Today in History Today in History Today is Monday, July 26, the 207th day of 2021. There are 158 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 26, 1775, the Continental Congress established a Post Office and appointed Benjamin Franklin its Postmaster-General. On this date: In 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1847, the western African country of Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, declared its independence. In 1908, U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte ordered creation of a force of special agents that was a forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 1945, the Potsdam Declaration warned Imperial Japan to unconditionally surrender, or face “prompt and utter destruction.” Winston Churchill resigned as Britain’s prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party; Clement Attlee succeeded him.