Today in History....July 5

On this day in …


* 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain

* 1830, the French occupied the North African city of Algiers

* 1935, President Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which provided for a National Labor Relations Board, and authorized labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining

* 1940, during World War II, Britain and the Vichy government in France broke off diplomatic relations

* 1954, Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn.; the song he recorded was "That's All Right (Mama)"

* 1977, Pakistan's army, led by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, seized power from President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. (Bhutto was executed in
1979.)

* 1991, a worldwide financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International

* 1997, NASA scientists brainstormed to fix problems that left Mars Pathfinder's robot rover stuck aboard the lander. ALSO: Cambodia's Second Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a bloody coup that toppled First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh

* 2006, North Korea test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including at least one believed capable of reaching the U.S.
mainland. ALSO: Enron founder Kenneth Lay, who was facing decades in prison for one of the most sprawling business frauds in U.S.
history, died in Aspen, Colo., at age 64