By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Thursday, July 1, the 182nd day of 2021. There are 183 days left in the year.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On July 1, 2015, after more than a half-century of hostility, the United States and Cuba declared they would reopen embassies in each otherís capitals, marking a historic full restoration of diplomatic relations between the Cold War foes.

On this date:

In 1863, the pivotal, three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in a Union victory, began in Pennsylvania.

In 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect.

In 1903, the first Tour de France began. (It ended on July 19; the winner was Maurice Garin.)

In 1944, delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where they agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

In 1946, the United States exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

In 1962, the African nations of Burundi and Rwanda became independent of Belgium.

In 1963, the U.S. Post Office inaugurated its five-digit ZIP codes. In 1966, the Medicare federal insurance program went into effect.

In 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration was established.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, beginning an ultimately successful confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment. Actor Michael Landon, 54, died in Malibu, California.

In 1997, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony. Actor Robert Mitchum died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 79.

In 2019, 15-year-old Coco Gauff, the youngest player to qualify at Wimbledon in the professional era, defeated 39-year-old Venus Williams in the first round, 6-4, 6-4. Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, 27, was found dead in his room at the Texas hotel where the team was staying; the medical examiner found that Skaggs had a toxic mix of alcohol and the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his body.

Ten years ago: Leon Panetta took over as U.S. secretary of defense after 2 1/2 years as director of the CIA. Six weeks after ex-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed that heíd fathered a child with a member of his household staff, Maria Shriver filed divorce papers seeking to end their 25-year marriage. The NBA locked out its players, a long-expected move that put the 2011-12 season in jeopardy. (The lockout ended in Dec. 2011 with the adoption of a new collective bargaining agreement.)