July 4

Encyclopedia : J : JU : JUL : July 4

is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining.

Contents

1 Events
2 Births
3 Deaths
4 Holidays and observances
5 External links

Events

836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples
993 - Saint Ulrich of Augsburg canonized.
1054 - A supernova is observed by the Chinese, the Arabs and possibly Amerindians near the star ζ 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 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
1636 - City of Providence, Rhode Island forms.
1712 - 12 slaves are executed in New York for starting an uprising that killed 9 whites
1776 - American Revolutionary War: The Continental Congress approves a Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1802 - At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens.
1803 - The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
1810 - The French occupy Amsterdam.
1817 - At Rome, New York, United States, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
1827 - Slavery is abolished in New York State.
1837 - Grand Junction Railway, world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
1838 - The Iowa Territory is organized.
1840 - The Cunard Line's 700 ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic passenger cruise.
1845 - Near Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau embarks on a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond (see Walden).
1855 - In Brooklyn, New York, the first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems titled Leaves of Grass is published.
1859 - Austro-Sardinian War: The Battle of Magenta.
1862 - Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Vicksburg - Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege.
1865 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is published.
1881 - In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
1887 - Qauid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam.
1886 - First scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia.
1892 - Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4.
1894 - The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
1910 - African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States.
1918 - Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
1918 - Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
1927 - First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
1934 - Joe Louis wins his first professional boxing match.
1934 - Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.
1939 - Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, tells a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he announces his retirement from major league baseball.
1941 - Mass murder of Polish scientists and writers, committed by Nazi Germans in captured Polish city of Lwów.
1946 - After 381 years of colonial rule, the Philippines is granted full independence by the United States.
1947 - "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before British House of Commons, suggesting bifurcation of British India into two sovereign coutries - India and Pakistan.
1950 - First broadcast by Radio Free Europe.
1959 - With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act goes into effect the next year.
1970 - Popular syndicated radio show, "American Top 40", hosted by "Casey Kasem, debuts.
1976 - Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
1976 - The United States celebrates its bicentennial.
1982 - Four Iranian diplomats kidnapped 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 is sentenced to life imprisonment.
1992 - USS George Washington (CVN-73), a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy is commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia.
1997 - NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
1999 - David Beckham marries Victoria Adams in Ireland
2004 - The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. (This was largely a symbolic event; actual construction would not start for several weeks)
2005 - The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
2006 - Space Shuttle program: STS-121 Mission - Space Shuttle Discovery launches at 18:37:55 UTC . The first Independence Day shuttle launch.
2006 - North Korea tests four short-range missiles one medium-range missile, and a long-range Taepodong-2. The latter reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.

Births

1330 - Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shogun (d. 1367)
1546 - Murat III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1595)
1694 - Louis-Claude Daquin, French composer (d. 1772)
1715 - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet (d. 1769)
1719 - Michel-Jean Sedaine, French dramatist (d. 1797)
1799 - King Oscar I of Sweden, French general (d. 1859)
1804 - Nathaniel Hawthorne, American writer (d. 1864)
1807 - Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian patriot (d. 1882)
1826 - Stephen Foster, American songwriter (d. 1864)
1845 - Thomas Barnardo, Irish humanitarian (d. 1905)
1847 - James Anthony Bailey, American circus impresario (d. 1906)
1854 - Victor Babeş, Romanian bacteriologist (d. 1926)
1872 - Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)
1878 - George M. Cohan, American entertainer (d. 1942)
1881 - Ulysses S. Grant III, American soldier (d. 1968)
1882 - Louis B. Mayer, American film producer (d. 1957)
1883 - Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist (d. 1970)
1896 - Mao Dun, Chinese writer (d. 1981)
1898 - Dr. Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican historian (d. 1997)
1901 - Louis Armstrong, American musician (d. 1971)
1902 - Meyer Lansky, Russian-born gangster (d. 1983)
1902 - George Murphy, American entertainer (d. 1992)
1904 - Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
1905 - Irving Johnson, American adventurer (d. 1991)
1907 - Gordon Griffith, American director (d. 1958)
1910 - Gloria Stuart, American actress
1911 - Mitch Miller, American entertainer
1916 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American known as Tokyo Rose in World War II
1917 - Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1947)
1918 - Ann Landers, American advice columnist (d. 2002)
1918 - Abigail Van Buren American advice columnist
1920 - Norm Drucker, American basketball referee
1921 - Gerard Debreu, French economist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
1921 - Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist (d. 2003)
1923 - Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss Federal Councilor
1924 - Eva Marie Saint, American actress
1926 - Alfredo Di Stefano, Argentine footballer
1927 - Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress
1927 - Neil Simon, American playwright
1929 - Bill Tuttle, baseball player (d. 1998)
1929 - Al Davis, football team owner
1930 - George Steinbrenner, baseball team owner
1930 - Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Armenian actor
1931 - Stephen Boyd, Northern Irish actor (d. 1977)
1938 - Bill Withers, American singer and songwriter
1942 - Floyd Little, American football player
1942 - Stefan Meller, Polish foreign minister
1943 - Konrad "Conny" Bauer, German musician
1943 - Geraldo Rivera, American reporter
1943 - Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, American musician (Canned Heat) (d. 1970)
1946 - Ron Kovic, American peace activist
1946 - Ed O'Ross, American actor
1948 - Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer
1951 - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American politician
1952 - Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Colombian politician
1960 - Sid Eudy, professional wrestler
1961 - Richard Garriott, English video game designer
1962 - Pam Shriver, American tennis player
1966 - Lee Reherman, American actor
1967 - Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player
1967 - Andy Walker, Canadian television personality
1973 - Gackt, Japanese singer
1973 - Tony Popovic, Australian footballer
1973 - Michael Johnson, England-born Jamaican footballer
1974 - La'Roi Glover, American football player
1976 - Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
1979 - Martin Shearman-Brettle, English composer
1983 - Isabeli Fontana, Brazilian model
1995 - María Isabel, Spanish singer

Deaths

965 - Pope Benedict V
973 - Saint Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop (b. 890)
1187 - Raynald of Chatillon, Prince of Antioch (executed)
1541 - Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish explorer (b. 1495)
1603 - Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer (b. 1521)
1623 - William Byrd, English composer
1742 - Guido Grandi, Italian mathematician (b. 1671)
1754 - Philippe Néricault Destouches, French dramatist (b. 1680)
1761 - Samuel Richardson, English writer (b. 1689)
1780 - Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (b. 1712)
1787 - Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise, Marshal of France (b. 1715)
1821 - Richard Cosway, English artist (b. 1742)
1826 - Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
1826 - John Adams, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
1831 - James Monroe, 5th President of the United States (b. 1758)
1848 - François-René de Chateaubriand, French writer (b. 1768)
1850 - William Kirby, English entomologist (b. 1759)
1857 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (b. 1786)
1881 - Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish statesman (b. 1806)
1882 - Joseph Brackett, American composer (b. 1797)
1891 - Hannibal Hamlin, U.S. Vice President (b. 1809)
1901 - Johannes Schmidt, German linguist (b. 1843)
1902 - Swami Vivekananda, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1863)
1905 - Élisée Reclus, French anarchist (b. 1830)
1910 - Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer (b. 1835)
1916 - Alan Seeger, American war poet (b. 1888)
1922 - Lothar von Richthofen, German pilot (b. 1894)
1926 - Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian mountaineer (b. 1901)
1931 - Buddie Petit, American jazz musician (b. 1895)
1934 - Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Polish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Physics (b. 1867)
1938 - Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
1941 - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (b. 1881)
1970 - Barnett Newman, American artist (b. 1905)
1971 - August Derleth, American writer and editor (b. 1909)
1975 - Georgette Heyer, English author (b. 1902)
1976 - Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet (b. 1895)
1977 - Gersh Budker, Russian physicist (b. 1918)
1982 - Terry Higgins, early British AIDS death
1986 - Oscar Zariski, Russian mathematician (b. 1899)
1988 - Adrian Adonis, Professional wrestler
1991 - Victor Chang, Australian physician (murdered) (b. 1936)
1992 - Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian composer (b. 1921)
1994 - Joey Marella, American wresting referee (b. 1964)
1995 - Eva Gabor, Hungarian actress (b. 1919)
1997 - Charles Kuralt, American television reporter (b. 1934)
1997 - John Zachary Young, English zoologist (b. 1907)
1999 - Leo Garel, American artist and cartoonist (b.1917)
2000 - Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski, Polish writer (b. 1919)
2002 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American general (b. 1912)
2002 - Mansoor Hekmat, Iranian politician and activist (b. 1951)
2003 - Barry White, American singer and record producer (b. 1944)
2004 - Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (b. 1920)
2005 - Hank Stram, American football coach (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

United States - Independence Day (1776)
Filipino-American Friendship Day
In astronomy, the approximate date of Earth's aphelion.

External links

July 3 - July 5 - June 4 - August 4 - more historical anniversaries

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.