This Day in Legal History: July 5

Aside from the bikini being introduced for the first time, there were several legally significant events that also took place on July 5. So much for a slow summer!

• 1811 Venezuela became the first South American country to gain independence from Spain.
• 1813 War of 1812– three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York began.
• 1830  France invaded Algeria.
• 1878 The coat of arms of the Baku governorate was established.
• 1884 Germany took possession of Cameroon.
• 1934 “Bloody Thursday” – Police opened fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco
• 1945  The liberation of the Philippines from WWII was declared.
• 1950  The Knesset (Israeli Parliament) passed the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
• 1954 The BBC broadcast its first television news bulletin.
• 1954 The Andhra Pradesh High Court was established.
• 1962 Algeria became independent from France.
• 1971  The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years, was formally certified by President Nixon.
• 1975  Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
• 1977  Due to a military coup in Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, was overthrown.
• 1995 Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after their independence from the Soviet Union.

Who would have thought that the day after America’s Independence Day could have so many interesting and diverse, legally significant events. I thought the lowering of the voting age and Armenia’s Constitution Day were particularly interesting, considering the proximity. Of course Algeria and Venezuela’s Independence Days are also fitting. Do any of the events surprise you?