1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly-led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English.
1522 Ulisse Aldrovandi (born), Italian biologist (died 1605)
1541 Santiago, Chile, is destroyed by indigenous warriors, led by Michimalonco.
1609 Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there.
1677 James Harrington (died), English philosopher and theorist (born 1611)
1680 Roger Crab (died), English soldier and doctor (born 1621)
1700 James Thomson (born), Scottish poet and playwright (died 1748)
1711 William Boyce (born), English composer (died 1779)
1721 Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (born 1665)
1760 Louis Godin (died), French astronomer (born 1704)
1764 Valentino Fioravanti (born), Italian composer (died 1837)
1771 Mungo Park (born), Scottish explorer (died 1806)
1775 Benedict Arnold’s expedition to Quebec leaves Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1776 British-American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolutionary War.
1777 American Revolution: Battle of Brandywine – The British celebrate a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
1789 Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.
1792 The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored.
1798 Franz Ernst Neumann (born), German mineralogist and physicist (died 1895)
1813 War of 1812: British troops arrive in Mount Vernon and prepare to march to and invade Washington, D.C.
1814 War of 1812: The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the war.
1816 Carl Zeiss (born), German lens maker, created the Optical instrument (died 1888)
1823 David Ricardo (died), English economist (born 1772)
1829 Surrender of the expedition led by Isidro Barradas at Tampico, sent by the Spanish crown in order to retake Mexico. This was the final consummation of Mexican independence.
1830 Anti-Masonic Party convention; one of the first American political party conventions.
1836 Fitz Hugh Ludlow (born), American journalist, author, and explorer (died 1870)
1843 Joseph Nicollet (died), French mathematician and explorer (born 1786)
1847 Stephen Foster’s song “Oh! Susanna” is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh.
1851 Christiana Resistance: Escaped slaves stand against their former owner in armed resistance in Christiana, Pennsylvania, creating a rallying cry for the abolitionist movement.
1851 Sylvester Graham (died), American nutritionist (born 1794)
1857 The Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah.
1862 Hawley Harvey Crippen (born), American physician (died 1910)
1862 O. Henry (born), American author (died 1910)
1871 Scipione Borghese (born), 10th Prince of Sulmona, Italian race car driver, mountaineer, and politician (died 1927)
1885 D. H. Lawrence (born), English author, poet, playwright, and critic (died 1930)
1896 Francis James Child (died), American scholar and educator (born 1825)
1903 The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world.
1911 Louis Henri Boussenard (died), French author (born 1847)
1913 Bear Bryant (born), American football player and coach (died 1983)
1917 Ferdinand Marcos (born), Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 10th President of the Philippines (died 1989)
1917 Jessica Mitford (born), English journalist and author (died 1996)
1921 Leaford Bearskin (born), American tribal leader and colonel (died 2012)
1924 Rudolf Vrba (born), Czech-Canadian holocaust survivor and educator (died 2006)
1924 Tom Landry (born), American football player and coach (died 2000)
1931 Salvatore Maranzano is murdered by Lucky Luciano’s hitmen.
1939 World War II: Canada declares war on Germany, the country’s first independent declaration of war
1940 Brian De Palma (born), American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1940 George Stibitz performs the first remote operation of a computer.
1941 Charles Lindbergh’s Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and the Roosevelt administration of pressing for war with Germany.
1941 Ground is broken for the construction of The Pentagon.
1942 Lola Falana (born), American actress, singer, and dancer
1943 Mickey Hart (born), American drummer (Grateful Dead, The Other Ones, The Dead, and Rhythm Devils)
1944 World War II: The first Allied troops of the U.S. Army cross the western border of Germany.
1945 Leo Kottke (born), American singer and guitarist
1945 World War II: Australian 9th Division forces liberate the Japanese-run Batu Lintang camp, a POW and civilian internment camp on the island of Borneo.
1946 Dennis Tufano (born), American singer (The Buckinghams)
1947 Alice Keppel (died), Scottish mistress of Edward VII (born 1868)
1947 Bob Catley (born), English singer-songwriter (Magnum and Hard Rain)
1950 Jan Smuts (died), South African field marshal and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (born 1870)
1953 Tommy Shaw (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Styx, Damn Yankees and Shaw Blades)
1957 Jon Moss (born), English drummer (Culture Club, London, and The Nips)
1961 Creation of the World Wildlife Fund.
1961 Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state.
1962 Kristy McNichol (born), American actress and singer
1964 Victor Wooten (born), American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Vital Tech Tones, SMV, and Chick Corea Elektric Band)
1965 Bashar al-Assad (born), Syrian marshal and politician, 21st President of Syria
1965 Ralph C. Smedley (died), American educator, founded Toastmasters International (born 1878)
1966 Collett E. Woolman (died), American businessman, co-founded Delta Air Lines (born 1889)
1967 Harry Connick, Jr. (born), American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
1967 Maria Bartiromo (born), American journalist
1967 Tony David (born), Australian darts player
1970 The Dawson’s Field hijackers release 88 of their hostages. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25.
1971 Nikita Khrushchev (died), Russian general and politician (born 1894)
1971 The Egyptian Constitution becomes official.
1972 The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system has its opening day of passenger service.
1973 A coup in Chile headed by General Augusto Pinochet topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990.
1976 A group of Croatian nationalists planted a bomb in a coin locker at Grand Central Terminal. After stating political demands, they revealed the location and provided instructions for disarming the bomb. The disarming operation was not executed properly, killing one NYPD bomb squad specialist.
1977 Jonny Buckland (born), English guitarist (Coldplay)
1977 Ludacris (born), American rapper, producer, and actor, founded Disturbing tha Peace Records
1978 Janet Parker is the last person to die of smallpox, in a laboratory-associated outbreak.
1978 Ronnie Peterson (died), Swedish race car driver (born 1944)
1980 Voters approve a new Constitution of Chile, later amended after the departure of president Pinochet.
1981 Charles Kelley (born), American singer-songwriter (Lady Antebellum)
1981 Dylan Klebold (born), American student and murderer, conducted the Columbine High School massacre (died 1999)
1987 Peter Tosh (died), Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bob Marley & The Wailers) (born 1944)
1989 Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany.
1990 Myrna Mack (died), Guatemalan anthropologist (born 1949)
1993 Erich Leinsdorf (died), Austrian-American conductor (born 1912)
1994 Jessica Tandy (died), English-American actress and singer (born 1909)
1997 14 Estonian soldiers die in the Kurkse tragedy, drowning in the Baltic Sea
1997 After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom.
1997 NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars.
2001 Two hijacked aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third smashes into The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in a series of coordinated suicide attacks by 19 members of Al-Qaeda. Altogether, 2,996 people are killed.
2002 Johnny Unitas (died), American football player and sportscaster (born 1933)
2002 Kim Hunter (died), American actress (born 1922)
2003 John Ritter (died), American actor and producer (born 1948)
2005 Chris Schenkel (died), American sportscaster (born 1923)
2006 Joachim Fest (died), German journalist and author (born 1926)
2006 William Auld (died), Scottish poet and author (born 1924)
2007 Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs.
2012 J. Christopher Stevens (died), American lawyer and diplomat, 10th United States Ambassador to Libya (born 1960)
2012 The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths.
2013 400 km long Human chain called Catalan Way is organized by the Assemblea Nacional Catalana for the independence of Catalonia
2013 Albert F. A. L. Jones (died), New Zealand astronomer (born 1920)
2013 Albert Jacquard (died), French geneticist (born 1925)
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