53 The Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia.
68 The Roman Emperor Nero (born 37) commits suicide, after quoting Homer’s Iliad, thus ending the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and starting the civil year known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
1534 Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the Saint Lawrence River.
1650 The Harvard Corporation, the more powerful of the two administrative boards of Harvard, is established. It is the first legal corporation in the Americas.
1672 Peter the Great (born), Russian emperor (died 1725)
1732 James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.
1856 500 Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa, and head west for Salt Lake City carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts.
1862 American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson concludes his successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign with a victory in the Battle of Port Republic; his tactics during the campaign are now studied by militaries around the world.
1868 Jane Avril (born), French dancer (died 1943)
1870 Charles Dickens (died), English author and critic (born 1812)
1875 Gérard Paul Deshayes (died), French geologist and conchologist (born 1795)
1891 Cole Porter (born), American composer (died 1964)
1900 Fred Waring (born), American bandleader and television host (Waring’s Pennsylvanians) (died 1984)
1906 Robert Klark Graham (born), American eugenicist and businessman, founded Repository for Germinal Choice (died 1997)
1915 Les Paul (born), American guitarist and songwriter, co-designed the Gibson Les Paul Guitar (died 2009)
1915 William Jennings Bryan resigns as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State over a disagreement regarding the United States’ handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
1916 Robert McNamara (born), American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (died 2009)
1921 Jean Lacouture (born), French journalist, historian, and author
1922 George Axelrod (born), American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2003)
1923 Bulgaria’s military takes over the government in a coup.
1924 In the second attempt to climb Mount Everest, George Mallory and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine disappear, possibly having first made it to the top.
1930 A Chicago Tribune reporter, Jake Lingle, is killed during rush hour at the Illinois Central train station by Leo Vincent Brothers, allegedly over a $100,000 gambling debt owed to Al Capone.
1934 Donald Duck makes his debut in The Wise Little Hen.
1939 David Hobbs (born), English race car driver and sportscaster
1939 Dick Vitale (born), American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
1941 Jon Lord (born), English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Deep Purple, Paice Ashton Lord, The Flower Pot Men, and The Artwoods) (died 2012)
1944 World War II: 99 civilians are hung from lampposts and balconies by German troops in Tulle, France, in reprisal for maquisards attacks.
1950 Trevor Bolder (born), English bass player, songwriter, and producer (Uriah Heep, The Spiders from Mars, and Cybernauts) (died 2013)
1954 McCarthyism: Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether Communism has infiltrated the Army giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
1956 Patricia Cornwell (born), American author
1958 Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, (LGW) in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom.
1959 The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles.
1961 Aaron Sorkin (born), American screenwriter, producer, and playwright
1961 Michael J. Fox (born), Canadian-American actor, producer, and author
1963 Johnny Depp (born), American actor, singer, producer, and director
1967 Six-Day War: Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria
1968 The U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a national day of mourning following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
1973 In horseracing, Secretariat wins the Triple Crown.
1973 John Creasey (died), English author (born 1908)
1978 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its priesthood to “all worthy men”, ending a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017