410 The Visigoths under King Alaric I begin to pillage Rome.
455 The Vandals, led by King Genseric, begin to plunder Rome. Pope Leo I requests Genseric not destroy the ancient city or murder its citizens. He agrees and the gates of Rome are opened. However, the Vandals loot a great amount of treasure.
79 Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash (note: this traditional date has been challenged, and many scholars believe that the event occurred on October 24).
1103 Magnus Barefoot (died), Norwegian king (born 1073)
1200 King John of England, signer of the first Magna Carta, marries Isabella of Angoulême in Bordeaux Cathedral.
1215 Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid.
1217 Eustace the Monk (died), French pirate (born 1170)
1349 Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.
1456 The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed.
1561 Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony.
1595 Thomas Digges (died), English mathematician and astronomer (born 1546)
1662 The Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer.
1682 William Penn receives the area that is now the state of Delaware, and adds it to his colony of Pennsylvania.
1683 John Owen (died), English theologian and academic (born 1616)
1732 Peter Ernst Wilde (born), German physician and journalist (died 1785)
1781 American Revolutionary War: A small force of Pennsylvania militia is ambushed and overwhelmed by an American Indian group, which forces George Rogers Clark to abandon his attempt to attack Detroit.
1787 James Weddell (born), Belgian-English sailor, hunter, and explorer (died 1834)
1814 British troops invade Washington, D.C. and during the Burning of Washington the White House, the Capitol and many other buildings are set ablaze.
1821 The Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.
1824 Antonio Stoppani (born), Italian geologist and scholar (died 1891)
1857 The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in United States history.
1870 The Wolseley Expedition reaches Manitoba to end the Red River Rebellion.
1872 Max Beerbohm (born), English author and illustrator (died 1956)
1875 Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim the English Channel
1880 Joshua Lionel Cowen (born), American businessman, co-founded the Lionel Corporation (died 1965)
1891 Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
1895 Albert F. Mummery (died), English mountaineer and author (born 1855)
1899 Albert Claude (born), Belgian biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1983)
1902 Carlo Gambino (born), Italian-American mob boss (died 1976)
1904 Mary Burchell (born), English activist and author (died 1986)
1905 Arthur Crudup (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1976)
1907 Bruno Giacometti (born), Swiss architect, designed the Hallenstadion (died 2012)
1909 Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
1911 Viktor Barna (born), Hungarian-English table tennis player (died 1972)
1913 Charles Snead Houston (born), American physician and mountaineer (died 2009)
1921 Eric Simms (born), English ornithologist and conservationist (died 2009)
1923 Arthur Jensen (born), American psychologist (died 2012)
1927 Harry Markowitz (born), American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1929 Yasser Arafat (born), Egyptian-Palestinian engineer and politician, 1st President of the Palestinian National Authority (died 2004)
1932 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).
1938 David Freiberg (born), American singer and bass player (Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, and Jefferson Starship)
1938 Mason Williams (born), American guitarist and composer
1942 Max Cleland (born), American captain and politician
1942 World War II: The Battle of the Eastern Solomon Islands. Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō is sunk and US carrier USS Enterprise heavily damaged.
1943 John Cipollina (born), American guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Dinosaurs, and Man) (died 1989)
1944 World War II: Allied troops begin the attack on Paris.
1945 Ken Hensley (born), English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Uriah Heep, The Gods, and Toe Fat)
1945 Molly Duncan (born), Scottish saxophonist (Average White Band)
1947 Joe Manchin (born), American politician, 34th Governor of West Virginia
1948 Kim Sung-il (born), South Korean commander and pilot
1949 The treaty creating NATO goes into effect.
1950 Tim D. White (born), American paleoanthropologist
1954 The Communist Control Act goes into effect. The American Communist Party is outlawed.
1955 Mike Huckabee (born), American minister and politician, 44th Governor of Arkansas
1962 Major Garrett (born), American journalist
1963 John Bush (born), American singer-songwriter (Anthrax and Armored Saint)
1964 Oteil Burbridge (born), American bass player (The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Vida Blue, BK3, and Col. Bruce Hampton and The Aquarium Rescue Unit)
1967 Henry J. Kaiser (died), American businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards and Kaiser Aluminum (born 1882)
1967 Led by Abbie Hoffman, the Youth International Party temporarily disrupts trading at the NYSE by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing trading to cease as brokers scramble to grab them.
1973 Dave Chappelle (born), American comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter
1974 Órla Fallon (born), Irish singer-songwriter (Celtic Woman and Anúna)
1978 Louis Prima (died), American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and actor (born 1910)
1981 Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.
1989 Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.
1989 Colombian drug barons declare “total war” on the Colombian government.
1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1991 Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
1992 Hurricane Andrew makes landfall just south of Miami as a Category 5 hurricane.
1994 Initial accord between Israel and the PLO about partial self-rule of the Palestinians on the West Bank.
1995 Alfred Eisenstaedt (died), German-American photographer and journalist (born 1898)
1998 E. G. Marshall (died), American actor (born 1910)
2003 Wilfred Thesiger (died), Ethiopian-English explorer and author (born 1910)
2004 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (died), Swiss-American psychiatrist (born 1926)
2006 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term “planet” such that Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet.
2010 In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 72 illegal immigrants are killed by Los Zetas and eventually found dead by Mexican authorities.
2013 Julie Harris (died), American actress and singer (born 1925)
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017