On This Day: “In God We Trust” Becomes Motto of the United States

On July 30, 1871, a boiler explosion onboard the Westfield, a Staten Island ferryboat, killed 125 passengers.

On July 29, 1967, a fire broke out on the aircraft carrier as crewmen prepared to launch jets during the Vietnam War; 134 people died and 62 were injured.

On July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber flying in dense fog struck the Empire State Building, killing the plane’s three-man crew and 11 office workers in the building.

Although technology has been a blessing for those with visual impairments, the abundance of audio and digital technology has made reading Braille a rare skill.

Rickets, a disorder resulting from a vitamin D deficiency, has reemerged, causing experts to debate the risks of too little or too much exposure to the sun.

On July 27, 1996, a bomb killed one and injured 111 visitors at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Security guard Richard Jewell was wrongfully accused of planting the bomb and defamed by the media.

On July 27, 1940, Bugs Bunny appeared opposite Elmer Fudd in “A Wild Hare,” the first of over 175 animated shorts starring the Warner Brothers’ cartoon rabbit.

On July 26, 1875, gentleman outlaw Charles “Black Bart” Boles robbed a stagecoach in Calaveras County, Calif., starting an eight-year career during which he committed 28 robberies.

On July 26, 1989, Cornell graduate student Robert Tappan Morris was indicted for spreading the Internet’s first worm virus, infecting more than 6,000 university, research center and military computers.

On July 25, 2000, a Concorde commercial flight carrying 109 people caught fire during takeoff and crashed, hitting a hotel and killing four others.

On July 24, 1911, Yale University professor Hiram Bingham discovered the ruins of Machu Picchu, one of the most significant archaeological finds in the history of the Americas.

On July 24, 1983, the Royals’ George Brett wildly charged toward umpires after his ninth inning home run was disallowed because there was too much pine tar on his bat.

On July 23, 1967, race riots left an irrevocable mark on the racially divided city when a police raid sparked widespread violence. It remains one of the country’s deadliest riots.

One man’s quest to explore Brooklyn’s abandoned subway tunnel sheds light on other hidden railways around the U.S., and reignites interest in President Lincoln’s assassination.

On July 22, 1934, notorious bank robber John Dillinger, the FBI’s first-ever public enemy No. 1, was killed by federal agents as he exited Chicago’s Biograph Theatre.

On July 21, 1865, Wild Bill Hickok shot Davis Tutt in a duel in Springfield, Mo. The event became known as the first real shootout in Old West.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the moon.

On July 19, 1692, five women were executed for suspected witchcraft in Salem, Mass. They were among 20 people executed during the Salem Witch Trials.