1704 – Sophia Alekseyevna, Regent of Russia (1682-89), dies at 46
1863 – Richard B. Garnett, American Confederate Brigadier General, killed during Pickett’s Charge, Battle of Gettysburg at 45
1863 – Samuel K. Zook, American Union general-major, dies of his wounds from the Battle of Gettysburg at 40
1890 – Gilman Marston, American Brigadier General (Union Army) and politician (R-NH), dies at 78
1978 – James Daly, American actor (Medical Center, Planet of the Apes), dies of heart failure at 59
1996 – B. Gerald Cantor, American investment banker, philanthropist and arts patron (Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation), dies at 79
2004 – Andrian Nikolayev, Soviet cosmonaut (Vostok 3), dies at 73
2004 – John Barron, British actor (Emergency – Ward 10; The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin), dies at 83
2018 – Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Korczak), dies at 78
2023 – Vince Tobin, American football coach (head coach Arizona Cardinals 1996-2000), dies at 79
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 3rd July 2026
1849 – French forces enter Rome to restore Pope Pius IX to power, providing a major obstacle to Italian unification
1861 – Pony Express arrives in San Francisco with overland letters from New York
1876 – Montenegro formally declares war on the Ottoman Empire
1900 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: R.F. Doherty beats Sydney Smith 6-8, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 for his 4th consecutive Wimbledon singles title
1940 – German occupiers forbid using Dutch royal names
1974 – Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 14 carries two cosmonauts to space station Salyut 3
1977 – Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew’s nine-race winning streak ends in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park, where he finishes fourth
2006 – US Open Women’s Golf, Newport CC: Annika Sörenstam wins her 10th and final major title by 4 strokes in a playoff with Pat Hurst
Today in History for 3rd July 2026
Historical Events
987 – Hugh Capet, is coronated as King of France, in Paris, after being elected by the nobility
1849 – French forces enter Rome to restore Pope Pius IX to power, providing a major obstacle to Italian unification
1884 – Dow Jones publishes its first stock index, the Dow Jones Transportation Average
1886 – In Germany, Karl Benz first drives the first automobile in Mannheim at a top speed of 16 km/h (10 mph)
1988 – Gene Nelson of the Oakland A’s becomes first AL pitcher to steal a base since 1973 in 9-8 win over Toronto Blue Jays
Famous Birthdays
1906 – Alberto Lleras Camargo, Colombian journalist and politician (President of Colombia, 1945-46 and 1958-62; Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 1948–54), born in Bogotá, Colombia (d. 1990)
1913 – Hugh Stirling Mackenzie, British Royal Navy officer, born in Inverness, Scotland (d. 1996)
1923 – Sue Ryder, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw and Cavendish, British volunteer with Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England (d. 2000)
1959 – Stoyan Deltchev, Bulgarian gymnast (Olympic gold horizontal bar 1980), born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1970 – Shawnee Smith, American actress (Saw), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina
Famous Deaths
1863 – Little Crow [Ta-oya-te-duta], Mdewakanton Dakota leader (Treaty of Mendota), shot and killed by settlers at about 53
1863 – Elon John Farnsworth, American Brigadier General (Union Army), dies at the battle of Gettysburg at 25
1918 – Mehmed V, 35th Ottoman Sultan (1909-18), dies at 73
1994 – Pieter Hennipman, Dutch economist, dies at 85
2025 – David Mabuza, Deputy President of South Africa (2018-23), dies at 64
Famous Deaths for 2nd July 2026
1298 – Adolf, German Count of Nassau, King of the Roman (1292-98), dies in the battle of Göllheim at about 43
1911 – Felix Mottl, Austrian conductor and composer (Agnes Bernauer), dies at 54
1918 – Mehmed V Resjad, Sultan of Turkey (1909-18), dies at 73
1946 – Anthony Overton, publisher/cosmetics manufacturer/banker, dies at 81
1949 – Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian Communist leader (Prime Minister 1946-49), dies at 67
1975 – James Robertson Justice, British actor (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; Moby-Dick), dies from complication following a stroke at 68
1987 – Michael Bennett, American theater director and choreographer (Chorus Line), dies of AIDS at 44
1994 – Marion Williams, American gospel singer (Stars of Faith), dies of diabetes at 66
1995 – Krissy Taylor, American model (17 Mag), dies of respiratory problems at 17
2022 – Saúl Lorenzo Rivero, Uruguayan soccer midfielder (9 caps; Liverpool de Montevideo, Atlético Español México), dies at 67
Historical Events for 2nd July 2026
706 – Remains of Chinese Emperor Gaozong, his wife Empress Wu Zetian and family members interred in Qianling Mausoleum by Emperor Zhongzong, outside Chang’an on Mount Liangshan
1858 – Russia implements partial emancipation of serfs
1902 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Muriel Robb wins her only major title with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of fellow Briton Charlotte Cooper
1926 – US Army Air Corps created; Distinguished Flying Cross authorized, to award “heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight”
1979 – First US coin to honor a woman is issued with Susan B. Anthony
2005 – Live 8 concert in front of Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; performers include Stevie Wonder, Bon Jovi, The Black-Eyed Peas, Keith Urban, Dave Matthews Band, Maroon 5, and Linkin Park
2020 – Funeral for slain Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa in Ambo amid nationwide unrest at his death that has killed over 80 people
2022 – Largest ever exhibition on African fashion “Africa Fashion” opens at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
Today in History for 2nd July 2026
Historical Events
1954 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Czech Jaroslav Drobný beats Ken Rosewall of Australia 13-11, 4-6, 6-2, 9-7 for his only Wimbledon singles title
1990 – TV cooking competition show “MasterChef” presented by Loyd Grossman, and created by Franc Roddam, first airs in the UK
1995 – LA Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo is first Japanese player to be selected for a MLB All-Star Game when he is named in the NL squad
2019 – Virginie Viard presents her first haute couture collection as designer at Chanel after the death of Karl Lagerfeld at the Grand Palais
2020 – Funeral for slain Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa in Ambo amid nationwide unrest at his death that has killed over 80 people
Famous Birthdays
1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily and Duchess of Athens and Neopatria, born in Catania, Kingdom of Sicily (d. 1401)
1589 – Guillaume Messaus, Flemish composer, born in Antwerp, Dutch Republic (d. 1640)
1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, British Prime Minister (Conservative: 1963-64), born in London (d. 1995)
1949 – Hanno Pöschl, Austrian actor (“Exit…But No Panic”; “Tales from the Vienna Woods”), born in Vienna, Austria
1958 – Thomas Bickerton, American Methodist bishop, born in Glen Dale, West Virginia
Famous Deaths
1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French philosopher, political theorist, and writer (Confessions) whose works inspired French Revolution leaders and Romantic academics, dies of cerebral bleeding from a stroke at 66
1917 – Herbert Beerbohm Tree, British actor and theatre manager (King John, Trilby), dies at 64
1963 – Seth Barnes Nicholson, American astronomer who discovered four satellites of Jupiter, dies at 71
2013 – Fawzia Fuad, Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, dies at 91
2020 – Betsy Ancker-Johnson, American physicist (plasmas), inventor (high-frequency signal generator), first woman Presidential appointee to the Department of Commerce and first woman VP in the automotive industry, dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 1st July 2026
1943 – Johan Brouwer, Dutch writer, Hispanist, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter, executed at 45
1963 – Camille Chautemps, French politician (Prime Minister of France, 1930, 1933-34, and 1937-38), dies at 78
1982 – Ray Scarborough, American MLB pitcher (All Star 1950), dies at 64
1989 – Chauncey Haughton, American jazz clarinetist, and saxophonist (Blanche Calloway; Chick Webb; Cab Calloway), dies at 80
1994 – Johanna Ader-Appels, resistance fighter/author, dies
2005 – Luther Vandross, American soul singer, songwriter (“Endless Love”; “Dance With My Father”), and vocal arranger (David Bowie – Young Americans), dies of a heart attack at 54
2014 – Jean Garon, Quebec economist and politician, dies at 76
2017 – Heathcote Williams [John Henly Heathcote Williams], British poet, actor and political activist, dies at 75
2020 – Everton Weekes, West Indian cricket batsman (48 Tests; 4,455 runs @ 58.61, 15 x 100s), dies at 95
2025 – Brian Clarke, British artist known for his work with stained glass (World Without End), dies of cancer at 71
Historical Events for 1st July 2026
1535 – Thomas More goes on trial in England on charges of treason for refusing to accept Henry VIII’s supremacy over the Pope
1858 – First Canadian coins minted (1, 5, 10 and 20 cent) at the Royal Mint in London, England
1861 – US War Department decrees that Kansas and Tennessee are to be canvassed for volunteers
1889 – US mint at Carson City, Nevada, officially reopens after a four-year hiatus
1916 – Pittsburgh shortstop Honus Wagner, at 42 and 4 months, connects at Cincinnati to become the oldest to hit an inside-the-park HR; Pirates beat Reds, 2-1
1925 – Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs is created in UK
1932 – NY Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated for president at Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois
1981 – Prince Willem-Alexander opens the C. Veerling designed 318-meter cable-stayed Willemsbrug Bridge in Rotterdam
Today in History for 1st July 2026
Historical Events
1823 – United Provinces of Central America declares itself independent of Mexico and Spain
1847 – First US postage stamps go on sale, 5 cent Franklin and 10 cent Washington, NYC
1862 – US Internal Revenue Law imposes first federal taxes on inheritance, tobacco, and incomes over $600 (progressive rate)
1960 – Robert Bolt’s “A Man For All Seasons” premieres in London
1978 – Former US President Richard Nixon makes his first public speech since resigning in 1974
Famous Birthdays
1879 – Leon Jouhaux, French socialist and co-founder UN’s ILO (Nobel 1951), born in Paris (d. 1954)
1896 – Pavel Antokolsky, Russian poet and theatre director (Syn), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1978)
1915 – Joseph Ransohoff, American neurosurgeon and pioneer in the modern neurosurgery, born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2001)
1953 – Mike Haynes, American College-Pro Football HOF cornerback (Super Bowl XVIII LA Raiders; First-team All-Pro 1984, 85; 9 x Pro Bowl; NE Patriots), born in Denison, Texas
1955 – Li Keqiang, Chinese Premier of the State Council and China’s head of government, born in Dingyuan County, Anhui Province (d. 2023)
Famous Deaths
1614 – Isaac Casaubon, English classical scholar (Atheneaus), dies at 55
1860 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and manufacturing engineer who invented the vulcanization process for rubber, dies at 59
1931 – Alice Mary Robertson, American educator, social worker and 2nd woman in US Congress, dies at 77
1943 – C Bakker, Dutch resistance fighter (census bureau), executed
2017 – Norman Dorsen, American lawyer, human rights advocate and president of the American Civil Liberties Union, dies of complications from a stroke at 86
Famous Deaths for 30th June 2026
1874 – James Cantey, Brigadier General of the Confederate Army, dies at 55
1889 – Eugenio Terziani, Italian composer and music director (Teatro Apollo; La Scala), dies at 64
1905 – John Hay, American politician and statesman who was a private secretary to Abraham Lincoln and US Secretary of State (1898-1905), dies at 66
1938 – Milan Rakic, Serbian poet (Nove Pesme), dies at 61
1942 – Arnoldus Johannes Hubertus Aerts, Dutch bishop of New Guinea, executed at 62
1946 – Michael Zadora, American composer and pianist, dies at 64
1948 – Karl Wolfskehl, German Jewish writer, dies at 78
2005 – Clancy Eccles, Jamaican ska and reggae singer-songwriter (The Dynamites, “Feel the Rhythm”), and record producer, dies of complications after a heart attack at 64
2011 – Barry Bremen, American sports imposter and businessman (b. 1947)
2023 – Vahidin Musemić, Bosnian soccer striker (17 caps Yugoslavia; FK Sarajevo, OGC Nice), dies at 76