1777. A young nobleman from France begins to make his name during the American Revolution. The Marquis de Lafayette, then 19 years old, is appointed a major general in the Continental Army. The following year, France formally sides with the American colonists against the British. 1972. Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern’s running mate. The move follows the disclosure that Eagleton had been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in the 1960s and twice receives electroshock therapy for depression.

“My personal feelings are secondary to the necessity to unify the Democratic Party and to elect George McGovern as the next president of the United States.”

McGovern taps Sargent Shriver to replace Eagleton on the Democratic ticket. That fall, they lose to President Richard Nixon in a landslide.

“The Dark Lord Ascending”

And 1965. “The 2 men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow moon-lit lane.

”

Meet the writer who cast the literary spell that created young magician Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Potter books, is born in southwest England.

Today in History, July 31st. Ed Donahue, the Associated Press.