This Day in History: July 5

1687: Isaac Newton publishes Principia

Isaac Newton's great work, "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica," also known as "Principia," was published by the Royal Society in England. It outlines his laws of motion and universal gravitation, which are still used today as the foundation of classical mechanics.

1811: Venezuela declares independence from Spain

Venezuela, under the leadership of Francisco de Miranda, declared its independence from Spain, starting the Venezuelan War of Independence. The country gained independence 10 years later in 1821.

1852: Frederick Douglass delivers "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" speech

Fugitive slave Frederick Douglass delivered his speech, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester. He condemned the celebration as a hypocritical sham, as slaves were not included in the Declaration of Independence's proclamation of "all men are created equal."

1865: US Secret Service begins operating under the Treasury Department

The US Secret Service was created in 1865 to combat counterfeiting. It began operating under the Treasury Department and was later tasked with protecting the President of the United States.

1973: Coup in Rwanda

Army Chief of Staff Juvénal Habyarimana staged a coup in Rwanda and overthrew President Grégoire Kayibanda. Habyarimana held the post of president for the next 20 years.

1975: Cape Verde gains independence from Portugal

Cape Verde, an island country that had been under Portuguese colonial control since the late 15th century, gained its independence in 1975.

1995: Armenian Constitution is adopted

After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia held a nationwide referendum to adopt a new constitution. The new constitution was approved and adopted in 1995.

1996: Dolly the Sheep is cloned

Dolly the Sheep, a domestic sheep, was cloned using cells from an adult sheep by a team led by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell at the Roslin Institute. While her birth was considered a success for cloning science, she did not live very long and died just a few months short of her 7th birthday.

1994: Amazon.com is founded

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in Bellevue, Washington, which has grown into one of the largest online retailers in the world.

2004: First Indonesian presidential election by the people

The first round of the Indonesian presidential election was held. The election was eventually won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who became the country's president.