330 Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but it is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.
868 A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it oldest known dated printed book.
912 Alexander becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
912 Leo VI the Wise (died), Byzantine emperor (born 866)
1310 In France, fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake as heretics.
1366 Anne of Bohemia (born) (d. 1394)
1502 Christopher Columbus leaves for his fourth and final voyage to the West Indies.
1647 Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam to replace Willem Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement in present-day New York City.
1696 Jean de La Bruyère (died), French philosopher (born 1645)
1715 Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach (born), German son of Johann Sebastian Bach (died 1739)
1722 Petrus Camper (born), Dutch physician, anatomist, and physiologist (died 1789)
1752 Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (born), German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (died 1840)
1792 Captain Robert Gray becomes the first European to sail into the Columbia River.
1799 John Lowell, Jr. (born), American businessman and philanthropist (died 1836)
1801 Henri Labrouste (born), French architect, designed the Sainte-Geneviève Library (died 1875)
1812 Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London.
1813 In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth lead an expedition to cross the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.
1817 Fanny Cerrito (born), Italian ballerina and choreographer (died 1909)
1820 HMS Beagle, the ship that will take Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage, is launched.
1838 Walter Goodman (born), English painter, illustrator, and author (died 1912)
1846 President James K. Polk asked for and received a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War
1857 Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
1858 Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd U.S. State.
1862 American Civil War: The ironclad CSS Virginia is scuttled in the James River northwest of Norfolk, Virginia.
1870 Otto von Friesen (born), Swedish linguist and educator (died 1942)
1871 Frank Schlesinger (born), American astronomer (died 1943)
1871 John Herschel (died), English mathematician, astronomer, and chemist (born 1792)
1888 Irving Berlin (born), American composer (died 1989)
1889 John Cadbury (died), English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (born 1801)
1891 A. E. Becquerel (died), French physicist (born 1820)
1894 Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
1894 Martha Graham (born), American dancer and choreographer (died 1991)
1904 Salvador Dalí (born), Spanish painter (died 1989)
1907 Rose Ausländer (born), German-English poet (died 1988)
1910 U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
1911 Phil Silvers (born), American actor (died 1985)
1912 Foster Brooks (born), American actor (died 2001)
1920 Denver Pyle (born), American actor and director (died 1997)
1924 Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.
1927 Mort Sahl (born), Canadian-American comedian and actor
1927 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.
1930 Bud Ekins (born), American stuntman (died 2007)
1932 Valentino Garavani (born), Italian fashion designer, founded Valentino SpA
1933 Louis Farrakhan (born), American Nation of Islam leader
1934 Blaise Diagne (died), Senegalese-French politician (born 1872)
1941 Eric Burdon (born), English singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (The Animals and War)
1942 William Faulkner’s collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.
1943 Les Chadwick (born), English bass player (Gerry and the Pacemakers)
1943 World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
1945 World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes, killing 346 of its crew. Although badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under its own power.
1946 Robert Jarvik (born), American scientist, developed the artificial heart
1947 Butch Trucks (born), American drummer (The Allman Brothers Band, The 31st of February, and The Vikings)
1949 Israel joins the United Nations.
1949 Siam officially changes its name to Thailand for the second time. The name had been in use since 1939 but was reverted in 1945.
1960 In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann who is living under the alias of Ricardo Klement.
1960 John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (died), American businessman and philanthropist (born 1874)
1963 Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
1965 Stefano Domenicali (born), Formula 1 race car manager
1973 Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times dismissed.
1979 Lester Flatt (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foggy Mountain Boys and Nashville Grass) (born 1914)
1981 Bob Marley (died), Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bob Marley and the Wailers) (born 1945)
1984 Gerald Clayton (born), Dutch-American pianist and composer (The Clayton Brothers)
1985 Chester Gould (died), American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (born 1900)
1985 Matt Giraud (born), American singer-songwriter and pianist
1987 In Baltimore, Maryland, the first heart–lung transplant takes place. The surgery is performed by Dr. Bruce Reitz of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
1987 Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
1988 Kim Philby (died), Indian-English spy (born 1912)
1995 More than 170 countries extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
1996 After the aircraft’s departure from Miami, Florida, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on board.
1996 The 1996 Mount Everest disaster: on a single day eight people die during summit attempts on Mount Everest.
1997 Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
1998 India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran including a thermonuclear device.
2003 Noel Redding (died), English bass player (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Road, Fat Mattress, and The Noel Redding Band) (born 1945)
2008 John Rutsey (died), Canadian drummer (Rush) (born 1953)
2010 David Cameron becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to form the UK’s first coalition government since World War 2 after elections produced a hung parliament.
2011 Snooky Young (died), American trumpet player (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and Count Basie Orchestra)
2013 Ollie Mitchell (died), American trumpet player (The Wrecking Crew) (born 1927)
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