This Day in History

On July 3, 1863, the pivotal three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickett's Charge.

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In 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1944, during World War II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk from the Germans.

In 1950, the first carrier strikes of the Korean War took place as the USS Valley Forge and the HMS Triumph sent fighter planes against North Korean targets.

In 1971, singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27.

In 1979, Dan White, convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone (mahs-KOH'-nee) and Supervisor Harvey Milk, was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan presided over a gala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.

In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.

In 2011, Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) won his first Wimbledon, beating defending champion Rafael Nadal.

In 2012, Andy Griffith who made homespun American Southern wisdom his trademark as the wise sheriff in "The Andy Griffith Show," died at his North Carolina home at age 86.

Today's Birthdays: Playwright Tom Stoppard is 88. Attorney Gloria Allred is 84. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 82. Country singer Johnny Lee is 79. Humorist Dave Barry is 78. Actor Betty Buckley is 78. Talk show host Montel Williams is 69. Country singer Aaron Tippin is 67. Rock musician Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure) is 65. Actor Tom Cruise is 63. Actor Thomas Gibson is 63. Actor Connie Nielsen is 60. Actor Yeardley Smith is 61. Actor-singer Audra McDonald is 55. Hockey Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne is 55. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is 54. Actor Patrick Wilson is 52. Former mixed martial artist Wanderlei Silva is 49. Actor Olivia Munn is 45. Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel is 38. Rock singer-songwriter Elle King is 36.