In 1863, the pivotal three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickett’s Charge.In 1950, the first carrier strikes of the Korean War took place as the USS Valley Forge and the HMS Triumph sent fighter planes against North Korean targets.
In 1979, Dan White, convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan presided over a gala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.
In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.In 2012, Andy Griffith who made homespun American Southern wisdom his trademark as the wise sheriff in “The Andy Griffith Show,” died at his North Carolina home at age 86. Today’s Birthdays: Playwright Tom Stoppard is 87. Attorney Gloria Allred is 83. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 81. Country singer Johnny Lee is 78. Humorist Dave Barry is 77. Actor Betty Buckley is 77. Talk show host Montel Williams is 68. Country singer Aaron Tippin is 66. Rock musician Vince Clarke is 64. Actor Tom Cruise is 62. Actor Thomas Gibson is 62. Actor Connie Nielsen is 59. Actor Yeardley Smith is 60. Actor-singer Audra McDonald is 54. Hockey Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne is 54.