2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.

1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn.

1054 – A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.

On this day in history, July 4, 1802, the U.S. Military Academy opens at West Point

1973 – David Bowie retires his stage persona Ziggy Stardust with the surprise announcement that it is "the last show that we'll ever do" on the last day of the Ziggy Stardust Tour.

On this day in history, July 3, 1962, Tom Cruise is born, goes on to star in 'Born on the Fourth of July'

1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll.

1962 – The first Walmart store, then known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.

On this day in history, July 2, 1964, President Johnson signs 'sweeping' Civil Rights Act

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
My old-school low-end Walkman lived on my desk at work, right next to my zippered bag of chrome tapes. It got me thru some trying times and early days of arguing on the internet.

 islander wrote:

For about 18 months, my AstralTune was the coolest thing.

 Red_Dragon wrote:

I remember the first one I saw. My uncle (the no kids one with all the cool stuff) had one. It had the orange headphones and was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.

1963 – ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail.

1770 – Lexell's Comet is seen closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 astronomical units (2,180,000 km; 1,360,000 mi).

On this day in history, July 1, 1847, the US Post Office issues the first stamps

Cheeky vandalish wenches!

1986 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Bowers v. Hardwick that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.

1908 – The Tunguska Event, the largest impact event on Earth in human recorded history, resulting in a massive explosion over Eastern Siberia.

1905 – Albert Einstein sends the article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduces special relativity, for publication in Annalen der Physik.