TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Saturday, July 4, the 185th day of 2015. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.

IndependenceIn 1776, the Declarationwas adoptedof by Continental delegates Congressto the Secondin Philadelphia.

In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, New York.

In 1815, the cornerstone was laid for a monument in Baltimore honoring George Washington (the monument was completed in 1829).

In 1831, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, died in New York City at age 73.

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau began his twoyear experiment in simpler living at Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts.

In 1912, the 48-star American flag, recognizing New Mexico statehood, was adopted. A train wreck near Corning, New York, claimed 39 lives.

In 1939, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees delivered his famous farewell speech

in which he called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

In 1959, America’s 49-star flag, recognizing Alaskan statehood, was officially unfurled.

In 1960, America’s 50-star flag, recognizing Hawaiian statehood, was officially unfurled.

In 1976, Israeli commandos raided Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing almost all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers.

In 1982, the space shuttle Columbia concluded its fourth and final test flight with a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne married his manager, Sharon Arden, in Maui, Hawaii.

In 1995, the space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir parted after spending five days in orbit docked together.