Today is Wednesday, July 7, the 189th day of 2004. There are 177 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 7, 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Lincoln.

On this date:

In 1846, U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.

In 1896, the Democratic national convention opened in Chicago.

In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.

In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).

In 1946, Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American saint.

In 1954, 50 years ago, Elvis Presley made his radio debut as Memphis, Tennessee, station WHBQ played his first recording for Sun Records, “That’s All Right (Mama).”

In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Alaska statehood bill.

In 1969, Canada’s House of Commons gave final approval to a measure making the French language equal to English throughout the national government.

In 1981, President 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.

Ten years ago: Panama withdrew its offer to the U.S. to accept thousands of Haitian refugees. President Clinton, visiting Poland, assured the parliament that the U.S. would “not let the Iron Curtain be replaced by a veil of indifference.”

Five years ago: In the first class-action lawsuit by smokers to go to trial, a jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for making a defective product that causes emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses. President Clinton became the first president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to visit an Indian reservation as he toured the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

One year 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. NASA launched its second Mars rover. 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.

Today’s Birthdays: Composer Gian Carlo Menotti is 93. Blues musician Pinetop Perkins is 91. Fashion designer Pierre Cardin is 82. Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 77. Country singer Charlie Louvin is 77. Historian-author David McCullough is 71. Rock star Ringo Starr is 64. Singer-musician Warren Entner (The Grass Roots) is 60. Rock musician Jim Rodford is 59. Actor Joe Spano is 58. Country singer Linda Williams is 57. Actress Shelley Duvall is 55. Actress Roz Ryan is 53. Actor Billy Campbell is 45. Rock musician Mark White (Spin Doctors) is 42. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 41. Rhythm and blues musician Ricky Kinchen (Mint Condition) is 38. Actress Jorja Fox is 36. Actress Cree Summer is 35. Actor Troy Garity is 31. Olympic silver-bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan is 24. Country singer Gabbie Nolen is 22.

Thought for Today: “There is no escape – man drags man down, or man lifts man up.” – Attributed to Booker T. Washington, American educator and author (1856-1915).