474 Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1555 Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.
1621 Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.
1711 Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla (born), Spanish sailor and commander (died 1762)
1737 Thomas Paine (born), English-American philosopher, author, and activist (died 1809)
1751 Antoine Bullant (born), Czech bassoon player and composer (died 1821)
1752 Fredrik Hasselqvist (died), Swedish biologist (born 1722)
1773 William Henry Harrison (born), American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (died 1841)
1775 The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
1777 Seth Pomeroy (died), American gunsmith and soldier (born 1706)
1825 After no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams President of the United States.
1839 Silas Adams (born), American lawyer and politician (died 1896)
1846 Wilhelm Maybach (born), German businessman, founded Maybach (died 1929)
1861 Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of Americaby the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
1870 President Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
1881 Fyodor Dostoyevsky (died), Russian author (born 1821)
1889 President Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
1895 William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
1900 The Davis Cup competition is established.
1901 Brian Donlevy (born), Irish actor (died 1972)
1909 Carmen Miranda (born), Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (died 1955)
1909 Dean Rusk (born), American politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (died 1994)
1910 Jacques Monod (born), French biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1976)
1913 A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
1914 Ernest Tubb (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1984)
1928 Roger Mudd (born), American journalist
1930 Garner Ted Armstrong (born), American evangelist (died 2003)
1942 Carole King (born), American singer-songwriter and pianist
1942 Year-round Daylight saving time is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
1943 Joe Pesci (born), American actor, singer, and producer
1943 Joseph E. Stiglitz (born), American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1943 World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending theBattle of Guadalcanal.
1944 Alice Walker (born), American author and poet
1945 Mia Farrow (born), American actress and singer
1945 World War II: The Battle of the Atlantic HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.
1950 Second Red Scare: Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.
1951 Eddy Duchin (died), American pianist (born 1910)
1951 Korean War: Geochang massacre
1959 The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
1964 The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a “record-busting” audience of 73 million viewers.
1965 Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops are sent to South Vietnam.
1966 Sophie Tucker (died), Russian-American actress and singer (born 1884)
1969 First test flight of the Boeing 747.
1969 George “Gabby” Hayes (died), American actor (born 1885)
1971 Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned moon landing.
1971 Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1973 Max Yasgur (died), American farmer, owned the site of the Woodstock Festival (born 1919)
1975 The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
1976 Percy Faith (died), Canadian composer and conductor (born 1908)
1977 Alia al-Hussein (died), Queen consort of Jordan, died in a helicopter crash in Amman (born 1948)
1977 Sergey Ilyushin (died), Russian aircraft designer, founded the Ilyushin Design Company (born 1894)
1981 Bill Haley (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bill Haley & His Comets) (born 1925)
1984 Yuri Andropov (died), Soviet politician (born 1914)
1987 Sam Coulson (born), English guitarist
1996 The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18 month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London’s Canary Wharf.
2001 The American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by theUwajima Fishery High School.
2002 Princess Margaret (died), Countess of Snowdon (born 1930)
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