Today is Friday, July 1, the 182nd day of 2005. There are 183 days left in the year. This is Canada Day.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect.

On this date:

In 1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg began.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba.

In 1944, delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, N.H., 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 1948, New York International Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) at Idlewild was officially opened.

In 1948, the fare on New York City subways doubled from a nickel to 10 cents.

In 1961, Diana, the princess of Wales, was born near Sandringham, England. (She died in a 1997 car crash in Paris at age 36.)

In 1968, the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and 58 other nations signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

In 1980, “O Canada” was proclaimed the national anthem of Canada.

In 1997, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony.

Ten years ago: Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s government survived a critical no-confidence vote. Rock ‘n’ roll disc jockey Wolfman Jack died in Belvidere, N.C., at age 57.

Five years ago: Vermont’s civil unions law, which granted gay couples most of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage, went into effect. The Confederate flag was removed from atop South Carolina’s Statehouse. Actor Walter Matthau died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 79.

One year ago: Saddam Hussein scoffed at charges of war crimes and mass killings, making a defiant first public appearance in an Iraqi court since being hunted down seven months earlier. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong to demand democratic rights from China. The Cassini spacecraft sent back photographs of Saturn’s shimmering rings.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Olivia de Havilland is 89. Actor Farley Granger is 80. Actress-dancer Leslie Caron is 74. Actress Jean Marsh is 71. Movie director Sydney Pollack is 71. Movie producer-director Claude Berri is 71. Actor Jamie Farr is 71. Bluesman James Cotton is 70. Actor David Prowse is 70. Cookiemaker Wally Amos is 69. Singer-musician Delaney Bramlett is 66. Dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp is 64. Actress Karen Black is 63. Actress Genevieve Bujold is 63. Gospel singer Andre Crouch is 63. Rock singer-actress Deborah Harry is 60. Movie-TV producer-director Michael Pressman is 55. Rock singer Fred Schneider (B-52’s) is 54. Actor Daryl Anderson is 54. Actor Trevor Eve is 54. Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd is 53. Actor Alan Ruck is 49. Actress Lisa Blount is 48. Olympic gold medal track star Carl Lewis is 44. Country singer Michelle Wright is 44. Actor Andre Braugher is 43. Actress Pamela Anderson is 38. Rock musician Mark Pirro is 35. Rock musician Franny Griffiths (Space) is 35. Actor Henry Simmons is 35. Hip-hop artist Missy Elliott is 34. Actress Liv Tyler is 28. Actress Hilarie Burton is 23. Actress Lynsey Bartilson is 22. Actors Andrew and Stephen Cavarno are 13.

Thought for Today: “The more we learn the more we realize how little we know.” – R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983).