250 Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.
1265 In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the “Houses of Parliament”.
1573 Simon Marius (born), German astronomer (died 1624)
1649 Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other “high crimes”.
1775 André-Marie Ampère (born), French physicist (died 1836)
1783 The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence).
1788 The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
1841 Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
1885 L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
1887 The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
1894 Walter Piston (born), American composer (died 1976)
1894 Harold Gray (born), American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (died 1968)
1896 George Burns (born), American actor (died 1996)
1906 Aristotle Onassis (born), Turkish-Greek businessman (died 1975)
1910 Joy Adamson (born), Austrian author (died 1980)
1918 Nevin S. Scrimshaw (born), American scientist (died 2013)
1920 DeForest Kelley (born), American actor (died 1999)
1920 The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
1920 Federico Fellini (born), Italian director (died 1993)
1923 Slim Whitman (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013)
1926 Patricia Neal (born), American actress (died 2010)
1929 Arte Johnson (born), American actor
1929 Fireball Roberts (born), American race car driver (died 1964)
1929 In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
1930 Buzz Aldrin (born), American pilot and astronaut
1931 Preston Henn (born), American businessman, founded the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop
1934 Fujifilm, the photographic and electronics company, is founded in Tokyo, Japan.
1936 George V (died) of the United Kingdom (born 1865)
1939 Paul Coverdell (born), American captain and politician (died 2000)
1942 World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question”.
1944 James McKeen Cattell (died) , American psychologist (born 1860)
1946 David Lynch (born), American director
1949 Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
1951 Ian Hill (born), English bass player (Judas Priest)
1952 Paul Stanley (born), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (Kiss and Wicked Lester)
1953 Jeffrey Epstein (born), American financier and philanthropist
1956 Bill Maher (born), American comedian, actor, and television host
1958 Lorenzo Lamas (born), American actor
1959 Tami Hoag (born), American author
1964 Fareed Zakaria (born), Indian-American journalist and author
1965 Alan Freed (died) , American radio host (born 1922)
1970 Skeet Ulrich (born), American actor
1971 Broncho Billy Anderson (died) , American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (born 1880)
1972 Pakistan launched its Nuclear weapons program few weeks after its defeat in Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
1980 Philippe Cousteau, Jr. (born), American-French oceanographer
1981 Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
1984 Johnny Weissmuller (died) , American swimmer and actor (born 1904)
1986 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
1990 On Black Saturday, the Red Army kills Azerbaijani civilians in Baku.
1991 Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
1999 The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use, aimed especially at Internet cafés.
2001 Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
2006 Witnesses report seeing a bottlenose whale swimming in the River Thames, the first time the species had been seen in the Thames since records began in 1913.
2007 A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
2009 David “Fathead” Newman (died) , American saxophonist and songwriter (born 1933)
2012 Etta James (died) , American singer (born 1938)
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