On July 1, 1997, as a British colony, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years.

On July 2, 1937, while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator, navigator Fred Noonan and aviator Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean.

On July 3, 1863, the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended after three days in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated.

On July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentennial. In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe defeated Jimmy Connors and became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title.

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3,6-2 and became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title.

On July 7, 1981, President Reagan nominated Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

On July 8, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea.

On July 9, 1896, William Jennings Bryan caused a sensation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with his "cross of gold" speech denouncing supporters of the gold standard. Bryan went on to win the party's nomination.

On July 10, 1940, during World War II, the 114-day Battle of Britain began as Nazi forces began attacking southern England by air. By the end of October, Britain managed to repel the Luftwaffe, which suffered heavy losses.

On July 11, 1979, the abandoned U.S. space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth. It burned up in the atmosphere and showered debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

On July 12, 1984, Walter F. Mondale, Democratic presidential candidate, announced he had chosen U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running mate. Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket.

On July 13, 1977, lightning struck upstate power lines as a result, a 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area.

On July 14, 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the planet.

On July 15, 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.

On July 16,1918, Russia's Czar Nicholas II, his empress and their five children were executed by the Bolsheviks.

On July 17, 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower linkup of its kind.

On July 18, 1936, the Spanish Civil War began as Gen. Francisco Franco led an uprising of army troops based in Spanish North Africa.

On July 19,1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill launched his ``V for Victory'' campaign in Europe.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon when he stepped out of the lunar module.

On July 21, 1925, the so-called ``Monkey Trial'' ended in Dayton, Tenn., with John T. Scopes convicted of violating state law for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. The conviction was later overturned.

On July 22, 1934, a man identified as bank robber John Dillinger was shot to death by federal agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater.

On July 23, 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute led to World War I.

On July 24,1959, during a visit to the Soviet Union, Vice President Richard M. Nixon got into a "kitchen debate" with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at a U.S. exhibition.

On July 25, 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria sank after colliding with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the New England coast, killing 51 people.

On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On July 27, 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.

On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. World War I began as declarations of war by other European nations quickly followed.

On July 29, 1981, Britain's Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

On July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine torpedoed the USS Indianapolis, which had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. Only 316 out of 1,196 men survived the sinking and shark-infested waters.

On July 31, 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon's surface.