- For the United States holiday, the Fourth of July, see Independence Day (United States).
July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 180 days remaining until the end of the year. Aphelion occurs around this date, this is the point in the year when the Earth is furthest from the Sun.
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.
- 1359 - Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
- 1634 - The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France, later to become the Canadian province of Quebec.
- 1636 - City of Providence, Rhode Island forms.
- 1754 - Lt-Col. George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers.
- 1776 - American Independence Day: The United States Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress declaring itself free of British rule.
- 1802 - At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens.
- 1803 - The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
- 1805 - Napolean Bonaparte Retreats.[1]
- 1810 - The French occupy Amsterdam.
- 1817 - At Rome, New York, United States, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
- 1826 - Former American presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die, fifty years to the day after the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence.
- 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 crossing with a scheduled end.
- 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: Siege of Vicksburg - Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. 150 miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate Army is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
- 1865 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is published.
- 1881 - In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
- 1886 - First scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia.
- 1887 - Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
- 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 - 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.
- 1940 - Robert Pershing Wadlow, the tallest man on Earth, died in his sleep.
- 1941 - Mass murder of Polish scientists and writers, committed by Nazi Germans in the captured Polish city of Lwów.
- 1946 - After 381 years of near-continuous 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 countries - 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 Hawaiˈi 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.
- 1968 - Two teens are killed at Lake Herman Road in California. They were the first (known) victims of the Zodiac Killer.
- 1976 - Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
- 1982 - Iranian diplomats kidnapping (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.
- 1993 - Sumitomo Chemical's resin plant in Nihama explodes killing one and injuring three workers.
- 1997 - NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
- 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.
- 2006 - North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile, and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
- 2007 - Zaca Fire Starts in Santa Barbara, California becomes second largest fire in California history.
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)
- 1790 - George Everest, Welsh surveyor and namesake of Mt. Everest (d. 1866)
- 1799 - King Oscar I of Sweden, French general (d. 1859)
- 1804 - Nathaniel Hawthorne, American writer (d. 1864)
- 1807 - Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian patriot (d. 1882)
- 1816 - Hiram Walker, American grocer and distiller (d. 1899)
- 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)
- 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)
- 1895 - Irving Caesar, American lyricist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1896 - Mao Dun, Chinese writer (d. 1981)
- 1898 - Dr. Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican historian (d. 1997)
- 1898 - Gertrude Lawrence, English-born actress (d. 1952)
- 1902 - Meyer Lansky, Russian-born American gangster (d. 1983)
- 1902 - George Murphy, American entertainer (d. 1992)
- 1903 - Flor Peeters, Belgian composer, organist and teacher (d. 1986)
- 1904 - Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
- 1905 - Irving Johnson, American adventurer (d. 1991)
- 1907 - Gordon Griffith, American director (d. 1958)
- 1907 - Howard Taubman, American music and theater critic (d. 1996)
- 1910 - Gloria Stuart, American actress
- 1911 - Mitch Miller, American entertainer
- 1912 - Viviane Romance, French actress (d. 1991)
- 1916 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American thought to be Tokyo Rose in World War II (d. 2006)
- 1917 - Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1947)
- 1918 - Ann Landers, American advice columnist (d. 2002)
- 1918 - Abigail Van Buren, American advice columnist ("Dear Abby")
- 1918 - King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of Tonga (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Norm Drucker, American basketball referee
- 1920 - Leona Helmsley, American hotel operator and real estate investor (d. 2007)
- 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 Stéfano, Argentine-Spanish footballer
- 1927 - Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress
- 1927 - Neil Simon, American playwright
- 1929 - Al Davis, American football team owner (Oakland Raiders)
- 1929 - Chuck Tanner, American baseball player
- 1929 - Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)
- 1930 - Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Armenian actor
- 1930 - George Steinbrenner, American businessman & baseball team owner (New York Yankees)
- 1930 - Yuri Tyukalov, Soviet Olympic rower
- 1931 - Stephen Boyd, Northern Irish actor (d. 1977)
- 1931 - Sébastien Japrisot, French author, film director and sreenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1934 - Colin Welland, English actor
- 1935 - Paul Scoon, Governor General of Grenada
- 1937 - Sonja Haraldsen, Queen of Norway (spouse of King Harald V of Norway)
- 1938 - Bill Withers, American singer and songwriter
- 1942 - Hal Lanier, American baseball player
- 1942 - Floyd Little, American football player
- 1942 - Stefan Meller, Polish foreign minister (d. 2008)
- 1943 - Konrad "Conny" Bauer, German musician
- 1943 - Geraldo Rivera, American reporter
- 1943 - Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, American musician (Canned Heat) (d. 1970)
- 1943 - Emerson Boozer, American football player
- 1944 - Ray Meagher, Australian actor
- 1946 - Tish Howard, American model
- 1946 - Ron Kovic, American peace activist
- 1946 - Michael Milken, American financier
- 1946 - Ed O'Ross, American actor
- 1947 - Morganna Roberts, American personality (kissing bandit)
- 1948 - Ed Armbrister, baseball player
- 1948 - René Arnoux, French race car driver
- 1948 - Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor
- 1948 - Jeremy Spencer, English musician
- 1950 - David Jensen, Canadian-born British radio DJ
- 1951 - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American politician
- 1952 - Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Colombian politician
- 1954 - Jim Beattie, American baseball player
- 1955 - John Waite, English singer (The Babys)
- 1958 - Kirk Pengilly, Australian musician (INXS)
- 1959 - Victoria Abril, Spanish actress
- 1960 - Sid Eudy, American professional wrestler
- 1960 - Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian racing driver (d. 1994)
- 1961 - Richard Garriott, English video game designer
- 1962 - Neil Morrissey, English actor
- 1962 - Pam Shriver, American former tennis player
- 1963 - Henri Leconte, French former tennis player
- 1963 - Matt Malley, American musician (Counting Crows)
- 1963 - José Oquendo, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1964 - Cle Kooiman, American soccer player
- 1964 - Mark Slaughter, American singer (Slaughter)
- 1966 - Lee Reherman, American actor
- 1965 - Horace Grant, American basketball player
- 1967 - Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player
- 1967 - Andy Walker, Canadian television personality
- 1967 - Rick Wilkins, American baseball player
- 1970 - Tony Vidmar, Australian former footballer
- 1971 - Andy Creeggan, Canadian musician (ex-Barenaked Ladies)
- 1971 - Brendan Donnelly, American baseball player
- 1971 - Koko, sign-language gorilla
- 1971 - Andrew Murray, English entrepreneur
- 1971 - Ned Zelic, Australian footballer
- 1973 - Gackt, Japanese singer (ex-vocalist of Malice Mizer)
- 1973 - Keiko Ihara, Japanese racing driver
- 1973 - Michael Johnson, English-born Jamaican footballer
- 1973 - Jan Magnussen, Danish racing driver
- 1973 - Tony Popović, Australian footballer
- 1974 - La'Roi Glover, American football player
- 1974 - Vince Spadea, American tennis player
- 1975 - Tania Davis, Australian violist (bond)
- 1976 - Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
- 1977 - Katia Zygouli, Greek super model, winner of Elite Model Look contest 1996
- 1978 - Vicky Kaya, Greek supermodel and actress
- 1978 - Emile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
- 1978 - Becki Newton, American actress
- 1981 - Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player
- 1983 - Isabeli Fontana, Brazilian model
- 1983 - Ben Jorgensen, American musician (Armor For Sleep)
- 1983 - Andy Mrotek, American musician (The Academy Is...)
- 1984 - Gina Glocksen, American Idol finalist
- 1984 - Akanishi Jin, Japanese Idol (member of KAT-TUN)
- 1986 - Takahisa Masuda, Japanese Idol (member of NEWS (band) and Tegomass)
- 1986 - Kriss Donald, Glaswegian boy who was murdered for being white in 2004
- 1998 - Hannah Lay, American Actress
- 2003 - Alessia di Matteo, first survivor of eight transplants in one operation (d. 2005)
Deaths
- 907 - Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria
- 943 - Taejo of Goryeo, ruler of Korea (b. 877)
- 965 - Pope Benedict V
- 973 - Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop (b. 890)
- 1187 - Raynald of Chatillon, Prince of Antioch
- 1541 - Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish explorer (b. 1495)
- 1546 - Hayreddin Barbarossa, Admiral of the Ottoman Navy (b. 1478)
- 1603 - Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer (b. 1521)
- 1623 - William Byrd, English composer
- 1648 - Antoine Daniel, French Jesuit missionary, one of the Canadian Martyrs (b. 1601)
- 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 - John Adams, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
- 1826 - Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
- 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)
- 1854 - Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German jurist (b. 1781)
- 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 - Melville Weston Fuller, 8th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1833)
- 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 Saint (b. 1901)
- 1931 - Buddie Petit, American jazz musician (b. 1895)
- 1931 - Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (b. 1869)
- 1934 - Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Physics (b. 1867)
- 1938 - Otto Bauer, Austrian Social Democratic politician (b. 1881)
- 1938 - Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
- 1941 - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (b. 1881)
- 1946 - Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concentration camp overseer (b. 1922)
- 1948 - Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian writer (b. 1882)
- 1963 - Bernard Freyberg, Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889)
- 1970 - Barnett Newman, American artist (b. 1905)
- 1970 - Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (b. 1884)
- 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)
- 1979 - Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer (b. 1905)
- 1980 - Maurice Grevisse, Belgian grammarian (b. 1895)
- 1982 - Terry Higgins, early British AIDS death (b. 1945)
- 1984 - Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
- 1986 - Oscar Zariski, Russian mathematician (b. 1899)
- 1986 - Flor Peeters, Belgian composer, organist, and teacher (b. 1903)
- 1988 - Adrian Adonis, American artist (b. 1954)
- 1991 - Victor Chang, Australian physician (b. 1936)
- 1992 - Ástor Piazzolla, Argentinian composer (b. 1921)
- 1993 - Bona Arsenault, French Canadian politician and historian (b. 1903)
- 1994 - Joey Marella, American professional wrestling referee (b. 1964)
- 1995 - Eva Gabor, Hungarian actress (b. 1919)
- 1995 - Bob Ross, American artist and television host (b. 1942)
- 1997 - Charles Kuralt, American television presenter (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)
- 2001 - Keenan Milton, Professional Skater (b. 1974)
- 2002 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American general (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Mansoor Hekmat, Iranian politician (b. 1951)
- 2003 - Barry White, American singer (b. 1944)
- 2003 - André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
- 2004 - Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (b. 1920)
- 2004 - Frank Robinson (Xylophone Man), an eccentric street entertainer in Nottingham, England (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Hank Stram, American football coach (b. 1923)
- 2007 - Barış Akarsu, Turkish rock musician (b. 1979)
- 2007 - Bill Pinkney, American singer and performer (b. 1925)
Holidays and observances
- United States - Independence Day (1776)
- Filipino-American Friendship Day
- In astronomy, the approximate date of Earth's aphelion.
- Saint Flavian
- Translation, Ordination of Saint Martin, bishop of Tours, confessor
- Saint Odo, bishop of Canterbury
- Saint Procopius, abbot (at Prague), confessor
- Saint Ulric, bishop of Augsburg, confessor (d. 973)
- Saint Bertha, widow, abbess of Blangy in Artois
- Saint Elizabeth Lusitania of Portugal (d. 136)
External links
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