882 Louis III of France (died) (born 863)
1100 Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
1305 William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.
1540 Joseph Justus Scaliger (born), French philologist and historian (died 1609)
1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
1620 The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.
1689 1,500 Iroquois attack the village of Lachine in New France.
1729 Thomas Newcomen (died), English engineer, invented the Newcomen steam engine (born 1664)
1743 John Hervey (died), 2nd Baron Hervey, English politician (born 1696)
1763 Pontiac’s War: Battle of Bushy Run – British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac’s Indians at Bushy Run.
1797 Friedrich August Kummer (born), German cellist and composer (died 1879)
1802 Niels Henrik Abel (born), Norwegian mathematician (died 1829)
1843 James Scott Skinner (born), Scottish violinist and composer (died 1927)
1844 Ilya Repin (born), Russian painter and sculptor (died 1930)
1850 Guy de Maupassant (born), French author and poet (died 1893)
1858 Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.
1861 American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).
1861 The United States Army abolishes flogging.
1862 American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge – along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.
1864 American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay beginsat Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.
1868 Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes (died), French archaeologist (born 1788)
1872 Oswaldo Cruz (born), Brazilian physician, bacteriologist, and epidemiologist, founded the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (died 1917)
1874 Wesley Clair Mitchell (born), American economist (died 1948)
1876 Mary Ritter Beard (born), American historian (died 1958)
1877 Tom Thomson (born), Canadian painter (died 1917)
1882 The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
1884 The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe’s Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
1888 Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.
1890 Erich Kleiber (born), Austrian conductor (died 1956)
1895 Friedrich Engels (died), German-English philosopher and author (born 1820)
1901 Peter O’Connor sets the first IAAF recognized long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m). The record will stand for 20 years.
1901 Victoria (died), Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (born 1840)
1904 Kenneth V. Thimann (born), English-American botanist and microbiologist (died 1997)
1906 John Huston (born), American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1987)
1914 David Brian (born), American actor and dancer (died 1993)
1914 In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
1926 Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
1929 Millicent Fawcett (died), English activist (born 1847)
1930 Neil Armstrong (born), American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (died 2012)
1930 Richie Ginther (born), American race car driver (died 1989)
1935 Michael Ballhaus (born), German cinematographer and director
1939 Roger Clark (born), English race car driver (died 1998)
1940 Rick Huxley (born), English bass player (The Dave Clark Five) (died 2013)
1944 World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
1944 World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
1945 Loni Anderson (born), American actress
1947 Rick Derringer (born), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The McCoys)
1955 Carmen Miranda (died), Portuguese-Brazilian actress and singer (born 1909)
1957 American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage “baby-boomers” by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.
1957 Heinrich Otto Wieland (died), German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1877)
1958 Herbert Hoover eclipses John Adams as having the longest retirement of any former U.S President. Hoover would live another ten years, his record 35-year retirement still holding the record as of 2013.
1960 Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.
1960 David Baldacci (born), American author
1962 Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
1962 Marilyn Monroe (died), American model, actress, and singer (born 1926)
1963 The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
1964 Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow – American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
1965 Jeff Coffin (born), American saxophonist and composer (Dave Matthews Band and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones)
1968 Colin McRae (born), Scottish race car driver (died 2007)
1969 Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).
1974 Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.
1981 President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
1984 Richard Burton (died), Welsh actor and producer (born 1925)
1989 General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.
1991 Esteban Gutiérrez (born), Mexican race car driver
1992 Jeff Porcaro (died), American drummer, songwriter, and producer (Toto and Clover) (born 1954)
2000 Alec Guinness (died), English actor (born 1914)
2012 Martin E. Segal (died), Russian-American businessman, co-founded Film Society of Lincoln Center (born 1916)
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