1419 Vincent Ferrer (died), Spanish missionary and saint (born 1350)
1472 Bianca Maria Sforza (born), Italian wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1510)
1523 Blaise de Vigenère (born), French cryptographer and diplomat (died 1596)
1536 Royal Entry of Charles V into Rome: the last Roman triumph.
1588 Thomas Hobbes (born), English philosopher (died 1679)
1595 John Wilson (born), English composer and educator (died 1674)
1605 Adam Loftus, (died) English-Irish archbishop (born 1513)
1614 In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
1621 The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.
1622 Vincenzo Viviani (born), Italian mathematician (died 1703)
1649 Elihu Yale (born), American-English merchant and philanthropist (died 1721)
1676 John Winthrop the Younger (died), American politician, 1st Governor of Connecticut (born 1606)
1722 The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.
1752 Sébastien Érard (born), French instrument maker (died 1831)
1769 Sir Thomas Hardy (born), 1st Baronet, English admiral (died 1839)
1792 U.S. President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
1804 High Possil Meteorite: The first recorded meteorite in Scotland falls in Possil.
1816 Samuel Freeman Miller (born), American physician, lawyer, and jurist (died 1890)
1827 Joseph Lister (born), 1st Baron Lister, English surgeon (died 1912)
1847 Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park in England, is opened on the Wirral Peninsula, England.
1856 Booker T. Washington (born), American author and educator (died 1915)
1858 Washington Atlee Burpee (born), Canadian businessman, founded Burpee Seeds (died 1915)
1872 Samuel Cate Prescott (born), American biologist (died 1962)
1883 Walter Huston (born), Canadian-American actor (died 1950)
1900 Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B
1900 Joseph Louis François Bertrand (died), French mathematician (born 1822)
1900 Spencer Tracy (born), American actor (died 1967)
1901 Melvyn Douglas (born), American actor (died 1981)
1908 Bette Davis (born), American actress (died 1989)
1908 Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (born), American author (died 2006)
1916 Gregory Peck (born), American actor (died 2003)
1917 Robert Bloch (born), American author (died 1994)
1920 Arthur Hailey (born), English-Canadian author (died 2004)
1922 The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.
1923 Firestone Tire and Rubber Company begins production of balloon-tires.
1928 Tony Williams (born), American singer (The Platters) (died 1992)
1929 Nigel Hawthorne (born), English actor (died 2001)
1932 Alcohol prohibition in Finland ends. Alcohol sales begin in Alko liquor stores.
1932 Billy Bland (born), American singer-songwriter
1933 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.
1937 Colin Powell (born), American general and politician, 65th United States Secretary of State
1942 Allan Clarke (born), English singer-songwriter (The Hollies)
1943 Aleš Hrdlička (died), Czech-American anthropologist (born 1869)
1945 Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip “Tito” Broz signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory”.
1948 Dave Holland (born), English drummer (Judas Priest, Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours, Finders Keepers, and Trapeze)
1948 Les Binks (born), Irish drummer (Judas Priest, Lionheart, Tytan, and Axis Point)
1949 A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
1949 Fireside Theater debuts on television.
1951 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.
1964 Douglas MacArthur (died), American general (born 1880)
1967 Hermann Joseph Muller (died), American geneticist and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1890)
1967 Mischa Elman (died), Ukrainian violinist (born 1891)
1969 Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.
1970 Alfred Sturtevant (died), American geneticist (born 1891)
1972 Brian Donlevy (died), American actor (born 1901)
1975 Chiang Kai-shek (died), Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (born 1887)
1976 Howard Hughes (died), American pilot, engineer, and director (born 1905)
1976 In the People’s Republic of China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen incident.
1976 Wilder Penfield (died), American-Canadian surgeon (born 1891)
1981 Bob Hite (died), American singer-songwriter (Canned Heat) (born 1945)
1982 Abe Fortas (died), American jurist (born 1910)
1983 Danny Rapp (died), American singer-songwriter (Danny & the Juniors) (born 1941)
1987 Jan Lindblad (died), Swedish photographer (born 1932)
1992 Sam Walton (died), American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (born 1918)
1994 Kurt Cobain (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nirvana and Fecal Matter) (born 1967)
1997 Allen Ginsberg (died), American poet (born 1926)
1998 Cozy Powell (died), English drummer (Black Sabbath Rainbow, The Jeff Beck Group, and Emerson, Lake & Powell) (born 1947)
1998 In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge linking Awaji Island with Honshū and costing about $3.8 billion USD, opens to traffic, becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world.
1999 Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
2000 Lee Petty (died), American race car driver (born 1914)
2005 Saul Bellow (died), Canadian-American author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915)
2006 Gene Pitney (died), American singer-songwriter (born 1941)
2007 Mark St. John (died), American guitarist (Kiss and White Tiger) (born 1956)
2008 Charlton Heston (died), American actor (born 1923)
2009 North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating States of Six-party talks
2010 Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
2012 Jim Marshall (died), English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (born 1923)
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