Today in History: July 1

In 1961, Diana, the princess of Wales, was born in Sandringham, England. (She died in a 1997 car crash in Paris at age 36.) In this 1987 file photo, Diana, Princess of Wales, left, and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II smile to well-wishers outside Clarence House in London. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver, File)

In 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.  (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
An advance team of Bikini men board a landing craft to assist U.S. Navy Seabees in building new homes for the islanders on Rongerik. The Bikinians had to evacuate their island before "Operation Crossroads," the U.S. military's nuclear test blasts at Bikini atoll in July, 1946. (AP Photo)
In 1946, the United States exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. An advance team of Bikini men board a landing craft to assist U.S. Navy Seabees in building new homes for the islanders on Rongerik. The Bikinians had to evacuate their island before “Operation Crossroads,” the U.S. military’s nuclear test blasts at Bikini atoll in July, 1946. (AP Photo)
World dignitaries and other guests to the Hong Kong handover ceremony stand and watch the Chinese flag, left, flying after the Union Jack was lowered at the Hong Kong Convention Center Tuesday, July 1, 1997. (AP Photo/Kimimasa Mayama, Pool)
In 1997, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony. World dignitaries and other guests to the Hong Kong handover ceremony stand and watch the Chinese flag, left, flying after the Union Jack was lowered at the Hong Kong Convention Center Tuesday, July 1, 1997. (AP Photo/Kimimasa Mayama, Pool)
On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect. (iStock/Thinkstock)
In 2002, the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal, the International Criminal Court, came into existence. A person leaves the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, where lawyers were scheduled to discuss the next steps in the case of Gbagbo and ex-youth minister Charles Ble Goude, a day after both men were acquitted of crimes against humanity. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
In 2018, LeBron James announced that he would be signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving Cleveland for the second time in his career. Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James goes up for a dunk during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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An advance team of Bikini men board a landing craft to assist U.S. Navy Seabees in building new homes for the islanders on Rongerik. The Bikinians had to evacuate their island before "Operation Crossroads," the U.S. military's nuclear test blasts at Bikini atoll in July, 1946. (AP Photo)
World dignitaries and other guests to the Hong Kong handover ceremony stand and watch the Chinese flag, left, flying after the Union Jack was lowered at the Hong Kong Convention Center Tuesday, July 1, 1997. (AP Photo/Kimimasa Mayama, Pool)

Today is Monday, July 1, the 182nd day of 2019.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 1, 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.

On this date:

In 1863, the pivotal, three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in a Union victory, began in Pennsylvania.

In 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect.

In 1934, Hollywood began enforcing its Production Code subjecting motion pictures to censorship review.

In 1944, delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where they agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

In 1946, the United States exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

In 1961, Diana, the princess of Wales, was born in Sandringham, England. (She died in a 1997 car crash in Paris at age 36.)

In 1963, the U.S. Post Office inaugurated its five-digit ZIP codes.

In 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration was established.

In 1991, the Warsaw Pact formally disbanded.

In 1995, rock-and-roll disc jockey Wolfman Jack died in Belvidere, North Carolina, at age 57.

In 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.

In 2002, the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal, the International Criminal Court, came into existence. A Russian passenger jet collided with a cargo plane over southern Germany, killing all 69 people, including 45 schoolchildren, on the Russian plane and the cargo jet pilots.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama held an hour-long town hall forum on health care reform in Annandale, Virginia, where, in an emotional moment, he hugged cancer patient Debby Smith, a volunteer for Obama’s political operation, Organizing for America. Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden, 97, died in Brentwood, California.

Five years ago: David Greenglass, the star witness in the trial of his sister, Ethel Rosenberg, and her husband, Julius, died in New York City at age 92. (The Rosenbergs were executed in 1953 for conspiring to pass secrets about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union; Greenglass served 10 years in prison for espionage followed by years of living under an assumed name.)

One year ago: Mexican voters, angry over corruption and violence, elected leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as president. Canada began imposing tariffs on $12.6 billion in U.S. goods as retaliation for the Trump administration’s new taxes on steel and aluminum imported to the United States. LeBron James announced that he would be signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving Cleveland for the second time in his career.

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