What Happened On This Day ? July 3
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2013
Coup in Egypt
Egyptian defense minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi staged a coup and forced out President Mohamed Morsi, just over a year after he was elected.
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1988
Iran Air flight 655 is shot down by a US Navy ship
The USS Vincennes mistakenly shot down the airplane en route to Dubai, killing all 290 people aboard. The Vincennes, a guided missile cruiser, incorrectly identified the plane as a military aircraft. In 1996, the United States government made a cash settlement with Iran in order to close the case Iran had brought against the US in the International Court of Justice.
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1962
Algeria gains its independence from France
Algeria's independence from France, after 132 years of French rule, was finalized after the signing of the Evian Accords in the spa town of Evian-les-Bains. The accords ended a 7-year long voilent war of independence. Independence was finally achieved after the July 1, 1962, referendum favored complete Algerian independence. Ahmed Ben Bella became the first President of the country.
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1863
Battle of Gettysburg ends
The 3-day long battle during the American Civil War was fought between the Union and Confederacy in-and-around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Thought to be one of the bloodiest battles of the war ? around 50,000 soldiers were lost on both sides ? the Battle of Gettysburg marked a key turning point in the conflict. The decisive Union victory led to the retreat of Confederate soldiers from the north.
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1844
The Great Auks go extinct
The last known pair of Great Auks, members of a species of flightless birds, were killed off the coast of Iceland at the request of a collector. It is believed that the extinction of these birds was caused by human activities and hunting due to the high demand for their feathers.
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1980
Harbhajan Singh
Indian cricketer
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1971
Julian Assange
Australian journalist, publisher, activist, founder of WikiLeaks
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1962
Tom Cruise
American actor, writer, director, producer
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1949
Bo Xilai
Chinese politician
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1883
Franz Kafka
Czech/German writer
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2012
Andy Griffith
American actor, singer, producer, screenwriter
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1995
Pancho Gonzales
American tennis player
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1971
Jim Morrison
American singer-songwriter, poet
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1935
Andre Citroen
French engineer, businessman, founded Citroen
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1904
Theodor Herzl
Austrian journalist, author