On this date:
In 1608, the city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain.
In 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass.
In 1890, Idaho became the 43rd state of the Union.
In 1898, the U.S. Navy defeated a Spanish fleet outside Santiago Bay in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
In 1928, the first color television transmission was accomplished by John Logie Baird in London.
In 1944, during World War II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk.
In 1962, Algeria became independent after 132 years of French rule.
In 1979, Dan White, convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison. (He ended up serving five years.)
In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
In 1989, a divided Supreme Court upheld abortion restrictions in the state of Missouri.
Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton, acting to head off potential problems with the safety of imported food, said in his weekly radio address he was ordering inspectors at American ports to brand all unsafe and rejected food products, "Refused U.S."
Five years ago: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan won a promise from Sudan's government to send troops to stop militia violence in the Darfur region. Maria Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title by beating Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 at Wimbledon. Former Soviet cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev died in Cheboksary, Chuvash Autonomous Republic, at age 74.
One year ago: The Pentagon announced it had extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time. Venus and Serena Williams won in straight sets to set up their third all-sister Wimbledon final and seventh Grand Slam championship matchup. Larry Harmon, who turned Bozo the Clown into a show business staple, died in Los Angeles at age 83.Dead People What Was Born on This Date: Czech novelist Franz Kafka in 1883, & actor George ("I'm bored.") Sanders in 1906.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Tim O'Connor is 82. Movie director Ken Russell is 82. Jazz musician Pete Fountain is 79. Playwright Tom Stoppard is 72. Writer-producer Jay Tarses is 70. Singer Fontella Bass is 69. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 66. Actor Michael Cole ("The Mod Squad") is 64. Country singer Johnny Lee is 63. Writer Dave Barry is 62. Actress Betty Buckley is 62. Rock singer-musician Paul Barrere (Little Feat) is 61. Actress Jan Smithers is 60. Former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier is 58. Talk show host Montel Williams is 53. Country singer Aaron Tippin is 51. Rock musician Vince Clarke (Erasure) is 49. Actor Tom Cruise is 47. Actor Thomas Gibson is 47. Actress Hunter Tylo is 47. Actress Connie Nielsen is 45. Actress Yeardley Smith is 45. Singer Ishmael Butler is 40. Rock musician Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies) is 40. Actress-singer Audra McDonald is 39. Actor Patrick Wilson is 36.
Today In Entertainment History -- In 1878, Broadway song-and-dance man George M. Cohan was born in Providence, R.I. (Cohan claimed to have been - as he wrote in one of his patriotic songs - "born on the Fourth of July.")
It was forty years ago today: In 1969, former Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones was found dead in his swimming pool at home in England. The coroner's report cited death by misadventure. John Wayne won his first Oscar after 200 films for playing Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit." [The Oscars were held in July? We might have to look this up. — Ed.]
And for the first time, the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island featured rock artists. Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin and Ten Years After were among the acts who performed.
In 1971, Doors lead singer Jim Morrison died of heart failure in Paris, aged 27. He was found in his bathtub. News of Morrison's death was not made public until days after his burial in a Paris cemetery, leading many fans to believe he was still alive. ["Summer's Almost Gone." Find your own favorite tune or video. —Ed.]
In 1973, David Bowie retired for the first time in London.
In 1986, singer Rudy Vallee died at age 84. [We saw Rudy once, in the infamous "Ralphs on Sunset," late '70s/early '80s. He was bent over his shopping cart, & apparently unaware that he was drooling copiously. — Ed.] Also, singer Teddy Pendergrass was critically injured when the specially equipped van he was driving hit a utility pole in Philadelphia. Pendergrass had been paralyzed in a 1982 auto crash.
It was twenty years ago today, in 1989, that actor Jim Backus died. He's best known for playing Thurston Howell on "Gilligan's Island" and for providing the voice for Mr. Magoo.
In 1995, members of TLC filed for bankruptcy. Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes faced a $1.3 million dollar payment for burning down the mansion of her boyfriend, Andre Rison. Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots [STP Is The User's Edge. —Ed.] pleaded innocent to drug charges.
Ten years ago, in 1999, singer Mark Sandman of Morphine collapsed on stage during a show in Rome and died of a heart attack. He was 46. "Posh Spice" Victoria Adams of the Spice Girls married soccer star David Beckham at an estate outside Dublin, Ireland.
Thought for Today: "A timid person is frightened before a danger; a coward during the time; and a courageous person afterward." — Jean Paul Richter, German author (1763-1825).
UPDATE (3 July 2009 @ 1620): Added photos, added to title, inserted smart-ass asides, added links, &tc.
2 comments:
Rebs final attck--Pickett's Charge--was repulsed on July 3. They retreated July 4, same day as Vickburg surrendered. Was a bad day for the Empire of Slavery.--Brick
also...those are Union dead...dark blue shirt, light blue pants. The fact that the appaear to be lying in a flat iopen field probably means that they died on July second, whan a damn fool Union general named Dan Sickles advanced his corps on his own accord into the plain in front of the rest of the Union line and the conderates attacked them fiercely and cut them to ribbons. JUst a guess though. --Brick
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