66. Country singer Linda Williams is 66. Actress Shel

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