Today is Sunday, July 1, the 183rd day of 2012. There are 183 days left in the year. This is Canada Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the first Pacific Railroad Act "to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean."

On this date:

In 1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in a Union victory, began in Pennsylvania.

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

In 1910, Chicago's original Comiskey Park held its opening day under the name White Sox Park. (The home team lost to the St. Louis Browns, 2-0.)

In 1912, American aviator Harriet Quimby, 37, was killed along with her passenger, William Willard, when they were thrown out of Quimby's monoplane during a flight at the Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet.

In 1942, the First Battle of El Alamein began during World War II. Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra and vocalist Frank Sinatra recorded "There Are Such Things" in New York for Victor Records.

In 1946, the United States exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

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

In 1962, the African nations of Burundi and Rwanda became independent of Belgium.

In 1972, the rock musical "Hair" closed on Broadway.

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

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated federal appeals court judge Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court, setting off a tempestuous confirmation process that ended with Bork's rejection by the Senate.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, beginning an ultimately successful confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment. The Warsaw Pact formally disbanded. Actor Michael Landon, 54, died in Malibu, Calif.

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