Today in HistoryTODAY <$>is Tuesday, July 4, the 185th day of 2006. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.

ON THIS DATE<$>

In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

In 1934, Marie Curie, Polish-French physicist and Nobel Prize winner, died.

In 1826, 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died.

In 1939, baseball’s “Iron Horse,” Lou Gehrig, said farewell to his fans at New York’s Yankee Stadium.

In 1966, US president 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.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“Intellectually, I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.” — Sinclair Lewis, American author (1885-1951).