Today is Wednesday, July 4, the 186th day of 2012. There are 180 days left in the year.
1054 ― Brightest known super-nova (Crab Nebula) starts shining (23 days)
1776 ― Declaration of Independence; U.S. gains independence from Britain
1865 ― First edition of ``Alice in Wonderland" is published
1876 ― First public exhibition of electric light in San Francisco
1884 ― Statue of Liberty presented to U.S. in Paris
1946 ― Philippines gains independence from U.S.
1966 ― LBJ signs Freedom of Information Act
1969 ― 140,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin
1976 ― Raid on Entebbe; Israel rescues 229 Air France passengers
1987 ― Nazi Klaus Barbie, ``Butcher of Lyon" convicted by a French court