MOMENTS IN TIME

• On July 12, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signs into law a measure to award a U.S. Army Medal of Honor. Since its creation, almost 3,400 men and one woman have received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions in U.S. military conflict.

• On July 13, 1938, Massachusetts Television Institute opens a "television theater" in Boston. The first show broadcast singers, musicians and dancers who were performing in a studio above the auditorium. In the theater below, the audience viewed a black-and-white image on a 9-by-12-inch screen.

• On July 11, 1951, disc jockey Alan Freed starts his new job as host of a rhythm and blues radio show in Cleveland he called "The Moondog House." The legendary DJ had to stop using his popular "Moondog" moniker in 1954 when a blind New York City street musician who had recorded "Moondog Symphony" won a court battle that stripped Freed of the ability to use the name.

• On July 10, 1985, in Auckland harbor in New Zealand, Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior sinks after French agents in diving gear plant a bomb on the hull of the ship. A British newspaper later uncovered evidence of French President Francois Mitterrand's authorization of the bombing plan.