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JULY 13: ROCKET MEN AND CAR GUYS

July 13th is the birthday of two actors who became famous as fictional pilots of spaceships: Patrick Stewart (1940), alias Capt. Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Han Solo from Star Wars, Harrison Ford (1942).

Ford Motors canned company president Lee Iacocca, the developer of the Mustang, on July 13th, 1978. Within two years, Iacocca became a household name as the new chairman of Chrysler.

The Chrysler building went dark – and so did the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, and all of the Manhattan skyline the night of July 13th, 1977. The storm-related power outage lasted just over 24 hours.

JULY 12: WOMEN IN HIGH PLACES

Geraldine Ferraro made history on this day in 1984. The Congresswoman from New York was chosen to be Walter Mondale’s running mate in the 1984 election, and she became the first woman nominated for vice-president by a major party.

Ferraro did not get to work in the White House as VP, but Dolley Madison (pictured) got to live there for eight years as First Lady. According to legend, the wife of James Madison saved a famous portrait of George Washington before the British attacked the White House in 1814. Mrs. Madison died on July 12th, 1849.

On July 12th of 1543, Catherine Parr became the queen of England, when she became the sixth – and last – wife of Henry VIII.

“The King and I” is not about Catherine and Henry, but it was a big Broadway hit for lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, born on this date in 1895.

JULY 11: HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

The first treasury secretary of the U.S., Alexander Hamilton, was felled by a bullet in his famous duel with Vice President Aaron Burr on July 11th, 1804. Hamilton died the next day.

The Skylab space station fell to Earth on July 11th, 1979, after six years in orbit. Pieces of the craft fell on Australia and into the Indian Ocean.

Movie fans remember Thomas Mitchell (pictured) falling off his horse as Scarlett’s father in “Gone With the Wind.” Actor Mitchell also played Uncle Billy in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” And late in his career, Mitchell portrayed an oddball detective named “Columbo” in a stage play, years before Peter Falk made the same character famous on TV. Mitchell was born July 11th, 1892.

JULY 10: LIVE BY SATELLITE

There was no such thing as a communications satellite until July 10th, 1962, when the first Telstar was sent into orbit.

Satellite technology helped make TV programs like ABC World News Tonight possible. That newscast debuted on July 10th, 1978, officially replacing the anchor team of Harry Reasoner and Barbara Walters. Three men – Frank Reynolds, Max Robinson and Peter Jennings – anchored the program from three different cities.

ABC’s new newscast began on the 58th birthday of competitor David Brinkley, who was then co-anchor of NBC Nightly News. Three years later, Brinkley moved to ABC.

JULY 9: PRESIDENTIAL DRAMA

On July 9th, 1850, Zachary Taylor became the second U.S. president to die in office. Taylor became sick after eating at a 4th of July celebration – and, to this day, some historians believe he was deliberately poisoned. His body was exhumed for testing in 1991, but the coroner did not find sufficient evidence of poisoning.

Another man who wanted to be president made a famous speech on this date in 1896. William Jennings Bryan delivered what was known as the “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, opposing the gold standard. The speech helped propel Bryan to the Democratic nomination that year.

Actor Jimmy Smits played President-elect Matt Santos in the final episodes of The West Wing. Smits, also a star on L.A. Law and NYPD Blue, was born July 9th, 1955.

JULY 8: WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE WITH YOUR BACON?

We can’t prove it, but it’s possible that every item listed in “Triviazoids” is within six degrees of Kevin Bacon. The star of “Footloose” and dozens of other movies was born on July 8th, 1958.

Let’s see … Kevin Bacon appeared in the movie “Frost/Nixon.” And a Colonel named John Nixon read the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia for the first time on July 8th, 1776.

Bacon also had a role in the movie “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” And on July 8th, 1965, Ronald Biggs escaped from a British prison where he was serving time for his role in the “Great Train Robbery” of 1963. He stayed out of prison for more than 30 years before turning himself in.

JULY 7: THIS IS BIG, REALLY BIG

On this date in 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act, making Alaska the 49th state – and the biggest state in size. Alaska was admitted officially the following January.

Construction of Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) began on July 7th, 1930. At the time it was completed, the 700-foot high dam on the Colorado River was the largest concrete structure in the world.

Was Boulder Dam “the greatest thing since sliced bread”? Maybe not, but pre-sliced bread was considered a big thing when it was introduced on July 7th, 1928, by a bakery in Chillicothe, Missouri. That innovation was advertised as the “greatest forward step” in baking since wrapped bread.

JULY 6: RULERS AND WIVES

The Republican Party held its first convention on July 6th, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan.

July 6th is the birthday of a Republican U.S. president, George W. Bush (1946), and First Lady Nancy Reagan (1921), the wife of another Republican president. Nancy was Ronald Reagan’s second wife, and he was the first divorced man to be elected president of the United States.

When England’s Henry VIII wanted to end his first marriage to wed Anne Boleyn, one of his chief opponents was Lord Chancellor Thomas More. For opposing the king, More eventually was convicted of treason, and was beheaded on July 6th, 1535.

JULY 5: HERE’S SOMETHING NEW

On July 5th, 1687, Isaac Newton (pictured) published his “Principia Mathematica,” which contained his laws of motion and his theory of gravity.

The Hormel Company introduced SPAM luncheon meat on this date in 1937.

The first bikini was introduced at a swimming pool in France on July 5th, 1946.

And Arthur Ashe became the first African-American to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon on July 5th, 1975.