238 The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor.
869 Muhammad al-Mahdi (born), Iraqi 12th Imam (died 941)
904 Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire’s second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.
1099 Pope Urban II (died) (born 1042)
1108 Philip I of France (died) (born 1052)
1507 Martin Behaim (died), German-Bohemian geographer and astronomer (born 1459)
1565 The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots, marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1573 John Caius (died), English physician (born 1510)
1588 Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
1612 Jacques Bongars (died), French scholar and diplomat (born 1554)
1644 Pope Urban VIII (died) (born 1568)
1646 Johann Theile (born), German composer (died 1724)
1781 Johann Kies (died), German astronomer and mathematician (born 1713)
1793 John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.
1801 George Bradshaw (born), English cartographer and publisher (died 1853)
1805 Alexis de Tocqueville (born), French historian and philosopher (died 1859)
1836 Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
1843 Johannes Schmidt (born), German linguist (died 1901)
1848 Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt in Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
1851 Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
1856 Robert Schumann (died), German composer (born 1810)
1864 American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
1869 Booth Tarkington (born), American author and playwright (died 1946)
1872 Eric Alfred Knudsen (born), American author, lawyer, and politician (died 1957)
1883 Benito Mussolini (born), Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (died 1945)
1884 Ralph Austin Bard (born), American financier and politician (died 1975)
1890 Vincent van Gogh (died), Dutch painter (born 1853)
1900 Umberto I of Italy (died) (born 1844)
1904 J. R. D. Tata (born), France-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (died 1993)
1905 Clara Bow (born), American actress (died 1965)
1905 Dag Hammarskjöld (born), Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (died 1961)
1907 Melvin Belli (born), American lawyer and actor (died 1996)
1907 Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9, 1907, and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
1921 Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
1923 Jim Marshall (born), English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (died 2012)
1924 Black Dahlia (born), American waitress and murder victim (died 1947)
1932 Great Depression: in Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans.
1936 Elizabeth Dole (born), American politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
1938 Peter Jennings (born), Canadian-American journalist (died 2005)
1945 The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
1946 Neal Doughty (born), American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (REO Speedwagon)
1948 Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad after a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.
1953 Geddy Lee (born), Canadian singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Rush and Big Dirty Band)
1957 The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
1958 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
1959 First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
1959 John Sykes (born), English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Blue Murder)
1965 Vietnam War: the first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
1966 Martina McBride (born), American singer-songwriter and producer
1967 Vietnam War: off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
1973 During the Dutch Grand Prix driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race, after a suspected tire failure caused the car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
1974 Cass Elliot (died), American singer (The Mamas & the Papas, The Big 3, and The Mugwumps) (born 1941)
1976 In New York City, David Berkowitz (aka the “Son of Sam”) kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
1979 Bill Todman (died), American screenwriter and producer (born 1916)
1980 Iran adopts a new “holy” flag after the Islamic Revolution.
1981 A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
1981 Fernando Alonso (born), Spanish race car driver
1983 David Niven (died), English actor, singer, and producer (born 1910)
1983 Raymond Massey (died), Canadian-American actor (born 1896)
1984 Fred Waring (died), American television host and bandleader (Waring’s Pennsylvanians) (born 1900)
1987 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).
1995 Les Elgart (died), American trumpet player and bandleader (born 1917)
1996 The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.
1998 Jerome Robbins (died), American director, producer, and choreographer (born 1918)
2005 Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
2007 Tom Snyder (died), American journalist (born 1936)
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