Today in History

Today is Sunday, July 1, the 182nd day of 2018. There are 183 days left in the year. This is Canada Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect.

On this date:

In 1535, Sir Thomas More went on trial in England, charged with high treason for rejecting the Oath of Supremacy. (More was convicted, and executed.)

In 1916, during World War I, France and Britain launched the Somme Offensive against the German army; the 4 1/2-month battle resulted in heavy casualties and produced no clear winner. Dwight D. Eisenhower married Mary ("Mamie") Geneva Doud in Denver.

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

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

In 1957, the International Geophysical Year, an 18-month global scientific study, began.

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 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration was established.

In 1980, "O Canada" was proclaimed the national anthem of Canada.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated federal appeals court judge Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court, setting off a tempestuous confirmation process that ended with Bork's rejection by the Senate.

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. The Warsaw Pact formally disbanded.

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: Five years ago: Ex-convict Nicholas T. Sheley, suspected in eight grisly slayings in two states, was arrested outside a bar in Granite City, Ill. (Sheley has since been convicted of two murders.) The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver agreed to pay $5.5 million to settle 18 more claims by people who said they'd been sexually abused by priests when they were children. Clay Felker, founding editor of New York magazine, died at age 82.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, during a visit to Tanzania, brushed aside sharp European criticism, suggesting that all nations spy on each other as the French and Germans expressed outrage over allegations of U.S. eavesdropping on European Union diplomats. Obama joined his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, at a wreath-laying ceremony honoring victims of the 1998 embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. Serena Williams joined a growing list of marquee names eliminated early at a wild and unpredictable Wimbledon, losing to Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 in the fourth round. "Twister" game inventor Charles "Chuck" Foley, 82, died in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

One year ago: Pope Francis declined to renew the mandate of German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that handles sex abuse cases. During Mueller's five-year term, the congregation amassed a 2,000-case backlog and came under blistering criticism from abuse survivors. President Donald Trump lashed out at Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," saying on Twitter: "Crazy Joe Scarborough and dumb as a rock Mika are not bad people, but their low rated show is dominated by their NBC bosses."

Today's Birthdays: Actress Olivia de Havilland is 102. Actress-dancer Leslie Caron is 87. Actress Jean Marsh is 84. Actor Jamie Farr is 84. Actor David Prowse is 83. Cookiemaker Wally Amos is 82. Dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp is 77. Actress Genevieve Bujold is 76. Rock singer-actress Deborah Harry is 73. Movie-TV producer-director Michael Pressman is 68. Actor Daryl Anderson is 67. Actor Trevor Eve is 67. Actor Terrence Mann is 67. Rock singer Fred Schneider (B-52's) is 67. Pop singer Victor Willis (Village People) is 67. Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd is 66. Actress Lorna Patterson is 62. Actor Alan Ruck is 62. Rhythm and blues singer Evelyn "Champagne" King is 58. Olympic gold medal track star Carl Lewis is 57. Country singer Michelle Wright is 57. Actor Andre Braugher is 56. Actor Dominic Keating is 56. Actress Pamela Anderson is 51. Rock musician Mark Pirro is 48. Rock musician Franny Griffiths (Space) is 48. Actor Henry Simmons is 48. Hip-hop artist Missy Elliott is 47. Actress Julianne Nicholson is 47. Actress Melissa Peterman is 47. Rock musician Bryan Devendorf (The National) is 43. Actor Thomas Sadoski is 42. Actress Liv Tyler is 41. Bluegrass musician Adam Haynes (Dailey & Vincent) is 39. Actress Hilarie Burton is 36. Actress Lynsey Bartilson is 35. Actress Lea Seydoux is 33. Actor Evan Ellingson is 30. Actors Andrew and Steven Cavarno are 26. Actress Storm Reid is 15.

Thought for Today: "Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people." -- David Sarnoff, American broadcasting pioneer (1891-1971).