On July 7, 1863, the United States begins its first military draft, allowing individuals an exemption at the price of $300. For the wealthy who can afford it, the exemption, not the draft, may be said to be “neater than sliced bread” — a product first sold on this date in 1928 by the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri.
In 1958, President Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act, allowing Alaska to join the union as the 49th state early in 1959. In 1978 the Solomon Islands become independent of the United Kingdom.
Science fiction writer Robert Heinlein [pictured, above] — author of “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” and other classics — is born on July 7, 1907. Thomas Hooker, Puritan founder of the colony of Connecticut — a major advocate of religious toleration — died on this date in 1647.