1535 Pope Leo XI (born) (died 1605)
1692 Bridget Bishop is the first person to go to trial in the Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Found guilty, she is hanged on June 10.
1731 Martha Washington (born), American wife of George Washington, 1st First Lady of the United States (died 1802)
1740 Marquis de Sade (born), French author and politician (died 1814)
1763 Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort.
1773 John Randolph (born) of Roanoke, American planter and politician, 8th United States Ambassador to Russia (died 1833)
1774 Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
1774 William Lawson (born), English-Australian explorer (died 1850)
1785 Jean Paul de Gua de Malves (died), French mathematician (born 1713)
1805 Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptures Diamond Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British.
1806 William Tate (died), English painter (born 1747)
1835 P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.
1835 Pope Pius X (born) (died 1914)
1840 Thomas Hardy (born), English author and poet (died 1928)
1848 The Slavic congress in Prague begins.
1855 The Portland Rum Riot occurs in Portland, Maine.
1857 Edward Elgar (born), English composer (died 1934)
1886 The U.S. President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom in the White House, becoming the only president to wed in the executive mansion.
1896 Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his newest invention, the radio.
1904 Johnny Weissmuller (born), Romanian-American swimmer and actor (died 1984)
1910 Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
1913 Barbara Pym (born), English author (died 1980)
1917 Heinz Sielmann (born), German photographer and director (died 2006)
1924 The U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
1941 Charlie Watts, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (The Rolling Stones and Blues Incorporated)
1941 Lou Gehrig (died), American baseball player (born 1903)
1941 Stacy Keach (born), American actor and producer
1941 William Guest (born), American singer-songwriter and producer (Gladys Knight & the Pips)
1942 Bunny Berigan (died), American trumpet player (The Dorsey Brothers) (born 1908)
1944 Marvin Hamlisch (born), American composer and conductor (died 2012)
1946 Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
1949 Frank Rich (born), American journalist and critic
1953 The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.
1954 Dennis Haysbert (born), American actor and producer
1955 Dana Carvey (born), American comedian, actor, and singer
1955 Michael Steele (born), American singer-songwriter and bass player (The Bangles and The Runaways)
1956 Jan Lammers (born), Dutch race car driver
1960 Kyle Petty (born), American race car driver
1960 Tony Hadley (born), English singer-songwriter and actor (Spandau Ballet)
1962 During the 1962 FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
1966 Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
1970 Bruce McLaren (died), New Zealand race car driver and engineer, founded the McLaren racing team (born 1937)
1979 Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
1983 Brooke White (born), American singer-songwriter and actress (Jack and White)
1987 Andrés Segovia (died), Spanish guitarist (born 1893)
1987 Sammy Kaye (died), American bandleader and songwriter (born 1910)
1990 Rex Harrison (died), English-American actor and singer (born 1908)
1995 United States Air Force Captain Scott O’Grady’s F-16 is shot down over Bosnia while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone.
1997 Doc Cheatham (died), American trumpet player, singer, and bandleader (McKinney’s Cotton Pickers) (born 1905)
1997 In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was executed four years later.
1999 Junior Braithwaite (died), Jamaican singer (Bob Marley and the Wailers) (born 1949)
1999 The Bhutan Broadcasting Service brings television transmissions to the Kingdom for the first time.
2001 Imogene Coca (died), American actress (born 1908)
2002 Hugo van Lawick (died), Dutch director and photographer (born 1937)
2003 Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonurspace center in Kazakhstan.
2004 Ken Jennings begins his 74-game winning streak on the syndicated game show Jeopardy!
2006 Vince Welnick (died), American keyboard player (The Grateful Dead, The Tubes, and Missing Man Formation) (born 1951)
2008 Bo Diddley (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1928)
2008 Mel Ferrer (died), American actor, director, and producer (born 1917)
2010 The Cumbria Shootings – In West Cumbria, a 52-year old man went on a four hour killing spree, shooting dead 13 (inc. himself) and injuring 11 others. The massacre was branded “one of the worst criminal acts involving firearms in British history” by Prime Minister David Cameron who paid tribute to the victims along with The Queen, Home Secretary Theresa May and the Prince of Wales.
2012 Oliver (died), Congolese chimpanzee (born 1958)
2012 Richard Dawson (died), English-American actor and game show host (born 1932)
2012 The former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017