Today in History

Today is Friday, July 1, the 182nd day of 2022. There are 183 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 1, 1966, the Medicare federal insurance program went into effect.

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 1903, the first Tour de France began. (It ended on July 19; the winner was Maurice Garin.)

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

In 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration was established.

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.

In 1997, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony.

In 2004, actor Marlon Brando died in Los Angeles at age 80.

In 2009, actor Karl Malden, 97, died in Brentwood, California.

In 2015, after more than a half-century 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.

In 2019, 15-year-old Coco Gauff, the youngest player to qualify at Wimbledon in the professional era, defeated 39-year-old Venus Williams in the first round, 6-4, 6-4. Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, 27, was found dead in his room at the Texas hotel where the team was staying; the medical examiner found that Skaggs had a toxic mix of alcohol and the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his body.

Ten years ago: Syria's main opposition groups rejected a new international plan that called for a transitional government because the compromise agreement did not bar President Bashar Assad from participating. Voters in Mexico returned the Institutional Revolutionary Party to power. Tiger Woods won the AT&T National at Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland, closing with a 2-under 69 for the 74th win of his career.

Five years 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.)

One year ago: The Supreme Court's conservative majority cut back on a landmark voting rights law, in a decision likely to help Republican states fight challenges to voting restrictions that were put in place since the 2020 elections. Donald Trump's company and its longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, were charged in New York in what prosecutors called a "sweeping and audacious" tax fraud scheme in which top executives allegedly failed to report compensation including free use of apartments and cars. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, the most unyielding GOP critic of Trump, to serve on a new select committee looking into the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-dancer Leslie Caron is 91. Actor Jean Marsh is 88. Actor Jamie Farr is 88. Cookiemaker Wally Amos is 86. Dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp is 81. Actor Genevieve Bujold is 80. Rock singer-actor Deborah Harry is 77. Movie-TV producer-director Michael Pressman is 72. Actor Daryl Anderson is 71. Actor Trevor Eve is 71. Actor Terrence Mann is 71. Rock singer Fred Schneider (B-52s) is 71. Pop singer Victor Willis (Village People) is 71. Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd is 70. Actor Lorna Patterson is 66. Actor Alan Ruck is 66. Mystery novelist Louise Penny is 64. R&B singer Evelyn "Champagne" King is 62. Olympic gold medal track star Carl Lewis is 61. Country singer Michelle Wright is 61. Actor Andre Braugher is 60. Actor Dominic Keating is 60. Actor Pamela Anderson is 55. Rock musician Mark Pirro is 52. Rock musician Franny Griffiths (Space) is 52. Actor Henry Simmons is 52. Hip-hop artist Missy Elliott is 51. Actor Julianne Nicholson is 51. Actor Melissa Peterman is 51. Actor/writer Jill Kargman is 48. Rock musician Bryan Devendorf (The National) is 47. Singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens is 47. Actor Thomas Sadoski is 46. Actor Liv Tyler is 45. Actor Hilarie Burton is 40. Actor Lynsey Bartilson is 39. Actor Lea Seydoux is 37. Actor Evan Ellingson is 34. Actors Andrew and Steven Cavarno are 30. Actor/singer Chloe Bailey is 24. Actor Storm Reid is 19.