Today in history - July 17

By The Associated PressSun Jul 16, 8:02 PM ET

Today is Monday, July 17, the 198th day of 2006. There are 167 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Ten years ago, on July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Paris-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, N.Y., shortly after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people aboard.

On this date:

In 1821, Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Spanish troops in Santiago, Cuba, surrendered to U.S. forces.

In 1917, the British royal family adopted the name "Windsor."

In 1944, 322 people were killed when a pair of ammunition ships exploded in Port Chicago, Calif.

In 1945, President Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam, Germany, in the final Allied summit of World War II.

In 1955, Disneyland debuted in Anaheim, Calif.

In 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower linkup of its kind.

In 1979, Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza resigned and fled into exile in Miami.

In 1981, 114 people were killed when a pair of walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a "tea dance."

In 1986, White House chief of staff Donald Regan drew criticism for suggesting in an interview that American women would not be prepared to "give up all their jewelry" if the U.S. were to impose economic sanctions against South Africa.

Five years ago: Katharine Graham, chairman of The Washington Post Company, died three days after suffering a head injury in Sun Valley, Idaho; she was 84.

One year ago: The Iraqi Special Tribunal filed its first criminal case against Saddam Hussein for a 1982 massacre of Shiites. Tiger Woods closed with a 2-under 70 to win the British Open for his tenth career major. Sir Edward Heath, former British prime minister, died in Salisbury, England, at age 89. Actress Geraldine Fitzgerald died in New York City at age 91.

Today's Birthdays: TV personality Art Linkletter is 94. Comedian Phyllis Diller is 89. The former president of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, is 86. Jazz singer Jimmy Scott is 81. Actor Donald Sutherland is 71. Actress-singer Diahann Carroll is 71. Rock singer Spencer Davis is 64. Rock musician Terry "Geezer" Butler (Black Sabbath) is 57. Actress Lucie Arnaz is 55. Actor David Hasselhoff is 54. Singer Phoebe Snow is 54. Television producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice") is 46. Actress Nancy Giles is 46. Singer Regina Belle is 43. Rock musician Lou Barlow is 40. Hip-hop singer Guru (Gang Starr) is 40. Contemporary Christian singer Susan Ashton is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Stokley (Mint Condition) is 39. Actress Bitty Schram is 38. Singer JC (PM Dawn) is 35. Rapper Sole' is 33.

Thought for Today: "Every soul is a melody which needs renewing." — Stephane Mallarme, French essayist and poet (1842-1898).

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