Moments in Time
The History Channel

+ On July 25, 1894, actor Walter Brennan is born. Brennan worked in vaudeville before World War I, then headed to Hollywood after the war. He became the first actor ever to win three Academy Awards, for "Come and Get It" (1936), "Kentucky" (1938) and "The Westerner" (1940).

+ On July 24, 1901, William Sydney Porter, otherwise known as O. Henry, is released from prison after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank in Austin, Texas. Porter began writing stories to support his young daughter while he was in prison. He specialized in stories about everyday people, often ending with an unexpected twist, as in "Gift of the Magi."

+ On July 28, 1932, during the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover orders the U.S. Army to evict thousands of Bonus Marchers from the nation's capital. An estimated 20,000 marchers had assembled in Washington to cash in their World War I veterans' bonus certificates. The camps were set on fire, and the veterans were driven from the city.

+ On July 26, 1942, actor Gene Autry is sworn in to the Army Air Corps during his radio show, "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch." He served as an officer until 1945, when he resumed his show, which ran until 1956.

(c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc.