537 Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under King Vitiges began the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.
1127 Assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders.
1484 The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
1498 Vasco da Gama’s fleet visits the Island of Mozambique.
1545 Thomas Bodley (born), English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (died 1613)
1578 George Sandys (born), English poet (died 1644)
1619 Anne of Denmark (died) (born 1574)
1625 James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton (died), Scottish politician (born 1589)
1657 Great Fire of Meireki: A fire in Edo (now Tokio), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths; it lasted three days
1717 The Loves of Mars and Venus written by John Weaver is the first ballet performed in England at the Drury Lane Theater.
1729 Francesco Bianchini (died), Italian philosopher and scientist (born 1662)
1755 Antoine-Frédéric Gresnick (born), Belgian composer (died 1799)
1769 DeWitt Clinton (born), American politician, 6th Governor of New York (died 1828)
1776 American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
1791 John Wesley (died), English cleric and theologian (born 1703)
1791 Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
1793 Sam Houston (born), American soldier and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Texas (died 1863)
1797 Horace Walpole (died), English historian (born 1717)
1797 Horace Walpole (died), English politician and historian (born 1717)
1797 The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
1807 The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
1808 The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
1810 Pope Leo XIII (born) (died 1903)
1825 Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
1836 Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
1840 Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers (died), German physician and astronomer (born 1758)
1855 Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1855 Nicholas I of Russia (died) (born 1796)
1860 Susanna M. Salter (born), American politician (died 1961)
1862 Boris Borisovich Galitzine (born), Russian physicist (died 1916)
1862 John Jay Chapman (born), American author (died 1933)
1867 The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
1876 Pope Pius XII (born) (died 1958)
1877 –Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
1882 Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
1886 Willis H. O’Brien (born), American animator (died 1962)
1900 Harri Moora (born), Estonian archeologist (died 1968)
1900 Kurt Weill (born), German-American composer (died 1950)
1901 The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
1902 Edward Condon (born), American physicist (died 1974)
1902 Moe Berg (born), American baseball player and spy (died 1972)
1903 In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
1904 Dr. Seuss (born), American author, poet, and illustrator (died 1991)
1917 Desi Arnaz (born), Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer (died 1986)
1919 The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
1921 Ernst Haas (born), Austrian photographer (died 1986)
1922 Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (born), American saxophonist (died 1986)
1930 D. H. Lawrence (died), English author, poet, and playwright (born 1885)
1931 Mikhail Gorbachev (born), Soviet lawyer and politician, President of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize laureate
1931 Tom Wolfe (born), American journalist and author
1933 The film King Kong opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
1937 The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
1938 Lawrence Payton (born), American singer-songwriter and producer (The Four Tops) (died 1997)
1939 Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
1939 Howard Carter (died), English archaeologist (born 1874)
1941 David Satcher (born), American physician, 16th United States Surgeon General
1941 World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.
1942 John Irving (born), American author
1942 Lou Reed (born), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Velvet Underground)
1942 Mir-Hossein Mousavi (born), Iranian politician, 79th Prime Minister of Iran
1943 World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
1946 Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1949 Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
1949 The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut.
1950 Karen Carpenter (born), American singer and drummer (The Carpenters) (died 1983)
1953 Russ Feingold (born), American lawyer and politician
1955 Jay Osmond (born), American singer and drummer (The Osmonds)
1955 Ken Salazar (born), American politician, 36th Attorney General of Colorado
1956 Mark Evans (born), Australian bass player (AC/DC, Finch, and Heaven)
1956 Morocco gains its independence from France.
1962 Jon Bon Jovi (born), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (Bon Jovi)
1962 Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
1965 The US and South Vietnamese Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
1968 Daniel Craig (born), English actor
1969 In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
1970 Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
1972 The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
1983 Compact Discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
1984 Elizabeth Jagger (born), English model and actress
1987 Randolph Scott (died), American actor and director (born 1898)
1989 Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
1990 Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
1991 Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
1991 Mary Howard (died), English author (born 1907)
1992 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
1992 Sandy Dennis (died), American actress (born 1937)
1993 1993 Storm of the Century begins to form over the North Atlantic Ocean.
1995 Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
1999 Dusty Springfield (died), English singer (The Lana Sisters and The Springfields) (born 1939)
2002 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
2003 Hank Ballard (died), American singer-songwriter (The Midnighters) (born 1927)
2004 Marge Schott (died), American businesswoman (born 1928)
2004 Mercedes McCambridge (died), American actress (born 1916)
2008 Jeff Healey (died), Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1966)
2012 A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017