HISTORY

TODAY is Saturday, July 4, the 186th day of 2020. There are 180 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:

1943 World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world’s largest tank battle, begins in Prokhorovka village.

1946 After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.

1976 Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.

1987 In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon”) is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.

1994 Rwandan Genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.

1997 NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.

1998 Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.

2004 The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.

2009 The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.

2012 The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.