422 Pope Boniface I (died)
1241 Alexander III of Scotland (born), (died 1286)
1537 Johann Dietenberger (died), German theologian (born 1475)
1596 Constantijn Huygens (born), Dutch poet and composer (died 1687)
1666 In London, England, the most destructive damage from the Great Fire occurs.
1681 Carl Heinrich Biber (born), Austrian violinist and composer (died 1749)
1774 New Caledonia is first sighted by Europeans, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook.
1780 John Fielding (died), English judge and reformer (born 1721)
1781 Los Angeles, California, is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers.
1784 César-François Cassini de Thury (died), French astronomer and cartographer (born 1714)
1803 Sarah Childress Polk (born), American wife of James K. Polk, 14th First Lady of the United States (died 1891)
1812 War of 1812: The Siege of Fort Harrison begins when the fort is set on fire.
1824 Anton Bruckner (born), Austrian composer (died 1896)
1846 Daniel Burnham (born), American architect, designed the World’s Columbian Exposition (died 1912)
1852 William MacGillivray (died), Scottish biologist and ornithologist (born 1796)
1862 American Civil War Maryland Campaign: General Robert E. Lee takes the Army of Northern Virginia, and the war, into the North.
1870 Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared.
1882 Thomas Edison flips the switch to the first commercial electrical power plant in history, lighting one square mile of lower Manhattan. This is considered by many as the day that began the electrical age.
1886 Geronimo, with his remaining warriors, surrenders to General Nelson Miles in Arizona.
1888 George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.
1891 Fritz Todt (born), German engineer and politician (died 1942)
1901 William Lyons (born), English businessman, co-founded Jaguar cars (died 1985)
1905 Walter Zapp (born), Latvian-Estonian inventor, invented the Minox (died 2003)
1913 Mickey Cohen (born), American mobster (died 1976)
1917 Henry Ford II (born), American businessman (died 1987)
1918 Paul Harvey (born), American radio host (died 2009)
1920 Craig Claiborne (born), American journalist, author, and critic (died 2000)
1923 Maiden flight of the first U.S. airship, the USS Shenandoah.
1926 Ivan Illich (born), Austrian priest and philosopher (died 2002)
1931 Mitzi Gaynor (born), American actress, singer, and dancer
1940 George William de Carteret (died), French-English journalist and author (born 1869)
1941 World War II: a German submarine makes the first attack against a United States ship, the USS Greer.
1942 Merald “Bubba” Knight (born), American singer-songwriter and producer (Gladys Knight & The Pips)
1944 World War II: the British 11th Armored Division liberates the Belgian city of Antwerp.
1946 Gary Duncan (born), American guitarist (The Brogues and Quicksilver Messenger Service)
1948 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
1949 The Peekskill Riots erupt after a Paul Robeson concert in Peekskill, New York.
1950 Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.
1951 The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, California, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
1957 American Civil Rights Movement: Little Rock Crisis – Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas, calls out the National Guard to prevent African American students from enrolling in Central High School.
1957 The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.
1960 Damon Wayans (born), American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1965 Albert Schweitzer (died), French-Gabonese physician, theologian, and missionary, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1875)
1967 Vietnam War: Operation Swift begins: U.S. Marines engage the North Vietnamese in battle in the Que Son Valley.
1970 Salvador Allende is elected President of Chile.
1972 Mark Spitz becomes the first competitor to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games.
1975 The Sinai Interim Agreement relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict is signed.
1977 E. F. Schumacher (died), German-English economist and statistician (born 1911)
1977 Jean Rostand (died), French biologist and philosopher (born 1894)
1977 The Golden Dragon Massacre took place in San Francisco, California.
1981 Beyoncé Knowles (born), American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress (Destiny’s Child)
1985 The discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, the first fullerene molecule of carbon.
1989 In Leipzig, East Germany, the first of weekly demonstration for the legalization of opposition groups and democratic reforms takes place.
1990 Irene Dunne (died), American actress and singer (born 1898)
1995 Chuck Greenberg (died), American saxophonist, composer, and producer (Shadowfax) (born 1950)
1995 William Kunstler (died), American lawyer and activist (born 1919)
1996 War on Drugs: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare in which at least 130 Colombians are killed.
1998 Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University.
2001 Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf (died), American radio host and actor (born 1962)
2001 Tokyo DisneySea opens to the public as part of the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
2006 Steve Irwin (died), Australian zoologist and television host (born 1962)
2007 Three terrorists suspected to be a part of Al-Qaeda are arrested in Germany after allegedly planning attacks on both the Frankfurt International airport and US military installations.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017