WHAT HAPPENED ON 4. JULY
Want to find out what all happened on 4. July

William Shockley announced the invention of the junction transistor. (4. July 1951)

Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act). (4. July 1960)

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year. (4. July 1966)

The Zodiac Killer attacks two teens (one male, one female) at Blue Rock Springs in California; they were his second known victims. The female died. (4. July 1969)

Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists. (4. July 1976)

The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit (4. July 1977)

Four Iranian diplomats are abducted by Lebanese militia in Lebanon. (4. July 1982)

In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (aka the "Butcher of Lyon") is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment. (4. July 1987)

Sumitomo Chemical's resin plant in Nihama explodes, killing one worker and injuring three others. (4. July 1993)

NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars. (4. July 1997)

Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation. (4. July 1998)

The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. (4. July 2004)

The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1. (4. July 2005)

The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks. (4. July 2009)

The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao. (4. July 2009)

The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN. (4. July 2012)