Fun On this date in history...

Also -

On July 4th, 1984 at an event attended by President Ronald Reagan, NASCAR driver Richard Petty won his 200th race at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speeday. This would be Petty's final NASCAR victory and to this day he remains the only driver to win 200 career races.

 

Did he die?

 

No.

 

July 4:

1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opened.
1803 – The Louisiana Purchase was announced to the American people.
1826 – Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, died 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 was abolished in New York State.
1862 – Lewis Carroll told Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
1865 – Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was published.
1911 – A massive heat wave struck the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie took place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
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.
1950 – Radio Free Europe first broadcast.
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.
1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (aka the "Butcher of Lyon") was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower was laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
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.

Births:

1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American writer
1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian military and politician
1816 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian club whiskey
1826 – Stephen Foster, American songwriter
1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American politician, 30th President of the United States
1918 – Ann Landers, (Eppie Lederer) American columnist
1918 – Pauline Phillips, American columnist and radio host, created Dear Abby
1920 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman
1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman
1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway
1942 – Prince Michael of Kent
1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author
1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer
1971 – Koko, American sign language gorilla
1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths:

1826 – John Adams, American politician, 2nd President of the United States
1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American politician, 3rd President of the United States
1831 – James Monroe, American politician, 5th President of the United States
1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Nobel Prize in Physics
1946 – Gerda Steinhoff, German concentration camp overseer
1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian actress
1995 – Bob Ross, American painter
1997 – Charles Kuralt, American journalist
2002 – Winnifred Quick, American RMS Titanic survivor
2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
2008 – Jesse Helms, American politician, bigotted douchebag

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors.

 

Did they both kill each other afterwards in bloody vengeance?

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 7, 1981, President Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court.

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 8, 1950, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 9, 1896, William Jennings Bryan caused a sensation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with his "cross of gold" speech denouncing supporters of the gold standard. Bryan went on to win the party's nomination.

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 10, 1940, during World War II, the 114-day Battle of Britain began as Nazi forces began attacking southern England by air. By late October, Britain managed to repel the Luftwaffe, which suffered heavy losses.

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 11, 1979, the abandoned United States space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 12, 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale named New York Congresswoman Geraldine A. Ferraro his running mate, making her the first woman to run on a major party ticket.

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 13, 1977, a 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area after lightning struck upstate power lines

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 14, 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the planet

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 15, 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.

 

Did we forget Bastille Day? To the barricades!

 

I did (probably because I was exhausted) sorry.

 

ON THIS DAY

On July 16, 1918, Russia's Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their five children were executed by the Bolsheviks.

 

^ Except for Anastasia.

 

Ha! Seriously, did you know that a few years ago they finally found the bodies of the missing children -- Alexei and one of his sisters. It's not sure if it was Anastasia or Maria who was missing.


(I'm a huge Romanov buff)