1238 Henry I the Bearded (died), Polish son of Bolesław I the Tall (born 1163)
1279 A Mongolian victory at the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
1406 Ibn Khaldun (died), Tunisian historian (born 1332)
1488 Johannes Magnus (born), Swedish archbishop (died 1544)
1563 The Edict of Amboise is signed, ending the first phase of the French Wars of Religion and granting certain freedoms to the Huguenots.
1590 William Bradford (born), English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (died 1657)
1629 Alexis of Russia (born) (died 1676)
1649 The House of Commons of England passes an act abolishing the House of Lords, declaring it “useless and dangerous to the people of England”.
1661 Francesco Gasparini (born), Italian composer and educator (died 1727)
1687 Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle (born 1643), searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men.
1783 Frederick Cornwallis (died), English archbishop (born 1713)
1813 David Livingstone (born), Scottish missionary and explorer (died 1873)
1821 Richard Francis Burton (born), English soldier, geographer, and diplomat (died 1890)
1848 Wyatt Earp (born), American police officer (died 1929)
1860 William Jennings Bryan (born), American politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (died 1925)
1863 The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000.
1864 Charles Marion Russell (born), American painter (died 1926)
1865 American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later, Confederate forces had retreated from Four Oaks, North Carolina.
1865 William Morton Wheeler (born), American entomologist and educator (died 1937)
1871 Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger (died), Austrian mineralogist, geologist, and physicist (born 1795)
1891 Earl Warren (born), American politician and jurist, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (died 1974)
1894 Moms Mabley (born), American comedian and actress (died 1975)
1895 Auguste and Louis Lumière record their first footage using their newly patented cinematograph.
1900 Frédéric Joliot-Curie (born), French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1958)
1916 Irving Wallace (born), American author (died 1990)
1918 The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.
925 Brent Scowcroft (born), American general and diplomat, 9th United States National Security Advisor
1928 Patrick McGoohan (born), American-English actor (died 2009)
1931 Gambling is legalized in Nevada.
1933 Philip Roth (born), American author
1936 Ursula Andress (born), Swiss-American actress
1937 Clarence “Frogman” Henry (born), American singer and pianist
1939 Lloyd L. Gaines (died), American activist (born 1911)
1941 World War II: The 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the Army Air Corp, is activated.
1943 Frank Nitti (born 1883), the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone, commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.
1943 Vern Schuppan (born), Australian race car driver
1944 Sirhan Sirhan (born), Palestinian-Jordanian assassin of Robert F. Kennedy
1945 World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his “Nero Decree” ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed.
1945 World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 of her crew. Badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under her own power.
1946 French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France.
1946 Paul Atkinson (born), English guitarist (The Zombies) (died 2004)
1946 Ruth Pointer (born), American singer-songwriter and producer (Pointer Sisters)
1947 Glenn Close (born), American actress and producer
1950 Edgar Rice Burroughs (died), American author (born 1875)
1953 Ricky Wilson (born), American musician (The B-52’s) (died 1985)
1954 Jill Abramson (born), American journalist
1954 Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.
1954 Willie Mosconi sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands today.
1962 Bob Dylan releases his first album, Bob Dylan, on Columbia Records label.
1965 The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is discovered by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, exactly 102 years after its destruction.
1973 Lauritz Melchior (died), Danish-American tenor (born 1890)
1974 Anne Klein (died), American fashion designer (born 1923)
1976 Paul Kossoff (died), English guitarist and songwriter (Free, Black Cat Bones, and Back Street Crawler) (born 1950)
1979 The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN.
1982 Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom.
1982 Randy Rhoads (died), American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Quiet Riot) (born 1956)
1987 Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal; he hands over control to Jerry Falwell.
1989 The Egyptian Flag is raised on Taba, Egypt announcing the end of the Israeli occupation after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the peace negotiations in 1979.
2002 Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election.
2005 John DeLorean (died), American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (born 1925)
2008 Arthur C. Clarke (died), English author (born 1917)
2008 Paul Scofield (died), English actor (born 1922)
2011 Libyan civil war: After the failure of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces to take Benghazi, French Air Force launches Opération Harmattan, beginning foreign military intervention in Libya.
2013 Harry Reems (died), American porn actor (born 1947)
2013 Khalid Ahmad (died), Pakistani journalist and poet (born 1943)
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