July 4

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, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, 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 Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.

1534 – Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.

1584 – Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island

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.

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 – The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published In Brooklyn.

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 is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.

1863 – American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Southern invasion of the North.

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, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a year with 367 days.

1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.

1898 – En route from New York to Le Havre, the ocean liner SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.

1903 – Philippine–American War is officially concluded.

1903 – Dorothy Levitt is reported as the first English woman 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 ascends 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 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 that would later be used in the atomic bomb.

1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers 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.

1941 – World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.

1942 – World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.

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, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.

1946 – The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.

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 announces 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, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).

1961 – On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.

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.

1975 – Zion Square refrigerator bombing. A terrorist attack in downtown jerusalem kills 15 civilians and wounds 77.

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 – Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces almost 34 years ago, and their fate remains unknown.

1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. 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 World Trade Center site 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.

2009 – The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.

2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.

2016 – The arrival of the Juno probe to Jupiter.

Births

AD 68 – Salonina Matidia, Roman daughter of Ulpia Marciana (d. 119)

1095 – Usama ibn Munqidh, Muslim poet, author and faris (Knight) (d. 1188)

1330 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shogun (d. 1367)

1477 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian Renaissance humanist historian and philologist (d. 1534)

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 geographer and surveyor (d. 1866)

1799 – Oscar I of Sweden (d. 1859)

1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (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 and composer (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)

1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)

1874 – John McPhee, Australian journalist and politician, 27th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1952)

1880 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1975)

1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (d. 1968)

1882 – Louis B. Mayer, 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 engineer and 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 Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (d. 1924)

1898 – Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican-American historian and activist (d. 1997)

1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, British actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1952)

1898 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian politician (d. 1998)

1898 – Gertrude Weaver, American supercentenarian (d. 2015)

1902 – Meyer Lansky, 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 critic, essayist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1975)

1907 – John Anderson, American discus thrower (d. 1948)

1907 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (d. 1996)

1909 – Alec Templeton, Welsh composer, pianist and satirist (d. 1963)

1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (d. 2003)

1910 – Gloria Stuart, American actress and singer (d. 2010)

1911 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (d. 1989)

1911 – Mitch Miller, American singer and producer (d. 2010)

1912 – Viviane Romance, French actress and producer (d. 1991)

1914 – Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer (d. 1997)

1916 – Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American typist and broadcaster (d. 2006)

1917 – Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1947)

1918 – Eppie Lederer, American journalist and radio host (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 (d. 2015)

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 – Metropolitan Mikhail of Asyut (d. 2014)

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

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 – Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)

1929 – Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)

1930 – Ron Casey, Australian journalist and sportscaster

1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)

1931 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Ireland-born American actor (d. 1977)

1931 – Rick Casares, American football player and soldier (d. 2013)

1931 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)

1932 – Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian runner

1934 – Yvonne B. Miller, American academic and politician (d. 2012)

1934 – Colin Welland, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)

1935 – Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (d. 2013)

1936 – Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano and actress

1937 – Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and academic

1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway

1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian

1937 – Eric Walters, Australian journalist (d. 2010)

1938 – Steven Rose, English biologist and academic

1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer

1940 – Dave Rowberry, English pianist and songwriter (d. 2003)

1940 – Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player

1940 – Karolyn Grimes, American actress

1941 – Sam Farr, American politician

1941 – Tomaž Šalamun, Croatian-Slovenian poet and academic (d. 2014)

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 academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2008)

1942 – Prince Michael of Kent

1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

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 (d. 1970)

1944 – Jaimy Gordon, American author and academic

1945 – Andre Spitzer, Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (d. 1972)

1946 – Ron Kovic, American author and activist

1946 – David McWilliams, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)

1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist

1947 – Lembit Ulfsak, Estonian actor and director

1948 – René Arnoux, French race car driver

1948 – Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor

1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

1950 – Philip Craven, English basketball player and swimmer

1950 – David Jensen, Canadian-English radio and television host

1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

1951 – John Alexander, Australian tennis player and politician

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 lawyer and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office

1954 – Morganna, American model, actress, and dancer

1954 – Jim Beattie, American baseball player, coach, and manager

1955 – Kevin Nichols, Australian cyclist

1956 – Robert Sinclair MacKay, British academic and educator

1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs

1958 – Steve Hartman, American sportscaster

1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian singer and guitarist

1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer, coach, and manager

1959 – Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer

1960 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994)

1961 – Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series

1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster

1963 – Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster

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

1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager

1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer

1964 – Edi Rama, Albanian politician

1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer

1964 – Mark Whiting, American actor, director, and screenwriter

1965 – Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach

1965 – Horace Grant, American basketball player and coach

1965 – Kiriakos Karataidis, Greek footballer and manager

1965 – Gérard Watkins, English actor and playwright

1966 – Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer

1966 – Lee Reherman, American actor (d. 2016)

1967 – Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager

1967 – Sébastien Deleigne, French athlete

1967 – Andy Walker, English-Canadian journalist

1968 – Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter

1968 – Jack Frost, American guitarist and songwriter

1969 – Al Golden, American football player and coach

1969 – Todd Marinovich, American football player and coach

1969 – Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach

1970 – Christian Giesler, American bass player

1970 – Tony Vidmar, Australian footballer and manager

1971 – Koko, American gorilla

1971 – Andy Creeggan, Canadian guitarist and pianist

1971 – Brendan Donnelly, American baseball player

1971 – Ned Zelić, Australian footballer and sportscaster

1972 – Nina Badrić, Croatian singer-songwriter and actress

1972 – Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer and engineer

1972 – William Goldsmith, American drummer

1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach

1973 – Gackt, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

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

1974 – Jill Craybas, American tennis player

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

1977 – Jonas Kjellgren, Swedish singer, guitarist, and producer

1977 – Zoe Naylor, Australian actress, journalist, and producer

1978 – Marcos Daniel, Brazilian tennis player

1978 – Andrea Gabriel, American actress, producer, and screenwriter

1978 – Stephen McNally, English singer-songwriter

1978 – Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer

1978 – Katia Zygouli, Greek model and actress

1979 – Dumas, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

1979 – Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician

1979 – Josh McCown, American football player

1979 – Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer

1980 – Noah Kalina, American photographer

1980 – Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer

1981 – Dedé, Angolan footballer

1981 – Brock Berlin, American football player

1981 – Christoph Preuß, German footballer

1981 – Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player

1981 – Will Smith, American football player (d. 2016)

1981 – Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality

1982 – Vladimir Gusev, Russian cyclist

1982 – Vladimir Boisa, Georgian basketball player

1983 – Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter

1983 – Ben Jorgensen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1983 – Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter

1983 – Andrew Mrotek, American drummer

1983 – Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer

1983 – Amol Rajan, Indian-English journalist

1983 – Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer

1984 – Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter

1984 – Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer

1985 – Rinalds Sirsniņš, Latvian basketball player

1985 – Kane Tenace, Australian footballer

1985 – Dimitrios Mavroeidis, Greek basketball player

1985 – Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer

1986 – Ömer Aşık, Turkish basketball player

1986 – Takahisa Masuda, Japanese singer

1986 – Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer

1986 – Rafael Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis player

1986 – Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer

1986 – Fanny Valette, French actress

1986 – Terrance Knighton, American football player

1986 – Marte Elden, Norwegian skier

1987 – Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian runner

1987 – Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer

1987 – Jason Smyth, Irish sprinter

1989 – Benjamin Büchel, English footballer

1989 – Yoon Doo-joon, South Korean singer and dancer

1989 – Rodgers Kola, Zambian footballer

1990 – Backer Aloenouvo, Togolese footballer

1990 – Rishadi Fauzi, Indonesian footballer

1990 – Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player

1990 – Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer

1990 – Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer

1990 – Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer

1991 – Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Rositi, Bruneian runner

1993 – Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer

Deaths

673 – Ecgberht of Kent

907 – Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria

910 – Luo Shaowei, Chinese warlord (b. 877)

943 – Taejo of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 877)

965 – Pope Benedict V

973 – Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop and saint (b. 890)

1187 – Raynald of Châtillon, French knight (b. 1125)

1307 – Rudolf I of Bohemia (b. 1281)

1327 – Stefano Visconti, Milanese nobleman

1336 – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (b. 1271)

1429 – Carlo I Tocco, ruler of Epirus (b. 1372)

1450 – James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele

1533 – John Frith, English priest, writer, and martyr (b. 1503)

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 and educator (b. 1521)

1623 – William Byrd, English composer (b. c. 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)

1787 – Charles, Prince of Soubise, Marshal of France (b. 1715)

1821 – Richard Cosway, English painter and academic (b. 1742)

1826 – John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)

1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, 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 and author (b. 1797)

1886 – Poundmaker, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1797)

1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, American lawyer and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)

1898 – Yusuf İsmail, Turkish-Canadian wrestler (b. 1857)

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 lawyer and jurist, 8th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1833)

1910 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (b. 1835)

1916 – Alan Seeger, American soldier and 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)

1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)

1938 – Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs (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 and coach (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 and engineer (b. 1874)

1963 – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889)

1963 – Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (b. 1927)

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 and illustrator (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)

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)

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)

1990 – Olive Ann Burns, American journalist and author (b. 1924)

1991 – Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon and physician (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 and educator (b. 1917)

2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1919)

2002 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919)

2002 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (b. 1912)

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)

2005 – Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915)

2005 – Hank Stram, American football player and coach (b. 1923)

2007 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (b. 1925)

2008 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (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, German-English soldier and journalist (b. 1923)

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 (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)

2012 – Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet and author (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 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (b. 1960)

2014 – Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1950)

2014 – C. J. Henderson, American author and critic (b. 1951)

2014 – Earl Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1936)

2014 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (b. 1932)

2015 – Nedelcho Beronov, Bulgarian judge and politician (b. 1928)

2015 – William Conrad Gibbons, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

Andrew of Crete

Bertha of Artois

Blessed Catherine Jarrige

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Elizabeth of Aragon

Oda of Canterbury

Ulrich of Augsburg

July 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Birthday of Queen Sonja (Norway)

The first evening of Dree Festival, celebrated until July 7 (Apatani people, Arunachal Pradesh, India)

Independence Day, celebrates the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. (United States and its dependencies)

Liberation Day (Northern Mariana Islands)

Liberation Day (Rwanda)

Republic Day (Philippines)