763 BC Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
991 Theophanu (died), Byzantine wife of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 960)
1215 King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta.
1330 Edward, the Black Prince (born), English son of Edward III of England (died 1376)
1381 John Cavendish (died), English judge (born 1346)
1502 Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Martinique on his fourth voyage.
1520 Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther in papal bull Exsurge Domine.
1542 Richard Grenville (born), English captain and explorer (died 1591)
1560 William Sommers (died), English jester (born1525)
1580 Philip II of Spain declares William the Silent to be an outlaw.
1594 Nicolas Poussin (born), French painter (died 1665)
1640 Bernard Lamy (born), French mathematician and theologian (died 1715)
1648 Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft in the first such execution for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1667 The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
1749 Georg Joseph Vogler (born), German organist, composer, and theorist (died 1814)
1752 Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (traditional date, the exact date is unknown).
1767 Rachel Jackson (born), American wife of Andrew Jackson (died 1828)
1775 –George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
1776 –Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
1785 Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
1804 New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
1805 William B. Ogden (born), American politician, 1st Mayor of Chicago (died 1877)
1836 Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
1844 Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
1846 The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
1849 James K. Polk (died), American lawyer and politician, 11th President of the United States (born 1795)
1859 Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the “Northwestern Boundary Dispute” between United States and British/Canadian settlers.
1864 Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.81 km2) around Arlington Mansion (formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee) are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
1867 Atlantic Cable Quartz Lode gold mine located in Montana.
1872 Thomas William Burgess (born), English swimmer (died 1950)
1877 Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
1878 Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures.
1888 Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II; he will be the last Emperor of the German Empire. Due to the death of his predecessors Wilhelm I and Frederick III, 1888 is the Year of the Three Emperors.
1896 The deadliest tsunami in Japan’s history kills more than 22,000 people.
1902 Erik Erikson (born), German-American psychoanalyst (died 1994)
1904 A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City’s East River kills 1,000.
1905 Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Gustaf, Crown Prince of Sweden.
1908 Sam Giancana (born), American mobster (died 1975)
1916 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
1917 Lash LaRue (born), American actor (died 1996)
1919 John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete the first nonstop transatlantic flight when they reach Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
1920 A new border treaty between Germany and Denmark gives northern Schleswig to Denmark.
1921 Erroll Garner (born), American pianist and composer (died 1977)
1932 Mario Cuomo (born), American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York
1934 The U.S. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
1937 A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat. It is the worst single disaster to occur on an 8000m peak.
1937 Waylon Jennings (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Highwaymen) (died 2002)
1940 World War II: Operation Ariel begins Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany’s takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
1943 Muff Winwood (born), English bass player, songwriter, and producer (Spencer Davis Group)
1943 Xaviera Hollander (born), Dutch madam and author
1944 In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government in North America.
1944 Robert D. Keppel (born), American police officer and detective
1944 World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invade Japanese-occupied Saipan.
1946 John Horner (born), American paleontologist
1946 Noddy Holder (born), English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (Slade)
1949 Jim Varney (born), American actor (died 2000)
1949 Russell Hitchcock (born), Australian singer-songwriter (Air Supply)
1951 Steve Walsh (born), American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Kansas and Streets)
1954 Jim Belushi (born), American actor and singer
1954 UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) is formed in Basel, Switzerland.
1955 David Kennedy (born), American son of Robert F. Kennedy (died 1984)
1968 Wes Montgomery (died), American guitarist (Montgomery Brothers) (born 1925)
1970 Charles Manson trial for the Sharon Tate murders begin.
1973 Neil Patrick Harris (born), American actor, singer, and director
1978 King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
1985 Rembrandt’s painting Danaë is attacked by a man (later judged insane) who throws sulfuric acid on the canvas and cuts it twice with a knife.
1991 Happy Chandler (died), American businessman and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky (born 1898)
1993 James Hunt (died), English race car driver (born 1947)
1994 Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
1996 Ella Fitzgerald (died), American singer and actress (born 1917)
2012 Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to successfully tightrope walk over Niagara Falls.
2013 Dennis O’Rourke (died), Australian director and producer (born 1945)
2013 Paul Soros (died), Hungarian-American engineer and businessman (born 1926)
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