HISTORY AT A GLANCE
TODAY is Tuesday, July 4, the 185th day of 2017. There are 180 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
1947 – The “Indian Independence Bill” is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
1950 – Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
1960 – Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later.
1961 – On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.
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.
2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
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. 2016 – The arrival of the Juno probe to Jupiter.