238 Year of the Six Emperors: The Roman Senate outlaws emperor Maximinus Thrax for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome and nominates two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne.
1451 Isabella I of Castile (born) (died 1504)
1500 Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil.
1519 Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.
1529 Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas.
1592 Wilhelm Schickard (born), German mathematician (died 1635)
1610 Pope Alexander VIII (born) (died 1691)
1616 Miguel de Cervantes (died), Spanish author, poet, and playwright (born 1547)
1622 The Capture of Ormuz by the East India Company ends Portuguese control of Hormuz Island.
1658 Giuseppe Torelli (born), Italian violinist and composer (died 1709)
1672 Georg Stiernhielm (died), Swedish linguist and poet (born 1598)
1690 John Carteret (born), 2nd Earl Granville, English politician (died 1763)
1707 Henry Fielding (born), English author and playwright (died 1754)
1724 Immanuel Kant (born), Russian-German philosopher (died 1804)
1758 Antoine de Jussieu (died), French biologist (born 1686)
1832 Julius Sterling Morton (born), American journalist and politician, founded Arbor Day (died 1902)
1833 Richard Trevithick (died), English engineer (born 1771)
1836 Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto, forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1844 Lewis Powell (born), American attempted assassin of William H. Seward (died 1865)
1864 The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 that mandates that the inscription In God We Trust be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.
1870 Vladimir Lenin (born), Russian politician (died 1924)
1876 The first ever National League baseball game is played in Philadelphia.
1884 Otto Rank (born), Austrian psychologist (died 1939)
1889 At high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Run of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.
1899 Vladimir Nabokov (born), Russian-American author (died 1977)
1904 J. Robert Oppenheimer (born), American physicist (died 1967)
1906 Eddie Albert (born), American actor (died 2005)
1906 The 1906 Summer Olympics, not now recognized as part of the official Olympic Games, open in Athens.
1907 Ivan Yefremov (born), Russian paleontologist and author (died 1972)
1909 Rita Levi-Montalcini (born), Italian neurologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2012)
1912 Pravda, the “voice” of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.
1915 The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
1916 Hanfried Lenz (born), German mathematician (died 2013)
1922 Charles Mingus (born), American bassist, composer, and bandleader (died 1979)
1922 Wolf V. Vishniac (born), American microbiologist (died 1973)
1923 Aaron Spelling (born), American actor, screenwriter, and producer (died 2006)
1923 Bettie Page (born), American model and actress (died 2008)
1930 The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
1933 Henry Royce (died), English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited (born 1863)
1935 Paul Chambers (born), American bassist and composer (Miles Davis Quintet) (died 1969)
1936 Glen Campbel (born), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1937 Jack Nicholson (born), American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1937 Jack Nitzsche (born), American singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (Crazy Horse) (died 2000)
1945 World War II: Führerbunker: After learning that Soviet forces have taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admits defeat in his underground bunker and states that suicide is his only recourse.
1948 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Haifa, a major port of Israel, is captured from Arab forces.
1950 Peter Frampton (born), English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Herd and Humble Pie)
1954 Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television coverage of the Army-McCarthy Hearings begins.
1964 The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its first season.
1969 British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
1970 The first Earth Day is celebrated.
1972 –Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts anti-war protests in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.
1975 Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (died 1999)
1977 Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic.
1978 Will Geer (died), American actor (born 1902)
1984 Ansel Adams (died), American photographer (born 1902)
1994 Richard Nixon (died), American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 37th President of the United States (born 1913)
1996 Erma Bombeck (died), American journalist and author (born 1927)
1998 Disney’s Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
2000 In a pre-dawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elián González from his relatives’ home in Miami, Florida.
2002 Linda Lovelace (died), American porn actress (born 1949)
2004 Pat Tillman (died), American football player and soldier (born 1976)
2005 Norman Bird (died), English actor (born 1920)
2013 Richie Havens (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
- The Super Sucker Bowl - 10 February, 2017
- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017