July 1 Birthday
On July 1, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg began when Union cavalry encountered Confederate infantry west of the town. The first day was a Union retreat, and only the rapid arrival of reinforcements saved the position. Over three days, 165,000 soldiers fought. 51,000 became casualties — the largest battle ever fought in North America. Lee's army never recovered. The battle marked the high-water mark of the Confederacy — after Gettysburg, the South was on the defensive. Lee had invaded Pennsylvania hoping a victory on Northern soil would force Lincoln to negotiate. He was wrong. The battle happened at Gettysburg because shoes were stored there and barefoot Confederate soldiers went looking for them. On July 1, 1997, Britain transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. The handover ended 156 years of British rule, which had begun with the First Opium War. The agreement promised "one country, two systems" — Hong Kong would maintain its legal, economic, and political systems for fifty years. The reality has diverged. The National Security Law of 2020 criminalized dissent, and the "two systems" are converging toward one. The handover ceremony was held in a pouring rain. Prince Charles represented Britain. The British flag was lowered, the Chinese flag was raised. The last governor, Chris Patten, wept. Dan Aykroyd, born this day in 1952, was born with syndactyly (webbed fingers) and heterochromia (one brown eye, one green). He was expelled from a Catholic seminary. He and John Belushi created The Blues Brothers. He wrote Ghostbusters, which was originally about Belushi, Aykroyd, and a time-traveling paranormal investigator. After Belushi's death, it was rewritten as a comedy. People born on July 1 fall under the zodiac sign of Cancer. The birthstone is Ruby and the birth flower is Larkspur. Historical events on July 1 include 1863: Battle of Gettysburg begins in Pennsylvania, 1997: Hong Kong transferred from Britain to China, 1979: Sony introduces the Walkman in Japan. Famous people born on July 1 include George Sand (1804), Jamie Farr (1934), Dan Aykroyd (1952).