... 1960, the 50th and final star was placed on the current U.S. flag in commemoration of Hawaii
having become the 50th state on August 21, 1959, nearly 8 months after its closest predecessor, Alaska.... 1971, a lowland gorilla named Koko was born at the zoo in San Francisco, California. As detailed here, since Koko was an infant Dr. Penny Patterson (right, with Koko) and colleagues have studied the language abilities of this member of an endangered species. They say that Koko has learned more than 1,000 American Sign Language signs.
(Prior July 4 posts are here and here.)
