1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor (b. 1765)
1873 – John Robertson, American politician, dies at 87
1883 – Frederick Scotson Clark, English organist and composer, dies at 42
1906 – Paul Karl Ludwig Drude, German physicist (optics), committed suicide at 42
1989 – Ernesto Halffter, Spanish classical and film score composer (Rapsodia portuguesa; is Don Quixote de la Mancha), and conductor, dies at 84
1990 – Mitch Snyder, homeless advocate, commits suicide by hanging at 46
2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (Margaret-Lucas Tanner), dies from esophageal cancer at 89
2015 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-born American Physicist (Nobel Prize 2008), dies at 94
2016 – Beatrice de Cardi, British archaeologist, dies at 102
2017 – Pierre Henry, French composer (considered pioneer of musique concrète), dies at 89
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 5th July 2023
1750 – Slave revolt on Curacao
1841 – Thomas Cook opens first travel agency
1871 – Trial against Kiowa chief Satanta (White Bear) and Big Tree, begins
1937 – 117°F (47°C), Medicine Lake, Montana (state record)
1946 – British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: In first post-WWII Championship, Sam Snead wins his only Open title, 4 strokes clear of runners-up Johnny Bulla and Bobby Locke
1947 – “Barefoot Boy with Cheek” closes at Martin Beck NYC after 108 performances
1969 – Rolling Stones play a free concert in London’s Hyde Park
1981 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1991 – American jockey Ray Sibille wins his 3,000th career race, aboard Sporting Surf at Pleasanton, California
2021 – One of world’s oldest pieces of art, 51,000-year-old deer bone carved by Neanderthals, announced discovered in Harz Mountains, Germany
Today in History for 5th July 2023
Historical Events
1715 – Ottoman troops storm citadel of Acrocorinth in the Peloponnese, massacring a large part of the population and selling the rest into slavery. Inspires Lord Byron’s poem “The Siege of Corinth”
1908 – Niazi Bey, a chief organizer of the revolutionary movement in Turkey, raises the standard of revolt at Resna, Macedonia
1958 – J Pengel forms government/Emanuels premier of Suriname
1973 – Test cricket debut of English umpire Harold “Dickie” Bird v NZ at Leeds (66 Tests, 69 ODI)
1989 – “Seinfield” (originally titled The Seinfeld Chronicles” screens its pilot episode starring Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards on NBC
2017 – Shootout between drug cartels in Las Varas, Northern Mexico kills 14
Famous Birthdays
1546 – Johann Steuerlein, German composer, born in Schmalkalden, Germany (d. 1613)
1654 – Antonio Maria Pacchioni, Baroque composer, born in Modena, Italy (baptized date) (d. 1738)
1755 – Sarah Kemble Siddons, English tragic actress (Fatal Marriage), born in Brecon, Wales (d. 1831)
1956 – James Lofton, American NFL wide receiver (Bills, Packers, Raiders), born in Fort Ord, California
1968 – Shahid Anwar, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani all-rounder 1996 England tour), born in Multan, Pakistan
1981 – Jesse Crain, Canadian baseball player, born in Toronto, Ontario
Famous Deaths
1803 – William Jackson [Jackson of Exeter], English composer and organist, dies at 73
1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist (b. 1777)
1920 – John Shuter, cricketer (scored 28 in only Test for England 1888), dies
1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician (Nobel 1910), dies at 73
1984 – Gaston Vandermeulen, Flemish actor (Heilig Experiment, The Arrival of Joachim Stiller), dies at 79
2004 – Hugh Shearer, Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
Famous Deaths for 4th July 2023
1826 – John Adams, 2nd US President (1797-1801), dies at 90
1850 – William Kirby, English entomologist and original member of the Linnean Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society, dies at 90
1961 – William Franklin “Frank” Smith, American actor (Cowboy and Bandit, Scarlet Car, Frontier Days), dies of lung cancer at 83
1969 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian road cyclist (UCI Road World C’ship 1928, 29), dies at 63
1970 – Barnett Newman, American abstract expressionist painter (Black Fire I), dies at 65
1986 – Flor Peeters, Flemish organist and composer (Lied Symphony), dies at 83
1997 – Charles Kuralt, American news anchor (CBS Sunday Morning), dies at 62
2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski, Polish writer (b. 1919)
2008 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (Gone With The Wind), dies at 91
2017 – Gene Conley, American baseball pitcher (4 x MLB All Star; Boston/Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies) and basketball forward (NBA C’ship 1959–1961; Boston Celtics), dies at 86
Historical Events for 4th July 2023
1054 – Brightest known supernova SN 1054 (creates the Crab Nebula) 1st reported by Chinese astronomers
1610 – Battle of Klushino: King Sigismund III’s Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army defeats Russia and Sweden
1754 – George Washington gives Fort Necessity to France
1879 – Africaner Union forms by Rev SJ du Toit at Cape colony
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
1901 – William Howard Taft, former Federal judge, is installed as first governor-general of the Philippines and declares amnesty for all insurgents who take an oath of allegiance
1903 – Pacific Cable (San Francisco, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines) opens, President Theodore Roosevelt sends a message
1917 – Troops of the Russian Provisional Government open fire on protesters in Petrograd during the ‘July Days’ of unrest
1973 – Alan Ayckbourn’s “Absurd Person Singular,” premieres in London
2019 – Largest earthquake in California in 20 years 6.4 magnitude near Ridgecrest
Today in History for 4th July 2023
Historical Events
1779 – French fleet occupies Grenada
1838 – Iowa Territory is organised from Wisconsin Territory, lasting until 1846
1876 – 1st public exhibition of electric light in San Francisco
1939 – Red Sox 3rd baseman Jim Tabor hits record-tying 2 grand slams in one MLB game, 18-12 win v Phillies
1970 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: In an all-Australian thriller, John Newcombe beats Ken Rosewall 5,7 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
2006 – Space Shuttle program: STS-121 Mission – Space Shuttle Discovery launches at 18:37:55 UTC.
Famous Birthdays
1819 – Reuben Fenton, American merchant and politician (22nd Governor of New York), born in Carroll, New York (d. 1885)
1850 – Ole Olsen, Norwegian composer, organist, and military bandleader, born in Hammerfest, Finnmark, Norway (d. 1927)
1907 – Gordon Griffith, American actor (first actor to portray Tarzan on film) and director, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1958)
1909 – Madeleine Barot, French activist and theologian, born in Châteauroux, France (d. 1995)
1918 – Johnnie Parsons, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500, 1950; AAA/USAC Championship, 1949), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1984)
1973 – Michael Johnson, English-born Jamaican footballer, born in St. Louis, Missouri
Famous Deaths
1307 – Rudolf I, Habsburg nobleman (King of Bohemia, 1306-07; Duke of Austria and Styria 1298-1307), dies of stomach issues at about 26
1623 – William Byrd, British composer (Ave verum corpus), dies at 80
1891 – Frédérick Louis Ritter, French composer, add eductator (Vassar, 1867-91), dies at 67
1958 – Adolf Herckenrath, Flemish playwright and poet (Avondvlam), dies at 79
1992 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentine composer (Tango Nuevo), dies at 71
1995 – Jacques Berque, French Islamic scholar, dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 3rd July 2023
1741 – Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine, Queen consort of Sardinia (1737-41), dies at 29
1966 – (Joseph) Deems Taylor, American music critic (New York World), composer (Through The Looking Glass; Peter Ibbetson), and promoter of classical music (Fantasia), dies at 80
1985 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian Hockey HOF executive (9 x Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens), dies at 92
1996 – Pim Jacobs, Dutch jazz pianist, TV host and actor (Gilas), dies at 61
2004 – John Barron, British actor (Emergency – Ward 10; The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin), dies at 83
2008 – Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (Bozo the Clown), dies at 83
2008 – Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler and composer, dies of leukemia at 52
2018 – Richard Swift [Ochoa], American singer and songwriter (The Black Keys), dies of complications from hepatitis at 41
2018 – Bill Watrous, American jazz trombonist, dies at 79
2022 – Ni Kuang, Hong Kong-American screenwriter and novelist ((The 36th Chamber of Shaolin), dies at 87
Historical Events for 3rd July 2023
324 – Battle of Adrianople: Roman Emperor Constantine I defeats his co-emperor Licinius, who flees to Byzantium
1661 – Portugal gives Tangier and Bombay to English King Charles II
1861 – Colonel Jackson receives his commission as brigadier general
1884 – Dow Jones publishes its 1st stock index, the Dow Jones Transportation Average
1898 – American troops, en route to the Philippines on the SS China, raise the American flag on Wake Island
1936 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Home favourite Fred Perry beats Gottfried von Cramm of Germany 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 for his third straight Wimbledon singles title
1944 – “Double Indemnity” film noir directed by Billy Wilder and starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck is released in Baltimore, Maryland
1962 – Algerian Revolution against French rule ends (Algeria gains independence on 5th July)
2018 – US Justice and Education Departments rescind Obama affirmative action policies in college admissions
2018 – Souad Abderrahim is elected the first female mayor of Tunis, Tunisia
Today in History for 3rd July 2023
Historical Events
1883 – SS Daphne sinks on Clyde River in Scotland; 195 die
1905 – American boxer Marvin Hart scores a 12th round KO of Jack Root in Reno, Nevada for the vacant world heavyweight title
1912 – NY Giants pitcher Rube Marquard ties Tim Keefe’s 1888 MLB record 19 game win-streak with 2-1 win v Brooklyn Dodgers; has 21 with 2 end-of-season in 1911
1943 – British Liberator bomber sinks German U-628 in Bay of Biscay
2004 – Official opening of Bangkok’s subway system.
2020 – MLB Cleveland Indians owner Paul Dolan announces he would review changing the organization’s name
Famous Birthdays
1884 – Moses Leverock Crossley, Dutch bio-chemist, born in Saba, Dutch West Indies (d. 1971)
1936 – Anthony Lester, British barrister and Member of the House of Lords
1950 – Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricket medium pace bowler (43 Tests, 123 wickets; 114 ODIs, 140 wickets; Wellington), born in Dannevirke, New Zealand
1952 – Carla Olson, American rock performer, songwriter, performer (Textones; Have Harmony, Will Travel),a nd record producer, born in Austin, Texas
1961 – Pedro Romeiras, Portuguese dancer, born in Lisbon, Portugal
1964 – Gary Ryan [Moss], American rock bassist (Joan Jett and The Blackhearts), born in California
Famous Deaths
1775 – Colonel Thomas Gardner, American heroic political figure and soldier, dies at 51
1960 – Alfred Henry Ackley, American composer, dies at 73
1988 – Gabriel Dell, American actor (The Bowery Boys, Steve Allen Show), dies of leukemia at 68
1993 – Don Drysdale, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (World Series 1959, 63, 65; 9 x MLB All Star; Cy Young Award 1962; Brooklyn/LA Dodgers), dies of a heart attack at 56
2008 – Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (Bozo the Clown), dies at 83
2015 – Boyd K. Packer, LDS church apostle, dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 2nd July 2023
1822 – Denmark Vesey, American carpenter and ex-slave who planned an unsuccessful slave revolt in Charleston, South Carolina, hanged with 5 others at Blake’s Landing, Charleston, South Carolina at about 55
1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer, dies at 74
1971 – Edward Ballantine, American composer and music professor, dies at 84
1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 10th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), dies at 95
1984 – Paul Dozois, Quebec politician (b. 1908)
1987 – Michael Bennett, American theater director and choreographer (Chorus Line), dies of AIDS at 44
1992 – Borisav Pekic, Serbian writer/politician, dies
2014 – Louis Zamperini, American World War II veteran whose story of capture by the Japanese inspired the movie “Unbroken”, dies at 97
2018 – Henry Butler, American jazz and blues pianist, educator, and photographer (Dark Light: The Art of Blind Photographers), dies of cancer at 69
2019 – Michael Colgrass, American-Canadian composer (“Déjà vu” – Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1978), dies at 81