Wednesday, Aug. 1, is the 214th day of 2012. There are 152 days left in the year.

Today’s birthdays: Actor-director Geoffrey Holder is 82. Singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is 81. Actor Giancarlo Giannini is 70. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 62. Blues singer-musician Robert Cray is 59. Singer Michael Penn is 54. Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 53. Rock singer Suzi Gardner (L7) is 52. Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 52. Actor Jesse Borrego is 50. Actor Demian Bichir is 49. Rapper Coolio is 49. Actor John Carroll Lynch is 49. Rock singer Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) is 48. Movie director Sam Mendes is 47. Country singer George Ducas is 46. Country musician Charlie Kelley is 44. Actress Jennifer Gareis is 42. Actor Charles Malik Whitfield is 40. Actor Jason Momoa is 33. Singer Ashley Parker Angel is 31. Actress Taylor Fry is 31. Actor Elijah Kelley is 26. Actor James Francis Kelly is 23.

In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state.

In 1936, the Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

In 1946, the Atomic Energy Commission was established.

In 1957, the US and Canada agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on a shooting rampage at the University of Texas in Austin, killing 14 people. Whitman, who had also murdered his wife and mother hours earlier, was gunned down by police.

In 1981, the rock music video channel MTV made its debut.

In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.