On this day in History - Jul 4

• 0836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples
• 0965 - Pope Benedict V dies
• 0993 - Saint Ulrich of Augsburg canonized.
• 1054 - A supernova is observed by the Chinese and Amerindians near the star ζ Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebla.
• 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.
• 1187 - Raynald of Chatillon dies (executed)
• 1253 - Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
• 1330 - Ashikaga Yoshiakira was born (d. 1367). Ashikaga shogun.
• 1336 - A Rainha Isabel de Aragão, viúva de D. Dinis, morre em Estremoz, sendo o seu corpo transladado para o Convento de Santa Clara de Coimbra. Será canonizada em 25 de Maio de 1625 no pontificado de Urbano VIII.
• 1359 - Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
• 1415 - Angelo Correr became Pope Gregory XII.
• 1546 - Murat III was born (d. 1595). Ottoman Emperor
• 1623 - William Byrd dies. English composer of sacred music (Ave verum corpus) .
• 1636 - City of Providence, Rhode Island forms.
• 1694 - Louis-Claude Daquin was born (d. 1772). French composer.
• 1712 - 11 slaves are executed in New York for starting an uprising that killed 9 Caucasians
• 1715 - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert was born (d. 1769). German poet.
• 1719 - Michel-Jean Sedaine was born (d. 1797). French dramatist.
• 1731 - António Diniz da Cruz e Silva was born in Lisbon (d. 5 Oct 1799). Portuguese poet and judge.
• 1761 - Samuel Richardson dies. English novelist.
• 1776 - American Revolutionary War: The Continental Congress approves a Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain forming the United States of America.
• 1789 - Cláudio Manuel da Costa dies in Ouro Preto (MG) (b. 5 Jun 1729). Brazilian poet and judge.
• 1790 - George Everest was born (d. 1866). Welsh surveyor and namesake of Mt. Everest.
• 1795 - Francisco Bayeu y Subías dies. Painter.
• 1799 - Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte was born (d. 1859). French general and King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway
• 1802 - At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens.
• 1803 - The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
• 1804 - Nathaniel Hawthorne was born (d. 1864). American writer.
• 1807 - Giuseppe Garibaldi was born (d. 1882). Italian patriot.
• 1810 - The French occupy Amsterdam.
• 1816 - Hiram Walker was born (d. 1899). American grocer and distiller.
• 1817 - At Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
• 1821 - Richard Cosway dies (b. 1742). English artist .
• 1821 - D. João VI regressa a Portugal, chamado pelas Cortes Constituintes, reunidas em virtude da revolução de 1820.
• 1826 - Stephen Foster was born (d. 1864). American songwriter.
• 1826 - Thomas Jefferson dies (b. 1743). 3rd President of the United States
• 1826 - John Adams dies (b. 1735) just a few hours after Jefferson. 2nd President of the United States
• 1826 - Fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, on which John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two of America's Founding Fathers, died. (Luther Martin, another Founding Father would die a few days later, on July 8, 1826.)
• 1826 - Stephen Foster was born (d. 1864). American songwriter
• 1827 - Slavery is abolished in New York State.
• 1831 - James Monroe dies (b. 1758). 5th President of the United States
• 1837 - Grand Junction Railway, world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
• 1838 - The Iowa Territory is organized.
• 1838 - Colonel José Antonio Vidaurre dies. Chilean revolutionary (shot)
• 1840 - The Cunard Line's 700 ton wooden paddlewheel 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).
• 1845 - Thomas Barnardo was born (d. 1905). Irish founder of homes for underprivileged children.
• 1847 - James Anthony Bailey was born (d. 1906). American circus impresario.
• 1848 - François-René de Chateaubriand dies (b. 1768). French writer and diplomat
• 1850 - William Kirby dies (b. 1759). English entomologist
• 1854 - Victor Babeş was born (d. 1926). Romanian bacteriologist.
• 1855 - In Brooklyn, New York, the first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems titled Leaves of Grass is published.
• 1857 - William L. Marcy dies (b. 1786). American statesman
• 1859 - Franco-Piedmontese War: The Battle of Magenta.
• 1862 - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) goes on a boating picnic with Alice Liddell, who asks to be entertained with a story. This story would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
• 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Vicksburg - Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Army capture the Confederate city Vicksburg, Mississippi after the town surrendered. The siege lasted 47 days.
• 1865 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is published. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson an English mathematician is best known under the pen name Lewis Carroll is the author.
• 1872 - Calvin Coolidge was born (d. 1933). 30th President of the United States.
• 1878 - George M. Cohan was born (d. 1942). American singer, dancer, composer, actor, and writer.
• 1880 - João Lúcio was born in Olhão (d. 27 Oct 1918). Portuguese poet and politician.
• 1881 - In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
• 1881 - Ulysses S. Grant III was born (d. 1968). American soldier.
• 1882 - Louis B. Mayer was born (d. 1957). American film producer.
• 1882 - Joseph Brackett dies (b. 1797). Shaker religious leader and composer
• 1883 - Rube Goldberg was born (d. 1970). American cartoonist.
• 1884 - The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States in ceremonies at Paris, France. The 225-ton, 152-foot statue was a gift from France in commemoration of 100 years of American independence. Created by the French sculptor Frederic AugusteBartholdi, the statue was installed on Bedloe Island (now Liberty Island) in New York harbor in 1885. It was dedicated on October 28, 1886.
• 1891 - Hannibal Hamlin dies (b. 1809). U.S. Vice President
• 1894 - The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
• 1895 - Irving Caesar was born (d. 1996). American lyricist and composer
• 1896 - Mao Dun was born (d. 1981). Chinese writer.
• 1898 - Dr. Pilar Barbosa was born (d. 1997). Puerto Rican historian.
• 1898 - Gertrude Lawrence was born (d. 1952). British-born actress.
• 1901 - Johannes Schmidt dies (b. 1843). German linguist.
• 1902 - Swami Vivekananda dies (b. 1863). Indian spiritual.
• 1902 - Meyer Lansky was born (d.1983). Russian-born mobster.
• 1902 - George Murphy was born (d. 1992). American dancer, actor, and Senator from California.
• 1904 - Angela Baddeley was born (d. 1976). English actress.
• 1905 - Irving Johnson was born (d. 1991). American author, adventurer, sail training pioneer
• 1906 - Great Britain, France & Italy granted independence to Ethiopia.
• 1907 - Gordon Griffith was born (d. 1958). American director.
• 1908 - Adolfo Casais Monteiro was born in Porto (d. 1972). Portuguese poet, professor and essayst/ Nasce no Porto, o poeta, professor e ensaísta Adolfo Casais Monteiro (m. 24 Jul 1972 , S. Paulo - Brasil )
• 1910 - Gloria Stuart was born. American actress
• 1910 - African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States.
• 1910 - Giovanni Schiaparelli dies (b. 1835). Italian astronomer.
• 1911 - Mitch Miller was born. American bandleader and television personality
• 1912 - Viviane Romance was born (d. 1991). French actress.
• 1916 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino was born (d. 2006). American thought to be Tokyo Rose in World War II.
• 1917 - Manolete was born (d. 1947). Spanish bullfighter
• 1918 - Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
• 1918 - Ann Landers was born (d. 2002). American advice columnist
• 1918 - Abigail Van Buren was born. American advice columnist ("Dear Abby")
• 1918 - King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of Tonga was born (d. 2006)
• 1918 - Ingmar Bergman was born. Swedish film director.
• 1918 - Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
• 1920 - Norm Drucker was born. American basketball referee
• 1921 - Gerard Debreu was born (d. 2004). French economist, Nobel laureate.
• 1921 - Tibor Varga was born (d. 2003). Hungarian violinist and conductor
• 1923 - Rudolf Friedrich was born. Member of the Swiss Federal Council
• 1924 - Eva Marie Saint was born. American actress
• 1926 - Pier Giorgio Frassati dies (b. 1901) . Italian mountaineer.
• 1926 - Alfredo Di Stefano was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentinian/Spanish footballer. Considered one of the greatest players of all time (if not the greatest). Played for River Plate (Argentina), Huracán (Argentina), Millonarios (Colombia), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain) and Espanyol (Spain). Was the inspiration behind Real Madrid's five successive European Cups. He scored a goal in each of the first four finals and a hat-trick in the fifth, which resulted in a 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
• 1927 - First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
• 1927 - Gina Lollobrigida was born. Italian actress
• 1927 - Neil Simon was born. American playwright
• 1929 - Bill Tuttle was born (d. 1998). American baseball player
• 1929 - Al Davis was born. American football team owner (Los Angeles Raiders)
• 1929 - Chuck Tanner was born. Baseball player
• 1930 - George Steinbrenner was born. American businessman & baseball team owner
• 1930 - Frunzik Mkrtchyan was born. Armenian actor
• 1930 - Yuri Tyukalov was born. Soviet Olympic rower
• 1931 - Stephen Boyd was born (d. 1977). Northern Irish actor.
• 1931 - Sébastien Japrisot was born (d. 2003). French author, film director and sreenwriter.
• 1931 - Buddie Petit dies. American jazz musician
• 1934 - Joe Louis wins his first professional boxing match.
• 1934 - Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.
• 1934 - Colin Welland was born. British actor
• 1934 - Maria Skłodowska-Curie dies (b. 1867). Polish-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry and physics.
• 1934 - Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.
• 1935 - Paul Scoon was born. Governor General of Grenada
• 1937 - Falhou um atentado contra Salazar.
• 1937 - Hugo Carvana was born. Brasilien actor.
• 1937 - Sonja Haraldsen was born. Queen of Norway (spouse of King Harald V of Norway)
• 1938 - Bill Withers was born. American singer and songwriter.
• 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.
• 1942 - Floyd Little was born. American football player
• 1942 - Stefan Meller was born. Polish foreign minister
• 1942 - Hal Lanier was born. Baseball player
• 1943 - Konrad "Conny" Bauer was born. German musician
• 1943 - Geraldo Rivera was born. American reporter
• 1943 - Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson was born (d. 1970). American musician (Canned Heat)
• 1943 - Emerson Boozer was born. American football player
• 1943 - Konrad "Conny" Bauer was born. German jazz trombonist
• 1946 - After 381 years of colonial rule, the Philippines is granted full independence by the United States
• 1946 - Ron Kovic was born. American peace activist
• 1946 - Ed O'Ross was born. American actor
• 1946 - Michael Milken was born. American financier
• 1946 - Tish Howard was born. American model
• 1947 - "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before British House of Commons, suggesting bifurcation of British India into two sovereign countries - India and Pakistan.
• 1947 - Morganna Roberts was born. American personality (kissing bandit)
• 1948 - Tommy Körberg was born. Swedish singer and actor
• 1948 - Ed Armbrister was born. Baseball player
• 1948 - Jeremy Spencer was born. British musician
• 1948 - René Arnoux was born. French race car driver
• 1948 - Monteiro Lobato dies. Brazilian writer
• 1950 - First broadcast by Radio Free Europe
• 1950 - David Jensen was born. British radio DJ
• 1951 - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was born. American politician.
• 1952 - Álvaro Uribe Vélez was born. President of Colombia (2002-2006).
• 1952 - José Rubén Romero dies (b. 1890). Mexican novelist.
• 1954 - "The miracle of Bern", Germany wins the FIFA World Cup in Switzerland against Hungary.
• 1954 - Dr. Sam Sheppard is a suspect in the murder of his wife Marilyn
• 1954 - Jim Beattie was born. American baseball player
• 1955 - John Waite was born. British singer (The Babys)
• 1958 - Kirk Pengilly was born. Australian musician (INXS)
• 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.
• 1959 - Victoria Abril was born. Spanish actress
• 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).
• 1960 - Sid Eudy was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1960 - Roland Ratzenberger was born (d. 1994). Austrian racing driver.
• 1961 - Richard Garriott was born. English video game designer.
• 1962 - Pam Shriver was born. American tennis player.
• 1963 - José Oquendo was born. Puerto Rican baseball player.
• 1963 - Matt Malley was born. American musician (Counting Crows)
• 1964 - Mark Slaughter was born. American singer (Slaughter)
• 1964 - Cle Kooiman was born. American Soccer Player
• 1966 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act goes into effect the next year.
• 1966 - Lee Reherman was born. American actor
• 1967 - Vinny Castilla was born. Mexican baseball player
• 1967 - Andy Walker was born. Canadian television personality
• 1967 - Rick Wilkins was born. American baseball player
• 1970 - Popular syndicated radio show, "American Top 40", hosted by Casey Kasem, debuts.
• 1970 - Barnett Newman dies (b. 1905). American artist.
• 1970 - Muere en la ciudad de México, el notable educador Donaciano Gutiérrez Garduño, quien naciera el 6 de septiembre de 1918, en Tlalchapa, Guerrero.
• 1971 - Koko, signing gorilla
• 1971 - Andrew Murray, English entrepreneur
• 1971 - Andy Creeggan, Former Barenaked Lady
• 1971 - Brendan Donnelly, American baseball player
• 1971 - August Derleth dies (b. 1909). American writer and editor.
• 1973 - Gackt was born. Japanese singer
• 1973 - Michael Johnson was born. English-born Jamaican footballer
• 1973 - Jan Magnussen was born. Danish racing driver
• 1973 - Tony Popović was born. Australian soccer player
• 1973 - Justin Ring was born. Canadian Football League Linebacker
• 1974 - La'Roi Glover was born. American football player
• 1974 - Vince Spadea was born. American tennis player
• 1975 - Tania Davis was born. Australian violist (bond)
• 1975 - Georgette Heyer dies (b. 1902). English author.
• 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 - Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
• 1976 - Antoni Słonimski dies (b. 1895). Polish poet and writer.
• 1976 - Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing most of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers.
• 1976 - The citizens of the United States celebrate their country's bicentennial.
• 1977 - Katia Zygouli was born. Greek super model, winner of Elite Model Look contest 1996
• 1978 - Becki Newton was born. American actress
• 1978 - Emile Mpenza was born. Belgian footballer
• 1979 - J. R. VanHoose was born. American basketball player
• 1980 - Mark L. Griffith was born. American baseball coach
• 1982 - Iranian diplomats kidnapping (1982): Four Iranian diplomats kidnapped by Lebanese militia in Lebanon.
• 1982 - Mai Van Khanh was born. Vietnamese genius
• 1983 - Isabeli Fontana was born. Brazilian model (See here Isabeli Fontana wallpaper)
• 1983 - Ben Jorgensen was born. American musician
• 1984 - Gina Glocksen was born. American Idol finalist
• 1984 - Akanishi Jin was born. Japanese Idol (member of KAT-TUN)
• 1986 - Oscar Zariski dies (b. 1899). Russian mathematician.
• 1986 - Shane Kippel was born. Canadian actor.
• 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.
• 1989 - 14-year-old actress Drew Barrymore attempts suicide.
• 1990 - On 214th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, Die Hard 2: Die Harder is the second Die Hard movie to open in theaters, starring Bruce Willis.
• 1991 - En Colombia, Constitución política de Colombia es expedida por la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente. Se le conoce como Constitución del 91.
• 1991 - Dr. Victor Chang, dies murdered (b. 1936). Australian physician.
• 1992 - USS George Washington (CVN-73), a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy is commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia.
• 1992 - Astor Piazzolla dies (11 Feb 1992). Argentine musician.
• 1993 - Football: The Argentine national football team wins the Copa América 1993 championship game 2-1 against Jorge Campos' Mexico national football team in Guayaquil.
• 1993 - Pete Sampras won the men's title at Wimbledon, defeating American Jim Courier.
• 1994 - Roberto Burle-Marx dies (b. 1909). Brasilien architect and painter.
• 1995 - British Prime Minister John Major won re-election as Conservative Party leader.
• 1995 - Eva Gabor dies (b. 11 Feb 1919). Hungarian-born actress.
• 1997 - Charles Kuralt dies (b. 1934). American television reporter.
• 1997 - NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
• 1998 - Lin "Spit" Newborn and Daniel Shersty are murdered by neonazis in the desert just outside Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
• 1999 - Pete Sampras and Lindsay Davenport won the singles titles at Wimbledon, defeating Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
• 2002 - Three people are shot at the El Al check-in booth at Los Angeles International Airport. The gunman is shot and killed by a security officer.
• 2002 - A Prestige Airlines cargo Boeing 707 crashes just short of the runway in Bangui, Central African Republic killing 25
• 2002 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr. dies (b. 1912). American general
• 2002 - Mansoor Hekmat dies (b. 1951). Iranian politician
• 2003 - André Claveau dies (b. 1915). French singer.
• 2003 - Barry White dies (b. 1944). American singer and record producer.
• 2004 - Jean-Marie Auberson dies (b. 1920). Swiss conductor.
• 2004 - The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is lain 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) .
• 2004 - Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a decree ordering death penalty for criminals who remove body parts from kidnapped children.
• 2004 - Greece wins Eurochampionship in Football/ Final do Euro 2004 de futebol em Lisboa com a Grécia a sagrar-se (inesperadamente) Campeã batendo Portugal por 1-0, acabando o Campeonato como havia começado (na Abertura 2-1).
• 2004 - Jean-Marie Auberson dies (b. 1920). Swiss conductor.
• 2004 - Frank Robinson (Xylophone Man) dies (b. 1932). Eccentric street entertainer in Nottingham, England
• 2005 - The Deep Impact collider will hit the comet, Tempel 1
• 2005 - Hank Stram dies (b. 1923). American football coach.
• 2006 - Space Shuttle program: STS-121 Mission - Space Shuttle Discovery launches at 18:37:55 UTC.
• 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.
• United States - Independence Day (1776)
• Filipino-American Friendship Day
• Portugal: Municipal Holyday in Coimbra /Feriado Municipal em Coimbra