July 4

I LOVE AMERICA

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• 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières was founded in New France (Quebec, Canada)
• 1636 – Providence, Rhode Island was founded.
• 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois ceded 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 surrendered Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers.
• 1774 – Orangetown Resolutions were 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 was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

  

  The United States declared its independence in 1776.

• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under George Clark captured Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
• 1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opened.
• 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase was announced to the American people.
• 1810 – The French began occupying Amsterdam.
• 1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal began.
• 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, died the same day as John Adams, second president of MURICA

• 1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opened.
• 1886 – The people of France offered the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States.
• 1886 – The first scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrived in Port Moody, British Columbia.
• 1887 – The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joined Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
• 1892 – Western Samoa changed 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 was proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
• 1903 – Philippine–American War officially ended.
• 1903 – Dorothy Levitt was reported as the first woman in the world to compete in a 'motor race'.
• 1910 – African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocked out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match, sparking race riots across the United States.
• 1911 – A massive heat wave struck the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
• 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson addressed American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
• 1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie took place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
• 1918 – Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascended to the throne.
• 1918 – Bolsheviks killed Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
• 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, told a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth", then announced his retirement from major league baseball.
• 1941 – Nazi troops massacred 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, began in Prokhorovka village.
• 1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attained full independence from the United States.
• 1947 – The "Indian Independence Bill" was presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the partition of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries – India and Pakistan.
• 1950 – Radio Free Europe first broadcast.
• 1951 – A court in Czechoslovakia sentenced American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on a charge 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 debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).
• 1966 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
• 1969 – The Zodiac Killer attacked two teens (one male, one female) at Blue Rock Springs in California. They were his second known victims. The female died.
• 1976 – Israeli commandos raided 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 planted 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 – Iranian diplomats kidnapping (1982): four Iranian diplomats were kidnapped by Lebanese militia in Lebanon.
• 1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (aka the "Butcher of Lyon") was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• 1993 – Sumitomo Chemical's resin plant in Nihama exploded, killing one worker and injuring three others.
• 1997 – NASA's Pathfinder space probe landed on the surface of Mars.
• 1998 – Japan launched the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
• 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower was laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
• 2005 – The Deep Impact collider hit the comet Tempel 1.
• 2009 – The Statue of Liberty's crown reopened to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
• 2009 – The first of four days of bombings began on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.
• 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider was announced at CERN.

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 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 geographer (d. 1866)
• 1799 – Oscar I of Sweden (d. 1859)
• 1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American writer (d. 1864)
• 1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian military 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 (d. 1906)
• 1854 – Victor Babeș, Romanian physician and biologist (d. 1926)
• 1854 – Bill Tilghman, American police officer (d. 1924)
• 1867 – Stephen Mather, American entrepreneur and industrialist (d. 1930)
• 1868 – Johannes van Dijk, Dutch rower (d. 1938)
• 1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer (d. 1921)
• 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American politician, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)
• 1874 – John McPhee, Australian politician, Premier of Tasmania (d. 1952)
• 1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American soldier (d. 1968)
• 1882 – Louis B. Mayer, Canadian-American film producer (d. 1957)
• 1883 – Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist (d. 1970)
• 1888 – Henry Armetta, Italian-born American character actor (d. 1945)
• 1895 – Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (d. 1996)
• 1896 – Mao Dun, Chinese writer (d. 1981)
• 1897 – Alluri Sita Rama Raju, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1924)
• 1898 – Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican historian (d. 1997)
• 1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, English actress (d. 1952)
• 1902 – Meyer Lansky, Russian-American gangster (d. 1983)
• 1902 – George Murphy, American actor and politician (d. 1992)
• 1903 – Flor Peeters, Belgian composer, organist, and teacher (d. 1986)
• 1904 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
• 1905 – Irving Johnson, American sailor and author (d. 1991)
• 1905 – Lionel Trilling, American critic, author, and teacher (d.1975)
• 1907 – Gordon Griffith, American director (d. 1958)
• 1907 – Howard Taubman, American critic (d. 1996)
• 1910 – Gloria Stuart, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1911 – Mitch Miller, American singer, musician, and producer (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Viviane Romance, French actress (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American-Japanese typist and broadcaster (d. 2006)
• 1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian abstract expressionnist painter
• 1917 – Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1947)
• 1918 – Ann Landers, American columnist (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (d. 1984)
• 1918 – Pauline Phillips, American columnist and radio host, created Dear Abby (d. 2013)
• 1918 – Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, Tongan king (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Norm Drucker, American basketball referee
• 1920 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Fritz Wilde, German footballer (d. 1977)
• 1921 – Gérard Debreu, French economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Philip Rose, American Broadway producer (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss politician and lawyer
• 1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
• 1926 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentine-Spanish footballer
• 1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress
• 1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright
• 1928 – Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer
• 1928 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Peter Angelos, American businessman and politician
• 1929 – Al Davis, American football executive (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)
• 1930 – Mher Mkrtchyan, Armenian actor (d. 1993)
• 1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Yuri Tyukalov, Russian rower
• 1931 – Stephen Boyd, Irish actor (d. 1977)
• 1931 – Lawrie Dring, British 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 – Peter Behn, American voice actor
• 1934 – Yvonne B. Miller, American politician (d. 2012)
• 1934 – Colin Welland, British actor
• 1935 – Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician
• 1936 – Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano
• 1937 – Thomas Nagel, American philosopher
• 1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway
• 1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian
• 1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and musician
• 1938 – John Sterling, American sportscaster
• 1940 – Karolyn Grimes, American actress
• 1940 – Dave Rowberry, English pianist and organist
• 1940 – Pat Stapleton, Canadian professional 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 lawyer and activist
• 1942 – Hal Lanier, American baseball player
• 1942 – Floyd Little, American football player
• 1942 – Stefan Meller, Polish foreign minister (d. 2008)
• 1942 – Prince Michael of Kent
• 1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer (Earth Opera and Old and in the Way)
• 1943 – Conny Bauer, German trombonist
• 1943 – Emerson Boozer, American football player
• 1943 – Milan Máčala, Czech football coach
• 1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author
• 1943 – Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and musician (Canned Heat) (d. 1970)
• 1944 – Joe Berardo, Portuguese businessman
• 1944 – Jaimy Gordon, American writer
• 1944 – Ray Meagher, Australian actor
• 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 activist
• 1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman, financier, 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, British musician (Fleetwood Mac)
• 1948 – Phil Wheatley, British civil servant
• 1950 – Philip Craven, former British international wheelchair basketball player
• 1950 – David Jensen, Canadian-English disk jockey
• 1950 – Tonio K, American singer-songwriter
• 1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
• 1951 – Vladimir Tismăneanu, Romanian-American political scientist
• 1952 – Álvaro Uribe, Colombian politician, 39th President of Colombia
• 1952 – John Waite, English singer-songwriter and musician (The Babys and Bad English)
• 1954 – Morganna, American model and dancer
• 1954 – Jim Beattie, American baseball player
• 1956 – Mark Belling, American radio host
• 1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat
• 1957 – Chulabhorn Walailak Thai princess
• 1958 – Steve Hartman, American sportscaster
• 1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian singer and musician (INXS)
• 1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer
• 1959 – Victoria Abril, Spanish actress
• 1960 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994)
• 1960 – Mark Steel, British columnist and comedian
• 1960 – Sid Vicious, American wrestler
• 1960 – Barry Windham, American wrestler
• 1961 – Richard Garriott, British video game designer
• 1962 – Neil Morrissey, English actor
• 1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis player
• 1963 – Henri Leconte, French tennis player
• 1963 – Laureano Márquez, Venezuelan humorist and politologist
• 1963 – José Oquendo, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1963 – William Ramallo, Bolivian footballer
• 1963 – Michael Sweet, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Stryper and Boston)
• 1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player
• 1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer
• 1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Slaughter and Vinnie Vincent Invasion)
• 1964 – Mark Whiting, American director, writer, and actor
• 1965 – Harvey Grant, American basketball player
• 1965 – Horace Grant, American basketball player
• 1965 – Jo Whiley, English radio host
• 1966 – Minas Hantzidis, Greek footballer
• 1966 – Lee Reherman, American actor
• 1967 – Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player
• 1967 – Andy Walker, Canadian journalist
• 1967 – Rick Wilkins, American baseball player
• 1968 – Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress
• 1968 – Jack Frost, American guitarist (Seven Witches and The Bronx Casket Co.)
• 1969 – Al Golden (American football), college football coach
• 1969 – Todd Marinovich, American football player
• 1969 – Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer
• 1970 – Christian Giesler, American bassist (Kreator)
• 1970 – Tony Vidmar, Australian footballer
• 1971 – Koko, American sign language gorilla
• 1971 – Andy Creeggan, Canadian musician (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 canoer
• 1972 – William Goldsmith, American drummer (Sunny Day Real Estate, Foo Fighters, and The Fire Theft)
• 1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Vladimir Kozlov, Ukrainian-American wrestler
• 1973 – Gackt, Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and actor (Malice Mizer and Skin)
• 1973 – Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver
• 1973 – Michael Johnson, Jamaican footballer
• 1973 – Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver
• 1973 – Tony Popovic, Australian footballer
• 1973 – Elton Williams, Montserratian footballer
• 1974 – La'Roi Glover, American football player
• 1974 – Adrian Griffin, American basketball player
• 1974 – Vince Spadea, American tennis player
• 1975 – Tania Davis, English-Australian violist (Bond)
• 1976 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
• 1976 – Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier
• 1977 – Orri Páll Dýrason, Icelandic musician (Sigur Rós)
• 1977 – Jonas Kjellgren, Swedish singer, musician, 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 – Emile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
• 1978 – Becki Newton, American actress
• 1978 – Katia Zygouli, Greek model and actress
• 1979 – Dumas, Canadian singer
• 1979 – Kevin Thoms, American actor
• 1979 – Mark Twitchell, Canadian murderer
• 1979 – Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer
• 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 – The Situation, American model and author
• 1983 – Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer
• 1983 – Isabeli Fontana, Brazilian model
• 1983 – Ben Jorgensen, American singer-songwriter and musician (Armor for Sleep)
• 1983 – Amantle Montsho, Botswana sprinter
• 1983 – Andrew Mrotek, American singer and 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 – 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
• 1986 – Holly Wellin, English porn actress and model
• 1987 – Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer
• 1988 – Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress, model and singer
• 1989 – Yoon Doo-joon, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (Beast)
• 1989 – Rodgers Kola, Zambian footballer
• 1989 – Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner 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, British model and singer
• 1993 – Thomas Barkhuizen, English footballer

Deaths

• 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 explorer (b. 1495)
• 1546 – Hayreddin Barbarossa, Greek-Turkish navy officer (b. 1478)
• 1551 – Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell (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 (b. 1601)
• 1742 – Guido Grandi, Italian mathematician (b. 1671)
• 1754 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French dramatist and author (b. 1680)
• 1761 – Samuel Richardson, English writer (b. 1689)
• 1780 – Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (b. 1712)
• 1787 – Charles, Prince of Soubise (b. 1715)
• 1821 – Richard Cosway, English artist (b. 1742)
• 1826 – John Adams, American politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
• 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American politician, 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
• 1831 – James Monroe, American politician, 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 politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (b. 1786)
• 1881 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and statesman (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 (b. 1843)
• 1902 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian monk (b. 1863)
• 1905 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer, writer, and anarchist (b. 1830)
• 1910 – Melville Weston Fuller, American jurist (b. 1833)
• 1910 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer (b. 1835)
• 1916 – Alan Seeger, American poet (b. 1888)
• 1918 – Nicholas II of Russia (b. 1868)
• 1922 – Lothar von Richthofen, German 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 cornettist (b. 1895)
• 1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Nobel Prize in Physics (b. 1867)
• 1938 – Otto Bauer, Austrian politician (b. 1881)
• 1938 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
• 1941 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (b. 1881)
• 1946 – Gerda Steinhoff, German concentration camp overseer (b. 1922)
• 1948 – Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian writer (b. 1882)
• 1949 – François Brandt, Dutch rower (b. 1874)
• 1963 – Bernard Freyberg, New Zealander soldier and statesman (b. 1889)
• 1964 – Gaby Morlay, French actress (b. 1893)
• 1964 – Henry (Hank) Sylvern, American organist (b. 1908)
• 1969 – Henri Decoin, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1890)
• 1970 – Barnett Newman, American artist (b. 1905)
• 1970 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American industrialist (b. 1884)
• 1971 – August Derleth, American writer and editor (b. 1909)
• 1971 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral (b. 1877)
• 1975 – Georgette Heyer, British author (b. 1902)
• 1974 – Haj Amin al-Husseini, Palestinian Muslim nationalist (b. 1895 or 1897)
• 1976 – Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli soldier and commander (b. 1946)
• 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, British AIDS victim (b. 1945)
• 1984 – Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1949)
• 1986 – Flor Peeters, Belgian composer and organist (b. 1903)
• 1986 – Oscar Zariski, Russian mathematician (b. 1899)
• 1988 – Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (b. 1954)
• 1989 – Jack Haig, British actor (b. 1913)
• 1990 – Olive Ann Burns, American author (b. 1924)
• 1991 – Victor Chang, Australian physician (b. 1936)
• 1991 – Art Sansom, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
• 1992 – Ástor Piazzolla, Argentinian composer (b. 1921)
• 1993 – Bona Arsenault, French-Canadian politician and historian (b. 1903)
• 1994 – Joey Marella, American wrestling referee (b. 1964)
• 1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian actress (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Bob Ross, American painter (b. 1942)
• 1997 – Charles Kuralt, American journalist (b. 1934)
• 1997 – John Zachary Young, British zoologist (b. 1907)
• 1999 – Leo Garel, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
• 2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish writer (b. 1919)
• 2001 – Keenan Milton, American skateboarder (b. 1974)
• 2002 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919)
• 2002 – Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American Air Force general (b. 1912)
• 2002 – Mansoor Hekmat, Iranian politician (b. 1951)
• 2002 – Winnifred Quick, American RMS Titanic survivor (b. 1904)
• 2003 – André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
• 2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1944)
• 2003 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (b. 1939)
• 2004 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (b. 1920)
• 2004 – Frank Robinson (Xylophone Man), English street entertainer (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Cliff Goupille, Canadian professional ice hockey player (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Hank Stram, American football 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 science fiction author (b. 1940)
• 2008 – Jesse Helms, American politician (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (b. 1916)
• 2008 – Terrence Kiel, American football player (b. 1980)
• 2008 – Charles Wheeler, British journalist (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Brenda Joyce, American actress (b. 1917)
• 2009 – Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent (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 writer (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese politician (b. 1938)
• 2009 – Jim Chapin, American drummer (b. 1919)
• 2010 – Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (b. 1927)
• 2010 – Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Iraqi-Lebanese Shiite Muslim cleric and Hezbollah mentor (b. 1935)
• 2011 – Otto von Habsburg, Austrian-Hungarian prince (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Scamper, American rodeo horse (b. 1977)
• 2012 – Peter Bennett, Australian footballer (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Vinzenz Guggenberger, German bishop (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Jeong Min-Hyeong, South Korean footballer (b. 1987)
• 2012 – Eric Sykes, English actor, writer, and director (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Andrew of Crete
  • Bertha of Artois
  • Blessed Catherine Jarrige
  • Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
  • Elizabeth of Portugal, patron saint of Coimbra (city holiday), known there as Rainha Santa Isabel.
  • Oda of Canterbury
  • Ulrich of Augsburg
  • July 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Independence Day, celebrates the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. (United States and its dependencies)
• Liberation Day (Rwanda)
• Liberation Day (Northern Mariana Islands)
• Republic Day (Philippines)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada
• Top 10 Events That Occurred On The 4th Of July

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