This day in history

[July 02, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, July 2, the 183rd day of 2009. There are 182 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution saying that "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States."

On this date:

In 1809, Shawnee leader Tecumseh began organizing an Indian Confederacy to resist the growing spread of white American settlers.

In 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station; Garfield died the following September. (Guiteau was hanged in June 1882.)

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 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a sweeping civil rights bill passed by Congress.

In 1979, the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was released to the public.

In 1989, former Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko died in Moscow at age 79.

In 1994, a USAir DC-9 crashed in poor weather at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, killing 37 of the 57 people aboard.

In 1996, electricity and phone service were knocked out for millions of customers from Canada to the Southwest after power lines throughout the West failed on a record-hot day.

Ten years ago: Former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong was shot to death in Skokie, Ill.; 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. (One other person was killed and several wounded before Smith committed suicide.) "Godfather" author Mario Puzo died on Long Island, N.Y., at age 78.

Five years ago: Elijah Brown, 21, described by police as a disgruntled employee, went on a shooting rampage inside a meatpacking plant in Kansas City, Kan., killing five of his co-workers before taking his own life.

One year ago: Colombian military spies tricked leftist rebels into freeing 15 hostages: ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. military contractors, and 11 Colombian policemen and soldiers. Police in Randolph, Vt., unearthed the body of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett from a makeshift grave, ending a weeklong search. (The girl's uncle, convicted sex offender Michael Jacques, has been charged in the killing.)

Today's birthdays: Country singer Marvin Rainwater is 84. Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is 80. Jazz musician Ahmad Jamal is 79. Actor Robert Ito is 78. Actress Polly Holliday is 72. Former White House chief of staff John H. Sununu is 70. Writer-director-comedian Larry David is 62. Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, is 62. Actor Saul Rubinek is 61. Rock musician Roy Bittan (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) is 60. Rock musician Gene Taylor is 57. Actress-model Jerry Hall is 53. Actor Jimmy McNichol is 48. Rock musician Dave Parsons (Bush) is 44. Actress Yancy Butler is 39. Baseball player Sean Casey is 35. Contemporary Christian musician Melodee DeVevo (Casting Crowns) is 33. Race car driver Sam Hornish Jr. is 30. Singer Michelle Branch is 26. Actress Vanessa Lee Chester is 25. Figure skater Johnny Weir is 25. Actress-singer Ashley Tisdale is 24. Actress Lindsay Lohan is 23.

Thought for today: "The instinctive feeling of a great people is often wiser than its wisest men." -- Louis Kossuth, Hungarian statesman (1802-1894)

[Associated Press]

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