1025 Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland
1480 Lucrezia Borgia (born), Italian daughter of Pope Alexander VI (died 1519)
1506 The cornerstone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica is laid
1521 Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication.
1552 John Leland (died), English poet (born 1502)
1567 Wilhelm von Grumbach (died), German adventurer (born 1503)
1587 John Foxe (died), English historian and author (born 1516)
1590 Ahmed I (born), Ottoman sultan (died 1617)
1605 Giacomo Carissimi (born), Italian composer (died 1674)
1648 Jeanne Guyon (born), French mystic (died 1717)
1666 Jean-Féry Rebel (born), French violinist and composer (died 1747)
1674 John Graunt (died), English demographer (born 1620)
1689 Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.
1732 Louis Feuillée (died), French astronomer, geographer, and botanist (born 1660)
1738 Real Academia de la Historia (“Royal Academy of History”) is founded in Madrid
1759 Jacques Widerkehr (born), French cellist and composer (died 1823)
1772 David Ricardo (born), English economist (died 1823)
1775 American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.
1797 Adolphe Thiers (born), French historian and politician, 2nd President of France (died 1877)
1802 Erasmus Darwin (died), English physician and botanist (born 1731)
1819 Franz von Suppé (born), Austrian composer and conductor (died 1895)
1831 The University of Alabama is founded
1857 Alexander Shirvanzade (born), Armenian playwright and author (died 1935)
1857 Clarence Darrow (born), American lawyer (died 1938)
1863 Linton Hope (born), English architect and sailor (died 1920)
1881 Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
1882 Leopold Stokowski (born), Polish-English conductor (died 1977)
1898 Gustave Moreau (died), French painter (born 1826)
1899 The St. Andrew’s Ambulance Association is granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria.
1901 Al Lewis (born), American songwriter (died 1967)
1902 Quetzaltenango, the second largest city of Guatemala, is destroyed by an earthquake.
1904 Pigmeat Markham (born), American actor, singer, and dancer (died 1981)
1906 An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California.
1909 Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.
1912 The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.
1916 Carl Burgos (born), American illustrator (died 1984)
1917 Vladimir Serbsky (died), Russian psychiatrist (born 1858)
1922 Barbara Hale (born), American actress
1923 Yankee Stadium, “The House that Ruth Built”, opens.
1924 Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2005)
1924 Simon & Schuster publishes the first crossword puzzle book.
1934 George Shirley (born), American tenor
1935 Jerry Dexter (born), American voice actor (died 2013)
1936 Ottorino Respighi (died), Italian composer and conductor (born 1879)
1936 Tommy Ivo (born), American actor and race car driver
1940 Mike Vickers (born), English guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter (Manfred Mann)
1942 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (died), American sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (born 1875)
1942 Jochen Rindt (born), German-Austrian race car driver (died 1970)
1942 World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan. Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed
1943 World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island
1945 Ernie Pyle (died), American journalist (born 1900)
1945 John Ambrose Fleming (died), English physicist and engineer, invented the vacuum tube (born 1849)
1945 William, Prince of Albania (died) (born 1876)
1946 Hayley Mills (born), English actress and singer
1946 Skip Spence (born), Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape) (died 1999)
1946 The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.
1947 James Woods (born), American actor and producer
1949 The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding Company. However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.
1954 Gamal Abdal Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
1955 Albert Einstein (died), German-American physicist (born 1879)
1958 A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound be released from an insane asylum.
1961 The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a cornerstone of modern international relations, is adopted
1963 Conan O’Brien (born), American actor, screenwriter, producer, and talk show host
1980 The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country’s first President. The Zimbabwe Dollarre places the Rhodesian Dollar as the official currency.
1981 The longest professional baseball game is begun in Pawtucket, Rhode Island – The game is suspended at 4:00 the next morning and finally completed on June 23.
1983 A suicide bomber destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people.
1988 The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.
1998 Terry Sanford (died), American politician, 65th Governor of North Carolina (born 1917)
2002 Thor Heyerdahl (died), Norwegian ethnographer (born 1914)
2007 The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision.
2012 Dick Clark (died), American television host and producer, founded Dick Clark Productions (born 1929)
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017