Today in History

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July is an important month for Americans. Tomorrow we celebrate our 240th anniversary of independence from Great Britain. There will be great celebrations all over the country culminating in fireworks displays across the nation. I have three of them ready to record tomorrow night, just in case I miss one of them. I'll see all of them. I'm not going downtown to get lost in all the crowds and eaten up by mosquitoes, and not find a parking space. Our Independence isn't the only thing that happened in the world in July. So for a snapshot of the first three days, let's take a look at world history. July 1 69 AD - Vespasian, a Roman army leader was hailed as a Roman Emperor by Egyptian legions 1543 - England and Scotland sign the Peace of Greenwich 1596 - An English fleet under the Earl of Essex, Lord Howard of Effingham and Francis Vere capture and sack Cadiz, Spain 1690 - Led by Marshall Luxembourg, the French defeat forces of the Grand Alliance at Fleurus in the Netherlands 1777 - British troops depart from their base at the Bouquet River and head towards Ticonderoga, New York 1798 - Napoleon Bonaparte takes Alexandria, Egypt 1838 - Charles Darwin presents his paper on the theory of Evolution to the Linnean Society in London 1863 - First Day's fighting at Gettysburg at Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill 1867 - Canada, by terms of the British North America Act, becomes an independent dominion 1898 - American troops take San Juan Hill and El Caney, Cuba from the Spaniards 1916 - Battle of the Somme begins - approximately 30,000 men killed in the first day, 2/3 British July 2 1298 - Albert of Austria defeated forces led by Adolf of Nassau 1625 - The Spanish Army takes Breda, Spain after a year of siege 1644 - Oliver Cromwell crushes the Royalists at the Battle of Marston Moor 1747 - Marshall Saxe leads the French forces to victory over the Anglo-Dutch force under the Duke of Cumberland at the Battle of Lauffeld 1776 - The Continental Congress resolves with the Declaration of Independence that the American Colonies "are and ought to be, free and independent States." 1858 - Czar Alexander II frees serfs working on imperial lands 1863 - The Union holds Little Round Top in the Battle of Gettysburg 1881 - Charles J. Guiteau fatally wounds President James A. Garfield in Washington DC 1926 - Congress establishes the Army Air Corps 1937 - American Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart disappears in the central Pacific in a round the world flight 1964 - President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law 1976 - North and South Vietnam officially reunited So today being July 3, what significant events happened in history? 1775 - General George Washington takes command of the Continental Army 1790 - In Paris, the Marquis of Condorcet proposed granting civil rights to women 1844 - American Ambassador Caleb Cushing successfully negotiated the commercial treaty with China 1863 - Confederate forces fail to break the Union line in Gettysburg - Battle of Gettysburg ends 1878 - John Wise flies the first dirigible in Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1890 - Idaho became 43rd state 1903 - First cable across the Pacific ocean spliced at Honolulu, Midway, Guam, and Manila 1962 - Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame 1985 - Back to the Future film released These are the highlights for July so far. There are many more events that took place, but I found these the most interesting. I tried to include events from around the world as noted on the two sites I used. http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history