This Day In History

Jul 2, 1776:
Congress votes for independence

On this day in 1776, the Second Continental Congress, assembled in Philadelphia, formally adopts Richard Henry Lee's resolution for independence from Great Britain. The vote is unanimous, with only New York abstaining.

The resolution had originally been presented to Congress on June 7, but it soon became clear that New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina were as yet unwilling to declare independence, though they would likely be ready to vote in favor of a break with England in due course. Thus, Congress agreed to delay the vote on Lees Resolution until July 1. In the intervening period, Congress appointed a committee to draft a formal declaration of independence. Its members were John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Robert R. Livingston of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson, well-known to be the best writer of the group, was selected to be the primary author of the document, which was presented to Congress for review on June 28, 1776.

On July 1, 1776, debate on the Lee Resolution resumed as planned, with a majority of the delegates favoring the resolution. Congress thought it of the utmost importance that independence be unanimously proclaimed. To ensure this, they delayed the final vote until July 2, when 12 colonial delegations voted in favor of it, with the New York delegates abstaining, unsure of how their constituents would wish them to vote. John Adams wrote that July 2 would be celebrated as the most memorable epoch in the history of America. Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July 4, when Jeffersons edited Declaration of Independence was adopted.



Jul 2, 1809:
Chief Tecumseh urges Indians to unite against whites

Alarmed by the growing encroachment of whites squatting on Native American lands, the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh calls on all Indians to unite and resist.

Born around 1768 near Springfield, Ohio, Tecumseh early won notice as a brave warrior. He fought in battles between the Shawnee and the white Kentuckians, who were invading the Ohio River Valley territory. After the Americans won several important battles in the mid-1790s, Tecumseh reluctantly relocated westward but remained an implacable foe of the white men and their ways.

By the early 19th century, many Shawnee and other Ohio Valley Indians were becoming increasingly dependent on trading with the Americans for guns, cloth, and metal goods. Tecumseh spoke out against such dependence and called for a return to traditional Indian ways. He was even more alarmed by the continuing encroachment of white settlers illegally settling on the already diminished government-recognized land holdings of the Shawnee and other tribes. The American government, however, was reluctant to take action against its own citizens to protect the rights of the Ohio Valley Indians.

On this day in 1809, Tecumseh began a concerted campaign to persuade the Indians of the Old Northwest and Deep South to unite and resist. Together, Tecumseh argued, the various tribes had enough strength to stop the whites from taking further land. Heartened by this message of hope, Indians from as far away as Florida and Minnesota heeded Tecumseh's call. By 1810, he had organized the Ohio Valley Confederacy, which united Indians from the Shawnee, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Winnebago, Menominee, Ottawa, and Wyandot nations.

For several years, Tecumseh's Indian Confederacy successfully delayed further white settlement in the region. In 1811, however, the future president William Henry Harrison led an attack on the confederacy's base on the Tippecanoe River. At the time, Tecumseh was in the South attempting to convince more tribes to join his movement. Although the battle of Tippecanoe was close, Harrison finally won out and destroyed much of Tecumseh's army.

When the War of 1812 began the following year, Tecumseh immediately marshaled what remained of his army to aid the British. Commissioned a brigadier general, he proved an effective ally and played a key role in the British capture of Detroit and other battles. When the tide of war turned in the American favor, Tecumseh's fortunes went down with those of the British. On October 5, 1813, he was killed during Battle of the Thames. His Ohio Valley Confederacy and vision of Indian unity died with him.



Jul 2, 1839:
Mutiny on the Amistad slave ship

Early in the morning, Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad rise up against their captors, killing two crewmembers and seizing control of the ship, which had been transporting them to a life of slavery on a sugar plantation at Puerto Principe, Cuba.

In 1807, the U.S. Congress joined with Great Britain in abolishing the African slave trade, although the trading of slaves within the United States was not prohibited. Despite the international ban on the importation of African slaves, Cuba continued to transport captive Africans to its sugar plantations until the 1860s, and Brazil to its coffee plantations until the 1850s.

On June 28, 1839, 53 slaves recently captured in Africa left Havana, Cuba, aboard the Amistad schooner for a sugar plantation at Puerto Principe, Cuba. Three days later, Sengbe Pieh, a Membe African known as Cinque, freed himself and the other slaves and planned a mutiny. Early in the morning of July 2, in the midst of a storm, the Africans rose up against their captors and, using sugar-cane knives found in the hold, killed the captain of the vessel and a crewmember. Two other crewmembers were either thrown overboard or escaped, and Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes, the two Cubans who had purchased the slaves, were captured. Cinque ordered the Cubans to sail the Amistad east back to Africa. During the day, Ruiz and Montes complied, but at night they would turn the vessel in a northerly direction, toward U.S. waters. After almost nearly two difficult months at sea, during which time more than a dozen Africans perished, what became known as the "black schooner" was first spotted by American vessels.

On August 26, the USS Washington, a U.S. Navy brig, seized the Amistad off the coast of Long Island and escorted it to New London, Connecticut. Ruiz and Montes were freed, and the Africans were imprisoned pending an investigation of the Amistad revolt. The two Cubans demanded the return of their supposedly Cuban-born slaves, while the Spanish government called for the Africans' extradition to Cuba to stand trial for piracy and murder. In opposition to both groups, American abolitionists advocated the return of the illegally bought slaves to Africa.

The story of the Amistad mutiny garnered widespread attention, and U.S. abolitionists succeeded in winning a trial in a U.S. court. Before a federal district court in Connecticut, Cinque, who was taught English by his new American friends, testified on his own behalf. On January 13, 1840, Judge Andrew Judson ruled that the Africans were illegally enslaved, that they would not be returned to Cuba to stand trial for piracy and murder, and that they should be granted free passage back to Africa. The Spanish authorities and U.S. President Martin Van Buren appealed the decision, but another federal district court upheld Judson's findings. President Van Buren, in opposition to the abolitionist faction in Congress, appealed the decision again.

On February 22, 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing the Amistad case. U.S. Representative John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, who had served as the sixth president of the United States from 1825 to 1829, joined the Africans' defense team. In Congress, Adams had been an eloquent opponent of slavery, and before the nation's highest court he presented a coherent argument for the release of Cinque and the 34 other survivors of the Amistad.

On March 9, 1841, the Supreme Court ruled, with only one dissent, that the Africans had been illegally enslaved and had thus exercised a natural right to fight for their freedom. In November, with the financial assistance of their abolitionist allies, the Amistad Africans departed America aboard the Gentleman on a voyage back to West Africa. Some of the Africans helped establish a Christian mission in Sierra Leone, but most, like Cinque, returned to their homelands in the African interior. One of the survivors, who was a child when taken aboard the Amistad as a slave, eventually returned to the United States. Originally named Margru, she studied at Ohio's integrated and coeducational Oberlin College in the late 1840s before returning to Sierra Leone as evangelical missionary Sara Margru Kinson.



Jul 2, 1863:
Fighting continues at the Battle of Gettysburg

On this day in 1863, during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia attacks General George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac at both Culp's Hill and Little Round Top, but fails to move the Yankees from their positions.

On the north end of the line, or the Union's right flank, Confederates from General Richard Ewell's corps struggled up Culp's Hill, which was steep and heavily wooded, before being turned back by heavy Union fire. But the most significant action was on the south end of the Union line. General James Longstreet's corps launched an attack against the Yankees, but only after a delay that allowed additional Union troops to arrive and position themselves along Cemetery Ridge. Many people later blamed Longstreet for the Confederates' eventual defeat. Still, the Confederates had a chance to destroy the Union left flank when General Daniel Sickles moved his corps, against Meade's orders, from their position on the ridge to open ground around the Peach Orchard. This move separated Sickles' force from the rest of the Union army, and Longstreet attacked. Although the Confederates were able to take the Peach Orchard, they were repulsed by Yankee opposition at Little Round Top. Some of the fiercest fighting took place on this day, and both armies suffered heavy casualties.

Lee's army regrouped that evening and planned for one last assault against the Union center on July 3: the infamous Pickett's Charge.



Jul 2, 1881:
President Garfield shot

Only four months into his administration, President James A. Garfield is shot as he walks through a railroad waiting room in Washington, D.C. His assailant, Charles J. Guiteau, was a disgruntled and perhaps insane office seeker who had unsuccessfully sought an appointment to the U.S. consul in Paris. The president was shot in the back and the arm, and Guiteau was arrested.

Garfield, mortally ill, was treated in Washington and then taken to the seashore at Elberon, New Jersey, where he attempted to recuperate with his family. During this time, Vice President Chester A. Arthur served as acting president. On September 19, 1881, after 80 days, President Garfield died of blood poisoning. The following day, Arthur was inaugurated as the 21st president of the United States.

Garfield had three funerals: one in Elberon; another in Washington, where his body rested in state in the Capitol for three days; and a third in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was buried. Charles Guiteau's murder trial began in November, and in January 1882 he was found guilty and sentenced to death. In June 1882, he was hanged at his jail in Washington

 

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02 July Births

419 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (d. 455)
1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (d. 1556)
1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1730)
1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American soldier and historian (d. 1726)
1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (d. 1740)
1698 – Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena (d. 1780)
1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (d. 1803)
1750 – Thomas Spence, English author (d. 1814)
1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, and 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
1855 – Louis Maxson, American archer (d. 1916)
1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
1865 – Lily Braun, German author (d. 1916)
1869 – Liane de Pougy, French dancer (d. 1950)
1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1929)
1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (d. 1931)
1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
1896 – Lydia Mei, Estonian painter (d. 1965)
1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor and director (d. 1971)
1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, Ceylon academic and author (d. 1968)
1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch pianist (d. 1987)
1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
1903 – Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (d. 1996)
1906 – Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
1906 – Séra Martin, French runner (d. 1993)
1906 – Christos Tsaganeas, Romanian-Greek actor and cinematographer (d. 1976)
1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (d. 1993)
1911 – Reg Parnell, English race car driver and manager (d. 1964)
1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (d. 1999)
1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor and educator (d. 2004)
1914 – Ethelreda Leopold, American actress (d. 1988)
1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
1914 – Erich Topp, German admiral (d. 2005)
1915 – Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, Italian-English soldier and politician
1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
1917 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 1973)
1918 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist (d. 2005)
1919 – Jean Craighead George, American author (d. 2012)
1920 – John Kneubuhl, Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
1920 – Annette Kerr, Scottish-English actress (d. 2013)
1922 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer
1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American author (d. 1958)
1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
1925 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (d. 1963)
1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
1925 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
1927 – Brock Peters, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2005)
1928 – Line Renaud, French actress and singer
1929 – Abraham Avigdorov, Israeli soldier (d. 2012)
1929 – John A. Cade, American politician (d. 1996)
1929 – Daphne Hasenjager, South African sprinter
1929 – Imelda Marcos, Filipino politician, 10th First Lady of the Philippines
1930 – Ahmad Jamal, American pianist, composer, and educator
1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy's (d. 2002)
1933 – Peter Desbarats, Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player
1934 – Tom Springfield, English singer-songwriter and producer (The Springfields)
1936 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver
1938 – David Owen, English physician and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
1939 – Ferdinand Mount, English journalist and author
1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (d. 1976)
1939 – John H. Sununu, American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
1939 – Paul Williams, American singer and choreographer (The Temptations) (d. 1973)
1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
1941 – Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
1941 – Stéphane Venne, Canadian songwriter and composer
1942 – Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico
1942 – George Simpson, Baron Simpson of Dunkeld, Scottish politician
1943 – Ivi Eenmaa, Estonian politician, 36th Mayor of Tallinn
1943 – Walter Godefroot, Belgian cyclist
1943 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Ricky Bruch, Swedish discus thrower (d. 2011)
1946 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2009)
1947 – Larry David, American actor, screenwriter, and producer
1947 – Luci Baines Johnson, American daughter of Lyndon B. Johnson
1947 – Stephen Stucker, American actor (d. 1986)
1947 – Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, English politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
1948 – Mutula Kilonzo, Kenyan lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1948 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (McFadden & Whitehead) (d. 2006)
1948 – Saul Rubinek, Canadian actor and director
1949 – Roy Bittan, American keyboard player and songwriter (E Street Band)
1949 – Greg Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, French actor (d. 2010)
1949 – Robert Paquette, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Hanno Pöschl, Austrian actor
1949 – Nancy Stephens, American actress and producer
1950 – Lynne Brindley, English librarian and academic
1950 – Jon Trickett, English politician
1951 – Elisabeth Brooks, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 1997)
1951 – Jack Gantos, American author
1951 – Michele Santoro, Italian journalist
1952 – Johnny Colla, American guitarist and songwriter (Huey Lewis and the News)
1953 – Sharifah Aini, Malaysian singer (d. 2014)
1953 – Tony Armas, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
1953 – Jean-Claude Borelly, French trumpet player and composer
1953 – Brian Clarke, English painter and stained glass designer
1953 – Mark Hart, American guitarist and keyboard player (Crowded House and Supertramp)
1954 – Pete Briquette, Irish bass player, songwriter, and producer (The Boomtown Rats)
1954 – Chris Huhne, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
1954 – Wendy Schaal, American actress
1955 – Kim Carr, Australian educator and politician, 31st Australian Minister for Human Services
1955 – Andrew Divoff, Venezuelan-American actor and producer
1955 – Kevin Michael Grace, Canadian journalist
1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler and actor
1957 – Jüri Raidla, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
1957 – Purvis Short, American basketball player
1957 – Mike Weatherley, English politician
1958 – Thomas Bickerton, American bishop
1958 – Đặng Thái Sơn, Vietnamese-Canadian pianist
1960 – Terry Rossio, American screenwriter and producer
1960 – Maria Lourdes Sereno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
1961 – Clark Kellogg, American basketball player and sportscaster
1961 – Samy Naceri, French actor
1963 – Mark Kermode, English bassist and critic (The Dodge Brothers)
1964 – Doug Benson, American comedian, actor, and producer
1964 – Stéphan Bureau, Canadian journalist and producer
1964 – Jose Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player and mixed martial artist
1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player, coach, and manager
1964 – Joe Magrane, American baseball player and sportscaster
1964 – Hisakatsu Oya, Japanese wrestler
1964 – Charles Robinson, American wrestler and referee
1964 – Alan Tait, English-Scottish rugby player and coach
1964 – Andrea Yates, American murderer
1965 – Norbert Röttgen, German politician
1966 – Jean-François Richet, French director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Matthew Cox, American criminal
1969 – Jenni Rivera, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (d. 2012)
1969 – Tim Rodber, English rugby player
1970 – Derrick Adkins, American hurdler
1970 – Yancy Butler, American actress
1970 – Colin Edwin, Australian bass player (Porcupine Tree and Henry Fool)
1970 – Scotty 2 Hotty, American wrestler and firefighter
1970 – Monie Love, English-American rapper (Native Tongues)
1970 – Steve Morrow, Irish footballer and manager
1971 – Troy Brown, American football player
1971 – Evelyn Lau, Canadian poet and author
1971 – Bryan Redpath, Scottish rugby player and coach
1971 – Samantha Giles, English actress
1972 – Darren Shan, English-Irish author
1973 – Peter Kay, English comedian, actor, director, and producer
1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player and sportscaster
1974 – Tim Christensen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dizzy Mizz Lizzy)
1974 – Rocky Gray, American drummer, guitarist, and songwriter (Evanescence, We Are the Fallen, Living Sacrifice, Soul Embraced, and Mourningside)
1974 – Matthew Reilly, Australian author
1974 – Moon So-ri, South Korean actress
1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Kristen Michal, Estonian lawyer and politician
1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish singer and guitarist (Millencolin)
1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
1976 – Mihkel Tüür, Estonian architect
1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech-American ice hockey player
1978 – Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer-songwriter
1978 – Julie Night, American porn actress
1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
1978 – Owain Yeoman, Welsh actor
1979 – Walter Davis, American triple jumper
1979 – Sam Hornish, Jr., American race car driver
1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Nicole Briscoe, American model and journalist, Miss Illinois Teen USA 1998
1980 – Nyjer Morgan, American baseball player
1981 – Nathan Ellington, English footballer
1981 – Alex Koroknay-Palicz, American activist
1981 – Angel Pagán, Puerto Rican baseball player
1981 – Carlos Rogers, American football player
1981 – Aaron Voros, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (The Wreckers)
1983 – Sammy J, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1984 – Vanessa Lee Chester, American actress
1984 – Ryan Keely, American porn actress and model
1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater
1985 – Rhett Bomar, American football player
1985 – Corey Bringas, American actor
1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
1985 – Jürgen Roelandts, Belgian cyclist
1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress and singer
1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
1987 – Esteban Granero, Spanish footballer
1987 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakh model (d. 2008)
1988 – Porta, Spanish rapper
1988 – Lee Chung-Yong, South Korean footballer
1989 – Dev, American singer-songwriter
1989 – Ivan Dobronravov, Russian actor
1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva, Russian basketball player
1989 – Alex Morgan American soccer player
1989 – Omero Mumba, Irish actor and singer
1990 – Roman Lob, German singer-songwriter
1990 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress
1990 – Danny Rose, English footballer
1992 – Madison Chock, American ice dancer
2004 – Caitlin Carmichael, American actress

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Jul 2, 1881:
President Garfield is shot

On this day in 1881, President James A. Garfield, who had been in office just under four months, is shot by an assassin. Garfield lingered for 80 days before dying of complications from the shooting.

Garfield's assassin was an attorney and political office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. He was a relative stranger to the president and his administration in an era when federal positions were doled out on a "who you know" basis. When his requests for an appointment were ignored, a furious Guiteau stalked the president, vowing revenge.

On the morning of July 2, 1881, Garfield headed for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station on his way to a short vacation. As he walked through the station toward the waiting train, Guiteau stepped behind the president and fired two shots. The first bullet grazed Garfield's arm; the second lodged below his pancreas. Doctors made several unsuccessful attempts to remove the bullet while Garfield lay in his White House bedroom, awake and in pain. Alexander Graham Bell, who was one of Garfield's physicians, tried to use an early version of a metal detector to find the second bullet, but also failed.

Historical accounts vary as to the exact cause of Garfield's death. Some believe that the physicians' treatments—which included the administration of quinine, morphine, brandy and calomel and feeding him through the rectum--may have hastened his demise. Others insist Garfield died from an already advanced case of heart disease. By early September, Garfield, who was recuperating at a seaside retreat in New Jersey, appeared to be recovering. He died on September 19. Autopsy reports at the time said that pressure from the festering internal wound had created an aneurism that was the likely cause of death. Upon Garfield's demise, Vice President Chester A. Arthur became the nation's 20th president. Guiteau was deemed sane by a jury, convicted of murder and hung on June 30, 1882.

Garfield's spine is kept as a historical artifact by the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C.



Jul 2, 1900:
Zeppelin demonstrates airship

In the sky over Germany's Lake Constance, Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, a retired Prussian army officer, successfully demonstrates the world's first rigid airship. The 420-foot, cigar-shaped craft was lifted by hydrogen gas and powered by a 16-horsepower engine.

Zeppelin had first become interested in lighter-than-air travel in 1863, when as a military observer in the American Civil War he had made several ascents in Union observation balloons. In 1891, he retired from the Prussian army to devote himself to the building of motor-driven dirigibles, and in 1900 he successfully tested his first airship. Although a French inventor had built a power-driven airship several decades before, the Zeppelin's rigid dirigible, with its framework of metal girders, was by far the largest airship ever constructed. Like the French airship, Zeppelin's airship was lifted by highly flammable hydrogen gas and thus vulnerable to explosion.

During World War I, several "Zeppelins," as all rigid airships became popularly known, were used by the Germans in bombing missions over Britain. After the war, commercial passenger service increased, and one of the most famous rigid airships, the Graf Zeppelin, traveled around the world in 1929. In the 1930s, the Graf Zeppelin also pioneered the first transatlantic air service, leading to the construction of the largest dirigible ever built: the Hindenburg. On May 6, 1937, at the end of its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, the Hindenburg burst into flames upon touching its mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 passengers and crew. Lighter-than-air passenger travel rapidly fell out of favor after the Hindenberg disaster, and no existing rigid airship survived World War II.




Jul 2, 1917:
Greece declares war on Central Powers

On this day in 1917, several weeks after King Constantine I abdicates his throne in Athens under pressure from the Allies, Greece declares war on the Central Powers, ending three years of neutrality by entering World War I alongside Britain, France, Russia and Italy.

Constantine, educated in Germany and married to a sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II, was naturally sympathetic to the Germans when World War I broke out in the summer of 1914, refusing to honor Greece's obligation to support Serbia, its ally during the two Balkan Wars in 1912-13. Despite pressure from his own pro-Allied government, including Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos, and British and French promises of territorial gains in Turkey, Constantine maintained Greece's neutrality for the first three years of the war, although he did allow British and French forces to disembark at Salonika in late 1914 in a plan to aid Serbia against Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian forces.

By the end of 1915, with Allied operations bogged down in Salonika and failing spectacularly in the Dardanelles, Constantine was even less inclined to support the Entente, believing Germany clearly had the upper hand in the war. He dismissed Venizelos in October 1915, substituting him with a series of premiers who basically served as royal puppets. Meanwhile, civil war threatened in Greece, as Constantine desperately sought promises of naval, military and financial assistance from Germany, which he did not receive. After losing their patience with Constantine, the Allies finally sent an ultimatum demanding his abdication on June 11, 1917; the same day, British forces blockaded Greece and the French landed their troops at Piraeus, on the Isthmus of Corinth, in blatant disregard of Greek neutrality. The following day, Constantine abdicated in favor of his second son, Alexander.

On June 26, Alexander reinstated Venizelos, who returned from exile in Crete, where he had established a provisional Greek government with Allied support. With a pro-Allied prime minister firmly in place, Greece moved to the brink of entering World War I. On July 1, Alexander Kerensky, the Russian commander in chief and leader of the provisional Russian government after the fall of Czar Nicholas II the previous March, ordered a major offensive on the Eastern Front, despite the turmoil within Russia and the exhausted state of Kerensky's army. The offensive would end in disastrous losses for the Russians, but at the time it seemed like a fortuitous turn of events for the Allies, in that it would help to sap German resources. The following day, Greece declared war on the Central Powers.

The new king, Alexander, stated the case for war dramatically in his official coronation address on August 4: "Greece has to defend her territory against barbarous aggressors. But if in the trials of the past Greece has been able, thanks to the civilizing strength of the morale of the race, to have overcome the conquerors and to rise free amidst the ruins, today it is quite a different matter. The present cataclysm will decide the definite fate of Hellenism, which, if lost, will never be restored." Over the next 18 months, some 5,000 Greek soldiers would die on the battlefields of World War I.



Jul 2, 1937:
Amelia Earhart disappears

On July 2, 1937, the Lockheed aircraft carrying American aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Frederick Noonan is reported missing near Howland Island in the Pacific. The pair were attempting to fly around the world when they lost their bearings during the most challenging leg of the global journey: Lae, New Guinea, to Howland Island, a tiny island 2,227 nautical miles away, in the center of the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca was in sporadic radio contact with Earhart as she approached Howland Island and received messages that she was lost and running low on fuel. Soon after, she probably tried to ditch the Lockheed in the ocean. No trace of Earhart or Noonan was ever found.

Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1897. She took up aviation at the age of 24 and later gained publicity as one of the earliest female aviators. In 1928, the publisher George P. Putnam invited her to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. The previous year, Charles A. Lindbergh had flown solo nonstop across the Atlantic, and Putnam had made a fortune off Lindbergh's autobiographical book We. In June 1928, Earhart and two men flew from Newfoundland, Canada, to Wales, Great Britain. Although Earhart's only function during the crossing was to keep the plane's log, the flight won her great fame, and Americans were enamored of the daring young pilot. The three were honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York, and "Lady Lindy," as Earhart was dubbed, was given a White House reception by President Calvin Coolidge.

Earhart wrote a book about the flight for Putnam, whom she married in 1931, and gave lectures and continued her flying career under her maiden name. On May 20, 1932, she took off alone from Newfoundland in a Lockheed Vega on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight by a woman. She was bound for Paris but was blown off course and landed in Ireland on May 21 after flying more than 2,000 miles in just under 15 hours. It was the fifth anniversary of Lindbergh's historic flight, and before Earhart no one had attempted to repeat his solo transatlantic flight. For her achievement, she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by Congress. Three months later, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the continental United States.

In 1935, in the first flight of its kind, she flew solo from Wheeler Field in Honolulu to Oakland, California, winning a $10,000 award posted by Hawaiian commercial interests. Later that year, she was appointed a consultant in careers for women at Purdue University, and the school bought her a modern Lockheed Electra aircraft to be used as a "flying laboratory."

On March 17, 1937, she took off from Oakland and flew west on an around-the-world attempt. It would not be the first global flight, but it would be the longest--29,000 miles, following an equatorial route. Aboard her Lockheed were Frederick Noonan, her navigator and a former Pan American pilot, and co-pilot Harry Manning. After resting and refueling in Honolulu, the trio prepared to resume the flight. However, while taking off for Howland Island, Earhart ground-looped the plane on the runway, perhaps because of a blown tire, and the Lockheed was seriously damaged. The flight was called off, and the aircraft was shipped back to California for repairs.

In May, Earhart flew the newly rebuilt plane to Miami, from where Noonan and she would make a new around-the-world attempt, this time from west to east. They left Miami on June 1, and after stops in South America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, they arrived at Lae, New Guinea, on June 29. About 22,000 miles of the journey had been completed, and the last 7,000 miles would all be over the Pacific Ocean. The next destination was Howland Island, a tiny U.S.-owned island that was just a few miles long. The U.S. Department of Commerce had a weather observation station and a landing strip on the island, and the staff was ready with fuel and supplies. Several U.S. ships, including the Coast Guard cutter Itasca, were deployed to aid Earhart and Noonan in this difficult leg of their journey.

As the Lockheed approached Howland Island, Earhart radioed the Itasca and explained that she was low on fuel. However, after several hours of frustrating attempts, two-way communication was only briefly established, and the Itasca was unable to pinpoint the Lockheed's location or offer navigational information. Earhart circled the Itasca's position but was unable to sight the ship, which was sending out miles of black smoke. She radioed "one-half hour fuel and no landfall" and later tried to give information on her position. Soon after, contact was lost, and Earhart presumably tried to land the Lockheed on the water.

If her landing on the water was perfect, Earhart and Noonan might have had time to escape the aircraft with a life raft and survival equipment before it sank. An intensive search of the vicinity by the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy found no physical evidence of the fliers or their plane. Additional searches through the years have likewise failed to find any trace of the Lockheed or of Earhart and Noonan, who almost certainly perished at sea.



Jul 2, 1938:
Helen Wills Moody wins final Wimbledon

On this day in 1938, Helen Wills Moody defeats a hobbled Helen Jacobs 6-4, 6-0 to win her eighth Wimbledon singles title. The victory was the final major championship for Moody, who had been the dominant player in women’s tennis for the better part of two decades.

Born Helen Wills in Centerville, California, on October 6, 1905, the future tennis star grew up in the Bay Area. Wills won the Girl’s National Championship in 1921 and 1922, and then won her first U.S. Open at just 17 years old in 1923. Wills developed her game, which featured a powerful forehand, by practicing against men, just as her idol, the French tennis sensation Suzanne Lenglen had done in the 1910s and 1920s. In 1926, Wills traveled to Europe for the first time to play Wimbledon, where she reached the final before losing to England’s Kitty McKane. This was the only Wimbledon that Wills entered and lost; she went on to win eight more Wimbledon singles titles. Later that year, Wills also played her only match against her idol Lenglen, in Cannes. Though she lost, there was a silver lining: Wills met her future husband, the financier Frederick Moody, after the match.

From 1927 to 1933, Wills won a remarkable 180 matches in a row and snagged 14 of her 19 major singles championships in just six years. In 1933, a back injury forced her to sit out of competition for two years. After returning and winning Wimbledon in 1935, Wills retired. In 1938, though, the now married Helen Wills Moody, intent on winning Wimbledon just one more time, made a comeback.

In that year’s Wimbledon final, Moody faced her old rival Helen Jacobs, who had beaten Moody only once in her career, in the 1933 U.S. Open, and whom Moody had beaten to win Wimbledon three times, in 1932, 1933 and in an especially close match in 1935. The 1938 match was set to be a contrast in styles between Moody’s booming forehand and Jacobs’ powerful serve and deceptive topspin. The match began as one for the ages, with the two champions trading points to a 4-4 tie in the first set. However, Jacobs then suffered an ankle injury, which forced her to limp through the next eight games as she lost in straight sets. After the match Jacobs said she had "never been more sorry about anything in my life."

Helen Wills dropped Moody from her name after her divorce in 1939. After retiring from tennis, she published an autobiography and a mystery novel and worked as a painter. She also served as a model for Diego Rivera’s San Francisco Stock Exchange mural.

Wills’ record of eight Wimbledon singles titles was not broken until Martina Navratilova won her ninth Wimbledon title in 1990. She died in 1998 at the age of 92.



Jul 2, 1944:
American bombers deluge Budapest, in more ways than one

On this day in 1944, as part of Operation Gardening, the British and American strategy to lay mines in the Danube River by dropping them from the air, American aircraft also drop bombs and leaflets on German-occupied Budapest.

Hungarian oil refineries and storage tanks, important to the German war machine, were destroyed by the American air raid. Along with this fire from the sky, leaflets threatening "punishment" for those responsible for the deportation of Hungarian Jews to the gas chambers at Auschwitz were also dropped on Budapest. The U.S. government wanted the SS and Hitler to know it was watching. Admiral Miklas Horthy, regent and virtual dictator of Hungary, vehemently anticommunist and afraid of Russian domination, had aligned his country with Hitler, despite the fact that he little admired him. But he, too, demanded that the deportations cease, especially since special pleas had begun pouring in from around the world upon the testimonies of four escaped Auschwitz prisoners about the atrocities there. Hitler, fearing a Hungarian rebellion, stopped the deportations on July 8. Horthy would eventually try to extricate himself from the war altogether—only to be kidnapped by Hitler's agents and consequently forced to abdicate.

One day after the deportations stopped, a Swedish businessman, Raoul Wallenberg, having convinced the Swedish Foreign Ministry to send him to the Hungarian capital on a diplomatic passport, arrived in Budapest with 630 visas for Hungarian Jews, prepared to take them to Sweden to save them from further deportations.



Jul 2, 1947:
Soviet Union rejects Marshall Plan assistance

Soviet Foreign Minister V. M. Molotov walks out of a meeting with representatives of the British and French governments, signaling the Soviet Union's rejection of the Marshall Plan. Molotov's action indicated that Cold War frictions between the United States and Russia were intensifying.

On June 4, 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave a speech in which he announced that the United States was willing to offer economic assistance to the war-torn nations of Europe to help in their recovery. The Marshall Plan, as this program came to be known, eventually provided billions of dollars to European nations and helped stave off economic disaster in many of them. The Soviet reaction to Marshall's speech was a stony silence. However, Foreign Minister Molotov agreed to a meeting on June 27 with his British and French counterparts to discuss the European reaction to the American offer.

Molotov immediately made clear the Soviet objections to the Marshall Plan. First, it would include economic assistance to Germany, and the Russians could not tolerate such aid to the enemy that had so recently devastated the Soviet Union. Second, Molotov was adamant in demanding that the Soviet Union have complete control and freedom of action over any Marshall Plan funds Germany might receive. Finally, the Foreign Minister wanted to know precisely how much money the United States would give to each nation. When it became clear that the French and British representatives did not share his objections, Molotov stormed out of the meeting on July 2. In the following weeks, the Soviet Union pressured its Eastern European allies to reject all Marshall Plan assistance. That pressure was successful and none of the Soviet satellites participated in the Marshall Plan. The Soviet press claimed that the American program was "a plan for interference in the domestic affairs of other countries." The United States ignored the Soviet action and, in 1948, officially established the Marshall Plan and began providing funds to other European nations.

Publicly, U.S. officials argued that the Soviet stance was another indication that Russia intended to isolate Eastern Europe from the West and enforce its communist and totalitarian doctrines in that region. From the Soviet perspective, however, its refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan indicated its desire to remain free from American "economic imperialism" and domination.

 

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02 July Deaths

626 – Li Jiancheng, Chinese prince (b. 589)
626 – Li Yuanji, Chinese prince (b. 603)
649 – Li Jing, Chinese general (b. 571)
862 – Swithun, English bishop and saint (b. 789)
1298 – Adolf, King of Germany (b. 1220)
1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520)
1621 – Thomas Harriot, English astronomer, mathematician, and ethnographer (b. 1560)
1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French general (b. 1611)
1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1673)
1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian and author (b. 1656)
1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and composer (b. 1712)
1778 – Bathsheba Spooner, American murderer (b. 1746)
1822 – Denmark Vesey, American slave (b. 1767)
1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (b. 1757)
1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician and academic (b. 1755)
1850 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
1857 – Carlo Pisacane, Italian soldier and philosopher (b. 1818)
1903 – Ed Delahanty, American baseball player (b. 1867)
1912 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (b. 1870)
1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1836)
1915 – Porfirio Díaz, Mexican general and politician, 29th President of Mexico (b. 1830)
1916 – Louis Maxson, American archer (b. 1855)
1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general (b. 1846)
1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1893)
1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
1934 – Ernst Röhm, German SA officer (b. 1887)
1950 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer (b. 1872)
1955 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1963 – Alicia Patterson, American publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1906)
1964 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
1966 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet and author (b. 1900)
1969 – Michael DiBiase, American wrestler (b. 1923)
1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
1973 – Betty Grable, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1916)
1973 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player (b. 1903)
1973 – George McBride, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
1975 – James Robertson Justice, English actor (b. 1907)
1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-Swiss author and academic (b. 1899)
1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
1984 – Paul Dozois, Canadian politician (b. 1908)
1985 – Hector Nicol, Scottish actor and singer (b. 1920)
1985 – David Purley, English race car driver (b. 1945)
1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Soviet Union (b. 1909)
1989 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (b. 1920)
1990 – Snooky Lanson, American singer (b. 1914)
1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
1992 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer and guitarist (b. 1950)
1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor and singer (b. 1926)
1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
1995 – Alex Jordan, American porn actress (b. 1967)
1995 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
1995 – Krissy Taylor, American model (b. 1978)
1997 – James Stewart, American actor and singer (b. 1908)
1999 – Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2000 – Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
2002 – Ray Brown, American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
2004 – Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Portuguese poet and author (b. 1919)
2004 – John Cullen Murphy, American illustrator (b. 1919)
2004 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
2005 – Ernest Lehman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
2005 – Norm Prescott, American actor, composer, and producer, co-founded Filmation Studios (b. 1927)
2006 – Jan Murray, American comedian and actor (b. 1916)
2007 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (b. 1929)
2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (Eleven) (b. 1956)
2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, English actress, screenwriter, and author (b. 1932)
2011 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
2011 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian politician (b. 1925)
2012 – Maurice Chevit, French actor (b. 1923)
2012 – Ben Davidson, American football player and actor (b. 1940)
2012 – Julian Goodman, American journalist (b. 1922)
2012 – Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player (b. 1936)
2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
2012 – Ed Stroud, American baseball player (b. 1939)
2013 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (b. 1927)
2013 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
2013 – Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (b. 1921)
2013 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
2013 – Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
2013 – Paul Lorieau, Canadian singer (b. 1942)
2013 – Arlan Stangeland, American politician (b. 1930)
2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván, Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
2014 – Chad Brown, American poker player and actor (b. 1961)
2014 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and captain (b. 1917)


H

 

Jul 2, 1964:
Republican Congressional leaders attack Johnson's policy

At a joint news conference, Senate Republican leader Everett Dirksen (Illinois) and House Republican leader Charles Halleck (Indiana) say that the Vietnam War will be a campaign issue because "Johnson's indecision has made it one." President Lyndon B. Johnson had assumed office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Kennedy had supported Ngo Dinh Diem, the president of South Vietnam, who was assassinated during a coup just before Kennedy was killed. The deaths of both Diem and Kennedy provided an opportunity for the new administration to undertake a reassessment of U.S. policy toward Vietnam, but this was not done. Johnson, who desperately wanted to push a set of social reforms called the Great Society, was instead forced to focus on the deteriorating situation in South Vietnam. Caught in a dilemma, he later wrote: "If I...let the communists take over South Vietnam, then I would be seen as a coward and my nation would be seen as an appeaser and we would both find it impossible to accomplish anything for anybody anywhere in the entire globe." Faced with having to do something about Vietnam, Johnson vacillated as he and his advisers attempted to devise a viable course of action.



Jul 2, 1964:
Johnson signs Civil Rights Act

On this day in 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House.

In the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The 10 years that followed saw great strides for the African-American civil rights movement, as non-violent demonstrations won thousands of supporters to the cause. Memorable landmarks in the struggle included the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955--sparked by the refusal of Alabama resident Rosa Parks to give up her seat on a city bus to a white woman--and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech at a rally of hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., in 1963.

As the strength of the civil rights movement grew, John F. Kennedy made passage of a new civil rights bill one of the platforms of his successful 1960 presidential campaign. As Kennedy's vice president, Johnson served as chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, Johnson vowed to carry out his proposals for civil rights reform.

The Civil Rights Act fought tough opposition in the House and a lengthy, heated debate in the Senate before being approved in July 1964. For the signing of the historic legislation, Johnson invited hundreds of guests to a televised ceremony in the White House's East Room. After using more than 75 pens to sign the bill, he gave them away as mementoes of the historic occasion, according to tradition. One of the first pens went to King, leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), who called it one of his most cherished possessions. Johnson gave two more to Senators Hubert Humphrey and Everett McKinley Dirksen, the Democratic and Republican managers of the bill in the Senate.

The most sweeping civil rights legislation passed by Congress since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, the Civil Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public places such as schools, buses, parks and swimming pools. In addition, the bill laid important groundwork for a number of other pieces of legislation--including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which set strict rules for protecting the right of African Americans to vote--that have since been used to enforce equal rights for women as well as all minorities.



Jul 2, 1977:
"Gonna Fly Now (Theme From 'Rocky')" is the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts

On this day in 1977, Hollywood composer Bill Conti scores a #1 pop hit with the single "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)."

Bill Conti was a relative unknown in Hollywood when he began work on Rocky, but so was Sylvester Stallone. Conti had gained some attention internationally with his work on several early 1970s Italian films, including Vittorio de Sica's Academy Award-winning Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini, and Stallone had starred in a small film called Lords of Flatbush and played various minor roles in movies and on TV. It was Rocky that would truly launch both men's careers, though. The film was Stallone's from start to finish—he wrote and directed it as well as playing the starring role—but it is difficult to overstate the importance of his collaboration with Conti. Though Conti took his inspiration from Stallone's footage, Stallone had the film's critical training and fight sequences edited to fit Conti's music, and the interaction between picture and music in Rocky made an enormous contribution to the movie's success.

The single "Gonna Fly Now" takes its name from the almost-superfluous 30 words of lyrics written by Ayn Robbins and former Teddy Bear Carol Connors. Though it lost the competition for Best Original Song at the 49th Annual Academy Awards to Barbra Streisand and Paul Williams' "Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born)," it has remained an instantly recognizable piece of American pop culture. In the years since the release of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone has continued to churn out action flicks, and Bill Conti has built a hugely successful career as a composer for film and television—a career that eventually included an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the 1983 film The Right Stuff.



Jul 2, 1990:
Pilgrim stampede kills 1,400

A stampede of religious pilgrims in a pedestrian tunnel in Mecca leaves more than 1,400 people dead on this day in 1990. This was the most deadly of a series of incidents over 20 years affecting Muslims making the trip to Mecca.

To the followers of Islam, traveling to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is known as performing the Hajj. The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of the religion and must be done at least once in a follower's lifetime, if personal circumstances permit. More than 2 million people make the journey every year. Typically, pilgrims celebrate the feast of Al-Adha and visit the area's many holy sites during their stay.

The large number of people involved in the hajj has often led to tragedy. In 1987, a confrontation between Iranians and Saudis during an anti-American demonstration resulted in 400 deaths. In addition, a ritual in Mina has been the scene of several tragic incidents. There, in a valley near the birthplace of Mohammed, there is a giant pillar representing the devil. The pilgrims throw stones at the pillar over a three-day period. In 1994, 270 people died when too many rushed forward for the stoning. In 1998, at least 110 people were killed in a similar situation and another 180 were seriously injured. In both 2001 and 2002, more than 30 people died at Mina and, in 2003, another 244 pilgrims were killed in a stampede there. In 2006, 363 were killed.

Stampedes have not been the only source of tragedy--a fire in a tent in Mina killed 340 people and injured more than 1,400 more in 1997. Two separate plane crashes carrying pilgrims back home from Saudi Arabia in 1991 killed 261 and 91 people respectively.

In the 1990 tragedy, organizational failures by law enforcement officials combined with the enormous size of the crowd resulted in 1,426 people being crushed or suffocated to death in a long tunnel. Safety measures were taken in the aftermath, but with only limited success.



Jul 2, 1992:
Stephen Hawking breaks British bestseller records

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking breaks British publishing records on this day in 1992. His book A Brief History of Time has been on the nonfiction bestseller list for three and a half years, selling more than 3 million copies in 22 languages.

A Brief History of Time explained the latest theories on the origins of the universe in language accessible to educated lay people. The book was made into an acclaimed documentary in 1992, which focused largely on Hawking's own story. Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in his 20s, Hawking was told he had only two years to live. Despite the sobering prognosis, Hawking pursued his studies in theoretical physics, married, and had a son. Eventually, his disease left him paralyzed except for his left hand. He was able to speak, although his speech was difficult to understand, until he underwent a tracheotomy in 1985 during a bout with pneumonia. Afterward, he relied on a mouse-controlled voice synthesizer, which improved the clarity of his speech. His familiar, synthesized voice can be heard in the Brief History of Time documentary, a popular Pink Floyd song, and an episode of The Simpsons.

A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and numerous other honors, Hawking has written several additional popular science books, including Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays (1993) and The Grand Design (2010), which he cowrote with fellow physicist Leonard Mlodinow. He is known for his scientific contributions to cosmology and quantum gravity and is affiliated with the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, among other institutions.



Jul 2, 1992:
Chevrolet builds 1 millionth Corvette

The 1 millionth Corvette, a white LT1 roadster with a red interior and a black roof--the same colors as the original 1953 model--rolls off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky on this day in 1992.

The Corvette, America's first all-fiberglass-bodied sports car, made its splashy debut in January 1953 as part of General Motors' traveling Motorama display at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It went into production the following June, with a base sticker price of $3,760 (around $30,000 in today's dollars). Despite its sleek, aerodynamic exterior and the fanfare that announced its arrival, early sales of the Corvette were unimpressive. Many sports car enthusiasts scoffed at this American response to the flashy, high-performance European models, with its standard family-car components--including "Blue Flame" six-cylinder engines, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmissions and drum brakes from Chevrolet's regular car line--and its lack of a stick-shift option.

By contrast, the Corvette's primary American competitor, the Ford Thunderbird, was an immediate hit when it debuted in 1955, selling more than 14,000 that year (compared to just 700 Corvettes). Faced with the Thunderbird's success, Chevrolet made significant improvements to the Corvette's performance, including adding a V-8 engine in 1955. By 1961, the Corvette had become America's favorite sports car. Annual production of the Corvette peaked at 53,807 in 1979; after that, yearly numbers dwindled due to increasing competition from foreign-made models.

The ceremony celebrating the production of the 1 millionth Corvette on July 2, 1992, featured a prominent appearance by Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Russian engineer and race car driver who was credited with turning Chevrolet's "dream car" into a classic. Arkus-Duntov had seen the original Corvette prototype at the Waldorf-Astoria in 1953, while he was working for a British racing car company. Struck by the gulf between the car's innovative design and its relatively lackluster engine, he applied for a job at Chevrolet. He subsequently spearheaded efforts to add ever more powerful engines to the Corvette, which jumped from 150-horsepower in 1953 to 283 by 1957.

Arkus-Duntov also introduced a fuel-injection system that later became standard on many vehicles, and the first four-wheel disc brakes to be used on a mass-produced American car. Wanting the Corvette to rise to the level of Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes, Arkus-Duntov created the Corvette Grand Sport Program in 1963, bringing Corvette to the highest levels of international competition. Arkus-Duntov retired from GM in 1975; he died in 1996, at the age of 86.



Jul 2, 1997:
Men in Black premieres

On this day in 1997, the science fiction-comedy movie Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, opens in theaters around the United States. The film grossed more than $250 million in America alone and helped establish the former sitcom star Will Smith as one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty), Men in Black was based on an early 1990s comic book by Lowell Cunningham called The Men in Black. Smith and Jones reprised their roles as Agent J and Agent K, two secret agents who must protect the Earth from aliens, in a hit 2002 sequel, Men in Black II. Smith, who began his entertainment career as a rapper, performed on both Men in Black soundtracks.

Born September 25, 1968, in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Smith formed the rap group D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince with his friend Jeffrey Townes when they were teenagers. Radio-friendly hits like “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “Summertime” propelled the duo to success, and in 1988, they won the first-ever Grammy Award for rap music. Smith would go on to a successful solo career, scoring No. 1 hits with the theme song from Men in Black as well as the smash hit single “Getting’ Jiggy Wit It.” From 1990 to 1996, Smith starred in the popular TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His early film roles included Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and Bad Boys (1995) with Martin Lawrence. Smith’s first blockbuster movie was 1996’s Independence Day, about a hostile alien invasion. After Men in Black, Smith starred in a string of movies, including Enemy of the State (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), Bad Boys II (2003), I, Robot (2004), Hitch (2005), I Am Legend (2007) and Hancock (2008). Though they met with varying degrees of success, these films showcased Smith’s talents as a buff action star with great comedic timing.

In addition, Smith has made several successful forays into serious drama, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for 2001’s Ali, about boxer Muhammad Ali. The actor nabbed a second Oscar nomination for his star turn in 2007’s The Pursuit of Happyness, which was based on the true story of the homeless salesman-turned-stockbroker Chris Gardner. The film co-starred Smith’s son Jaden. Smith and his wife, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith, married in 1997 and have two children, Jaden and Willow (Smith has another son, Trey, from a previous marriage). Pinkett Smith’s film credits include The Nutty Professor (1996), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), Collateral (2004) and The Women (2008).

 

03 July Events

324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium.
987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.
1035 – William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy, reigns until 1087.
1608 – Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
1767 – Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret.
1767 – Norway's oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces kill 360 people in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
1819 – The Bank of Savings in New York City, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
1839 – The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today's Framingham State College, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with three students.
1844 – The last pair of Great Auks is killed.
1848 – Slaves are freed in the Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) by Peter von Scholten in the culmination of a year-long plot by enslaved Africans.
1849 – The French enter Rome in order to restore Pope Pius IX to power. This would prove a major obstacle to Italian unification.
1852 – Congress establishes the United States' 2nd mint in San Francisco.
1863 – American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett's Charge.
1866 – Austro-Prussian War is decided at the Battle of Königgratz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
1884 – Dow Jones and Company publishes its first stock average.
1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent Motorwagen – the first purpose-built automobile.
1886 – The New York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
1890 – Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
1898 – Spanish–American War: The Spanish fleet, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is destroyed by the U.S. Navy in Santiago, Cuba.
1913 – Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett's Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
1938 – World speed record for a steam railway locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 126 miles per hour (203 km/h).
1938 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
1940 – World War II: In order to stop the ships from falling into German hands the French fleet of the Atlantic based at Mers El Kébir, is bombarded by the British fleet, coming from Gibraltar, causing the loss of three battleships: Dunkerque, Provence and Bretagne. One thousand two hundred sailors perish.
1944 – World War II: Minsk is liberated from Nazi control by Soviet troops during Operation Bagration.
1952 – The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the Congress of the United States.
1952 – The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary.
1969 –Space Race: The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
1970 – The Troubles: The "Falls Curfew" begins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
1988 – United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
1988 – The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus.
1996 – Stone of Scone is returned to Scotland.
2013 – 2013 Egyptian coup d'état: President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is overthrown by the military after four days of protests all over the country calling for Morsi's resignation, to which he didn't respond. President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Adly Mansour is declared acting president.

B

 

Jul 3, 1775:
Washington assumes command

On Cambridge common in Massachusetts, George Washington rides out in front of the American troops gathered there, draws his sword, and formally takes command of the Continental Army. Washington, a prominent Virginia planter and veteran of the French and Indian War, was appointed commander in chief by the Continental Congress two weeks before. In serving the American colonies in their war for independence, he declined to accept payment for his services beyond reimbursement of future expenses.

George Washington was born in 1732 to a farm family in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His first direct military experience came as a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia colonial militia in 1754, when he led a small expedition against the French in the Ohio River valley on behalf of the governor of Virginia. Two years later, Washington took command of the defenses of the western Virginian frontier during the French and Indian War. After the war's fighting moved elsewhere, he resigned from his military post, returned to a planter's life, and took a seat in Virginia's House of Burgesses.

During the next two decades, Washington openly opposed the escalating British taxation and repression of the American colonies. In 1774, he represented Virginia at the Continental Congress. After the American Revolution erupted in 1775, Washington was nominated to be commander in chief of the newly established Continental Army. Some in the Continental Congress opposed his appointment, thinking other candidates were better equipped for the post, but he was ultimately chosen because as a Virginian his leadership helped bind the Southern colonies more closely to the rebellion in New England.

With his inexperienced and poorly equipped army of civilian soldiers, General Washington led an effective war of harassment against British forces in America while encouraging the intervention of the French into the conflict on behalf of the colonists. On October 19, 1781, with the surrender of British General Charles Lord Cornwallis' massive British army at Yorktown, Virginia, General Washington had defeated one of the most powerful nations on earth.

After the war, the victorious general retired to his estate at Mount Vernon, but in 1787 he heeded his nation's call and returned to politics to preside over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The drafters created the office of president with him in mind, and in February 1789 Washington was unanimously elected the first president of the United States.

As president, Washington sought to unite the nation and protect the interests of the new republic at home and abroad. Of his presidency, he said, "I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn in precedent." He successfully implemented executive authority, making good use of brilliant politicians such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson in his Cabinet, and quieted fears of presidential tyranny. In 1792, he was unanimously reelected but four years later refused a third term. He died in 1799.



Jul 3, 1863:
Pickett leads his infamous charge at Gettysburg

On this day in 1863, troops under Confederate General George Pickett begin a massive attack against the center of the Union lines on the climactic third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the largest engagement of the war. For the first two days of the battle, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had battered George Meade's Army of the Potomac. The day before Pickett's Charge, the Confederates had hammered each flank of the Union line but could not break through.

Now, on July 3, Lee decided to attack the Union center, stationed on Cemetery Ridge, after making another unsuccessful attempt on the Union right flank at Culp's Hill in the morning. The majority of the force consisted of Pickett's division, but there were other units represented among the 15,000 attackers.

After a long Confederate artillery bombardment, the Rebel force moved through the open field and up the slight rise of Cemetery Ridge. But by the time they reached the Union line, the attack had been broken into many small units, and they were unable to penetrate the Yankee center.

The failed attack effectively ended the battle of Gettysburg. On July 4, Lee began to withdraw his forces to Virginia. The casualties for both armies were staggering. Lee lost 28,000 of his 75,000 soldiers, and Union losses stood at over 22,000. It was the last time Lee threatened Northern territory.



Jul 3, 1863:
Battle of Gettysburg ends

On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's last attempt at breaking the Union line ends in disastrous failure, bringing the most decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end.

In June 1863, following his masterful victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, General Lee launched his second invasion of the Union in less than a year. He led his 75,000-man Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River, through Maryland, and into Pennsylvania, seeking to win a major battle on Northern soil that would further dispirit the Union war effort and induce Britain or France to intervene on the Confederacy's behalf. The 90,000-strong Army of the Potomac pursued the Confederates into Maryland, but its commander, General Joseph Hooker, was still stinging from his defeat at Chancellorsville and seemed reluctant to chase Lee further. Meanwhile, the Confederates divided their forces and investigated various targets, such as Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania capital.

On June 28, President Abraham Lincoln replaced Hooker with General George Meade, and Lee learned of the presence of the Army of the Potomac in Maryland. Lee ordered his army to concentrate in the vicinity of the crossroads town of Gettysburg and prepare to meet the Federal army. At the same time, Meade sent ahead part of his force into Pennsylvania but intended to make a stand at Pipe Creek in Maryland.

On July 1, a Confederate division under General Henry Heth marched into Gettysburg hoping to seize supplies but finding instead three brigades of Union cavalry. Thus began the Battle of Gettysburg, and Lee and Meade ordered their massive armies to converge on the impromptu battle site. The Union cavalrymen defiantly held the field against overwhelming numbers until the arrival of Federal reinforcements. Later, the Confederates were reinforced, and by mid-afternoon some 19,000 Federals faced 24,000 Confederates. Lee arrived to the battlefield soon afterward and ordered a general advance that forced the Union line back to Cemetery Hill, just south of the town.

During the night, the rest of Meade's force arrived, and by the morning Union General Winfield Hancock had formed a strong Union line. On July 2, against the Union left, General James Longstreet led the main Confederate attack, but it was not carried out until about 4 p.m., and the Federals had time to consolidate their positions. Thus began some of the heaviest fighting of the battle, and Union forces retained control of their strategic positions at heavy cost. After three hours, the battle ended, and the total number of dead at Gettysburg stood at 35,000.

On July 3, Lee, having failed on the right and the left, planned an assault on Meade's center. A 15,000-man strong column under General George Pickett was organized, and Lee ordered a massive bombardment of the Union positions. The 10,000 Federals answered the Confederate artillery onslaught, and for more than an hour the guns raged in the heaviest cannonade of the Civil War. At 3 p.m., Pickett led his force into no-man's-land and found that Lee's bombardment had failed. As Pickett's force attempted to cross the mile distance to Cemetery Ridge, Union artillery blew great holes in their lines. Meanwhile, Yankee infantry flanked the main body of "Pickett's charge" and began cutting down the Confederates. Only a few hundred Virginians reached the Union line, and within minutes they all were dead, dying, or captured. In less than an hour, more than 7,000 Confederate troops had been killed or wounded.

Both armies, exhausted, held their positions until the night of July 4, when Lee withdrew. The Army of the Potomac was too weak to pursue the Confederates, and Lee led his army out of the North, never to invade it again. The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point in the Civil War, costing the Union 23,000 killed, wounded, or missing in action. The Confederates suffered some 25,000 casualties. On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address during the dedication of a new national cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. The Civil War effectively ended with the surrender of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in April 1865.



Jul 3, 1890:
Idaho becomes 43rd state

Idaho, the last of the 50 states to be explored by whites, is admitted to the union.

Exploration of the North American continent mostly proceeded inward from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and northward from Spanish Mexico. Therefore, the rugged territory that would become Idaho long remained untouched by Spanish, French, British, and American trappers and explorers. Even as late as 1805, Idaho Indians like the Shoshone had never encountered a white man.

That changed with the arrival of the American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the summer of 1805. Searching for a route over the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River, Lewis and Clark traveled through Idaho with the aid of the Shoshone Indians and their horses. British fur traders and trappers followed a few years later, as did missionaries and a few hardy settlers. As with many remote western states, large-scale settlement began only after gold was discovered. Thousands of miners rushed into Idaho when word of a major gold strike came in September 1860. Merchants and farmers followed, eager to make their fortunes "mining the miners."

By 1880, Idaho boasted a population of 32,610. In the southern section of the territory, many settlers were Mormons who had been dispatched from Salt Lake City to found new colonies. Increasingly, Idaho territory became divided between a Mormon-dominated south and an anti-Mormon north. In the mid-1880s, anti-Mormon Republicans used widespread public antipathy toward the Mormon practice of polygamy to pass legislation denying the predominantly Democratic Mormons the vote.

With the Democratic Mormon vote disarmed, Idaho became a Republican-dominated territory. National Republicans eager to increase their influence in the U.S. Congress began to push for Idaho statehood in 1888. The following year, the Idaho territorial legislature approved a strongly anti-Mormon constitution. The U.S. Congress approved the document on this day in 1890, and Idaho became the 43rd state in the Union.



Jul 3, 1908:
M.F.K. Fisher is born

Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher is born on this day in Albion, Michigan.

Her father, a fourth-generation writer, purchased a newspaper in Whittier, California, where the family moved in 1911. In 1929, Fisher moved to France with her first husband, where she developed her twin passions: food and writing. She published her first story in 1934, using her initials to conceal her identity. In 1937, her first book, Serve It Forth, was published. She was highly productive for the next decade or so, producing nine books on food, including How to Cook a Wolf (1942) and The Gastronomic Me (1943).

After divorcing her husband, Fisher returned to the States, where she had a daughter, Anna, out of wedlock in the early 1940s. She never revealed Anna's paternity. She married writer and painter Dillwyn Parris, who was later struck by a fatal illness and committed suicide. Perhaps distracted by her tumultuous family life, she produced little during the 1950s. However, during the last two decades of her life, she lived in a cottage in California's Sonoma Valley and produced another dozen books, as well as many essays for the New Yorker. She died of Parkinson's disease in 1992. She was celebrated for both her gastronomic expertise and her engaging, literary writing style.



Jul 3, 1918:
Mohammed V, sultan of Turkey, dies

On this day in 1918, with Turkish forces in the final months of fighting against the Allied powers during World War I, Mohammed V, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies at the age of 73.

Born in 1844 in Constantinople, Mohammed ascended to the throne in 1909 after the forced abdication of his elder brother, Abdul Hamid, under pressure from the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), a rising political party known as the Young Turkey Party, or the Young Turks. Bent on modernizing the fading Ottoman Empire and stopping European powers from taking Ottoman territory, the Young Turks fomented a rebellion within the Ottoman Third Army in 1908 and forced the sultan to meet their demands and restore the Turkish constitution. The army, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (later known as Ataturk, he became the first president of Turkey) consolidated power for the CUP the following year, forcing the sultan to abdicate in favor of his brother Mohammed.

The leaders of the CUP, particularly Enver Pasha, effectively dictated the course of events over the next decade, as the new sultan, a gentle man, was little able to exert much of his own will on the throne. The results were not good for the empire: over the course of 1912-13, it lost virtually all of its remaining European territory during the two Balkan Wars and an unsuccessful war with Italy over Tripoli. In November 1914, Turkey entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary, against Britain, France and Russia. Though he had initially opposed his country's participation in the war, Sultan Mohammed now exhorted his army–as well as all Muslims, including those living in Allied countries–to fight exhaustively against the empire's enemies, proclaiming that "Right and loyalty are on our side, and hatred and tyranny on the side of our enemies, and therefore there is no doubt that the Divine help and assistance of the just God and the moral support of our glorious Prophet will be on our side to encourage us. I feel convinced that from this struggle we shall emerge as an empire that has made good the losses of the past and is once more glorious and powerful."

By the time Mohammed V died, on July 3, 1918, Turkish forces had endured nearly four exhausting years of war, including a full-scale Allied land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula and aggressive Allied incursions into Mesopotamia, and were teetering on the brink of defeat. Within six months of the sultan's death (he was succeeded by his brother, Mohammed VI), Constantinople itself was occupied by the Allies, and the once-great Ottoman Empire was in shambles.

 

03 July Births

1423 – Louis XI of France (d. 1483)
1442 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)
1518 – Li Shizhen, Chinese physician and mineralogist (d. 1593)
1530 – Claude Fauchet, French historian (d. 1601)
1590 – Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana, Italian singer, organist, and composer (d. 1662)
1676 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1747)
1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (d. 1768)
1728 – Robert Adam, Scottish architect, designed Culzean Castle (d. 1792)
1738 – John Singleton Copley, American-English painter (d. 1815)
1743 – Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (d. 1813)
1789 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck, German-Italian painter and engraver (d. 1869)
1846 – Achilles Alferaki, Russian composer and politician, Governor of Taganrog (d. 1919)
1851 – Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (d. 1930)
1854 – Leoš Janáček, Czech composer and theorist (d. 1928)
1860 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American sociologist and author (d. 1935)
1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1906)
1869 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (d. 1933)
1870 – R. B. Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
1874 – Jean Collas, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1928)
1875 – Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon and academic (d. 1951)
1876 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (d. 1957)
1878 – George M. Cohan, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1942)
1879 – Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American mathematician, linguist, and philosopher (d. 1950)
1880 – Carl Schuricht, Polish-German conductor (d. 1967)
1883 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian author (d. 1924)
1886 – Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (d. 1969)
1888 – Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1963)
1893 – Sándor Bortnyik, Hungarian painter and graphic designer (d. 1976)
1893 – Mississippi John Hurt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
1896 – Doris Lloyd, English-American actress (d. 1968)
1900 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
1901 – Ruth Crawford Seeger, American composer (d. 1953)
1903 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1992)
1905 – Johnny Gibson, American hurdler and coach (d. 2006)
1906 – Jack Earle, American actor (d. 1952)
1906 – George Sanders, Russian-English actor and singer (d. 1972)
1908 – M. F. K. Fisher, American author (d. 1992)
1908 – Robert B. Meyner, American politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1990)
1910 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1954)
1913 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist, actress, and author (d. 1965)
1916 – John Kundla, American basketball player and coach
1917 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, manager, and journalist (d. 1990)
1918 – S. V. Ranga Rao, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1974)
1919 – Gerald W. Thomas, American soldier and academic (d. 2013)
1920 – Paul O'Dea, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
1921 – Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952)
1921 – François Reichenbach, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
1922 – Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2010)
1924 – S. R. Nathan, Singaporean politician, 6th president of Singapore
1926 – Johnny Coles, American trumpet player (d. 1997)
1927 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2011)
1928 – Evelyn Anthony, English author
1928 – Roger Horchow, American producer and publisher
1929 – Clément Perron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
1929 – Béatrice Picard, Canadian actress
1930 – Pete Fountain, American clarinet player
1930 – Carlos Kleiber, German-Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
1930 – Tommy Tedesco, American guitarist (d. 1997)
1931 – Frits Helmuth, Danish actor (d. 2004)
1932 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (d. 2014)
1933 – Edward Brandt, Jr., American physician and mathematician (d. 2007)
1935 – Cheo Feliciano, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter (Fania All-Stars) (d. 2014)
1935 – Harrison Schmitt, American geologist, astronaut, and politician
1936 – Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, English lawyer and politician
1936 – Baard Owe, Norwegian-Danish actor
1937 – Nicholas Maxwell, English philosopher and academic
1937 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
1938 – Jean Aitchison, English linguist and academic
1939 – Brigitte Fassbaender, German soprano and director
1939 – László Kovács, Hungarian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Hungary
1939 – Coco Laboy, Puerto Rican baseball player
1940 – Lamar Alexander, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Education
1940 – Fontella Bass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
1940 – Jerzy Buzek, Polish engineer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Poland
1940 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1994)
1941 – Gloria Allred, American lawyer and activist
1942 – Eddy Mitchell, French singer-songwriter and actor (Les Chaussettes Noires)
1942 – Paco Stanley, Mexican actor (d. 1999)
1943 – Judith Durham, Australian singer-songwriter (The Seekers)
1943 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
1944 – Michel Polnareff, French singer-songwriter
1944 – Paul Young, Scottish actor
1945 – Michael Cole, American actor
1945 – Robert Crawford, English historian and curator
1945 – Iain MacDonald-Smith, English sailor
1945 – Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, Scottish politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
1945 – Saharon Shelah, Israeli mathematician and academic
1946 – Johnny Lee, American singer and guitarist
1946 – Leszek Miller, Polish political scientist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Poland
1946 – Michael Shea, American author (d. 2014)
1946 – Bolo Yeung, Hong Kong bodybuilder and actor
1947 – Dave Barry, American journalist and author
1947 – Adrian Bird, English geneticist and academic
1947 – Betty Buckley, American actress and singer
1947 – Top Topham, English guitarist (The Yardbirds)
1948 – Paul Barrere, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Little Feat)
1948 – Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish author and illustrator
1948 – Stephen Pound, English politician
1949 – Susan Penhaligon, Filipino-English actress
1949 – Jan Smithers, American actress
1949 – John Verity, English guitarist (Argent)
1949 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (Heatwave) (d. 2006)
1949 – Bo Xilai, Chinese politician
1950 – Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricketer
1950 – James Hahn, American judge and politician, 40th Mayor of Los Angeles
1951 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti
1951 – Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
1952 – Andy Fraser, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Free, Sharks, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
1952 – Amit Kumar, Indian actor, singer, and director
1952 – Rohinton Mistry, Indian-Canadian author
1954 – Franny Billingsley, American author
1955 – Claude Rajotte, Canadian radio and television host
1955 – Amy Wallace, American author (d. 2013)
1956 – Vincent Margera, American television personality
1956 – Montel Williams, American actor and talk show host
1957 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2004)
1957 – Ken Ober, American comedian, actor, and game show host (d. 2009)
1958 – Lisa De Leeuw, American porn actress (d. 1993)
1958 – Matthew Fraser, Canadian-English journalist and academic
1958 – Charlie Higson, English actor, singer, and author (The Higsons)
1958 – Siân Lloyd, Welsh meteorologist and journalist
1958 – Didier Mouron, Swiss-Canadian painter
1958 – Aaron Tippin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1959 – Julie Burchill, English journalist and author
1959 – Ian Maxtone-Graham, American screenwriter and producer
1959 – Stephen Pearcy, American singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Ratt, Arcade, Vertex, and Vicious Delite)
1959 – David Shore, Canadian screenwriter and producer
1959 – Graham Roberts, English footballer and manager
1960 – Vince Clarke, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly, Erasure, and VCMG)
1961 – Pedro Romeiras, Portuguese dancer and choreographer
1961 – Tim Smith, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (Cardiacs, The Sea Nymphs, Spratleys Japs, and Panixphere)
1962 – Tom Cruise, American actor and producer
1962 – Thomas Gibson, American actor and director
1962 – Hugh Page, South African cricketer
1962 – Hunter Tylo, American actress
1963 – Tracey Emin, English painter and photographer
1964 – Joanne Harris, English author
1964 – Yeardley Smith, French-American actress
1965 – Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese wrestler (d. 2005)
1965 – Connie Nielsen, Danish-American actress
1965 – Komsan Pohkong, Thai lawyer and academic
1966 – Moisés Alou, American baseball player
1967 – Brian Cashman, American businessman
1967 – Katy Clark, Scottish lawyer and politician
1968 – Ramush Haradinaj, Kosovo-Albanian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Kosovo
1968 – Aku Louhimies, Finnish director and screenwriter
1969 – Kevin Hearn, Canadian singer and keyboard player (Barenaked Ladies, Rheostatics, and Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle)
1970 – Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian cyclist
1970 – Audra McDonald, American actress and singer
1970 – Teemu Selänne, Finnish-American ice hockey player
1970 – Shawnee Smith, American actress and singer (Smith & Pyle)
1971 – Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher, and activist, founded WikiLeaks
1972 – Warren Furman, English-American actor
1972 – Tõnu Samuel, Estonian computer programmer
1973 – Emma Cunniffe, English actress
1973 – Ólafur Stefánsson, Icelandic handball player
1973 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (d. 2013)
1973 – Patrick Wilson, American actor and singer
1976 – Andrea Barber, American actress
1976 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
1976 – Shane Lynch, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (Boyzone)
1976 – Henry Olonga, Zimbabwean cricketer and sportscaster
1976 – Wanderlei Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist
1976 – Bobby Skinstad, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
1977 – David Bowens, American football player
1978 – Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese runner
1979 – Ludivine Sagnier, French actress and singer
1980 – Mazharul Haque, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2013)
1980 – Jenny Jones, English snowboarder
1980 – Olivia Munn, American actress
1980 – Boštjan Nachbar, Slovenian basketball player
1980 – Roland Schoeman, South African swimmer
1980 – Harbhajan Singh, Indian cricketer
1980 – Kid Sister, American rapper
1980 – Giorgos Theodoridis, Greek footballer
1981 – Aoi Tada, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1981 – Justin Torkildsen, American actor
1982 – Kanika, Indian actress and singer
1983 – Steph Jones, American singer-songwriter
1983 – Matt Papa, American singer-songwriter
1983 – Edinson Volquez, Dominican baseball player
1984 – Satomi Hanamura, Japanese actress
1984 – Manny Lawson, American football player
1984 – Churandy Martina, Dutch sprinter
1984 – Syed Rasel, Bangladeshi cricketer
1984 – Nicolas Roche, Irish cyclist
1984 – Corey Sevier, Canadian actor
1985 – Dean Cook, English actor
1985 – Keisuke Minami, Japanese actor and singer (PureBoys)
1986 – Marco Antônio de Mattos Filho, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Greg Paulus, American basketball and football player
1987 – Chad Broskey, American actor
1987 – Chris Hunter, American actor
1987 – Sebastian Vettel, German race car driver
1988 – Winston Reid, New Zealand-Danish footballer
1988 – Vladislav Sesganov, Russian figure skater
1988 – James Troisi, Australian footballer
1989 – Godfrey Walusimbi, Ugandan footballer
1990 – Nathan Gardner, Australian rugby player
1990 – Bobby Hopkinson, English footballer
1990 – Lucas Mendes, Brazilian footballer
1991 – Tomomi Itano, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48)
1991 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russian tennis player
1991 – Grant Rosenmeyer, American actor
1992 – Nathalia Ramos, Spanish actress and singer
1992 – Molly Sandén, Swedish singer and voice actress
1992 – Maasa Sudo, Japanese singer (Berryz Kobo and ZYX)
1993 – Roy Kim, South Korean singer-songwriter
1997 – Mia Mckenna-Bruce, English actress


D

 

Jul 3, 1940:
Operation Catapult is launched

On this day in 1940, British naval forces destroy the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, a port in Algeria, in order to prevent Germany from co-opting the French ships to use in an invasion of Britain.

With the occupation of France, the German aggressor was but a Channel away from Britain. In order to prevent the Germans from using French battleships and cruisers in an attack on Britain, Operation Catapult was conceived: the destruction or capture of every French ship possible. The easiest stage of Catapult was the seizure of those French ships already in British ports. Little resistance was met. But the largest concentration of French warships was at the Oran, Algeria, port of Mers-el-Kebir, where many warships had fled to escape the Germans. This stage of Catapult would prove more difficult.

Britain gave the French ships four choices: join British naval forces in the fight against Germany; hand the ships over to British crews; disarm them; or scuttle them, making them useless to the Germans. The French refused all four choices. Britain then made a concession: Sail to the French West Indies, where the ships would be disarmed or handed over to the United States. The French refused again. So the Brits circled the port and opened fire on the French fleet, killing 1,250 French sailors, damaging the battleship Dunkerque and destroying the Bretagne and the Provence.

On July 4, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the House of Commons that he would leave Britain's actions to "history." On July 5, Vichy France broke off diplomatic relations with Britain.



Jul 3, 1957:
Khrushchev consolidates his power

Nikita Khrushchev takes control in the Soviet Union by orchestrating the ouster of his most serious opponents from positions of authority in the Soviet government. Khrushchev's action delighted the United States, which viewed him as a more moderate figure in the communist government of Russia.

Khrushchev had been jockeying for ultimate control in the Soviet Union since the death of long-time Russian dictator Joseph Stalin in March 1953. Following Stalin's demise, the Soviet Union was ruled by a 10-member presidium. Khrushchev was only one member of this presidium, but during the following four years he moved steadily to seize total control. In June 1957, Khrushchev survived an attempt by his political opponents to remove him from the government. In July, he had his revenge. Since 1953, he had worked tirelessly to gain allies in the Soviet military and to gain control of the all-important Communist Party apparatus. On July 3, 1957, his years of work paid off as he used his important political connections and alliances to remove the three main challengers to his authority. Vyacheslav Molotov, Georgi M. Malenkov, and Lazar Kaganovich were voted off the presidium and relegated to minor government positions. Khrushchev then reigned supreme, and ruled the Soviet Union until his own ouster in 1964.

In the United States, the news of Khrushchev's "housecleaning" was greeted with optimism. Malenkov and Molotov, in particular, had been viewed as communist "hard-liners" in the Stalinist mold. Khrushchev, on the other hand, was seen as a "moderate" who might be receptive to a more amenable relationship with the United States. In the coming years, U.S. officials were often disappointed with the newest Soviet leader, who seemed to vacillate between warm words about "peaceful coexistence" between the United States and the Soviet Union and aggressive talk about "burying" the capitalist system. Khrushchev's power began seriously to wane in 1962. Many Soviet officials characterized his behavior as "cowardly" during the October 1962 missile crisis in Cuba and he was pushed from power in 1964. Leonid Brezhnev succeeded Nikita Khrushchev.



Jul 3, 1958:
Eisenhower initiates federal flood-control program

On this day in 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Rivers and Harbors Flood Control Bill, which allocates funds to improve flood-control and water-storage systems across the country. Eisenhower had sent back two earlier bills to Congress, but was pleased with the revisions included in Senate Bill 3910.

The bill was introduced in the wake of disastrous and deadly floods caused by Hurricanes Connie and Diane, which hit the northeastern United States in August 1955. Torrential rains caused further damage in October of that year. According to the Connecticut State Library, Connecticut alone lost 91 people, while thousands more were left homeless and unemployed in the wake of the hurricanes described by newspaper reports at the time as the biggest disaster to hit the East Coast in the history of the United States. Eisenhower declared Connecticut a disaster area twice in 1955.

As part of a larger plan to construct, repair and preserve public works on rivers and harbors for navigation, flood control and a water supply, the bill contained specific provisions for hurricane flood protection. Although projects such as beach erosion, flood control and improving river navigation were promised over $870 million in federal funding, not nearly as much was allocated for future flood protection in hurricane-prone regions due to what Eisenhower called "the local nature" of hurricane effects and high risk of repeat occurrences. States and municipalities that could be directly affected by hurricanes were required to front 30 percent of any preventative projects. Eisenhower left it open for Congress to consider future "general legislation" on the subject of hurricane flood protection.



Jul 3, 1962:
Tom Cruise born

On this day in 1962, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is born in Syracuse, New York. After his breakout role in the 1983 film "Risky Business," Cruise went on to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, appearing in a long list of critically acclaimed dramas and blockbuster action movies, including "Top Gun," "Rain Man" and "Mission: Impossible."

At age 18, Cruise made his feature film debut in "Endless Love" (1981), which was followed by "Taps" (1981) and "The Outsiders" (1983). He won international fame for his role as fighter pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in 1986's "Top Gun." Cruise received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance as Vietnam vet and anti-war activist Ron Kovic in "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989). His second Oscar nomination came for his portrayal as a sports agent in "Jerry Maguire" (1996); a third nomination followed for Cruise's performance as a self-help guru in Paul Thomas Anderson's ensemble drama "Magnolia" (1999).

Cruise's numerous film credits also include "The Color of Money" (1986), with Paul Newman; "Rain Man" (1988), with Dustin Hoffman; "A Few Good Men" (1992), with Jack Nicholson; "The Firm" (1993); and "Interview with the Vampire: the Vampire Chronicles" (1994). He starred as superspy Ethan Hunt in 1996's "Mission: Impossible," and reprised his role in the hit 2000, 2006 and 2011 sequels. Other Cruise movies include "Minority Report" (2002) and "War of the Worlds" (2005), both of which were directed by Steven Spielberg.

In the spring of 2005, Cruise and actress Katie Holmes, who co-starred in the television teen drama "Dawson's Creek" (1998-2003), embarked on a whirlwind, high-profile romance. That May, Cruise went on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and generated headlines by jumping on the host's couch and expressing his love for Holmes, who is 16 years his junior. The following month, the two actors were engaged in Paris. Around the same time, Cruise sparked controversy for his impassioned advocacy of Scientology and his public criticism of anti-depressant drugs and psychiatry.

On November 18, 2006, following the birth of their daughter Suri in April of that same year, Cruise and Holmes were wed in Italy, an event that received huge media coverage. Prior to tying the knot with Holmes, Cruise was married to the actress Mimi Rogers ("Someone to Watch Over Me," "The Door in the Floor") from 1987 to 1990. Cruise acted in three films with his second wife, Nicole Kidman, to whom he was married from 1990 to 2001 (and with whom he has two children): "Days of Thunder" (1990), "Far and Away" (1992) and "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999). On June 28, 2012, Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise. Two weeks later, it was announced the couple had reached a divorce settlement.



Jul 3, 1968:
U.S. command announces new high in casualties

The U.S. command in Saigon releases figures showing that more Americans were killed during the first six months of 1968 than in all of 1967. These casualty figures were a direct result of the heavy fighting that had occurred during, and immediately after, the communist Tet Offensive. The offensive had begun on January 30, when communist forces attacked Saigon, Hue, five of six autonomous cities, 36 of 44 provincial capitals, and 64 of 245 district capitals. The timing and magnitude of the attacks caught the South Vietnamese and American forces completely off guard, but eventually the Allied forces turned the tide. Militarily, the Tet Offensive was a disaster for the communists. By the end of March 1968, they had not achieved any of their objectives and had lost 32,000 soldiers with 5,800 captured. U.S. forces suffered 3,895 dead; South Vietnamese losses were 4,954; non-U.S. allies lost 214. More than 14,300 South Vietnamese civilians died.

Though the offensive was a crushing military defeat for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese, early reports of a smashing communist victory went largely uncorrected in the U.S. news media. This was a great psychological victory for the communists. The heavy U.S. casualties incurred during the offensive, coupled with the disillusionment over the earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war, accelerated the growing disenchantment with President Johnson's conduct of the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election.



Jul 3, 1969:
Brian Jones and Jim Morrison die, two years apart to the day

Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones is found dead of an apparent accidental drowning on this day in 1969. Two years later to the day, in 1971, Jim Morrison dies of heart failure in a Paris bathtub.

For all the highly publicized brushes with the law that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would have in the late 1960s, it was the original leader of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, who was the group's original bad boy—who lived, in the words of Pete Townshend, "on a higher planet of decadence than anyone I would ever meet." A gifted musician, Jones helped create the sound of countless classic Stones tracks with his work on guitar, sitar, marimba and other instruments that were then considered exotic for rock and roll. But he also helped create the stereotype of the wasted rock star with his prodigious drug habit and his declining ability to contribute to the Stones' recordings. "At first Brian was the most interesting Stone," John Lennon recalled in a 1970 interview, "[but] he was one of them guys that disintegrated in front of you."

Unable to show up for recording sessions due to his drug habit, and unable to play properly on the occasions that he did, Brian Jones was also refused an entry visa to the United States in the spring of 1969 due to his recent drug conviction, upsetting plans for a fall tour of the States. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards fired him on June 8, and a little more than three weeks later, the 27-year-old Jones was found dead at the bottom of the swimming pool at his home in Sussex. Rumors of foul play would persist for years among fans and conspiracy buffs, but the coroner's official ruling was "Death by misadventure," on July 3, 1969.

Two years later to the day, another 27-year-old rock star would die under uncertain circumstances: Jim Morrison. As the charismatic frontman of the iconic 1960s group The Doors, Jim Morrison created a template that charismatic frontmen are still emulating nearly half a century later. Young, good-looking and clad in skintight black leather pants, the Lizard King mesmerized a generation with his stage presence and his lyrics about funeral pyres and mystic heated wine. But the trippy mix of Nietzsche, Blake and Huxley that the young Dionysius peddled was usually filtered through heavy doses of bourbon and mescaline, or some other combination of alcohol and drugs.

While the precise circumstances of Morrison's death on July 3, 1971, are fuzzy enough to have fueled persistent rumors that he is still alive, what is known for certain is that he was found dead in the bathtub of the Paris apartment he was sharing with longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson. Because no evidence of foul play was found at the scene, and because Courson told French authorities that Morrison had not been using drugs, no autopsy was conducted, and "heart failure" was cited as the cause of death. In the years since his untimely death, Morrison's most prominent biographers, Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman, have asserted that Morrison suffered an accidental heroin overdose that night, basing their claim on Courson's allegation that he was in fact using drugs sometime before her own death by overdose in 1974 .

 

03 July Deaths

458 – Patriarch Anatolius of Constantinople (b. 449)
710 – Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (b. 656)
1570 – Aonio Paleario, Italian academic and reformer (b. 1500)
1642 – Marie de' Medici, Italian-French wife of Henri IV of France (b. 1575)
1672 – Francis Willughby, English ornithologist and ichthyologist (b. 1635)
1749 – William Jones, Welsh-English mathematician (b. 1675)
1778 – Anna Maria Mozart, Austrian wife of Leopold Mozart (b. 1720)
1790 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1736)
1795 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French scholar (b. 1714)
1795 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general, astronomer, and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
1809 – Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (b. 1746)
1863 – George Hull Ward, American general (b. 1826)
1863 – Little Crow, American tribal leader (b. 1810)
1888 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet (b. 1822)
1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist and playwright (b. 1860)
1904 – Edouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
1908 – Joel Chandler Harris, American journalist and author (b. 1845)
1916 – Hetty Green, American businesswoman and financier (b. 1834)
1918 – Mehmed V, Ottoman sultan (b. 1844)
1921 – James Mitchel, Irish-American weight thrower (b. 1864)
1933 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian educator and politician, 19th President of Argentina (b. 1852)
1935 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded the Citroën Company (b. 1878)
1937 – Jacob Schick, American-Canadian captain and businessman, invented the electric razor (b. 1877)
1940 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan politician, Mayor of Chișinău (b. 1882)
1941 – Friedrich Akel, Estonian physician and politician, Head of State of Estonia (b. 1871)
1943 – Walter Thijssen, Dutch rower (b. 1877)
1954 – Siegfried Handloser, German physician and general (b. 1895)
1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
1960 – Noël Bas, French gymnast (b. 1877)
1965 – Trigger, American horse (b. 1932)
1966 – Leonie Taylor, American archer (b. 1870)
1969 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (The Rolling Stones) (b. 1942)
1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter (The Doors and Rick & the Ravens) (b. 1943)
1974 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet and critic (b. 1888)
1977 – Alexander Melentyevich Volkov, Russian mathematician and author (b. 1891)
1978 – James Daly, American actor (b. 1918)
1979 – Louis Durey, French composer (b. 1888)
1981 – Ross Martin, Polish-American actor and director (b. 1920)
1985 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1893)
1986 – Rudy Vallée, American singer, saxophonist, and actor (b. 1901)
1989 – Jim Backus, American actor (b. 1913)
1991 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (b. 1918)
1993 – Joe DeRita, American actor (b. 1909)
1993 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
1994 – Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player (b. 1934)
1995 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (b. 1928)
1995 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
1996 – Raaj Kumar, Pakistani-Indian actor (b. 1926)
1997 – Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Mexican drug lord (b. 1956)
1998 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (b. 1949)
1999 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Morphine and Treat Her Right) (b. 1952)
2000 – Kemal Sunal, Turkish actor and producer (b. 1944)
2001 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2001 – Johnny Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
2003 – Gaetano Alibrandi, Italian archbishop (b. 1914)
2004 – Andriyan Nikolayev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1929)
2005 – Alberto Lattuada, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
2005 – Pierre Michelot, French bassist (b. 1928)
2005 – Gaylord Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1916)
2006 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist, developed the OBJ programming language (b. 1941)
2006 – Benjamin Hendrickson, American actor (b. 1950)
2007 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
2007 – Alice Timander, Swedish dentist and actress (b. 1915)
2008 – Ernie Cooksey, English footballer (b. 1980)
2008 – Larry Harmon, American clown (b. 1925)
2008 – Clive Hornby, English actor (b. 1944)
2008 – Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
2009 – John Keel, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
2010 – Abu Daoud, Palestinian terrorist, planned the Munich massacre (b. 1937)
2011 – Ali Bahar, Bahraini singer and guitarist (Al Ekhwa) (b. 1960)
2012 – Nguyễn Hữu Có, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1925)
2012 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1926)
2012 – Yvonne B. Miller, American politician (b. 1934)
2012 – Sergio Pininfarina, Italian automobile designer and politician (b. 1926)
2012 – Hollie Stevens, American porn actress (b. 1982)
2012 – Richard Alvin Tonry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
2013 – Roman Bengez, Slovenian footballer and manager (b. 1964)
2013 – Ryan Davis, American journalist (b. 1979)
2013 – Maria Pasquinelli, Italian murderer (b. 1913)
2013 – Francis Ray, American author (b. 1944)
2013 – PJ Torokvei, Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1951)
2013 – Radu Vasile, Romanian historian and politician, 57th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1942)
2013 – Bernard Vitet, French trumpet player and composer (b. 1934)
2013 – Snoo Wilson, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1948)
2014 – Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Ukrainian-American rabbi and author (b. 1924)


H

 

Jul 3, 1970:
Charter jet crashes mysteriously

On this day in 1970, a British Dan-Air charter, flying a Comet 4 turbojet, crashes into the sea near Barcelona, Spain, killing 112 people.

The charter was commissioned by a tourist group who were headed for a summer vacation on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The passengers boarded in the afternoon of July 3, the plane took off without incident and, as early evening approached, they neared their destination of Barcelona. The pilot called the air-traffic controller and indicated that they were 12 miles away and at 6,000 feet altitude.

This was the last anyone heard from the jet. No further contact was made to the air-traffic controllers. Witnesses in Mataro, Spain, spotted the plane going down. There were no survivors and the remains of the wreckage provided no clues as to the cause of the sudden crash. It remains a mystery.

The original Comet turbojet, built by De Havilland, was one of the first jet engines. It was used in the first scheduled flights between London and South Africa in 1952, and London and Tokyo the following year. It represented a major breakthrough in terms of air speed, cruising at nearly 500 miles per hour at 35,000 feet high. It could go almost 2,000 miles without refueling.

Immediately after the plane's introduction, it was involved in serious accidents. In May 1953, a Comet aircraft disintegrated after leaving Calcutta, India. Fire took out another plane in mid-flight the following January. Then, just a few months later, yet another Comet went down over Rome. After that incident, all Comet aircrafts were temporarily removed from service; tests found that the Comet's fuselage was subject to metal fatigue and cracking under the pressures of flight. An improved Comet was re-introduced in 1958, but fared poorly in competition with the newly introduced Boeing 707. It went out of production in 1968.



Jul 3, 1974:
Mike Marshall relieves Tommy John to pitch in 13th consecutive game

On this day in 1974, Los Angeles Dodger Mike Marshall sets a major league record for most games pitched in consecutively when he relieves starting pitcher Tommy John to pitch in his 13th consecutive game. Marshall’s was remarkable for his ability to pitch every day without experiencing the soreness and injury that plagued other pitchers, like Tommy John.


In his 13th consecutive game, Marshall pitched the last two outs of the ninth inning in the first game of a doubleheader between his Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds. Tommy John had thrown the first 8 1/3 innings. John was an old-school workhorse pitcher, for whom pitching deep into the game was not unusual. He had already pitched 11 major league seasons and thrown 200 innings five times, including 269 in 1970 with the Chicago White Sox.


Later in the 1974 season, John ruptured his ulnar collateral ligament, "blowing out" his elbow. His career was saved when Dr. Frank Jobe reconstructed the ligament. The surgery, now known as "Tommy John surgery," involves replacing a medial ligament in the elbow with a ligament from elsewhere in the body, often the forearm. John credits the rehabilitation and strength training he undertook under his teammate Marshall’s direction with strengthening his elbow and shoulder post-surgery and allowing him to pitch until 1989, when he was 46 years old. In 1979, John pitched 276 innings for the New York Yankees. In 1980, he threw 265, again for the Yanks. "Tommy John surgery" has since become fairly common among major league pitchers, and, today, the inch-long scar under the elbow it produces can be spotted on established big league stars like John Smoltz and Mariano Rivera.


After retiring from baseball, Mike Marshall earned his Ph.D. in exercise physiology with the intent of preaching good mechanics to young pitchers to help prevent the injuries that commonly require surgery among players in all levels of baseball. Marshall used his own experience as a guide: After experiencing shoulder soreness in 1968 during his rookie season with the Detroit Tigers, Marshall studied film of himself pitching and then altered his style to take stress off of his shoulder and elbow. Today, Marshall runs a school for pitchers in Zephyrhills, Florida, north of Tampa. He believes that the pitching mechanics he teaches there can eliminate pitching injury completely while improving velocity and movement in pitches. So far, however, all the major league franchises have rejected his unorthodox style.



Jul 3, 1985:
"Back to the Future" released, features 1981 DeLorean DMC-12

On this day in 1985, the blockbuster action-comedy "Back to the Future"--in which John DeLorean's iconic concept car is memorably transformed into a time-travel device--is released in theaters across the United States.

"Back to the Future," directed by Robert Zemeckis, starred Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a teenager who travels back 30 years using a time machine built by the zany scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). Doc's mind-blowing creation consists of a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car outfitted with a nuclear reactor. Once the car reaches a speed of 88 miles per hour, the plutonium-powered reactor achieves the "1.21 gigawatts" of power necessary to travel through time. Marty arrives in 1955 only to stumble in the way of his own parents (Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson) and keep them from meeting for the first time, thus putting his own life in jeopardy.

A veteran of the Packard Motor Company and General Motors, John DeLorean founded the DeLorean Motor Company in Detroit in 1975 to pursue his vision of a futuristic sports car. DeLorean eventually set up a factory in Dunmurry, near Belfast in Northern Ireland. There, he built his iconic concept car: the DMC-12, known simply as the DeLorean. An angular vehicle with gull-wing doors, the DeLorean had an unpainted stainless-steel body and a rear-mounted engine. To accommodate taller drivers (like its designer, who was over six feet tall), the car had a roomy interior compared to most sports cars.

Although it was built in Northern Ireland, the DeLorean was intended predominantly for an American audience, so it was built with the driver's seat on the left-hand side. The company built about 9,000 of the cars before it ran out of money and halted production in 1982; only 6,500 of those are still in existence. Despite its short lifespan, the DeLorean remains an object of great interest to car collectors and enthusiasts, no doubt largely due to the smashing success of "Back to the Future" and its two sequels, released in 1989 and 1990. John DeLorean died in March of 2005, at the age of 80.



Jul 3, 1988:
U.S. warship downs Iranian passenger jet

In the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy cruiser Vincennes shoots down an Iranian passenger jet that it mistakes for a hostile Iranian fighter aircraft. Two missiles were fired from the American warship--the aircraft was hit, and all 290 people aboard were killed. The attack came near the end of the Iran-Iraq War, when U.S. vessels were in the gulf defending Kuwaiti oil tankers. Minutes before Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down, the Vincennes had engaged Iranian gunboats that shot at its helicopter.

Iran called the downing of the aircraft a "barbaric massacre," but U.S. officials defended the action, claiming that the aircraft was outside the commercial jet flight corridor, flying at only 7,800 feet, and was on a descent toward the Vincennes. However, one month later, U.S. authorities acknowledged that the airbus was in the commercial flight corridor, flying at 12,000 feet, and not descending. The U.S. Navy report blamed crew error caused by psychological stress on men who were in combat for the first time. In 1996, the U.S. agreed to pay $62 million in damages to the families of the Iranians killed in the attack.



Jul 3, 1989:
A mother is arrested and accused of killing her four children

Martha Ann Johnson is arrested in Georgia for the 1982 murder of her oldest child, Jennyann Wright, after an Atlanta newspaper initiated a new investigation into her suspicious death. Johnson's three other children had also mysteriously died between 1977 and 1982.

Back in September 1977, Johnson (who was only 21 at the time) and her third husband, Earl Bowen, lived with Johnson's kids, Jennyann Wright and James Taylor, from her previous marriages. Shortly after a dispute in which Bowen walked out on Johnson, two-year-old James was brought to the hospital and pronounced dead. The doctors ruled the cause of death to be sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

In the wake of the tragedy, Bowen returned home and the couple reconciled, having two additional children, Earl Jr. and Tibitha. But in 1980, after Bowen took off again, three-month-old Tibitha was found dead--reportedly the result of SIDS once again. Although Bowen was suspicious, he returned home, where he remained until another fight separated the couple. This time, little Earl was stricken with an unknown seizure disorder and died. Jennyann told social workers that she was afraid of her mother, but the authorities sent her home anyway. A year later, she was dead too--asphyxiated from an undetermined cause.

In 1989, after she split from Bowen for good and married her fourth husband, Johnson was arrested. She quickly confessed that she had smothered Jennyann and James as they slept by sitting on them (she weighed more than 250 pounds), but denied responsibility for the other two deaths. She admitted that her motive was to reunite with Bowen. At her trial, which began in 1990, she recanted her confession, but the jury was able to watch it on videotape nevertheless. They convicted Johnson of first-degree murder.

Johnson's case initiated a trend in the 1990s in which authorities looked more closely into the sudden deaths of young children. Many doctors have insisted that SIDS has been misdiagnosed in a multitude of cases.



Jul 3, 2012:
TV legend Andy Griffith dies

On this day in 2012, Andy Griffith, famous for his role as the good-hearted, small-town sheriff of fictional Mayberry, North Carolina, on the iconic 1960s TV sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show," dies at age 86 at his North Carolina home. The actor also was known for his starring role in the 1980s-1990s TV drama "Matlock," in which he portrayed a shrewd Atlanta defense attorney.

Andrew Samuel Griffith was born on June 1, 1926, in Mount Airy, North Carolina. He majored in music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1949. Griffith went on to teach school for several years before finding success as a stand-up comedian. In 1957, he made his feature film debut in the critically acclaimed drama "A Face in the Crowd," starring, in a serious role, as a drifter who becomes a manipulative, power-hungry celebrity.

"The Andy Griffith Show" premiered in the fall of 1960 and quickly became a hit. Griffith played the amiable Sheriff Andy Taylor, a widower raising his young son Opie, played by Ron Howard (now a successful Hollywood director, whose credits include "A Beautiful Mind" and "The Da Vinci Code"). Set in the small, idyllic community of Mayberry (based on Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy), the show included an ensemble of eccentric characters such as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife (played by Don Knotts), prim Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), gas-station attendant Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), Floyd the barber (Howard McNear) and Otis the town drunk (Hal Smith). The folksy sitcom, memorable for its whistled theme song, which played over opening credits featuring Andy and Opie on their way to go fishing, continues to air in reruns. Additionally, the program spawned the TV shows "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." (1964-69) and "Mayberry R.F.D." (1968-71).

During the 1970s and 1980s, Griffith appeared in several short-lived TV series and various made-for-TV movies before again finding success in the legal drama "Matlock," which originally aired from 1986 to 1995. The actor's final role was in the 2009 feature film "Play the Game." Also in 2009, the Andy Griffith Museum opened in Mount Airy. The TV legend died of a heart attack on July 3, 2012, at his home on Roanoke Island in North Carolina.

 

04 July Events

362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
836 – Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
993 – Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
1054 – A supernova is seen by Chinese, Arab and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
1120 – Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death.
1187 – The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
1253 – Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
1359 – Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
1456 – Ottoman wars in Europe: The Siege of Nándorfeqhérvár (Belgrade) begins.
1534 – Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
1610 – The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish-Muscovite War.
1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada)
1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cedes lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers.
1774 – Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament's Coercive Acts
1776 – American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.
1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
1826 – Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, dies the same day as John Adams, second president of the United States, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence.
1827 – Slavery is abolished in New York State.
1831 – Samuel Francis Smith writes My Country, 'Tis of Thee for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
1837 – Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
1838 – The Iowa Territory is organized.
1855 – In Brooklyn, New York City, the first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published.
1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. One hundred fifty miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate Army was repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
1863 – American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdrew from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Southern invasion of the North.
1865 – Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is published.
1878 – Thoroughbred horses Ten Broeck and Mollie McCarty run a match race, recalled in the song Molly and Tenbrooks.
1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
1886 – The people of France offer the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States.
1886 – The first scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia.
1887 – The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
1892 – Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year it had 367 days, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4.
1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
1903 – Philippine–American War officially is concluded.
1903 – Dorothy Levitt is reported as the first woman in the world to compete in a 'motor race'.
1910 – African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match, sparking race riots across the United States.
1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
1913 – President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
1918 – Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascended to the throne.
1918 – World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.
1918 – Bolsheviks killed Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
1926 – Knoebels Amusement Resort is opened in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
1927 – The Lockheed Vega first flew.
1934 – Leo Szilard patented the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.
1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth", then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
1939 – Huỳnh Phú Sổ founds Hòa Hảo Buddhism.
1941 – Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
1943 – World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world's largest tank battle, begins in Prokhorovka village.
1943 – World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board; only the pilot survives.
1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
1947 – The "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
1950 – Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
1951 – A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.
1951 – William Shockley announced the invention of the junction transistor.
1960 – Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).
1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
1976 – Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
1977 – The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit
1982 – Four Iranian diplomats are abducted by Lebanese militia in Lebanon.
1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (aka the "Butcher of Lyon") is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
1994 – Rwandan Genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
1997 – NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
1998 – Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
2009 – The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.

B

 

Jul 4, 1776:
U.S. declares independence

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain and its king. The declaration came 442 days after the first volleys of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts and marked an ideological expansion of the conflict that would eventually encourage France's intervention on behalf of the Patriots.

The first major American opposition to British policy came in 1765 after Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. Under the banner of "no taxation without representation," colonists convened the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 to vocalize their opposition to the tax. With its enactment in November, most colonists called for a boycott of British goods, and some organized attacks on the customhouses and homes of tax collectors. After months of protest in the colonies, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766.

Most colonists continued to quietly accept British rule until Parliament's enactment of the Tea Act in 1773, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the East India Company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny. In response, militant Patriots in Massachusetts organized the "Boston Tea Party," which saw British tea valued at some 18,000 pounds dumped into Boston Harbor.

Parliament, outraged by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property, enacted the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, in 1774. The Coercive Acts closed Boston to merchant shipping, established formal British military rule in Massachusetts, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America, and required colonists to quarter British troops. The colonists subsequently called the first Continental Congress to consider a united American resistance to the British.

With the other colonies watching intently, Massachusetts led the resistance to the British, forming a shadow revolutionary government and establishing militias to resist the increasing British military presence across the colony. In April 1775, Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, ordered British troops to march to Concord, Massachusetts, where a Patriot arsenal was known to be located. On April 19, 1775, the British regulars encountered a group of American militiamen at Lexington, and the first shots of the American Revolution were fired.

Initially, both the Americans and the British saw the conflict as a kind of civil war within the British Empire: To King George III it was a colonial rebellion, and to the Americans it was a struggle for their rights as British citizens. However, Parliament remained unwilling to negotiate with the American rebels and instead purchased German mercenaries to help the British army crush the rebellion. In response to Britain's continued opposition to reform, the Continental Congress began to pass measures abolishing British authority in the colonies.

In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, an influential political pamphlet that convincingly argued for American independence and sold more than 500,000 copies in a few months. In the spring of 1776, support for independence swept the colonies, the Continental Congress called for states to form their own governments, and a five-man committee was assigned to draft a declaration.

The Declaration of Independence was largely the work of Virginian Thomas Jefferson. In justifying American independence, Jefferson drew generously from the political philosophy of John Locke, an advocate of natural rights, and from the work of other English theorists. The first section features the famous lines, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The second part presents a long list of grievances that provided the rationale for rebellion.

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve a Virginia motion calling for separation from Britain. The dramatic words of this resolution were added to the closing of the Declaration of Independence. Two days later, on July 4, the declaration was formally adopted by 12 colonies after minor revision. New York approved it on July 19. On August 2, the declaration was signed.

The American War for Independence would last for five more years. Yet to come were the Patriot triumphs at Saratoga, the bitter winter at Valley Forge, the intervention of the French, and the final victory at Yorktown in 1781. In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris with Britain, the United States formally became a free and independent nation.



Jul 4, 1776:
American colonies declare independence

On this day in 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of a new United States of America from Great Britain and its king. The declaration came 442 days after the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts and marked an ideological expansion of the conflict that would eventually involve France's intervention on behalf of the Americans.

The first major American opposition to British policy came in 1765 after Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure designed to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. Under the banner of "no taxation without representation," colonists convened the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 to vocalize their opposition to the tax. With its enactment in November, most colonists called for a boycott of British goods, and some organized attacks on customhouses and homes of tax collectors.

After months of protest in the colonies, Parliament finally voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. Most colonists continued to quietly accept British rule until Parliament's enactment of the Tea Act in 1773, a bill designed to save the faltering British East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny.

In response, militant colonists in Massachusetts organized the "Boston Tea Party," which saw British tea valued at some £18,000 dumped into Boston Harbor. Parliament, outraged by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property, enacted the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by the colonists, in 1774. The Coercive Acts closed Boston to merchant shipping, established formal British military rule in Massachusetts, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America and required colonists to quarter British troops.

In response, the colonists called the first Continental Congress to consider united American resistance to the British. With the other colonies watching intently, Massachusetts led the resistance to the British, forming a shadow revolutionary government and establishing militias to resist the increasing British military presence across the colony. In April 1775, Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, ordered British troops to march to Concord, Massachusetts, where a Patriot arsenal was known to be located. On April 19, 1775, the British regulars encountered a group of American militiamen at Lexington, and the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. Initially, both the Americans and the British saw the conflict as a kind of civil war within the British empire. To King George III, it was a colonial rebellion, and to the Americans, it was a struggle for their rights as British citizens. However, Parliament remained unwilling to negotiate with the American rebels and instead hired Hessians, German mercenaries, to help the British army crush the rebellion.

In response to Britain's continued opposition to reform, the Continental Congress began to pass measures abolishing British authority in the colonies. In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, an influential political pamphlet that convincingly argued for American independence and sold more than 500,000 copies in just a few months. In the spring of 1776, support for independence swept the colonies, the Continental Congress called for states to form their own governments and a five-man committee was assigned to draft a declaration. The Declaration of Independence was largely the work of Virginian Thomas Jefferson. In justifying American independence, Jefferson drew generously from the political philosophy of John Locke, an advocate of natural rights, and from the work of other English theorists. The declaration features the immortal lines, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It then goes on to present a long list of grievances that provided the rationale for rebellion. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve a Virginia motion calling for separation from Britain. The dramatic words of this resolution were added to the closing of the Declaration of Independence.

Two days later, on July 4, the declaration was formally adopted by 12 colonies after minor revision. New York, the 13th colony, approved it on July 19. On August 2, the declaration was signed. The American War for Independence would last for five years. Yet to come were the Patriot triumphs at Saratoga, the bitter winter at Valley Forge, the intervention of the French and the final victory at Yorktown in 1781. In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris with Britain, the United States formally became a free and independent nation.



Jul 4, 1804:
Lewis and Clark celebrate July 4

Staging the first-ever Fourth of July celebration west of the Mississippi River, Lewis and Clark fire the expedition cannon and order an extra ration of whiskey for the men.

Six weeks earlier, Lewis and Clark left American civilization to depart on their famous journey. Since their departure, the party of 29 men--called the Corps of Discovery--had made good progress, traveling up the Missouri River in a 55-foot keelboat and two dugout canoes. When the wind was behind them, Lewis and Clark raised the keelboat sail, and on a few occasions, managed to travel 20 miles in a single day.

By early July, the expedition had reached the northeastern corner of the present-day state of Kansas. The fertility of the land astonished the two leaders of the expedition. Clark wrote of the many deer, "as plenty as Hogs about a farm," and with his usual creative spelling, praised the tasty "rasberreis perple, ripe and abundant."

On this day in 1804, the expedition stopped near the mouth of a creek flowing out of the western prairie. The men asked the captains if they knew if the creek had a name. Knowing none, they decided to call it Independence Creek in honor of the day.

The expedition continued upstream, making camp that evening at an abandoned Indian village. To celebrate the Fourth of July, Lewis and Clark commanded that the keelboat cannon be fired at sunset. They distributed an extra ration of whiskey to the men, and the explorers settled back to enjoy the peaceful Kansas night. In his final journal entry of the day, Clark wondered at the existence of, "So magnificent a Senerey in a Contry thus Situated far removed from the Sivilised world to be enjoyed by nothing but the Buffalo Elk Deer & Bear in which it abounds & Savage Indians."

The next day, the travelers resumed their journey up the Missouri River toward the distant Pacific Coast. They would not pass by their pleasant camping spot in Kansas again until their return journey, two years and many adventures later.



Jul 4, 1826:
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die

On this day in 1826, former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who were once fellow Patriots and then adversaries, die on the same day within five hours of each other.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were the last surviving members of the original American revolutionaries who had stood up to the British empire and forged a new political system in the former colonies. However, while they both believed in democracy and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, their opinions on how to achieve these ideals diverged over time.

Adams preceded Jefferson as president (1797-1800); it was during this time that their ideas about policy-making became as distinct as their personalities. The irascible and hot-tempered Adams was a firm believer in a strong centralized government, while the erudite and gentile Jefferson believed federal government should take a more hands-off approach and defer to individual states' rights. As Adams' vice president, Jefferson was so horrified by what he considered to be Adams' abuse of the presidency--particularly his passage of the restrictive Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798--that he abandoned Adams and Washington for his estate at Monticello. There, he plotted how to bring his Republican faction back into power in the presidential election of 1800. After an exceptionally bitter campaign, in which both parties engaged in slanderous attacks on each other in print, Jefferson emerged victorious. It appeared the former friends would be eternal enemies.

After serving two presidential terms (1801-1809), Jefferson and Adams each expressed to third parties their respect the other and their desire to renew their friendship. Adams was the first to break the silence; he sent Jefferson a letter dated January 1, 1812, in which he wished Jefferson many happy new years to come. Jefferson responded with a note in which he fondly recalled when they were fellow laborers in the same cause. The former revolutionaries went on to resume their friendship over 14 years of correspondence during their golden years.

On July 4, 1826, at the age of 90, Adams lay on his deathbed while the country celebrated Independence Day. His last words were Thomas Jefferson still survives. He was mistaken: Jefferson had died five hours earlier at Monticello at the age of 82.



Jul 4, 1826:
Death of the founding fathers

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, respectively, die on this day, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Both men had been central in the drafting of the historic document; Jefferson had authored it, and Adams, who was known as the "colossus of the debate," served on the drafting committee and had argued eloquently for the declaration's passage.

After July 4, 1776, Adams traveled to France as a diplomat, where he proved instrumental in winning French support for the Patriot cause, and Jefferson returned to Virginia, where he served as state governor during the dark days of the American Revolution. After the British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, Adams was one of the negotiators of the Treaty of Paris that ended the war, and with Jefferson he returned to Europe to try to negotiate a U.S.-British trade treaty.

After the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Adams was elected vice president to George Washington, and Jefferson was appointed secretary of state. During Washington's administration, Jefferson, with his democratic ideals and concept of states' rights, often came into conflict with Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who supported a strong federal government and conservative property rights. Adams often arbitrated between Hamilton and his old friend Jefferson, though in politics he was generally allied with Hamilton.

In 1796, Adams defeated Jefferson in the presidential election, but the latter became vice president, because at that time the office was still filled by the candidate who finished second. As president, Adams' main concern was America's deteriorating relationship with France, and war was only averted because of his considerable diplomatic talents. In 1800, Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans (the forerunner of the Democratic Party) defeated the Federalist party of Adams and Hamilton, and Adams retired to his estate in Quincy, Massachusetts.

As president, Jefferson reduced the power and expenditures of the central government but advocated the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, which more than doubled the size of the United States. During his second administration, Jefferson faced renewed conflict with Great Britain, but he left office before the War of 1812 began. Jefferson retired to his estate in Monticello, Virginia, but he often advised his presidential successors and helped establish the University of Virginia. Jefferson also corresponded with John Adams to discuss politics, and these famous letters are regarded as masterpieces of the American enlightenment.

By remarkable coincidence, Jefferson and Adams died on the same day, Independence Day in 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Adams' last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still survives," though his old friend and political adversary had died a few hours before.



Jul 4, 1855:
First edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass is published

On this day, Walt Whitman's first edition of the self-published Leaves of Grass is printed, containing a dozen poems.

Whitman was born in West Hills, Long Island, and raised in Brooklyn. He left school at the age of 14 to become a journeyman printer and later worked as a teacher, journalist, editor, and carpenter to support his writing. In 1855, he self-published Leaves of Grass, which carried his picture but not his name. He revised the book many times, constantly adding and rewriting poems. The second edition, in 1856, included his "Sundown Poem," later called "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," one of his most beloved pieces. Whitman sometimes took long ferry and coach rides as an excuse to talk with people, and was also fond of long walks and cultural events in Manhattan.

In 1862, Whitman's brother was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and Whitman went to care for him. He spent the rest of the war comforting both Union and Confederate soldiers. After the war, Whitman worked for several government departments until 1873, when he suffered a stroke. He spent the rest of his life in Camden, New Jersey, and continued to issue revised editions of Leaves of Grass until shortly before his death in 1892.



Jul 4, 1863:
Confederates surrender Vicksburg

The Confederacy is torn in two when General John C. Pemberton surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The Vicksburg campaign was one of the Union’s most successful of the war. Although Grant's first attempt to take the city failed in the winter of 1862-63, he renewed his efforts in the spring. Admiral David Porter had run his flotilla past the Vicksburg defenses in early May as Grant marched his army down the west bank of the river opposite Vicksburg, crossed back to Mississippi, and drove toward Jackson. After defeating a Confederate force near Jackson, Grant turned back to Vicksburg. On May 16, he defeated a force under John C. Pemberton at Champion Hill. Pemberton retreated back to Vicksburg, and Grant sealed the city by the end of May. In three weeks, Grant's men marched 180 miles, won five battles, and took 6,000 prisoners.

Grant made some attacks after bottling Vicksburg, but found the Confederates well entrenched. Preparing for a long siege, his army constructed 15 miles of trenches and enclosed Pemberton's force of 29,000 men inside the perimeter. It was only a matter of time before Grant, with 70,000 troops, captured Vicksburg. Attempts to rescue Pemberton and his force failed from both the east and west, and conditions for both military personnel and civilians deteriorated rapidly. Many residents moved to tunnels dug from the hillsides to escape the constant bombardments. Pemberton surrendered on July 4, and President Abraham Lincoln wrote that the Mississippi River "again goes unvexed to the sea."

The town of Vicksburg would not celebrate the Fourth of July for 81 years.

 

04 July Births

68 – Salonina Matidia, Roman daughter of Ulpia Marciana (d. 119)
1330 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shogun (d. 1367)
1546 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1595)
1694 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (d. 1772)
1715 – Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet and academic (d. 1769)
1719 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright (d. 1797)
1790 – George Everest, Welsh surveyor and geographer (d. 1866)
1799 – Oscar I of Sweden (d. 1859)
1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author (d. 1864)
1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (d. 1882)
1816 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian club whiskey (d. 1899)
1826 – Stephen Foster, American songwriter (d. 1864)
1845 – Thomas John Barnardo, Irish philanthropist and humanitarian (d. 1905)
1847 – James Anthony Bailey, American circus ringmaster, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1906)
1854 – Victor Babeș, Romanian physician and biologist (d. 1926)
1854 – Bill Tilghman, American police officer (d. 1924)
1867 – Stephen Mather, American businessman (d. 1930)
1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer and academic (d. 1921)
1868 – Johannes van Dijk, Dutch rower (d. 1938)
1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)
1874 – John McPhee, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1952)
1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (d. 1968)
1882 – Louis B. Mayer, Belarusian-American film producer, founded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (d. 1957)
1883 – Rube Goldberg, American sculptor, cartoonist, and engineer (d. 1970)
1887 – Pio Pion, Italian businessman (d. 1965)
1888 – Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1945)
1895 – Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (d. 1996)
1896 – Mao Dun, Chinese journalist, author, and critic (d. 1981)
1897 – Alluri Sita Rama Raju, Indian activist (d. 1924)
1898 – Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican historian and activist (d. 1997)
1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, English-American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1952)
1902 – Meyer Lansky, Belarusian-American gangster (d. 1983)
1902 – George Murphy, American actor and politician (d. 1992)
1903 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1986)
1904 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
1905 – Irving Johnson, American sailor and author (d. 1991)
1905 – Lionel Trilling, American author, critic, and educator (d. 1975)
1907 – John Anderson, American discus thrower (d. 1948)
1907 – Gordon Griffith, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1958)
1907 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (d. 1996)
1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (d. 2003)
1910 – Gloria Stuart, American actress and singer (d. 2010)
1911 – Mitch Miller, American singer and producer (d. 2010)
1912 – Viviane Romance, French actress and producer (d. 1991)
1916 – Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American typist and broadcaster (d. 2006)
1917 – Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1947)
1918 – Eppie Lederer, American journalist (d. 2002)
1918 – Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (d. 1984)
1918 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (d. 2013)
1918 – Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga (d. 2006)
1920 – Norm Drucker, American basketball player and referee
1920 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (d. 2007)
1920 – Fritz Wilde, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
1921 – Gérard Debreu, French economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
1921 – Philip Rose, American actor, playwright, and producer (d. 2011)
1921 – Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (d. 2003)
1923 – Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress and producer
1926 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (d. 2014)
1926 – Lake Underwood, American race car driver and businessman (d. 2008)
1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and photographer
1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter
1928 – Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer and politician
1928 – Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 2001)
1928 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
1929 – Peter Angelos, American lawyer and businessman
1929 – Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
1929 – Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)
1930 – Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Armenian actor (d. 1993)
1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
1930 – Yuri Tyukalov, Russian rower
1931 – Stephen Boyd, Irish-American actor (d. 1977)
1931 – Rick Casares, American football player (d. 2013)
1931 – Lawrie Dring, Scottish scout leader, founded World Federation of Independent Scouts (d. 2012)
1931 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1932 – Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian runner
1934 – Yvonne B. Miller, American politician (d. 2012)
1934 – Colin Welland, English actor and screenwriter
1935 – Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (d. 2013)
1936 – Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano
1937 – Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and educator
1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway
1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian
1938 – Steven Rose, English biologist and academic
1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer
1938 – John Sterling, American sportscaster
1940 – Karolyn Grimes, American actress
1940 – Janet Neel Cohen, Baroness Cohen of Pimlico, English lawyer and author
1940 – Dave Rowberry, English pianist and songwriter (The Animals) (d. 2003)
1940 – Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player
1941 – Sam Farr, American politician
1941 – Sergio Oliva, Cuban-American bodybuilder (d. 2012)
1941 – Pavel Sedláček, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
1941 – Brian Willson, American soldier, lawyer, and activist
1942 – Hal Lanier, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1942 – Floyd Little, American football player and coach
1942 – Stefan Meller, French-Polish politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (d. 2008)
1942 – Prince Michael of Kent
1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Earth Opera and Old and in the Way)
1943 – Conny Bauer, German trombonist
1943 – Emerson Boozer, American football player and sportscaster
1943 – Adam Hart-Davis, English historian, author, and photographer
1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author
1943 – Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Canned Heat) (d. 1970)
1944 – Jaimy Gordon, American author and academic
1944 – Ray Meagher, Australian actor
1944 – Susan Kellermann, American actress
1945 – Bruce French, American actor
1945 – Andre Spitzer, Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (d. 1972)
1946 – Margaret Delisle, Canadian politician
1946 – Tish Howard, American model
1946 – Ron Kovic, American author and activist
1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist
1946 – Ed O'Ross, American actor
1948 – Ed Armbrister, Bahamian baseball player
1948 – René Arnoux, French race car driver
1948 – Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor
1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
1948 – Phil Wheatley, English civil servant
1950 – Philip Craven, English basketball player
1950 – David Jensen, Canadian-English radio host
1950 – Tonio K, American singer-songwriter
1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
1951 – Vladimir Tismăneanu, Romanian-American political scientist, sociologist, and academic
1952 – Paul Rogat Loeb, American author and activist
1952 – Álvaro Uribe, Colombian lawyer and politician, 39th President of Colombia
1952 – John Waite, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Babys and Bad English)
1953 – Francis Maude, English politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
1954 – Morganna, American model, actress, and dancer
1954 – Jim Beattie, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1956 – Mark Belling, American radio host
1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1957 – Jenny Seagrove, English actress and activist
1957 – Chulabhorn Walailak Thai princess
1958 – Steve Hartman, American sportscaster
1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian singer and guitarist (INXS)
1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer, coach, and manager
1959 – Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer
1960 – Sid Eudy, American wrestler and actor
1960 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994)
1960 – Mark Steel, English comedian, actor, and author
1960 – Barry Windham, American wrestler
1961 – Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series
1962 – Neil Morrissey, English actor and singer
1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster
1963 – Henri Leconte, French tennis player
1963 – Ute Lemper, German singer and actress
1963 – Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist
1963 – José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
1963 – William Ramallo, Bolivian footballer and coach
1963 – Michael Sweet, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Stryper and Boston)
1964 – Martin Flood, Australian game show contestant
1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager
1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer
1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer (Slaughter and Vinnie Vincent Invasion)
1964 – Mark Whiting, American director, screenwriter, and actor
1965 – Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach
1965 – Jo Whiley, English radio and television host
1966 – Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer
1966 – Lee Reherman, American football player and actor
1967 – Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager
1967 – Andy Walker, English-Canadian journalist
1967 – Rick Wilkins, American baseball player
1968 – Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter
1968 – Jack Frost, American guitarist and songwriter (Seven Witches and The Bronx Casket Co.)
1969 – Al Golden, American football player and coach
1969 – Todd Marinovich, American football player
1969 – Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach
1970 – Christian Giesler, American bass player (Kreator)
1970 – Tony Vidmar, Australian footballer and manager
1971 – Koko, American gorilla
1971 – Andy Creeggan, Canadian guitarist and pianist (Barenaked Ladies and The Brothers Creeggan)
1971 – Brendan Donnelly, American baseball player
1971 – Ned Zelić, Australian footballer
1972 – Nina Badrić, Croatian singer-songwriter
1972 – Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer
1972 – William Goldsmith, American drummer (Sunny Day Real Estate, Foo Fighters, and The Fire Theft)
1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player
1973 – Gackt, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Malice Mizer and Skin)
1973 – Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver
1973 – Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager
1973 – Anjelika Krylova, Russian ice dancer and coach
1973 – Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver
1973 – Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager
1973 – Elton Williams, Caribbean footballer
1974 – La'Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster
1974 – Adrian Griffin, American basketball player and coach
1974 – Vince Spadea, American tennis player
1976 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
1976 – Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier
1977 – Orri Páll Dýrason, Icelandic drummer (Sigur Rós)
1977 – Jonas Kjellgren, Swedish singer, guitarist, and producer (Scar Symmetry, Centinex, Raubtier, and Carnal Forge)
1977 – Zoe Naylor, Australian actress, journalist, and producer
1978 – Andrea Gabriel, American actress
1978 – Vicky Kaya, Greek model and actress
1978 – Stephen McNally, English singer-songwriter (BBMak)
1978 – Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
1978 – Becki Newton, American actress
1978 – Katia Zygouli, Greek model and actress
1979 – Dumas, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician
1979 – Kevin Thoms, American actor
1979 – Mark Twitchell, Canadian murderer
1979 – Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer
1980 – Carrie Keagan, American television host and actress
1980 – Max Elliott Slade, American actor
1980 – Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer
1981 – Brock Berlin, American footballer
1981 – Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player
1981 – Adérito Waldemar Alves Carvalho, Angolan footballer
1981 – Tahar Rahim, French actor
1981 – Will Smith, American football player
1982 – Hannah Harper, English porn actress and director
1982 – Michael Sorrentino, American model and author
1983 – Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter (X-Quisite)
1983 – Isabeli Fontana, Brazilian model and actress
1983 – Ben Jorgensen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Armor for Sleep)
1983 – Amantle Montsho, Botswana sprinter
1983 – Andrew Mrotek, American drummer (The Academy Is...)
1983 – Miguel Ángel Muñoz, Spanish actor and singer
1983 – Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer
1983 – Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer
1984 – Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor (KAT-TUN and Lands)
1984 – Gina Glocksen, American singer
1984 – Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer
1985 – Rinalds Sirsniņš, Latvian basketball player
1985 – Kane Tenace, Australian footballer
1986 – Takahisa Masuda, Japanese singer and actor (NEWS and Tegomass)
1986 – Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer
1986 – Mía Taveras, Dominican model and actress
1986 – Fanny Valette, French actress
1987 – Wude Ayalew, Ethiopianr unner
1987 – Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer
1988 – Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress and singer
1988 – Jada Stevens, American porn actress
1989 – Benjamin Büchel, English footballer
1989 – Yoon Doo-joon, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (Beast)
1989 – Rodgers Kola, Zambian footballer
1990 – Backer Aloenouvo, Togolese footballer
1990 – Kelsi Crain, American model, Miss Louisiana 2010
1990 – Rishadi Fauzi, Indonesian footballer
1990 – Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player
1990 – David Kross, German actor
1990 – Alyssa Miller, American model
1990 – Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer
1990 – Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer
1990 – Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer
1991 – Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Rositi, Bruneian runner
1992 – Basim, Danish singer-songwriter
1992 – Nick Hissom, English model and singer
1993 – Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer
1997 – Jason Spevack, Canadian actor
1998 – Malia Obama, American daughter of Barack Obama
1999 – Moa Kikuchi, Japanese singer and model (Babymetal and Sakura Gakuin)

D

 

Jul 4, 1911:
Heat wave strikes Northeast

On this day in 1911, record temperatures are set in the northeastern United States as a deadly heat wave hits the area that would go on to kill 380 people. In Nashua, New Hampshire, the mercury peaked at 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Other high-temperature records were set all over New England during an 11-day period.

The area from Pennsylvania northeast to Maine was most affected by the stifling heat. New York City was particularly hard hit. In fact, the New York City Health Department put out one of its very first heat advisories during July 1911. Mayor William Gaynor tried to make sure that the city's ice dealers could keep up their deliveries; in the time before refrigeration, ice was critical in keeping the food supply from spoiling.

By July 13, New York had reported 211 people dead from the excessive heat. One man, apparently disoriented from heat exhaustion, overdosed on strychnine. In Philadelphia, 159 people died from the heat. The types of deaths ascribed to the heat could vary quite a bit in 1911, with some authorities including those who drowned while attempting to cool off by swimming in the count. Heat also sometimes bent rail lines, causing train derailments; deaths in any resulting accidents might also be attributed to the heat. Heat stroke, however, is the typical cause of heat-related deaths. Extremely hot or humid weather or vigorous activity in the sun can lead the body's temperature-regulation mechanisms to fail, causing body heat to rise to dangerous levels. Symptoms of heat stroke include a headache, dizziness, confusion and hot, dry, flushed skin, as well as a rapid heartbeat and hallucinations.

The end of the 1911 heat wave was marked by a severe thunderstorm that killed five people.

Of the 50 states, only Hawaii and Alaska have not experienced a heat wave at one time or another.



Jul 4, 1917:
U.S. troops march through Paris to Lafayette's tomb

On July 4, 1917, the day on which the United States celebrates its independence, U.S. troops make their first public display of World War I, marching through the streets of Paris to the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat and hero of the American Revolutionary War.

Though the first large numbers of U.S. troops arrived in St. Nazaire, France, on June 26, 1916, almost three months after the formal U.S. declaration of war in early April, they were by no means to have an immediate effect on the battlefields of World War I. First, the American troops, many of them new recruits or conscripts, needed to be trained and organized into efficient battalions. They also needed to be reinforced by more of their number before they could have the strength to face Germany on the Western Front.

The U.S. commander, General John J. Pershing, dedicated himself to the establishment of training facilities and supply operations–even so, he could only promise a significant American contribution to the fighting beginning some 10 or 12 months from that time, or the summer of 1918. As a result, though the U.S. entrance into the war gave a significant psychological–and financial–boost to the exhausted Allies, on the battlefields of France the Allied soldiers were still waiting, in vain, for the hordes of arriving Americans to relieve them.

On July 4, 1917, immense public enthusiasm greeted the first public display of American troops: a symbolic march through Paris, ending at the grave of Lafayette, who had commanded revolutionary troops against the British empire and who, by his own request, had been buried in soil brought from America. To the cheers of Parisian onlookers in front of the tomb, the American officer Colonel Charles Stanton famously declared "Lafayette, we are here!"



Jul 4, 1919:
Dempsey defeats Willard

On this day in 1919, challenger Jack Dempsey defeats heavyweight champion Jess Willard in searing heat in Toledo, Ohio, to win the heavyweight championship of the world.

Jack Dempsey was born William Harrison Dempsey on June 24, 1895, in Manassa, Colorado. "The Manassa Mauler" came from a large, poor family of Irish descent. He left school after eighth grade, and then moved from town to town in search of work. Like two of his older brothers, William eventually took up boxing. He called himself Jack Dempsey after Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey, the Irish immigrant who boxed his way to middleweight championships in the 1880s and 1890s. The second and better-known Jack Dempsey became a legend winning bare-knuckle fights in barrooms around the Midwest, where he challenged men to fights for whatever they could wager. In 1917, Dempsey signed with manager Jim Kearns, who set him on a course toward the heavyweight championship. Kearns marketed Dempsey as part-American Indian, which he used to explain his "savage" fighting instincts.

Jess Willard was a 6-foot-7-inch right hander from Pottawattamie County, Kansas, who began boxing not for a love of the science of fighting, but because he needed to feed his family. He turned professional in 1911, and, in a match in Havana, Cuba, on April 5, 1915, knocked out Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the world heavyweight title. Known as a gentle giant, the popular Willard was heavily favored against the lesser-known Dempsey. But as Willard had little passion for fighting, he chose not to prepare for the fight with Dempsey, who trained as ferociously as he fought.

Forty-five thousand people showed up to Bay View Park in Toledo on a 110-degree day to wait in the sizzling sun for a fight that lasted less than 10 minutes. Although Willard outweighed Dempsey by 58 pounds, he was out of shape and the challenger knocked him down seven times in the first round. The next two rounds were a mere formality--Willard himself later said there was "no reason to continue."

Dempsey became one of the great stars of the 1920s, admired around the world for his prowess in the ring and his rise to stardom from hardscrabble beginnings. He held the heavyweight title until 1926, when he lost to Gene Tunney in a 10-round decision.



Jul 4, 1927:
Playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon born

On this day in 1927, Neil Simon, the author of a long list of successful Broadway plays--many of which, including The Odd Couple, became hit movies--is born in the Bronx section of New York City.

In one of his earliest jobs, in the 1950s, Simon wrote for Sid Caesar’s live comedy television program Your Show of Shows, alongside other future greats such as Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. As Simon went on to write for the stage and big screen, humor would continue to play a major role in his work. Simon’s first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, opened in 1961. He went on to write over 30 plays, including Barefoot in the Park (1963), The Odd Couple (1965), The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1972), Chapter Two (1977), the autobiographical trilogy of Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986), Lost in Yonkers (1991) and The Goodbye Girl (1993).

Simon wrote the screenplay for many of his stage productions that were adapted for the big screen. In 1967, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda starred in a cinematic version of Barefoot in the Park, about a young newlywed couple in Manhattan. Redford had also appeared in the original Broadway cast. In 1968, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau starred in a film version of The Odd Couple, about the mismatched roommates Felix Ungar, a neurotic neat freak, and Oscar Madison, a slob. Matthau also played Oscar Madison in the original Broadway production. The Odd Couple later became a popular TV sitcom that aired from 1970 to 1975 and starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. In 1998, Lemmon and Matthau reunited for The Odd Couple II. (The pair appeared in a number of comedic films together, starting with 1966’s The Fortune Cookie and including 1993’s Grumpy Old Men and its 1995 sequel.)

Simon has received four Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay: for The Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys (1975), which starred Matthau and George Burns, The Goodbye Girl (1977), which starred Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason (whom Simon was married to from 1973 to 1981) and California Suite (1978), which featured Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Michael Caine and Richard Pryor.



Jul 4, 1943:
Polish general fighting for justice dies tragically

On this day in 1943, Polish General Wladyslaw Sikorski dies when his plane crashes less than a mile from its takeoff point at Gibraltar. Controversy remains over whether it was an accident or an assassination.

Born May 20, 1888, in Austrian Poland (that part of Poland co-opted by the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Sikorski served in the Austrian army. He went on to serve in the Polish Legion, attached to the Austrian army, during World War I, and fought in the Polish-Soviet War of 1920-21. He became prime minister of Poland for a brief period (1922-23).

When Germany invaded and occupied Poland in 1939, Sikorski became leader of a Polish government-in-exile in Paris. He developed a good working relationship with the Allies-until April 1943, when Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin broke off Polish-Soviet diplomatic relations after Sikorski requested that the Red Cross investigate the alleged Soviet slaughter of Polish officers in the Katyn forest of eastern Poland in 1942.

After Germany and the USSR divided up Poland in 1939, thousands of Polish military personnel were sent to prison camps by the Soviets. When Germany invaded Russia in 1941, Stalin created a pact with the Polish government-in-exile to cooperate in the battle against the Axis. Given the new relationship, the Poles requested the return of the imprisoned military men, but the Soviets claimed they had escaped and could not be found. But when Germany overran eastern Poland, the part that had previously been under Soviet control, mass graves in the Katyn forest were discovered, containing the corpses of over 4,000 Polish officers, all shot in the back. The Soviets, apparently, had massacred them. But despite the evidence, the Soviet government insisted it was the Germans who were responsible.

Once news of the massacre spread, a formal Declaration of War Crimes was signed in London on January 13, 1943. Among the signatories was General Sikorski and General Charles de Gaulle. But Sikorksi did not want to wait until after the war for the punishment of those responsible for the Katyn massacre. He wanted the International Red Cross to investigate immediately.

It is believed that Britain considered this request a threat to Allied solidarity and some believe that in order to silence Sikorski on this issue, the British went so far as to shoot down his plane. There is no solid evidence of this.

After the war, the communist Polish government officially accepted the Soviet line regarding the mass graves. It was not until 1992 that the Russian government released documents proving that the NKVD, the Soviet secret police, had been responsible for the Katyn slaughter-backed up by the old Soviet Politburo.



Jul 4, 1954:
A sensationalized murder trial inspires The Fugitive

Marilyn Sheppard is beaten to death inside her suburban home in Cleveland, Ohio. Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, claimed to have fallen asleep in the family's living room and awakened to find a man with bushy hair fleeing the scene. The authorities, who uncovered the fact that Dr. Sheppard had been having an affair, did not believe his story and charged him with killing his pregnant wife.

Creating a national sensation, the media invaded the courtroom and printed daily stories premised on Sheppard's guilt. The jurors, who were not sequestered, found Sheppard guilty. Arguing that the circumstances of the trial had unfairly influenced the jury, Sheppard appealed to the Supreme Court and got his conviction overturned in 1966. Yet, despite the fact that Sheppard had no previous criminal record, many still believed that he was responsible for his wife's murder.

The Sheppard case brought to light the issue of bias within the court system. Jurors are now carefully screened to ensure that they have not already come to a predetermined conclusion about a case in which they are about to hear. In especially high-profile cases, jurors can be sequestered so that they are not exposed to outside media sources. However, most judges simply order jurors not to watch news reports about the case, and rely on them to honor the order.

Sheppard's case provided the loose inspiration for the hit television show The Fugitive, in which the lead character, Richard Kimble, is falsely accused of killing his wife, escapes from prison, and pursues the one-armed man he claimed to have seen fleeing the murder scene.

In 1998, DNA tests on physical evidence found at Sheppard's house revealed that there had indeed been another man at the murder scene. Sheppard's son, who had pursued the case long after his father's death in order to vindicate his reputation, sued the state for wrongful imprisonment in 2000, but lost.

 

04 July Deaths

673 – Ecgberht of Kent
907 – Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria
943 – Taejo of Goryeo (b. 877)
965 – Pope Benedict V
973 – Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop (b. 890)
1187 – Raynald of Châtillon, French knight (b. 1125)
1541 – Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1495)
1546 – Hayreddin Barbarossa, Greek-Turkish admiral (b. 1478)
1551 – Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, English politician (b. 1514)
1603 – Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer (b. 1521)
1623 – William Byrd, English composer (b. 1540)
1641 – Pedro Teixeira, Portuguese explorer
1648 – Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint (b. 1601)
1742 – Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian monk, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1671)
1754 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright and author (b. 1680)
1761 – Samuel Richardson, English author and painter (b. 1689)
1780 – Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (b. 1712)
1821 – Richard Cosway, English painter (b. 1742)
1826 – John Adams, American politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer, architect, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
1831 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (b. 1758)
1848 – François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician (b. 1768)
1850 – William Kirby, English entomologist and author (b. 1759)
1854 – Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German academic and jurist (b. 1781)
1857 – William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (b. 1786)
1881 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (b. 1806)
1882 – Joseph Brackett, American composer (b. 1797)
1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, American politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)
1901 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (b. 1843)
1902 – Vivekananda, Indian monk and saint (b. 1863)
1905 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and author (b. 1830)
1910 – Melville Fuller, American jurist, 8th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1833)
1910 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (b. 1835)
1916 – Alan Seeger, American soldier poet (b. 1888)
1922 – Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1894)
1926 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist and saint (b. 1901)
1931 – Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (b. 1869)
1931 – Buddie Petit, American cornet player (b. 1895)
1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
1938 – Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician (b. 1881)
1938 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
1941 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1881)
1943 – Władysław Sikorski, Polish general and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Poland (b. 1881)
1946 – Taffy O'Callaghan, Welsh footballer (b. 1906)
1946 – Gerda Steinhoff, German concentration camp overseer (b. 1922)
1948 – Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian journalist and author (b. 1882)
1949 – François Brandt, Dutch rower (b. 1874)
1963 – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889)
1963 – Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (b. 1876)
1964 – Gaby Morlay, French actress and singer (b. 1893)
1964 – Henry (Hank) Sylvern, American organist and composer (b. 1908)
1969 – Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (b. 1890)
1970 – Barnett Newman, American painter (b. 1905)
1970 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American sailor and businessman (b. 1884)
1971 – August Derleth, American anthologist and author (b. 1909)
1971 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (b. 1877)
1974 – Georgette Heyer, English author (b. 1902)
1974 – Haj Amin al-Husseini, Palestinian cleric (b. 1897)
1976 – Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli colonel (b. 1946)
1976 – Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1895)
1977 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian physicist and academic (b. 1918)
1979 – Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1905)
1980 – Maurice Grevisse, Belgian linguist and author (b. 1895)
1982 – Terry Higgins, Welsh AIDS victim (b. 1945)
1984 – Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
1986 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist and composer (b. 1903)
1986 – Oscar Zariski, Belarusian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1899)
1988 – Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (b. 1954)
1989 – Jack Haig, English actor (b. 1913)
1990 – Olive Ann Burns, American author (b. 1924)
1991 – Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon (b. 1936)
1991 – Art Sansom, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
1992 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (b. 1921)
1993 – Bona Arsenault, Canadian historian, genealogist, and politician (b. 1903)
1994 – Joey Marella, American wrestling referee (b. 1964)
1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (b. 1919)
1995 – Bob Ross, American painter and television host (b. 1942)
1997 – Charles Kuralt, American journalist (b. 1934)
1997 – John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (b. 1907)
1999 – Leo Garel, American illustrator (b. 1917)
2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1919)
2001 – V. Appapillai, Sri Lankan physicist and academic (b. 1913)
2001 – Keenan Milton, American skateboarder (b. 1974)
2002 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919)
2002 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (b. 1912)
2002 – Mansoor Hekmat, Iranian theorist (b. 1951)
2002 – Winnifred Quick, English-American RMS Titanic survivor (b. 1904)
2003 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (b. 1939)
2003 – André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1944)
2004 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1920)
2004 – Frank Robinson, English busker (b. 1932)
2005 – Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915)
2005 – Hank Stram, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
2007 – Barış Akarsu, Turkish singer, guitarist, and actor (b. 1979)
2007 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (The Drifters) (b. 1925)
2008 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (b. 1940)
2008 – Jesse Helms, American journalist and politician (b. 1921)
2008 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (b. 1916)
2008 – Terrence Kiel, American football player (b. 1980)
2008 – Charles Wheeler, German-English journalist (b. 1923)
2009 – Jim Chapin, American drummer (b. 1919)
2009 – Brenda Joyce, American actress (b. 1917)
2009 – Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (b. 1931)
2009 – Drake Levin, American guitarist (Paul Revere & the Raiders) (b. 1946)
2009 – Steve McNair, American football player (b. 1973)
2009 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author and actor (b. 1935)
2009 – Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese poet and politician (b. 1938)
2010 – Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (b. 1927)
2010 – Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Iraqi-Lebanese cleric (b. 1935)
2011 – Otto von Habsburg, Austrian-Hungarian son of Charles I of Austria (b. 1912)
2012 – Scamper, American horse (b. 1977)
2012 – Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet (b. 1932)
2012 – Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (b. 1919)
2012 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (b. 1987)
2012 – Eric Sykes, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
2013 – Onllwyn Brace, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1932)
2013 – Jack Crompton, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
2013 – James Fulton, American dermatologist and academic (b. 1940)
2013 – Charles A. Hines, American general (b. 1935)
2013 – Iain McColl, Scottish actor (b. 1955)
2013 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer and actress (The Nolans) (b. 1960)
2014 – Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1950)
2014 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (b. 1932)

H

 

Jul 4, 1957:
Fiat unveils the "Nuova Cinquecento"

On this day in 1957, the Italian automaker Fiat (short for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) debuts the "Nuova Cinquecento," a redesigned version of a model that it first released in 1936.

Founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli, Fiat had dominated the Italian auto industry since the early 20th century. When Fiat's first 500-cc car--known as "Il Topolino" (the Italian name for Mickey Mouse)--came on the scene, it was the smallest mass-produced car on the market, with space for two people, a tiny luggage capacity and a top speed of 53 mph. In the years following World War II (during which Fiat made many of the vehicles used by Italian forces under Benito Mussolini), the company sought to capitalize on the need for affordable family cars by revamping the 500. The Nuova Cinquecento was a two-cylinder rear-engined four-seater; like the German Volkswagen Beetle, it was intended as an Italian "people's car." Like the Beetle, the 500 was became a symbol of a country and a people, an emblem of "la dolce vita" in post-war Italy. Some 3.5 million new 500s were sold between 1957 and 1975, when Fiat halted production.

By 2004, Fiat--once the largest carmaker in Europe--was struggling financially due to stiff competition from Volkswagen and other companies. That year, Sergio Marchionne took over as the company's chief executive; he soon ended Fiat's largely unsuccessful five-year partnership with General Motors and would be praised by investors for the subsequent revival of the company's fortunes. A critical step in this turnaround was the launch of the new Cinquecento in 2007. Designed by Frank Stephenson (already famous for the redesign of another classic, the Mini Cooper), the new 500 was based on the mechanical elements of the popular Fiat Panda, but modified significantly. Though its retro styling evoked its iconic predecessor, the strong performance and extensive safety features (including seven airbags) were all its own.

On July 4, 2007--50 years to the day after Giacosa's famous car debuted--several thousand VIP guests, including Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, were among the 100,000 spectators who gathered in Turin to celebrate the launch of the Nuova Cinquecento. The lavish ceremony featured a fireworks display and a waterborne carnival procession along the Po River. Two years later, Fiat completed an alliance with Chrysler after the struggling American automaker was forced to file for federal bankruptcy protection. Under the terms of the partnership, Fiat owns a 20 percent share of Chrysler (which could eventually grow to at least 35 percent).



Jul 4, 1963:
South Vietnamese officers plot coup

Gen. Tran Van Don informs Lucien Conein of the CIA that certain officers are planning a coup against South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem, who had been supported by the Kennedy administration, had refused to make any meaningful reforms and had oppressed the Buddhist majority. Conein informed Washington that the generals were plotting to overturn the government. President John F. Kennedy, who had come to the conclusion that the Diem government should no longer be in command, sent word that the United States would not interfere with the coup.

In the early afternoon hours of November 1, a group of South Vietnamese generals ordered their troops to seize key military installations and communications systems in Saigon and demanded the resignation of Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu. Diem was unable to summon any support, so he and Nhu escaped the palace through an underground passage to a Catholic church in the Chinese sector of the city. From there, Diem began negotiating with the generals by phone. He agreed to surrender and was promised safe conduct, but shortly after midnight he and his brother were brutally murdered in back of the armored personnel carrier sent to pick them up and return them to the palace.

Kennedy, who had given tacit approval for the coup, was reportedly shocked at the murder of Diem and Nhu. Nevertheless, U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge called the insurgent generals to his office to congratulate them and cabled Kennedy that the prospects for a shorter war had greatly improved with the demise of Diem and Nhu.



Jul 4, 1968:
Thieu vows to wipe out corruption

At a formal ceremony inaugurating the formation of a new multiparty pro-government political group, the People's Alliance for Social Revolution, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu praises the organization as a "major step toward grassroots political activity." An Alliance manifesto asserted that the group was "determined to wipe out corruption, do away with social inequalities, and rout out the entrenched forces of militarists and reactionaries who have always blocked progress." Thieu's government had long been accused of corruption and, in order to garner political support from the People's Alliance, he vowed to take steps to eradicate the corruption. Unfortunately, neither Thieu nor the People's Alliance could do much about the entrenched corruption in the South Vietnamese government.



Jul 4, 1976:
The Clash play their first live gig

Formed as the first shots of the punk revolution were being fired, The Clash storm onto the UK scene with their debut performance on the Fourth of July, 1976, at The Black Swan in Sheffield, England, as the opening act for The Sex Pistols.

While America celebrated the bicentennial anniversary of its independence from Britain, the UK was in the midst of another revolution, this one staged on its very own shores. One eyewitness was singer/guitarist Joe Strummer, then the frontman of a popular pub-rock band called the 101ers. Before a gig at a London club called the Nashville Room in April 1976, he watched as that evening's opening act took the stage: "Five seconds into their first song, I just knew we were like yesterday's papers. I mean, we were over." The group was The Sex Pistols, and their effect on Strummer was life-altering. Within weeks, he'd accepted an invitation from guitarist Mick Jones and bassist Paul Simonon to leave the 101ers and join their as-yet-unnamed and drummer-less new band. Together, the three of them would form the core of a group their fans would call, with all sincerity, The Only Band That Matters.

The first live gig the Clash ever played had its predictable rough patches, but their enthusiasm and commitment were there from the start, as were their unique musical and visual esthetics. The Clash were instantly distinguishable from the group that inspired them by virtue of their sincere political bent. While the Sex Pistols sneered and preached anarchy, there was always a barely disguised element of hucksterism to their social agenda. The Clash, on the other hand, quickly established themselves as the zealous and decidedly un-soft advocates of leftist causes like racial justice. As U2 guitarist The Edge later wrote of the Clash, "This wasn't just entertainment. It was a life-and-death thing. They made it possible for us to take our band seriously....It was the call to wake up, get wise, get angry, get political and get noisy about it."

It took some months following their debut gig for the Clash to work out the kinks and find the drummer, Topper Headon, who would complete their definitive lineup. Even 25 years later, Joe Strummer could still quote nearly verbatim one of their early reviews: "The Clash are one of those garage bands who should be swiftly returned to the garage, with the doors locked and with the motor left running." Undiscouraged, the Clash released an acclaimed, self-titled debut album in the spring of 1977, and over the next two-and-a-half years, they released a second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978), that was Rolling Stone magazine's pick for album of the year, and a third, London Calling (1979), that the same magazine chose as the greatest album of the 1980s.



Jul 4, 1987:
Soviets rock for peace

A rock concert in Moscow, jointly organized by American promoters and the Soviet government, plays to a crowd of approximately 25,000. The venture was intended to serve as symbol of peace and understanding between the people of the United States and the Soviet Union.

The idea of a rock concert in Russia was essentially the brainchild of concert promoter Bill Graham, a fixture in the West Coast rock and roll scene. He approached the Soviet government about the idea of holding a show in Moscow. Some Soviet officials were extremely reluctant to consider the concert. For nearly three decades, rock and roll had been castigated by official Soviet propaganda as "decadent" and a threat to public morality. However, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power in the mid-1980s heralded a new liberalism. The Soviets agreed to host the concert, and it took place on the Fourth of July. Performers included Santana, the Doobie Brothers, and Bonnie Raitt. The security for the show was heavy--some observers said "oppressive"--and most of the 25,000 people who attended were kept far away from the stage. One American reporter claimed that many of the Russians trickled out during the show, bored or disgusted. Only when a Russian folk troupe hit the stage did the crowd muster up much excitement.

The concert was evidence of the new, but still uneasy relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States. Gorbachev's promises of economic and democratic reforms encouraged many in the United States to believe that a new and less antagonistic relationship with Russia might be possible. As the thousands of armed guards at the concert demonstrated, however, the new "openness" in Soviet society was hardly complete.



Jul 4, 1997:
Pathfinder lands on Mars

After traveling 120 million miles in seven months, NASA's Mars Pathfinder becomes the first U.S. spacecraft to land on Mars in more than two decades. In an ingenious, cost-saving landing procedure, Pathfinder used parachutes to slow its approach to the Martian surface and then deployed airbags to cushion its impact. Colliding with the Ares Vallis floodplain at 40 miles an hour, the spacecraft bounced high into the Martian atmosphere 16 times before safely coming to rest.

On July 5, the Pathfinder lander was renamed Sagan Memorial Station in honor of the late American astronomer Carl Sagan, and the next day Sojourner, the first remote-control interplanetary rover, rolled off the station. Soujourner, which traveled a total of 171 feet during its 30-day mission, sent back a wealth of information about the chemical components of rock and soil in the area. In addition, nearly 10,000 images of the Martian landscape were taken.

The Mars Pathfinder mission, which cost just $150 million, was hailed as a triumph for NASA, and millions of Internet users visited the official Pathfinder Web site to view images of the red planet.

 

05 July Events

##328 – The official opening of Constantine's Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius
##1295 – Scotland and France form an alliance, the so-called "Auld Alliance", against England.
##1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada
##1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begins an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
##1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
##1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
##1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
##1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
##1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
##1809 – The Battle of Wagram is fought.
##1811 – Venezuela declares independence from Spain.
##1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
##1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa – American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
##1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
##1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
##1878 – The coat of arms of the Baku Governorate is established.
##1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
##1934 – "Bloody Thursday" – Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
##1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
##1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
##1940 – World War II: The United Kingdom and the Vichy France government break off diplomatic relations.
##1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper River.
##1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
##1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
##1945 – World War II: The liberation of the Philippines is declared.
##1946 – The bikini goes on sale after debuting during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris, France.
##1948 – National Health Service Acts creates the national public health systems in the United Kingdom.
##1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
##1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
##1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
##1954 – The Andhra Pradesh High Court was established.
##1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, "That's All Right," at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
##1962 – Algeria becomes independent from France.
##1971 – Right to vote: The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
##1973 – A BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
##1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
##1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
##1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
##1987 – The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers were born and, in the following years, continued to kill with the tactic.
##1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions were later overturned.
##1995 – The Republic of Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
##1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
##1999 – Wolverhampton, England is hit by storms, including a tornado. The area was hit again with severe storms on August 1.
##1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
##2004 – The first Indonesian presidential election is held.
##2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly failed in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
##2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China.
##2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England.
##2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).

B

 

Jul 5, 1775:
Congress adopts Olive Branch Petition

On this day in 1775, the Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition, written by John Dickinson, which appeals directly to King George III and expresses hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain. Dickinson, who hoped desperately to avoid a final break with Britain, phrased colonial opposition to British policy as follows: "Your Majesty's Ministers, persevering in their measures, and proceeding to open hostilities for enforcing them, have compelled us to arm in our own defence, and have engaged us in a controversy so peculiarly abhorrent to the affections of your still faithful Colonists, that when we consider whom we must oppose in this contest, and if it continues, what may be the consequences, our own particular misfortunes are accounted by us only as parts of our distress."

By phrasing their discontent this way, Congress attempted to notify the king that American colonists were unhappy with ministerial policy, not his own. They concluded their plea with a final statement of fidelity to the crown: "That your Majesty may enjoy long and prosperous reign, and that your descendants may govern your Dominions with honour to themselves and happiness to their subjects, is our sincere prayer."

By July 1776, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed something very different: "The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States." Congress' language is critical to understanding the seismic shift that had occurred in American thought in just 12 months. Indeed, Congress insisted that Thomas Jefferson remove any language from the declaration that implicated the people of Great Britain or their elected representatives in Parliament. The fundamental grounds upon which Americans were taking up arms had shifted. The militia that had fired upon Redcoats at Lexington and Concord had been angry with Parliament, not the king, who they still trusted to desire only good for all of his subjects around the globe.

This belief changed after King George refused to so much as receive the Olive Branch Petition. Patriots had hoped that Parliament had curtailed colonial rights without the kings full knowledge, and that the petition would cause him to come to his subjects' defense. When George III refused to read the petition, Patriots realized that Parliament was acting with royal knowledge and support. Americans' patriotic rage was intensified by the January 1776 publication by English-born radical Thomas Paine of Common Sense, an influential pamphlet that attacked the monarchy, which Paine claimed had allowed crowned ruffians to impoverish the nation and set it together by the ears.



Jul 5, 1861:
Union and Rebel forces clash at Carthage, Missouri

On this day, the first large-scale engagement of the Civil War is fought in southwestern Missouri, signaling an escalation in the hostilities between the North and South.

Missouri was the scene of some of the most bitter partisan fighting during the war, and the state was deeply divided after the clash at Fort Sumter, South Carolina in April 1861. The Missouri State Guardsmen, a force of 6,000 men commanded by Confederate Governor Claiborne Jackson and Colonel Sterling Price, were poorly equipped and outfitted mostly in civilian clothing. Their Union counterpart was a force of 1,100, mostly German-Americans from St. Louis, commanded by General Franz Sigel.

Sigel's force occupied Springfield in late June, and then collided with the Confederates at nearby Carthage on July 5. Outnumbered, Sigel eventually withdrew, but was able to hold off several small attacks. By nightfall, the Union troops had retreated through Carthage and escaped a dangerous trap. Both sides declared victory, and losses were light: 13 Union men were killed and 31 were wounded, while 40 Confederates were killed and 120 were wounded. The forces remained in the area of Springfield, Missouri, gathering strength over the next month. They would fight again in August at Wilson's Creek, Missouri.



Jul 5, 1865:
Conspirators court-martialed for plotting to kill Lincoln, Grant and Andrew Johnson

On this day in 1865, President Andrew Johnson signs an executive order that confirms the military conviction of a group of people who had conspired to kill the late President Abraham Lincoln, then commander in chief of the U.S. Army. With his signature, Johnson ordered four of the guilty to be executed.

Confederate sympathizers David E. Herold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary E. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold and Samuel A. Mudd were arraigned on May 9 and convicted on July 5 for "maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously" conspiring with several others, including John Wilkes Booth, who had assassinated President Lincoln on April 14, 1865. In addition to targeting Lincoln, the conspirators had planned to kill General Ulysses S. Grant as he led Union armies in the Civil War against the southern states. Vice President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln to the presidency, was also one of the group's intended prey.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis, although not charged in this particular action, was implicated for inciting the traitorous bunch to kill the Union's key leaders. Davis was a former U.S. senator from South Carolina who led that state's secession from the Union in 1860. The court claimed that Davis "aided and comforted the insurgents, engaged in armed rebellion against the said United States [and aided] the subversion and overthrow of the Constitution and laws of the said United States."

According to the War Department's records, Mary Surratt and Edward Spangler had helped John Wilkes Booth gain entrance to the theater box in which Lincoln sat at the time of his murder. Spangler then "hindered" efforts to save Lincoln. Herold helped Booth escape through military lines. For his part, Payne attempted to kill Lincoln's secretary of war, William H. Seward, at Seward's home on the same night that Lincoln was shot. Seward suffered knife wounds to the face and throat from the attack, but survived. Atzerodt had apparently lain in wait for Vice President Johnson on the night of April 14; the report did not specify where. Finally, O Laughlin was charged with lying in wait to murder Grant. The others were convicted of giving aid or support to Booth at various times before and after Lincoln's assassination.

Herold, Atzerodt, Payne and Surratt were sentenced to death by hanging. Spangler, O'Laughlin, Mudd and Arnold were given life in prison with hard labor.



Jul 5, 1865:
Salvation Army founded

In the East End of London, revivalist preacher William Booth and his wife Catherine establish the Christian Mission, later known as the Salvation Army. Determined to wage war against the evils of poverty and religious indifference with military efficiency, Booth modeled his Methodist sect after the British army, labeling uniformed ministers as "officers" and new members as "recruits."

The Christian Mission, in which women were given ranks equal with men, launched "campaigns" into London's most forsaken neighborhoods. Soup kitchens were the first in a long line of various projects designed to provide physical and spiritual assistance to the destitute. In the early years, many in Britain were critical of the Christian Mission and its tactics, and the members were often subjected to fines and imprisonment as breakers of the peace.

In 1878, the organization was renamed the Salvation Army, and two years later the first U.S. branch opened in Pennsylvania. During the Great Depression, the Salvation Army provided food and lodging for those in need, and during both world wars it distinguished itself through its work with the armed forces. By then, it had come to be appreciated as an important international charity organization.

Today, the Salvation Army, still based in London, has branches in more than 75 countries. The Army operates evangelical centers, hospitals, emergency and disaster services, alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs, community centers, social work centers, secondhand stores, and recreation facilities. Voluntary contributions and profits from the sale of its publications fund the organization.



Jul 5, 1880:
George Bernard Shaw quits his job

On this day, George Bernard Shaw, 23, quits his job at the Edison Telephone Company in order to write.

Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland, and left school at the age of 14 to work in a land agent's office. In 1876, he quit and moved to London, where his mother, a music teacher, had settled. He worked various jobs while trying to write plays. He began publishing book reviews and art and music criticism in 1885. Meanwhile, he became a committed reformer and an active force in the newly established Fabian Society, a group of middle-class socialists.

His first play, Widowers' House, was produced in 1892. His second play, Mrs. Warren's Profession, was banned in Britain because of its frank dealing with prostitution. In 1905, when the play was performed in the U.S., police shut it down after one performance and jailed the actors and producers. The courts soon ruled that the show could re-open. Although some private productions were held, the show wasn't legally performed in Britain until 1926.

Shaw became the theater critic for the Saturday Review in 1895, and his reviews during the next several years helped shape the development of drama. In 1898, he published Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant, which contained Arms and the Man, The Man of Destiny, and other dramas. In 1904, Man and Superman was produced.

In his work, Shaw supported socialism and decried the abuses of capitalism, the degradation of women, and the evil effects of poverty, violence, and war. His writing was filled with humor, wit, and sparkle, as well as reformist messages, and his play Pygmalion, produced in 1912, later became the hit musical and movie My Fair Lady.

In 1925, Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature and used the substantial prize money to start an Anglo-Swedish literary society. He lived simply, abstained from alcohol, caffeine, and meat, declined most honors and awards, and continued writing into his 90s. He produced more than 40 plays before his death in 1950.



Jul 5, 1896:
Bill Doolin escapes from jail

The famous outlaw Bill Doolin escapes from an Oklahoma jail after only a few months of captivity.

Like many outlaws, William Doolin only gradually fell into a life of crime. Born in Arkansas in 1858, the tall and slim Doolin went west at the age of 23. He found work as a cowboy on several Oklahoma ranches and was widely regarded as a trustworthy and capable employee.

Doolin's life course changed forever when a beer party in southern Kansas turned violent and two deputy sheriffs ended up dead. Doolin's exact role in the murders was unclear, but evidence of his guilt was substantial enough to raise the chance of prison. Unwilling to risk a trial, Doolin became a fugitive.

Cool, intelligent, and a skilled shot, Doolin was suited to the outlaw life. Traveling throughout the West, he robbed banks and trains, sold illegal whiskey to Indians, rustled cattle and horses, and killed several men. He formed a criminal gang that occasionally joined forces with the Dalton brothers to rob banks in Oklahoma and Missouri.

As a robber, Doolin was more successful than most because of his careful planning, but success inevitably attracted the unwanted attention of the law. In January 1896, Doolin returned to Arkansas. While Doolin was taking the medicinal waters at a resort called Eureka Springs, the famous Oklahoma lawman William Tilghman arrested him without a struggle.

Tilghman transferred Doolin to a jail at Guthrie, Oklahoma, to await trial. On this day in 1896, Doolin managed to escape, but was free only for a short time. A few weeks later, on August 25, a posse caught up with Doolin at Lawson, Oklahoma. Doolin resisted arrest, and in the ensuing gun battle, lawmen shot him to death.



Jul 5, 1914:
Germany gives Austria-Hungary blank check assurance

On July 5, 1914, in Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany pledges his country's unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary chooses to take in its conflict with Serbia, a long-running rivalry thrown into crisis by the assassination, the previous June 28, of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife by a Serbian nationalist during an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Barely a week after Franz Ferdinand's murder, the Austrian Foreign Ministry sent an envoy, Alexander, Graf von Hoyos, to Berlin. Hoyos carried a memorandum from the office of the Austrian foreign secretary, Leopold Berchtold, expressing the need for action in the tumultuous Balkans region, as well as a personal letter to the same effect from Emperor Franz Josef to Kaiser Wilhelm. Both documents focused on the need for Austria-Hungary to establish an alliance with Bulgaria, in place of Romania—which Germany had previously favored as a possible Balkan ally—due to the latter nation's increasing closeness with Serbia and its powerful supporter, Russia. Neither the memorandum nor the emperor's letter specified that Austria-Hungary wanted war, but the memorandum—a new version of an earlier, less emphatic text written before Franz Ferdinand's assassination—stressed the need for immediate action, pointed to increased Serbian and Russian aggression and stated as an objective the elimination of Serbia as "a factor of political power in the Balkans."

Austria's ambassador to Germany, Ladislaus Szogyeni-Marich, passed Hoyos' two documents to the kaiser over lunch on July 5, in Potsdam. Wilhelm was outraged by Franz Ferdinand's murder, and felt a sense of personal loss: the two had met at the archduke's country estate just two weeks before the assassination to discuss the situation in the Balkans. Though he initially demurred and said he needed to consult the German chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, he eventually—when pressed by the ambassador—responded with uncharacteristic decisiveness, promising Germany's "faithful support" for Austria-Hungary in whatever action it chose to take towards Serbia, even if Russia intervened. Later that afternoon, Wilhelm assembled a crown council, attended by Bethmann Hollweg, Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann, and War Minister Erich von Falkenhayn, among others. From this meeting, a consensus emerged backing the kaiser's decision, which Bethmann Hollweg subsequently relayed to the Austrian representatives and Hoyos triumphantly carried back to Vienna.

The kaiser's pledge, which historians have referred to as the carte blanche or "blank check" assurance, marked a decisive moment in the chain of events leading up to the outbreak of the First World War in Europe during the summer of 1914. Without Germany's backing, the conflict in the Balkans might have remained localized. With Germany promising to support Austria-Hungary's punitive actions towards Serbia, even at the cost of war with Russia, whose own powerful allies included France and Great Britain, the possible Balkan War threatened to explode into a general European one.

 

05 July Births

465 – Ahkal Mo' Naab' I, Mayan ruler (d. 524)
1029 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian Caliph (d. 1094)
1321 – Joan of The Tower, Scottish wife of David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
1547 – Garzia de' Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1562)
1549 – Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal (d. 1627)
1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (d. 1592)
1586 – Thomas Hooker, English-American settler, founded the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1647)
1653 – Thomas Pitt, English businessman and politician (d. 1726)
1670 – Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg (d. 1748)
1675 – Mary Walcott, American witness at the Salem witch trials (d. 1719)
1717 – Peter III of Portugal (d. 1786)
1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1794)
1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician (d. 1824)
1755 – Sarah Siddons, Welsh-English actress (d. 1831)
1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian soldier (d. 1826)
1794 – Sylvester Graham, American minister and activist (d. 1851)
1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870)
1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
1805 – Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte, English-American son of Jérôme Bonaparte (d. 1870)
1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865)
1810 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1891)
1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1872)
1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican politician and diplomat, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico (d. 1910)
1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1919)
1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904)
1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
1853 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (d. 1902)
1857 – Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (d. 1933)
1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919)
1872 – Édouard Herriot, French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1957)
1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (d. 1967)
1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945)
1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player (d. 1959)
1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1940)
1880 – Constantin Tănase, Romanian actor and playwright (d. 1945)
1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (d. 1927)
1883 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 1975)
1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (d. 1936)
1885 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (d. 1962)
1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch accountant and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1988)
1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
1889 – Jean Cocteau, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American historian and journalist (d. 1954)
1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
1891 – Tin Ujević, Croatian poet (d. 1955)
1894 – Ants Lauter, Estonian actor and director (d. 1973)
1895 – Gordon Jacob, English composer (d. 1984)
1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974)
1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (d. 1974)
1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist, founded the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (d. 1989)
1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985)
1903 – Willem Peters, Dutch triple jumper (d. 1995)
1904 – Harold Acton, English scholar and author (d. 1994)
1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (d. 2005)
1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
1905 – Myles Horton, American educator and activist (d. 1990)
1910 – Georges Vedel, French lawyer and academic (d. 2002)
1911 – Endel Aruja, Estonian-Canadian physicist (d. 2008)
1911 – Giorgio Borġ Olivier, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1980)
1911 – Georges Pompidou, French politician, 19th President of France (d. 1974)
1912 – Mack David, American songwriter (d. 1993)
1913 – George Costakis, Russian art collector (d. 1990)
1913 – Smiley Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
1914 – Gerda Gilboe, Danish actress and singer (d. 2009)
1915 – John Woodruff, American runner (d. 2007)
1918 – K. Karunakaran, Indian politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
1918 – René Lecavalier, Canadian sportscaster (d. 1999)
1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012)
1918 – George Rochberg, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
1920 – Mary Louise Hancock, American politician
1921 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (d. 2013)
1922 – Bob Duffy, American basketball player
1924 – Niels Jannasch, German-Canadian historian (d. 2001)
1924 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (d. 2013)
1925 – Fernando de Szyszlo, Peruvian painter and sculptor
1925 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer
1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2013)
1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
1929 – Katherine Helmond, American actress and director
1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (d. 2000)
1931 – John Ure, English diplomat, British Ambassador to Sweden
1932 – Howard Dorgan, American author and academic (d. 2012)
1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
1932 – Billy Laughlin, American actor (d. 1948)
1935 – John Gilmore, American journalist and author
1935 – Fergus Millar, Scottish historian and academic
1935 – John Schoenherr, American illustrator (d. 2010)
1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress
1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1938 – Ronnie Self, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
1939 – Booker Edgerson, American football player
1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager
1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
1943 – Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster
1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (The Band)
1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican lawyer and politician, Attorney General of México
1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
1946 – Paul Smith, English fashion designer
1946 – Gerard 't Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
1947 – Todd Akin, American soldier, engineer, and politician
1947 – George Kunz, American football player
1948 – William Hootkins, American actor (d. 2005)
1949 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (d. 2013)
1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor (Huey Lewis and the News and Clover)
1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Steppenwolf, Detective, and World Classic Rockers)
1950 – Philip Terzian, American journalist and author
1951 – Keiko Fuji, Japanese singer and actress (d. 2013)
1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
1951 – Roger Wicker, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
1953 – Elizabeth Emanuel, English fashion designer
1954 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Minister of Defence for Sweden
1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter (Aerosmith and Stress)
1954 – Wayne Hale, American engineer
1954 – Elżbieta Pierzchała, Polish politician
1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer and coach
1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player and coach
1956 – Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan politician, President of Paraguay
1956 – Terry Chimes, English drummer (The Clash, Generation X, Hanoi Rocks, and Cowboys International)
1956 – Billy Jenkins, English guitarist and composer (Voice of God Collective)
1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
1956 – Patsy Pease, American actress
1957 – David Hanson, English politician
1957 – Anne Marie Morris, English politician
1957 – Carlo Thränhardt, German high jumper
1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
1958 – Paul Daniel, English conductor
1958 – Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1960 – James M. Kelly, American politician
1960 – Brad Loree, Canadian actor and stuntman
1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor
1961 – Isabelle Poulenard, French soprano
1961 – Patrizia Scianca, Italian voice actress
1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer
1962 – Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Indonesian terrorist (d. 2008)
1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
1963 – Russ Lorenson, American singer and actor
1963 – Yasmin Qureshi, Pakistani-English politician
1963 – Mark Stockwell, Australian swimmer
1963 – Dorien Wilson, American actor
1964 – Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and producer
1965 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli pianist
1965 – Julián Sotelo, Spanish javelin thrower
1966 – Susannah Doyle, English actress, director, and playwright
1966 – Claudia Wells, Malaysian-American actress
1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
1967 – Silvia Ziche, Italian author and illustrator
1967 – Vinod Raj, Indian actor, singer, and dancer
1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese illustrator
1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese composer
1968 – Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player (The Evaporators)
1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer
1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
1968 – Michael Stuhlbarg, American actor
1969 – RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director (Wu-Tang Clan and Gravediggaz)
1969 – Ansgar Brinkmann, German footballer
1969 – Jenji Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
1969 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
1969 – John LeClair, American ice hockey player
1970 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer, founded Thizz Entertainment (d. 2004)
1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer and manager
1971 – Nicola Stephenson, English actress
1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner
1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter
1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer (The Cardigans)
1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer (Moloko)
1973 – Alexander Radčenko, Czech handball player
1973 – René Spies, German bobsledder
1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer
1975 – Kip Gamblin, Australian dancer and actor
1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
1976 – Bizarre, American rapper (D12 and Outsidaz)
1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
1977 – Royce da 5'9", American rapper and producer (Bad Meets Evil and Slaughterhouse)
1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower
1978 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (d. 2013)
1979 – Tim Coly, German rugby player
1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter (Westlife)
1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French tennis player
1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
1980 – Pauly D, American DJ
1980 – Eirini Kavarnou, Greek swimmer
1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer (Turtle Island Quartet)
1980 – Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Lifehouse)
1981 – Gianne Albertoni, Brazilian model and actress
1981 – Jesse Crain, Canadian baseball player
1981 – Ryan Hansen, American actor
1982 – Paíto, Mozambican footballer
1982 – Alain Arroyo, Spanish footballer
1982 – Chris Bailey, Australian rugby player
1982 – Vitaliy Borisov, Azerbaijani footballer
1982 – Tuba Büyüküstün, Turkish actress
1982 – Julien Casoli, French sprinter
1982 – Monica Day, American model and journalist
1982 – Katerena DePasquale, Ukrainian model
1982 – Fabrício de Souza, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Alexander Dimitrenko, German boxer
1982 – Vladimir Fedotov, Russian footballer
1982 – Julien Féret, French footballer
1982 – Joey Foster, English race car driver
1982 – Lionel Gautherie, French rugby player
1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
1982 – Kate Gynther, Australian water polo player
1982 – Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Lady Antebellum)
1982 – Yuri Ivanov, Bulgarian footballer
1982 – Tony Jackson, American football player
1982 – Mohammad Keshavarz, Iranian footballer
1982 – Tamer Moustafa, Egyptian basketball player
1982 – Junri Namigata, Japanese tennis player
1982 – Javier Paredes, Spanish footballer
1982 – Szabolcs Perenyi, Romanian-Hungarian footballer
1982 – Leon Sharf, Ukrainian footballer
1982 – Rubén Taucare, Chilean footballer
1982 – Beno Udrih, Slovenian basketball player
1982 – Aaron Wagner, Canadian football player
1982 – Ata Yamrali, Afghan-German footballer
1983 – Marco Estrada, Mexican baseball player
1983 – Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
1983 – Taavi Peetre, Estonian shot putter (d. 2010)
1984 – Danay García, Cuban-American actress
1984 – Zack Miller, American golfer
1984 – Marion Thees, German skeleton racer
1984 – Yu Yamada, Japanese model, actress, and singer
1985 – Stephanie McIntosh, Australian singer and actress
1985 – Nick O'Malley, English bass player (Arctic Monkeys)
1985 – Lucía Pérez, Spanish singer
1985 – Alexandre R. Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American football player
1986 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
1986 – Alexander Radulov, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Adam Young, American singer-songwriter and producer (Owl City and Sky Sailing)
1987 – Andrija Kaluđerović, Serbian footballer
1988 – Adriano Buzaid, Brazilian race car driver
1988 – Vincent Chepkok, Kenyan runner
1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer
1988 – Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
1989 – Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
1989 – Alona Fomina, Ukrainian tennis player
1989 – Dwight King, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Joseph King, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Canvas and Deadbeat Darling)
1989 – Sjinkie Knegt, Dutch speed skater
1989 – Dejan Lovren, Croatian footballer
1989 – Sean O'Pry, American model
1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
1991 – Jason Dolley, American actor
1992 – Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
1993 – Hollie Cavanagh, English-American singer
1993 – Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
1996 – Dolly, Scottish sheep (d. 2003)

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