On this day in history - Today, July 5

Today in History

• 1996 World's first live cloned mammal is born

  Dolly the Sheep, a domestic ship was cloned using cells from an adult sheep by a team led by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell at the Roslin Institute. While her birth was considered to be a success for cloning science, she did not live very long – scientists had predicted that she would live for about 12 years, but she died just a few months short of her 7th birthday.

• 1995 Armenian Constitution is adopted

  A nation-wide referendum led to the approval and adoption of Armenia's constitution. The country had gained its independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

• 1975 Cape Verde gains independence from Portugal

  The Island country had come under Portuguese colonial control in the late 15th century.

• 1973 Coup in Rwanda

  Then Army Chief of Staff, Juvénal Habyarimana, staged a coup and overthrew the President, Grégoire Kayibanda. Habyarimana then held the post of president for 20 years.

• 1811 Venezuela declares independence from Spain

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