1300 BC Ramesses II (born), Egyptian pharaoh (died 1213 BC)
1371 Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.
1403 Charles VII of France (born) (died 1461)
1440 Ladislaus the Posthumous (born), son of Albert II of Germany (died 1457)
1495 King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city’s throne.
1511 Henry (died), Duke of Cornwall (born 1511)
1512 Amerigo Vespucci (died), Italian cartographer and explorer (born 1454)
1627 Olivier van Noort (died), Dutch navigator (born 1558)
1632 Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published.
1645 Johann Ambrosius Bach (born), German composer (died 1695)
1645 Johann Christoph Bach (born), German pianist (died 1693)
1651 St. Peter’s Flood: A storm surge floods Germany coast, drowning 15.000 people.
1680 La Voisin (died), French fortune teller (born 1640)
1705 Peter Artedi (born), Swedish naturalist (died 1735)
1714 Louis-Georges de Bréquigny (born), French scholar (died 1795)
1727 Francesco Gasparini (died), Italian composer (born 1661)
1731 Frederik Ruysch (died), Dutch physician and anatomist (born 1638)
1732 George Washington (born), American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (died 1799)
1778 Rembrandt Peale (born), American painter (died 1860)
1788 Arthur Schopenhauer (born), German philosopher (died 1860)
1796 Adolphe Quetelet (born), Belgian mathematician, astronomer, and sociologist (died 1874)
1797 Baron Münchhausen (died), German military officer (born 1720)
1810 Frédéric Chopin (born), Polish composer and pianist (died 1849)
1816 Adam Ferguson (died), Scottish philosopher and historian (born 1723)
1819 By the Adams–Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars].
1819 James Russell Lowell (born), American poet (died 1891)
1847 Mexican–American War: The Battle of Buena Vista – 5,000 American troops defeat 15,000 Mexicans.
1853 Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
1855 The Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania (as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania)
1856 The Republican Party opens its first national meeting in Pittsburgh.
1857 Heinrich Hertz (born), German physicist (died 1894)
1857 Robert Baden-Powell (born), 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general (died 1941)
1862 Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.
1864 Jules Renard (born), French author (died 1910)
1872 The Prohibition Party holds its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio, nominating James Black as its presidential nominee.
1875 Charles Lyell (died), Scottish geologist (born 1797)
1879 In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of 5 and 10¢ Woolworth stores.
1889 United States President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
1892 Edna St. Vincent Millay (born), American poet and playwright (died 1950)
1907 Robert Young (born), American actor (died 1998)
1907 Sheldon Leonard (born), American actor (died 1997)
1909 The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
1913 Buddy Tate (born), American saxophonist and clarinet player (died 2001)
1913 Ferdinand de Saussure (died), Swiss linguist (born 1857)
1915 World War I: Germany institutes unrestricted submarine warfare.
1918 Don Pardo (born), American announcer
1918 Robert Wadlow (born), American giant (died 1940)
1924 U.S. President Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House.
1932 Ted Kennedy (born), American politician (died 2009)
1934 Sparky Anderson (born), American baseball player and manager (died 2010)
1942 World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.
1943 World War II: Members of the White Rose resistance, Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst are executed in Nazi Germany.
1944 Kasturba Gandhi (died), Indian wife of Mahatma Gandhi (born 1869)
1947 Richard North Patterson (born), American author
1949 Niki Lauda (born), Austrian race car driver
1950 Julie Walters (born), English actress
1952 Bill Frist (born), American physician and politician
1953 Graham Lewis (born), English bass player (Wire and Dome)
1955 David Axelrod (born), American political adviser
1957 Willie Smits (born), Dutch biologist and activist
1958 Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.
1959 Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.
1961 Nick LaRocca (died), American trumpet player (Original Dixieland Jass Band) (born 1889)
1962 Les Wallace (born), Scottish darts player
1962 Steve Irwin (born), Australian zoologist and television host (died 2006)
1965 Felix Frankfurter (died), American jurist (born 1882)
1972 The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.
1973 Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.
1973 Scott Phillips (born), American drummer (Creed, Alter Bridge, and Projected)
1974 Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate U.S. President Richard Nixon.
1974 The Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit begins in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh.
1975 Drew Barrymore (born), American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
1976 Florence Ballard (died), American singer (The Supremes) (born 1943)
1980 Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3.
1983 Adrian Boult (died), English conductor (born 1889)
1983 The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders opens and closes on the same night at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.
1985 Alexander Scourby (died), American actor (born 1913)
1986 Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
1987 Andy Warhol (died), American painter and photographer (born 1928)
1994 Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.
1994 Papa John Creach (died), American musician (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, and The Dinosaurs) (born 1917)
1995 The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
1997 In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned.
1998 Abraham A. Ribicoff (died), American politician, 80th Governor of Connecticut (born 1910)
2002 Daniel Pearl (died), American journalist (born 1963)
2006 At least six men stage Britain’s biggest robbery, stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or €78 million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.
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