UPI Almanac for Friday, July 1, 2016

Today is Friday, July 1, the 183rd day of 2016 with 183 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Saturn and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz in 1646; French novelist George Sand, a pseudonym for Amandine Dupin, in 1804; grammarian William Strunk Jr. in 1869; pioneer aviator Louis Bleriot in 1872; French Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leon Jouhaux in 1879; actor Charles Laughton in 1899; blues, gospel musician/composer Thomas Dorsey in 1899; film director William Wyler in 1902; cosmetics executive Estee Lauder in 1906; blues musician Willie Dixon in 1915; actor Olivia de Havilland in 1916 (age 100); actor Leslie Caron in 1931 (age 85); filmmaker/actor Sydney Pollack in 1934; actor/writer Jean Marsh in 1934; actor Jamie Farr in 1934 (age 82); choreographer Twyla Tharp in 1941 (age 75); actor Karen Black in 1939; actor Genevieve Bujold in 1942 (age 74); singer Deborah Harry in 1945 (age 71); actor/comedian Dan Aykroyd in 1952 (age 64); Britain's Princess Diana in 1961; nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis in 1961 (age 55); actor Andre Braugher in 1962 (age 55); actor Pamela Anderson in 1967 (age 50) ; rapper Missy Elliott in 1971 (age 44); actor Liv Tyler in 1977 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 1847, the first U.S. postage stamps were issued.

In 1859, the first intercollegiate baseball game was played in Pittsfield, Mass., and it was a high-scoring contest. Amherst beat Williams, 66-32.

In 1867, Canada was granted its independence by Great Britain. It consisted at the time of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and future provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

In 1874, the Philadelphia Zoological Society, the first U.S. zoo, opened to the public.

In 1898, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders led a charge up Cuba's heavily fortified San Juan Hill in a key Spanish-American War battle.

In 1908, more than a thousand suffragettes in London attempted to rescue 28 of their fellow protesters who were arrested by police following a demonstration in Parliament Square.

In 1916, in the worst single day of casualties in British military history, 20,000 soldiers were killed and 40,000 wounded in a massive offense against German forces in France's Somme River region during World War I.

In 1932, Democrats nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt for president. FDR was elected to four consecutive terms.

In 1941, NBC broadcast the first FCC-sanctioned TV commercial, a spot for Bulova watches shown during a Dodgers-Phillies game. It cost Bulova $9.

In 1946, the United States conducted its first post-war test of the atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

In 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, known as the Soundabout, in U.S. stores. It sold for about $200.

In 1990, the West and East German economies were united, with the Deutsche Mark replacing the mark as currency in East Germany.

In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China after 99 years as a British territory.

In 2002, in a rare high-altitude accident, a passenger airliner collided with a cargo plane over Germany, killing all 71 people on the two planes -- 69 on the airliner and two on the cargo aircraft.

In 2004, Hollywood legend Marlon Brando died of lung failure. He was 80.

In 2005, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, announced she planned to retire.

In 2007, Moshe Katsav stepped down as president of Israel, a post he had held since 2000. Rape charges against him were dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to sexual harassment.

In 2012, a military court in Israel sentenced a former Hamas commander, Ibrahim Hamed, to 54 life prison terms for his role in 2001-03 terror attacks that killed scores of Israelis.

In 2013, a year after Mohamed Morsi became president of Egypt, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in cities across the country, calling for him to step down. Morsi was ousted by the military two days later.

In 2014, a U.N. report said conflicts in Iraq killed about 2,400 people in June, "more than half of them civilians. The report it was "the deadliest month in the country since 2007."

A thought for the day: "If you treat people right they will treat you right -- 90 percent of the time." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt