Today in History, July 2: Continental Congress votes to break away from England

ORLANDO, Fla -- On this date of July 2, 1776: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4.

Notable:

July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 182 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events:

• 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield (who would die of complications from his wounds on Sept. 19).
• 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
• 1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
• 1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
• 1976 – Fall of the Republic of Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam declares their union to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
• 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
• 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
• 2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
• 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.
• 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx.
• 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.

Famous Births:

• 1925 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (d. 1963)
• 1929 – Imelda Marcos, widow of Ferdinand Marcos, the 10th president of the Philippines
• 1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy's (d. 2002)
• 1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1939 – John H. Sununu, American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
• 1942 – Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico
• 1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
• 1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler
• 1961 – Clark Kellogg, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1964 – Jose Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player and mixed martial artist
• 1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
• 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singe

Deaths:

• 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
• 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
• 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
• 2007 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano and television personality (b. 1929)
• 2016 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
• 2016 – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, activist, and author (b. 1928)

• Christian feast day:
  • Aberoh and Atom (Coptic Church)
  • Feast of the Visitation (Anglicanism; Levoča at Mariánska hora)
  • Monegundis
  • Otto of Bamberg
  • Oudoceus
  • Martinian and Processus
  • Pishoy (Coptic Church)
  • July 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Unity Day can fall, while June 8 is the latest; celebrated on Tuesday following Heroes' Day. (Zambia)
• Flag Day (Curaçao)
• Palio di Provenzano (Siena, Italy)
• Police Day (Azerbaijan)
• World UFO Day

Source: Wikipedia for July 2

 

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 Amy Croix, shown here, of DeBary, FL., is 28; Sunglass Hut Silver Sands, of Destin, FL., is 46 years old; Cathy Via, of Naples, FL., has no age given...

 

 

 

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