3114 BC The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans, begins.
353 Magnentius (died), Roman usurper (born 303)
355 Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.
1467 Mary of York (born) (died 1482)
1494 Hans Memling (died), Flemish painter (born 1430)
1578 Pedro Nunes (died), Portuguese mathematician and cosmographer (born 1502)
1596 Hamnet Shakespeare (died), English son of William Shakespeare (born 1585)
1667 Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici (born), Italian wife of Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (died 1743)
1673 Richard Mead (born), English physician (died 1754)
1774 Charles-François Tiphaigne de la Roche (died), French physician and author (born 1722)
1786 Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia.
1794 James B. Longacre (born), American engraver (died 1869)
1851 Lorenz Oken (died), German biologist (born 1779)
1854 Macedonio Melloni (died), Italian physicist (born 1798)
1858 The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.
1898 Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
1903 Eugenio María de Hostos (died), Puerto Rican sociologist, philosopher, and lawyer (born 1839)
1919 Andrew Carnegie (died), Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Carnegie Steel Company and Carnegie Hall (born 1835)
1921 Alex Haley (born), American historian and author (died 1992)
1921 Mary Sumner (died), English philanthropist, founded the Mothers’ Union (born 1828)
1925 Arlene Dahl (born), American actress and singer
1925 Mike Douglas (born), American singer and talk show host (died 2006)
1926 Claus von Bülow (born), Danish-English lawyer
1929 Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
1933 Jerry Falwell (born), American evangelist (died 2007)
1934 The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.
1937 Edith Wharton (died), American author (born 1862)
1939 Jean Bugatti (died), German-Italian automobile designer and engineer (born 1909)
1942 Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi.
1942 Mike Hugg (born), English drummer and keyboard player (Manfred Mann and The Manfreds)
1943 Denis Payton (born), English saxophonist (The Dave Clark Five) (died 2006)
1943 Jim Kale (born), Canadian bass player (The Guess Who)
1943 Pervez Musharraf (born), Pakistani general and politician, 10th President of Pakistan
1944 Frederick W. Smith (born), American businessman, founded FedEx
1950 Erik Brann (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Iron Butterfly) (died 2003)
1950 Steve Wozniak (born), American computer scientist and programmer, co-founded Apple Inc.
1952 Bob Mothersbaugh (born), American singer, guitarist, and producer (Devo)
1953 Hulk Hogan (born), American wrestler and actor
1953 Tazio Nuvolari (died), Italian race car driver (born 1892)
1954 Santo Trafficante (died), Sr., Italian-American mobster (born 1886)
1956 Jackson Pollock (died), American painter (born 1912)
1959 Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens.
1960 Chad declares independence.
1961 David Brooks (born), American journalist and author
1962 Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity.
1965 Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.
1968 The last steam hauled train runs on British Rail
1972 Vietnam War: the last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.
1974 Jan Tschichold (died), German typographer (born 1902)
1982 Tom Drake (died), American actor and singer (born 1918)
1984 Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. (died), American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (born 1892)
1994 Peter Cushing (died), English actor (born 1913)
1995 Phil Harris (died), American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1904)
1996 Mel Taylor (died), American drummer (The Ventures) (born 1933)
2002 Galen Rowell (died), American photographer and mountaineer (born 1940)
2003 Armand Borel (died), Swiss-American mathematician (born 1923)
2003 Herb Brooks (died), American ice hockey player and coach (born 1937)
2003 NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
2004 K. Arulanandan (died), Ceylon-American engineer and academic (born 1925)
2006 Mike Douglas (died), American singer and talk show host (born 1925)
2006 The oil tanker M/T Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country’s worst oil spill.
2009 Eunice Kennedy Shriver (died), American activist, founded the Special Olympics (born 1921)
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017