4 July: "A Date That Will Live In Infamy"; Prexies Drop; Celebs Die Of "Complications"

By The Associated Press: Today is Saturday, July 4, the 185th day of 2009. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day. There is no independence from The AP. A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. [More or less, give or take a few days. — Ed.]On this date: In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, N.Y. In 1804, author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Mass. In 1826, 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, death claimed the second and third presidents of the United States: John Adams died at age 90 in Braintree, Mass., while Thomas Jefferson died at 83 at Monticello, his home near Charlottesville, Va. In 1831, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, died in New York City. In 1845, American writer Henry David Thoreau began a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond near Concord, Mass. In 1872, the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, was born in Plymouth, Vt. Ninety years ago, in 1919, Jack Dempsey won the world heavyweight boxing title by defeating Jess Willard in Toledo, Ohio.
Seventy years ago, in 1939, baseball's "Iron Horse," Lou Gehrig, afflicted with a fatal illness, bid a tearful farewell at Yankee Stadium in New York, telling fans, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." "Mr. Lucky" speaks. In 1946, The Philippines became independent. In 1959, America's 49-star flag, honoring Alaskan statehood, was officially unfurled. In 1960, America's 50-star flag, honoring Hawaiian statehood, was officially unfurled. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act, which went into effect the following year. In 1976, Israeli commandos raided Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing almost all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers.

In 1997, NASA's Pathfinder landed on Mars, to become the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the planet in more than two decades. Ten years ago: White supremacist Benjamin Nathaniel Smith shot himself to death as police closed in on him in southern Illinois, hours after he'd apparently shot and killed a Korean man outside a church in Bloomington, Ind.; authorities believe Smith was also responsible for killing former college basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong during a three-day rampage targeting minoritiesnot-"white" people. Pete Sampras and Lindsay Davenport won the singles titles at Wimbledon, defeating Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. Five years ago: A 20-ton slab of granite, inscribed to honor "the enduring spirit of freedom," was laid at the World Trade Center site as the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower skyscraper that will replace the destroyed twin towers. Defending the war in Iraq, President George W. Bush told a cheering crowd outside the West Virginia state capitol that America was safer because Saddam Hussein was in a prison cell. Roger Federer overcame Andy Roddick's power game to win his second straight Wimbledon title, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Meg Mallon won the Women's U.S. Open with a 6-under 65.

In 2005, NASA's "Deep Impact" spacecraft wound up an 85 million-mile journey by intentionally slamming into the Tempel 1 comet to learn more about comets and other aspects of the solar system. One year ago: Former Sen. Jesse Helms, an unyielding champion of the conservative movement who'd spent three combative and sometimes caustic decades in Congress, died in Raleigh, N.C., at age 86. Dara Torres completed her improbable Olympic comeback at age 41, making the U.S. team for the fifth time by winning the 100 freestyle at the trials in Omaha, Neb. Today's Birthdays (Now we know who really loves America!): Actress Gloria Stuart is 99. Conductor Mitch Miller is 98. Advice columnist Pauline Phillips (the original "Dear Abby") is 91. Actress Eva Marie Saint is 85.Actress Gina Lollobrigida is 82. Playwright Neil Simon is 82. Baseball team owner George Steinbrenner is 79. Country singer Ray Pillow is 72. Singer Bill Withers is 71. Actor Ed Bernard is 70. Actress Karolyn Grimes is 69. Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera is 66. Rhythm-and-blues musician Ralph Johnson (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 58. Rock musician Domingo Ortiz (Widespread Panic) is 57. Singer John Waite is 54. Rock musician Kirk Pengilly (INXS) is 51. Country musician Teddy Carr is 49. Rock DJ Zonka is 47. Tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver is 47. Rock musician Matt Malley is 46. Christian rock singer Michael Sweet is 46. Presidential daughter Malia Obama is 11. Today In Entertainment History -- In 1914, director D.W. Griffith began filming his controversial film "Birth of a Nation," which introduced important new filmmaking techniques and influenced many other directors. In 1974, Steely Dan performed a concert in Santa Monica, Calif. They did not tour again for 18 years. ["Money's short, times are hard/Whoever thought I'd be playing Bumfuck, Iowa, w/ this load again?" — Ed.] In 1982, Diana Ross kicked off her first world solo tour with a concert at Giants Stadium. Miles Davis opened the show.
[Bitches Brew, baby. — Ed.] And another musical match for the ages: In 1982, Ozzy Osbourne married his manager, Sharon Arden. In 1983, Wayne Newton performed in Washington for a national Independence Day party instead of the Beach Boys. Interior Secretary James Watt had said the Beach Boys attracted "the wrong element." [Yeah. Brian Wilson worshipper/fetishists. Ick. — Ed.] In 1995, actress Eva Gabor died of complications from pneumonia at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 74. In 1997, newsman Charles Kuralt died in New York of complications from lupus. He was 62. In 2002, "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley, remixed by Junkie XL, hit number one on the singles chart, 25 years after Presley's death. Actress Julia Roberts married cameraman Daniel Moder outside Taos, N.M. In 2003, singer Barry White died in Los Angeles after battling kidney problems and a stroke. He was 58.

Just last year: Actress Evelyn Keyes died in Montecito, Calif., at age 91. Thought for Today: "If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile." — Samuel Eliot Morison, American historian (1887-1976).