TODAY IN HISTORY

1863

The pivotal, three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in a Union victory, began in Pennsylvania.

1946

The United States exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

1991

President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, beginning an ultimately successful confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment.

1997

Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony. Actor Robert Mitchum died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 79.

2015

After more than a halfcentury of hostility, the United States and Cuba declared they would reopen embassies in each other’s capitals, marking a historic full restoration of diplomatic relations between the Cold War foes.