Today in History: 07-02-14

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Today is Wednesday, July 2, the 183rd day of 2014. There are 182 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History: On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a sweeping
civil rights bill passed by Congress.
On this date:
In 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution saying that "these United Colonies are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent States."
In 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station;
Garfield died the following September.
In 1926, the United States Army Air Corps was created.
In 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while
attempting to make the first round-the-world flight along the equator.
In 1961, author Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death at his home in Ketchum, Idaho.
In 1979, the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was released to the public.
In 1982, Larry Walters of San Pedro, California, used a lawn chair equipped with 45 helium-filled weather
balloons to rise to an altitude of 16,000 feet; he landed eight miles away in Long Beach.
Colombian soccer player Andres Escobar, 27, was shot to death in Medellin, ten days after accidentally
scoring a goal against his own team in World Cup competition.
In 1999, former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong was shot to death in Skokie,
Illinois; authorities believe he was the victim of a three-day shooting rampage by white supremacist
Benjamin Nathaniel Smith that targeted minorities in Illinois and Indiana.

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