301 San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world’s oldest republic still in existence, is founded by Saint Marinus.
673 King Wamba of the Visigoths puts down a revolt by Hilderic, governor of Nîmes (France) and rival for the throne.
1189 Richard I of England (a.k.a. Richard “the Lionheart”) is crowned at Westminster.
1260 The Mamluks defeat the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut in Palestine, marking their first decisive defeat and the point of maximum expansion of the Mongol Empire.
1499 Diane de Poitiers (born), French mistress of Henry II of France (died 1566)
1568 Adriano Banchieri (born), Italian organist and composer (died 1634)
1592 Robert Greene (died), English author and playwright (born 1558)
1650 Third English Civil War: in the Battle of Dunbar, English Parliamentarian forces led by Oliver Cromwell defeat an army loyal to King Charles II of England and led by David Leslie, Lord Newark.
1658 Oliver Cromwell (died), English general and politician (born 1599)
1658 Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England
1666 The Royal Exchange burns down in the Great Fire of London
1710 Abraham Trembley (born), Swiss biologist and zoologist (died 1784)
1766 Archibald Bower (died), Scottish historian (born 1686)
1777 American Revolutionary War: during the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge, the Flag of the United States is flown in battle for the first time.
1783 American Revolutionary War: the war ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris by the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1811 John Humphrey Noyes (born), American activist, founded the Oneida Community (died 1886)
1820 George Hearst (born), American businessman and politician (died 1891)
1838 Future abolitionist Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.
1855 American Indian Wars: in Nebraska, 700 soldiers under United States General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan Massacre by attacking a Sioux village and killing 100 men, women and children.
1861 American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance.
1875 Ferdinand Porsche (born), Austrian-German engineer and businessman, founded Porsche (died 1951)
1878 Over 640 die when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice collides with the Bywell Castle in the River Thames.
1883 Ivan Turgenev (died), Russian author and playwright (born 1818)
1887 Frank Christian (born), American trumpet player (Original New Orleans Jazz Band) (died 1973)
1895 John Brallier became the first professional American football player, when he was paid $10 by David Berry, to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association in a 12-0 win over the Jeanette Athletic Association.
1907 Loren Eiseley (born), American anthropologist, philosopher, and author (died 1977)
1910 Kitty Carlisle (born), American actress and singer (died 2007)
1913 Alan Ladd (born), American actor and producer (died 1964)
1914 Memphis Slim (born), American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1988)
1916 Trigger Alpert (born), American bassist (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (died 2013)
1921 Marguerite Higgins (born), American journalist (died 1966)
1923 Glen Bell (born), American businessman, founded Taco Bell (died 2010)
1925 Bengt Lindström (born), Swedish painter (died 2008)
1925 USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), the United States’ first American-built rigid airship, was destroyed in a squall line over Noble County, Ohio. Fourteen of her 42-man crew perished, including her commander, Zachary Lansdowne.
1929 Armand Vaillancourt (born), Canadian sculptor and painter
1929 Whitey Bulger (born), American mobster
1932 Eileen Brennan (born), American actress and singer (died 2013)
1933 Yevgeniy Abalakov is the first man to reach the highest point in the Soviet Union, Communism Peak (now called Ismoil Somoni Peak and situated in Tajikistan) (7495 m, 24, 589 ft).
1935 Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph
1939 World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allies.
1939 World War II: The United Kingdom and France begin a naval blockade of Germany that lasts until the end of the war. This also marks the beginning of the Battle of the Atlantic.
1942 Al Jardine (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Beach Boys)
1942 Will James (died), Canadian-American author and illustrator (born 1892)
1943 Valerie Perrine (born), American model and actress
1943 World War II: The Allied invasion of Italy begins on the same day that U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Italian Marshal Pietro Badoglio sign an armistice aboard the Royal Navy battleship HMS Nelson off Malta.
1944 Holocaust: diarist Anne Frank and her family are placed on the last transport train from the Westerbork transit camp to the Auschwitz concentration camp, arriving three days later.
1945 George Biondo (born), American bass player and songwriter (Steppenwolf)
1947 Eric Bell (born), Irish guitarist and songwriter (Thin Lizzy and The Noel Redding Band)
1948 Don Brewer (born), American singer-songwriter and drummer (Grand Funk Railroad and Terry Knight and the Pack)
1950 “Nino” Farina becomes the first Formula One Drivers’ champion after winning the 1950 Italian Grand Prix.
1951 The first long-running American television soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, airs its first episode on the CBS network.
1954 The German U-Boat U-505 begins its move from a specially constructed dock to its final site at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
1955 Steve Jones (born), English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (Sex Pistols, The Professionals, and Neurotic Outsiders)
1962 E. E. Cummings (died), American author, poet, and playwright (born 1894)
1963 Malcolm Gladwell (born), Canadian journalist and author
1965 Charlie Sheen (born), American actor and producer
1967 Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (died), Yemeni-Saudi Arabian businessman (born 1903)
1970 Alan Wilson (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Canned Heat) (born 1943)
1970 Vince Lombardi (died), American football player and coach (born 1913)
1971 Qatar becomes an independent state.
1974 Harry Partch (died), American composer and theorist (born 1901)
1976 Viking program: The American Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars.
1986 Beryl Markham (died), English-Kenyan pilot, horse trainer, and author (born 1902)
1986 Shaun White (born), American snowboarder and skateboarder
1991 Frank Capra (died), Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1897)
1994 Major Lance (died), American singer (born 1939)
2001 Pauline Kael (died), American critic (born 1919)
2002 Kenneth Hare (died), Canadian climatologist and academic (born 1919)
2005 William Rehnquist (died), American lawyer and jurist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States (born 1924)
2012 Charlie Rose (died), American politician (born 1939)
2012 Sun Myung Moon (died), South Korean religious leader, author, and activist, founded the Unification Church (born 1920)
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