1503 King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1555 Oronce Finé, French mathematician and cartographer (born 1494)
1585 John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
1588 Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter (born 1532)
1605 Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, English lawyer and politician (died 1675)
1631 Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian lexicographer (born 1579)
1646 Godfrey Kneller, German painter (died 1723)
1709 Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal
1719 Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (born 1667)
1786 Mont Blanc on the French – Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
1794 Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
1814 Esther Hobart Morris, American jurist (died 1902)
1828 Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish botanist (born 1743)
1844 The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
1863 American Civil War: following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).
1866 Matthew Henson, American explorer (died 1955)
1874 Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, English businessman and politician (died 1948)
1876 Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
1879 Bob Smith, American physician and surgeon, co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (died 1950)
1879 Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general (died 1919)
1884 Sara Teasdale, American poet (died 1933)
1885 More than 1.5 million people attend the funeral of Ulysses S. Grant in New York City.
1898 Eugène Boudin, French painter (born 1824)
1902 James Tissot, French painter (born 1836)
1907 Benny Carter, American saxophonist, trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (died 2003)
1908 Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers’ first public flight.
1919 Dino De Laurentiis, Italian actor and producer (died 2010)
1919 John David Wilson, English animator and producer (died 2013)
1921 Esther Williams, American swimmer, actress, and singer (died 2013)
1922 Gertrude Himmelfarb, American historian
1922 Károly Reich, Hungarian illustrator (died 1988)
1922 Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 1999)
1922 Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the Monokini (died 1985)
1929 The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
1930 Joan Mondale, American wife of Walter Mondale, 32nd Second Lady of the United States (died 2014)
1931 Roger Penrose, English physicist, mathematician, and philosopher
1932 Mel Tillis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Old Dogs)
1933 Joe Tex, American singer-songwriter (died 1982)
1937 Dustin Hoffman, American actor, singer, and producer
1938 Connie Stevens, American actress, singer, director, and producer
1939 Phil Balsley, American singer-songwriter (The Statler Brothers)
1942 Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi’s call for swaraj or complete independence.
1944 Simon Taylor, English journalist
1946 First flight of the Convair B-36, the world’s first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle.
1949 Keith Carradine, American actor and singer
1950 Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman, founded Qantas (born 1879)
1950 Willie Hall, American drummer (The Blues Brothers, The Bar-Kays, and Booker T. & the M.G.’s)
1951 Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian politician, 5th President of Egypt
1951 Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (died 1994)
1953 Nigel Mansell, English race car driver
1957 Dennis Drew, American keyboard player (10,000 Maniacs)
1958 Deborah Norville, American journalist
1961 Rikki Rockett, American drummer (Poison)
1961 The Edge, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (U2)
1963 Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.
1969 At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the photo that becomes the cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road, one of the most famous album covers in recording history.
1969 Faye Wong, Chinese singer-songwriter and actress
1969 Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German biologist and eugenicist (born 1896)
1972 Axel Merckx, Belgian cyclist
1974 President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
1975 Cannonball Adderley, American saxophonist (born 1928)
1976 JC Chasez, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (‘N Sync)
1979 Nicholas Monsarrat, English author (born 1910)
1989 Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission – Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
1990 Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
2000 Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.
2004 Fay Wray, Canadian-American actress (born 1907)
2005 Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress and author (born 1922)
2010 Patricia Neal, American actress (born 1926)
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