TODAY IN HISTORY

Tuesday, July  03, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On July 3, 1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended after three days in a major victory for the North.   AP Photo
On this date in: 1608 The city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain. 1775 Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass. 1878 Broadway song-and-dance man George M. Cohan was born in Providence, R.I. (Cohan claimed to have been - as he wrote in one of his patriotic songs - "born on the Fourth of July.") 1890 Idaho became the 43rd state. 1898 The U.S. Navy defeated a Spanish fleet in the harbor at Santiago, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War. 1930 Congress created the Veterans Administration. 1962 Algeria became independent after 132 years of French rule. 1971 Rock singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27. 1985 The time-travel comedy "Back to the Future," starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, was released in movie theaters. 1986 President Ronald Reagan presided over a ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty. AP Photo/Ron Edmonds 1988 The USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard. 2001 Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic refused to enter a plea on war crimes charges in his first appearance before a U.N. tribunal at The Hague. 2005 A NASA space probe, Deep Impact, hit its comet target as planned in a mission to learn how the solar system formed. 2009 Sarah Palin announced she would resign as Alaska governor with 16 months left in her term.		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actor Tom Cruise turns 50 years old today. AP Photo/Chris Pizzello Name Profession Age Pete Fountain Jazz clarinetist 82 Tom Stoppard Playwright 75 Jay Tarses Writer, producer 73 Lamar Alexander U.S. senator, R-Tenn. 72 Kurtwood Smith Actor ("That 70s Show") 69 Michael Cole Actor ("The Mod Squad") 67 Dave Barry Humor writer 65 Betty Buckley Actress ("Eight is Enough," "Cats") 65 Jan Smithers Actress ("WKRP In Cincinnati") 63 Montel Williams Talk show host 56 Thomas Gibson Actor ("Dharma and Greg") 50 Hunter Tylo Actress ("The Bold and the Beautiful") 50 Yeardley Smith Actress ("The Simpsons") 48 Audra McDonald Singer, actress 42 Shoshannah Stern Actress 32 Actor Patrick Wilson turns 39 years old today. AP Photo/Peter Kramer