Disneyland, Walt Disney’s metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy and futurism,
opened on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park was built on 160
acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon brought
in staggering profits. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 18 million
visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion.

Walt Disney giving his Opening Day Speech at Disneyland

Walter Mondale, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, announced
that he had chosen Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his
running mate. Ferraro, a daughter of Italian immigrants, had previously
gained recognition as a vocal advocate of women’s rights in Congress. She
became the first female vice presidential candidate to represent a major
political party.

Four days after Ferraro was named vice presidential candidate, Governor
Mario Cuomo of New York opened the Democratic National Convention in
San Francisco.

Rep. Geraldine Ferraro and Democratic Presidential Candidate
Walter Mondale.

Geraldine Anne "Gerry" Ferraro (August 26, 1935 – March 26, 2011)

One of the largest military conflicts in North American history began on July
1, 1863, when Union and Confederate forces collided at Gettysburg, PA. The 
epic battle lasted three days and resulted in a retreat to Virginia by General
Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Robert Edward Lee
(January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870)

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The Gettysburg Battlefield as it looks today on the rolling hills to the
west of town. 

CAMILLE
BOHANNON

A young Jay Leno (above) debuted as the new permanent
host of NBC’s "Tonight Show" on this day in 1992.

Billy Crystal as Jay Leno’s first guest on the ‘Tonight Show’.

Launching of the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) rocket from Cape
Canaveral on astronaut Alan B. Shepard’s Freedom 7 suborbital
mission. 

From Cape Canaveral, Florida, Navy Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr.
is launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule, becoming the
first American astronaut to travel into space. The suborbital flight, which
lasted 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles into the atmosphere,
was a major triumph for NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.