On this day, July 9 …

2018: President Trump nominates federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.



Also on this day:

1776: The Declaration of Independence is read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York.

The Declaration of Independence is read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York. 1850: Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, dies after serving only 16 months of his term.

Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, dies after serving only 16 months of his term. 1893: The first successful open heart surgery is completed.

The first successful open heart surgery is completed. 1937: A fire at 20th Century Fox's film storage facility in Little Ferry, N.J., destroys most of the studio's silent films.

A fire at 20th Century Fox's film storage facility in Little Ferry, N.J., destroys most of the studio's silent films. 1962: Andy Warhol's exhibit of 32 paintings of Campbell's soup cans opens at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.

Andy Warhol's exhibit of 32 paintings of Campbell's soup cans opens at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. 1992: Bill Clinton taps Tennessee Sen. Al Gore to be his running mate.

1995: Jerry Garcia performs for the final time as frontman of the Grateful Dead during a concert at Chicago's Soldier Field (Garcia would die a month later).

2001: A divided court in Chile rules that Gen. Augusto Pinochet could not be tried on human rights charges because of his deteriorating health and mental condition, a ruling that effectively ends the 85-year-old former dictator's legal troubles.

A divided court in Chile rules that Gen. Augusto Pinochet could not be tried on human rights charges because of his deteriorating health and mental condition, a ruling that effectively ends the 85-year-old former dictator's legal troubles. 2014: President Barack Obama begins a two-day visit to Texas, where he meets with state officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, to discuss the influx of unaccompanied children at the U.S.-Mexico border.

2018: Starbucks announces that it would eliminate plastic straws from all of its locations within two years, citing the environmental threat to oceans.