Today in History: 22 July
1139 – Pope Innocent II is ambushed and taken captive by the forces of Roger II of Sicily at Galluccio while trying to invade the Kingdom of Sicily
1515 – First Congress of Vienna settles issues between Poland and the Holy Roman Empire, demonstrating the Habsburgs’ growing influence
1793 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada
1864 – US Civil War: Battle of Atlanta: General Sherman’s Union side defeats Confederate troops under General Hood, with 8,449 Confederate and 3,641 US casualties
1933 – Caterina Jarboro sings “Aida” at the New York Hippodrome, becoming the first Black female opera singer to perform in the United States
1933 – Wiley Post completes first solo flight around the world, taking 7 days and 19 hours
1943 - US forces led by General George S. Patton liberate Palermo, Sicily
1959 – Ed Wood’s cult classic “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” often called one of the worst films ever, premieres starring Gregory Walcott and Bela Lugosi
1962 – 1st US Venus probe, Mariner 1, fails at lift-off
1991 – Jeffrey Dahmer confesses to killing 17 men in 1978
2018 – TV show “Supergirl” announces casting of first live-action transgender superhero, by transgender actor Nicole Maines as Nia Nal
2019 – Marvel superhero film “Avenger: Endgame” becomes the world’s highest grossing film, overtaking “Avatar” and earning $2.9 billion
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1849 – Emma Lazarus, American poet
1923 – Bob Dole, American politician
1930 – Sonny Liston, American boxer
1940 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American Emmy Award-winning TV game show host
1946 – Danny Glover, American actor
1965 – Shawn Michaels, American pro wrestler
Unrecoverable Error –
1802 – Marie Francois Xavier Bichat, French anatomist and physiologist
1934 – John Dillinger, American bank robber
2000 – Raymond Urgel Lemieux, Canadian scientist
2008 – Estelle Getty, American actress
2025 - Ozzy Osbourne, Rock legend, Prince of Darkness 
The Funnies:
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Mouseover: Washington, DC: Eastern gray squirrel, Amur honeysuckle. Puerto Rico: Crested anole, sea grape. US as a whole: Mallard, eastern poison ivy.
Explain XKCD 3118: iNaturalist Animals and Plants - explain xkcd
Image Credit: XKCD
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In case you missed it, you can go take a look at yesterday’s speedy Spark! by @steve6343 over here
