394 Eugenius (died), Roman usurper
972 Pope John XIII (died) (born 930)
1492 Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
1522 The Victoria, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition, returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world.
1620 Isabella Leonarda (born), Italian composer (died 1704)
1620 The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America.
1625 Thomas Dempster (died), Scottish historian and scholar (born 1579)
1628 Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1633 Sebastian Knüpfer (born), German cantor and composer (died 1676)
1635 Metius (died), Dutch mathematician and astronomer (born 1571)
1649 Robert Dudley (died), English geographer and explorer (born 1574)
1666 Ivan V of Russia (born), Russian tsar (died 1696)
1708 Sir John Morden (died), 1st Baronet, English merchant and philanthropist, founded Morden College (born 1623)
1711 Henry Muhlenberg (born), German-American pastor and missionary (died 1787)
1724 Jonathan Singletary Dunham (died), American settler (born 1640)
1729 Moses Mendelssohn (born), German philosopher (died 1786)
1766 John Dalton (born), English chemist and physicist (died 1844)
1782 Martha Jefferson (died), American wife of Thomas Jefferson (born 1748)
1795 Frances Wright (born), Scottish-American author and activist (died 1852)
1800 Catharine Beecher (born), American educator (died 1878)
1802 Alcide d’Orbigny (born), French zoologist, palaeontologist, and geologist (died 1857)
1803 British scientist John Dalton begins using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements.
1838 Samuel Arnold (born), American conspirator (died 1906)
1847 Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden Pond and moves in with Ralph Waldo Emerson and his family in Concord, Massachusetts.
1857 Zelia Nuttall (born), American archeologist and historian (died 1933)
1860 Jane Addams (born), American sociologist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1935)
1861 American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, giving the Union control of the Tennessee River’s mouth.
1863 American Civil War: Confederate forces evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina.
1870 Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807.
1877 Buddy Bolden (born), American cornet player (died 1930)
1879 Max Schreck (born), German actor (died 1936)
1888 Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (born), American businessman and diplomat, 44th United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (died 1969)
1893 Claire Lee Chennault (born), American general and pilot (died 1958)
1899 Billy Rose (born), American composer and manager (died 1966)
1901 Leon Czolgosz, an unemployed anarchist, shoots and fatally wounds US President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
1902 Frederick Abel (died), English chemist (born 1827)
1921 Norman Joseph Woodland (born), American inventor, co-created the bar code (died 2012)
1925 Jimmy Reed (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1976)
1926 Arthur Oldham (born), English composer and conductor (died 2003)
1928 Evgeny Svetlanov (born), Russian conductor and composer (died 2002)
1928 Robert M. Pirsig (born), American philosopher and author
1928 Sid Watkins (born), English neurosurgeon (died 2012)
1930 Charles Foley (born), American game designer, co-created Twister (died 2013)
1932 Gilles Tremblay (born), Canadian composer
1932 Hiroyuki Iwaki (born), Japanese drummer and conductor (died 2006)
1938 John Stuart Hindmarsh (died), English race car driver and pilot (born 1907)
1939 David Allan Coe (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1939 World War II: At the Battle of Barking Creek, Britain suffers its first fighter pilot casualty of the Second World War as a result of friendly fire.
1942 Dave Bargeron (born), American trombonist and tuba player (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
1943 Richard J. Roberts (born), English biochemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1943 Roger Waters (born), English singer-songwriter and bass player (Pink Floyd and The Bleeding Heart Band)
1943 The Monterrey Institute of Technology, one of the largest and most influential private universities in Latin America, is founded in Monterrey, Mexico.
1944 Donna Haraway (born), American educator, author and activist
1944 Swoosie Kurtz (born), American actress
1944 World War II: The city of Ypres, Belgium is liberated by Allied forces.
1946 United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes announces that the U.S. will follow a policy of economic reconstruction in postwar Germany.
1947 Jane Curtin (born), American actress
1949 Allied military authorities relinquish control of former Nazi Germany assets back to German control.
1950 Olaf Stapledon (died), English philosopher and author (born 1886)
1952 Gertrude Lawrence (died), English actress, singer, and dancer (born 1898)
1952 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation makes its first televised broadcast on the second escape of the Boyd Gang.
1954 Carly Fiorina (born), American businesswoman and politician
1958 Jeff Foxworthy (born), American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
1961 Scott Travis (born), American drummer (Judas Priest, Racer X, The Scream, Fight, and Animetal USA)
1962 Archaeologist Peter Marsden discovers the first of the Blackfriars Ships dating back to the 2nd century AD in the Blackfriars area of the banks of the River Thames in London.
1962 Chris Christie (born), American politician, 55th Governor of New Jersey
1964 Rosie Perez (born), American actress, dancer, and director
1966 In Cape Town, South Africa, the architect of Apartheid, Prime Minister Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, is stabbed to death during a parliamentary meeting.
1966 Margaret Sanger (died), American nurse, educator, and activist (born 1879)
1968 Swaziland becomes independent.
1970 Two passenger jets bound from Europe to New York are simultaneously hijacked by Palestinian terrorist members of the PFLP and taken to Dawson’s Field in Jordan.
1972 Munich Massacre: Nine Israel athletes taken hostage at the Munich Olympic Games by the Palestinian “Black September” terrorist group die (as did a German policeman) at the hands of the kidnappers during a failed rescue attempt. 2 other Israeli athletes are slain in the initial attack the previous day.
Amitzur Shapira (died), Russian-Israeli runner and coach (born 1932)
Andre Spitzer (died), Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (born 1945)
David Mark Berger (died), American-Israeli weightlifter (born 1944)
Eliezer Halfin (died), Russian-Israeli wrestler (born 1948)
Kehat Shorr (died), Romanian shooting coach (born 1919)
Luttif Afif (died), Palestinian terrorist (born 1945)
Mark Slavin (died), Israeli wrestler (born 1954)
Yakov Springer (died), Polish-Israeli wrestler and coach (born 1921)
Yossef Gutfreund (died), Israeli wrestling judge (born 1931)
Ze’ev Friedman (died), Polish-Israeli weightlifter (born 1944)
1976 Cold War: Soviet Air Force pilot Lieutenant Viktor Belenko lands a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate on the island of Hokkaidō in Japan and requests political asylum in the United States; his request is granted.
1983 The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Flight KAL-007, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace.
1984 Ernest Tubb (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1914)
1985 Johnny Desmond (died), American singer (born 1919)
1986 In Istanbul, two terrorists from Abu Nidal’s organization kill 22 and wound six inside the Neve Shalom synagogue during Shabbat services.
1990 Tom Fogerty (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Creedence Clearwater Revival and Ruby) (born 1941)
1991 The name Saint Petersburg is restored to Russia’s second largest city, which had been renamed Leningrad since 1924.
1991 The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1992 Henry Ephron (died), American playwright, screenwriter, and producer (born 1912)
1992 Hunters discover the emaciated body of Christopher Johnson McCandless at his camp 20 miles (32 km) west of the town of Healy, Alaska.
1994 James Clavell (died), Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1924)
1994 Nicky Hopkins (died), English pianist (The Jeff Beck Group, The Kinks, Jerry Garcia Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Sweet Thursday) (born 1944)
1995 Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years.
1997 The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place in London. Well over a million people lined the streets and 2.5 billion watched around the world on television.
2007 Luciano Pavarotti (died), Italian tenor (born 1935)
2010 Clive Donner (died), English director (born 1926)
2011 Michael S. Hart (died), American author, founded Project Gutenberg (born 1947)
2013 Ann C. Crispin (died), American author (born 1950)
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