July 1
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Events on This Day
1847 - The first adhesive postage stamps went on sale. Ben Franklin graced the nickel stamp while George Washington was pictured on the ten-cent stamp. Prior to 1846 all United States mail was sent without postage affixed and was either prepaid or paid by the recipient with the markings and cancels indicating the method of payment and the method of transportation.1859 - The first intercollegiate baseball game was played -- in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The fans in the stands certainly got their money’s worth. Amherst defeated Williams College by the score of 73-32! Neither pitcher, incidentally, was awarded Player of the Game honors.
1862 - To help pay for the Civil War, the U.S. Congress established the Bureau of Internal Revenue on this day. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law, making it possible for the feds to collect a three percent tax on incomes ranging from $600 to $10,000, and five percent on incomes over $10,000.
1863 - One of the most crucial battles of the Civil War (between the States) began. Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his troops on an invasion of the North. Union General George Meade defeated the Southern forces at the Battle of Gettysburg.
1867 - This is the day the Confederation of Upper and Lower Canada and the Maritime Provinces became the Dominion of Canada. This Canadian national holiday is known as Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day.
1869 - The first Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy was appointed. He was William Maxwell Wood. He served until Oct 24, 1871.
1874 - The first zoo in the United States opened in Philadelphia, PA. Over 3,000 visitors paid 25 cents (adults) or 10 cents (children) to see the 1,000 animals housed in the Philadelphia Zoological Society zoo.
1897 - Three years after the first issue of Billboard Advertising was published, the publication was renamed, The Billboard. The monthly magazine became a weekly many years later.
1910 - Black and Decker was founded by (are you ready?) Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker. They started in Baltimore, with milk bottle cap machines and candy dippers. The partners introduced their first major tool in 1917 - a portable 1/2-inch electric drill with patented pistol grip and trigger switch, with can now be viewed at the Smithsonian.
1916 - Dwight David Eisenhower married Mamie Geneva Doud. It was the same day that Ike was promoted to first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Quite a day for the future U.S. President and his new bride.
1916 - The Battle of the Somme (in Northern France) began. It lasted five months and the death toll of over one million was for the sake of an allied advance of 125 square miles.
1934 - The Federal Communications Commission, as mandated in the Communications Act of 1934, replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States.
1935 - Benny Goodman and his band recorded the King Porter Stomp for Victor Records on this day. Many people considered this Goodman classic the beginning of the swing era.
1939 - Clay Puett introduced his device that is still in common use at thoroughbred race tracks around the world. The electric starting gate was used for the first time to start races at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, CA. The push of a button from a judges’ stand at trackside automatically opened the gates. It was set on wheels so that it could be pulled off the race course quickly. A bell sounds... and “They’re off!”
1941 - Bulova Watch company sponsored the first TV commercial. Remember “It’s Bulova Watch Time?” It was broadcast over WNBT-TV in New York City, and was a familiar advertising message on TV, radio and in print for many years. That first TV ad, incidentally, cost the watchmaker $9.
1944 - Delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where they agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
1946 - The U.S. exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. Dozens of surplus ships were used as targets. One was named Gilda, after a Rita Hayworth film, and was decorated with Hayworth’s picture.
1948 - The 5-cent subway ride came to an end in New York City. The price doubled to a dime this day.
1948 - New York International Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) at Idlewild (IDL) was officially opened.
1951 - Bob Feller set a baseball record as he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians.
1956 - Elvis Presley got an invitation from Steve Allen to appear on The Tonight Show. Although Elvis showed up in formal wear, the penguin suit didn’t hamper his ability to sing Hound Dog to a sad-eyed basset hound. It looked a little strange, however...
1957 - The International Geophysical Year began. The international scientific effort ran until Dec 31, 1958. The IGY encompassed eleven Earth sciences: aurora and airglow, cosmic rays, geomagnetism, glaciology, gravity, ionospheric physics, longitude and latitude determinations (precision mapping), meteorology, oceanography, seismology and solar activity.
1963 - Birthday greetings go out to Mr. Zip of the United States Post Office. He’s the familiar character seen on the sides of mailboxes and on posters. Mr. Zip was introduced to help educate people to use the 5-digit ZIP (Zone Improvement Program) code. Mr. Zip now has new members of the family. There are four digits after the original five, to get that mail to you even faster. No matter what you call it it’s still snail mail to us.
1967 - Scott McKenzie scored his first hit with the single, San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair). The song became an anthem for the Love Generation and the young people of flower power. McKenzie also co-wrote a hit for the Beach Boys in 1988, called Kokomo. Just so that you know, he was born Philip Blondheim in Jacksonville, FL. Phil thought the name Scott McKenzie was better for a music biz career. His songs, San Francisco and Like an Old Time Movie, were written and produced by John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas.
1973 - Golfer Bruce Crampton tied for fourth place in the Western Open golf tournament, bringing his career earnings to over a million dollars. Crampton became the first non-American golfer to reach that mark. He became the fifth golfer to make over a million dollars in career earnings. The others were Arnie Palmer, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino.
1979 - Susan B. Anthony, an activist for the cause of women’s suffrage, was commemorated on a U.S. coin, the Susan B. Anthony Dollar. The coin, roughly the size of a quarter, was confused by many with the quarter and the U.S. Treasury Department eventually stopped producing the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
1981 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (CBS, Inc. v. FCC) that candidates for federal office had an “affirmative right” to go on national television. The ruling limited a TV network’s right to determine when political campaigns begin and who may buy time.
1985 - Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers got hit #1,800 of his career, leading the Brew Crew past the Boston Red Sox 5-1.
1987 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan nominated federal appeals court judge Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court. Reagan’s choice of Bork touched off a tempestuous confirmation process that ended with Bork being rejected by the U.S. Senate.
1989 - Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner and former Playmate Kimberly Conrad were married in Los Angeles. He was 63 and she was 26.
1990 - East Germans lined up to obtain West German deutsche marks as a state treaty unifying the monetary and economic systems of the two Germanys went into effect.
1991 - Actor Michael Landon (Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven) died of pancreatic cancer in Malibu, CA. He was 54 years old.
1994 - For 33 years, Yasser Arafat was regarded by Israelis as a terrorist and sworn enemy of the State of Israel, never to be permitted on Israeli soil. The leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization visited the Gaza Strip this day, the result of a signed agreement between Israel and the PLO. The treaty gave the PLO ruling power over the territory and the city of Jericho.
1995 - Robert Weston Smith collapsed and died of a heart attack at his home in Belvidere, in northeastern North Carolina. He had just returned from a whirlwind tour promoting his autobiography Have Mercy!: Confessions of the Original Rock ’n’ Roll Animal. Fans first learned to love the Wolfman in 1963 on 250,000-watt XERF (Del Rio TX - Ciudad Acuna, Mexico), heard all over North America. You may also remember him as, that's right, Wolfman Jack, in the 1973 movie American Graffiti. And he's the same Wolfman The Guess Who sings about in their 1974 hit Clap for the Wolfman.
1996 - Actress Margaux Hemingway (suicide by overdose) was found dead in her Santa Monica, California, apartment. She was 41 years old.
1997 - The Nevada Athletic Commission suspended boxer Mike Tyson for biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.
1997 - Film star Robert Mitchum died (lung cancer and emphysema) at 79 years of age in Santa Barbara County, CA.
1998 - Singer/actress/diva Barbra Streisand and actor/director James Brolin were married at her Malibu, California home. It was her second marriage (she was previously married to actor Elliot Gould) and his third (he was married to casting agent Jane Agee and actress Jan Smithers). The couple honeymooned on a boat in the nearby Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast.
1998 - Armageddon opened in U.S. theatres. The plot: Asteroid on collision course with Earth; must knock it off course; have to drill into surface and detonate nuclear weapon; will use expert oil drillers for the job; Harry S. Stamper (Bruce Willis) is leader of team including: Rockhound (Steve Buscemi), Charles ‘Chick’ Chapple (Will Patton), Jayotis ‘Bear’ Kurleenbear (Michael Duncan), A.J. Frost (Ben Affleck), Oscar Choi (Owen Wilson). Running time: 2 hours and 24 minutes; seems a lot longer. Gross: $36.09 million opening weekend.
1999 - A gondola in the French Alps ripped away from its cables. The cable car plummeted to the ground, killing all 20 people on board.
2000 - The Confederate flag was removed from atop the South Carolina Statehouse. A smaller version was raised in front of the Confederate soldier’s monument on the Statehouse grounds. Flag supporters viewed the Confederate flag as a sign of Southern heritage. Opponents saw it as a reminder of slavery and hate.
2000 - Academy Award-winnning actor Walter Matthau (The Fortune Cookie [1966]) died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, CA. He was 79 years old.
2001 - In Michigan a law went into effect that allowed virtually any gun owner to carry a concealed weapon in public -- after they complete a gun safety course.
2002 - A Bashkirian Airlines Tu-154 from Moscow bound for Barcelona, Spain, and a Boeing 757 from the DHL delivery service, collided over southern Germany. All 69 people on the Russian plane -- including 44 children -- and the two cargo jet pilots were killed.
2003 - Jazz flutist Herbie Mann died at 73 years of age in Pecos, NM. Mann was among the first jazz musicians to specialize on the flute and was perhaps jazz music’s preeminent flautist during the 1960s.
2004 - Academy Award-winnning actor Marlon Brando (On the Waterfront [1954] and The Godfather [1972]) died in LA. He was 80 years old.
2005 - Rebound debuted in the U.S. The family comedy stars Martin Lawrence, Patrick Warburton, Megan Mullally, Breckin Meyer, Oren Williams, Steven C. Parker, Steven Anthony Lawrence, Logan McElroy, Tara Mercurio, Eddy Martin, Tara Correa-McMullen, Gus Hoffman, Fred Stoller, Amy Bruckner and Alia Shawkat.
2005 - Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, announced her retirement.
2005 - IBM and Microsoft settled antitrust claims with IMB getting $775 million in cash and $75 million worth of software from Microsoft.
2005 - Renaldo ‘Obie’ Benson, 69, a member of the legendary Motown singing group The Four Tops, died in Detroit MI; and Grammy award winning singer Luther Vandross died in New Jersey at 54 years of age.
2006 - China’s $4.2 billion, 710-mile-long Qinghai-Tibet railway from Golmud to Lhasa, Tibet, began operating. High-tech cars for the Sky Train were built in Canada, with regulated oxygen levels to help pasengers cope with 16,500-foot mountain passes.
2007 - England said no to smoking in bars, workplaces and public buildings. Proponents hailed the ban as the biggest boost to public health since the creation of the National Health Service in 1948.
2007 - A ban on cooking with trans fats took effect for all restaurants in New York City. The law imposing the ban was the first of its kind in the U.S.
2008 - Coffee retailer Starbucks said it would close 600 company-operated stores in the U.S. and reduce its work force by 7% because of the sputtering U.S. economy.
2008 - France took over the rotating presidency of the European Union with high-level meetings and a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.
2009 - New movies in the U.S.: The animated Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, featuring the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Queen Latifah; and Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Jason Clarke, Rory Cochran, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Stephen Lang, John Ortiz, Giovanni Ribisi, David Wenham, John Michael Bolger, Bill Camp, Matt Craven, Emilie De Ravin, Don Frye, Spencer Garrett, Shawn Hatosy, Peter Gerety, Stephen Graham, John Hoogenakker, Branka Katic, Domenick Lombardozzi and David Warshofsky.
2009 - Thousands of casinos, slot-machine parlors and betting halls across Russia shut down, complying with sweeping new restrictions that required all gambling business to relocate to four remote regions of the country: Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea; the Primorsky region on the Pacific coast; the mountainous Altai region in Siberia; and near the southern cities of Krasnodar and Rostov.
2009 - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency after lawmakers failed to balance the state’s checkbook. State Controller John Chiang said his office was prepared to issue IOUs totaling $3.3 billion in July.
2009 - Actor Karl Malden died in Brentwood (Los Angeles), California. He was 97 years old. Malden’s many film credits include A Streetcar Named Desire (which won him an Academy Award for supporting actor in 1952), On the Waterfront (which brought him an Academy Award nomination for supporting actor in 1955), Patton, Pollyanna, Fear Strikes Out, The Sting II, Bombers B-52, Cheyenne Autumn, and All Fall Down. And he gained his greatest popularity as Lt. Mike Stone in the 1970s television show The Streets of San Francisco, in which Michael Douglas played the veteran detective’s junior partner.
2009 - The U.S. federal Cash for Clunkers promotion went into effect, providing incentives for American car buyers.
2010 - The average fixed-rate for a 30-year mortgage fell to 4.58%, the lowest since U.S. government mortgage agency Freddie Mac started keeping track of mortgage rates in 1971.
2010 - The statue of Jesus Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was reinaugurated after some $4-million in repairs. The renovation of the Christ the Redeemer statue, which has towered over the city since 1931, was financed by Brazilian mining giant Vale and the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Rio.
2011 - Movies opening in the U.S.: Larry Crowne, starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Wilmer Valderrama, Taraji P. Henson, Rami Malek and Pam Grier; Monte Carlo, with Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy, Leighton Meester, Cory Monteith, Andie MacDowell, Brett Cullen and Amanda Fairbank-Hynes; the documentary Crime after Crime, with Tennille Williams, Dee Kelly Barrett and Anthony Belcher; Delhi Belly, with Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Imran Khan, Vijay Raaz and Shenaz Treasury; the documentary Love Etc., from Jill Andresevic; and Terri, starring Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Bridger Zadina, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Tim Heidecker, Justin Prentice and Mary Anne McGarry.
2011 - Owners of the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams locked out their 450 players after the two sides failed to reach a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was the fourth in NBA history. The main issues dividing the owners and the players, represented by the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), were (1) the division of revenue and (2) the structure of the salary cap and luxury tax.
2013 - Parent companies Bertelsmann (Random House) and Pearson (Penguin) announced the signing of final contracts combining the global activities of publishers Random House Inc. and Penguin Group to create Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann would hold 53% of the new company and Pearson 47%.
2014 - Japan’s cabinet approved a ‘reinterpretation’ of the Japanese constitution ending a ban that had kept the military from fighting abroad since 1945. It was a victory for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but the move riled China and worried many Japanese voters.
2014 - The U.S. Navy promoted Michelle Janine Howard to the rank of four-star admiral. She was the first woman to reach the Navy’s highest rank.
2015 - Movies opening in U.S. theatres included: Magic Mike XXL, with Elizabeth Banks, Amber Heard, Channing Tatum; Terminator: Genisys, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney; and Faith of Our Fathers, with Kevin Downes, David A.R. White and Stephen Baldwin.
2015 - 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was shot and killed on the San Francisco waterfront while walking with her father. Francisco Sanchez, a 52-year-old illegal immigrant was arrested and charged with murder. The gun Sanchez used had been stolen from a federal agent in a car burglary. The fatal shot had ricocheted off the pavement before striking Steinle in the back. Sanchez said he had been shooting at seals.
2015 - Great Britain faced its hottest July day on record as a level 3 ‘heatwave action’ heat-health alert was declared for all parts of England. The temperature hit 36.7 degrees Celsius (98 Fahrenheit) at Heathrow Airport, Hillingdon, London.
2016 - New movies in U.S. theatres included: The BFG, with Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader and Mark Rylance; The Legend of Tarzan, starring Margot Robbie, Alexander Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson; The Purge: Election Year, with Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mykelti Williamson; the animated documentary Life, Animated, featuring Jonathan Freeman, Gilbert Gottfried, Owen Suskind snd Ron Suskind; Marauders, starring Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni and Dave Bautista; and Our Kind of Traitor with Ewan McGregor, Damian Lewis and Stellan Skarsgård.
2016 - POTUS Obama signed into law the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which established a federally appointed control board with sweeping powers to run Puerto Rico’s economy.
2016 - Striking union members chanted, banged drums and blew whistles as part of a raucous picket line outside the Trump Taj Mahal casino Friday amid a contract dispute with owner and billionaire investor Carl Icahn at the start of the busiest weekend of the year for the casino industry. Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union was unable to reach a new contract with the Taj Mahal, which terminated workers’ health insurance and pension benefits nearly two years ago.
2017 - Nevada became the 5th U.S. state to allow marijuana shops to sell recreational pot.
2017 - Carrie Lam, the newly sworn-in Chief Executive of Hong Kong, vowed to restore social harmony as the divided city marked 20 years of Chinese rule. This, after Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a stark warning that Beijing would not tolerate any challenge to its authority in Hong Kong.
2018 - Britain’s Met Office (weather forecasting service) issued the first thunderstorm alert in the agency’s 164-year history -- for parts of southwest England and Wales. This, as a heatwave persisted in much of Britain.
2018 - Notorious French criminal Rédoine Faïd (46), serving 25 years for murder, used a helicopter to escape from a prison south of Paris, igniting a huge manhunt. Faïd was captured in Creil (northern France) Oct 3, 2018, along with his brother and 2 other men. Faïd has said he was influenced by American crime films such as Scarface, Reservoir Dogs and Heat.
2019 - Paris banned all diesel vehicles aged 13 years or over from the city center, the latest move in a campaign to tackle pollution on the city’s streets. A Greenpeace report had listed Paris as the worst western European capital for small particle air pollution in 2018, with levels higher than cities such as the Philippines capital Manila or the Colombian capital Bogota.
2019 - Tens of thousands marched through Hong Kong to demand expanded democracy. This, on the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China. Protesters broke into the legislative building and spray-painted slogans on the walls of the main chamber.
2019 - Iran acknowledged it had exceeded the limit set on its low-enriched uranium stockpiles by a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The announcement increased pressure on European nations trying to save the deal amid POTUS Trump’s maximalist campaign targeting Tehran.
2020 - COVID-19 news: 1)Arizona Governor Doug Ducey asked Vice President Mike Pence, who was visiting the state, for an additional 500 health care workers. This, as the number of cases of COVID-19 continued to set records in Arizona. 2)California dramatically rolled back efforts to reopen its economy, banning indoor restaurant dining, closing bars and stepping up enforcement of the restrictions. Governor Gavin Newsom ordered 19 counties with surging coronavirus outbreaks to shut public venues. 3)New research showed that damage done by the coronavirus to the membranes of red blood cells that carry oxygen may explain why many patients have alarmingly low oxygen levels. 4)German biotech firm BioNTech and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said a jointly developed COVID-19 vaccine had shown potential and was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials.
2020 - Britain extended residency rights for some 3 million Hong Kongers eligible for the British National Overseas passport. Officials stressed that Britain would uphold its historic duty to the former British colony. And thousands attended illegal protests marking the 23rd anniversary of return to Chinese rule. All this, after Beijing imposed a sweeping new national ‘security’ law in Hong Kong.
2020 - TV news and game show pioneer Hugh Downs died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 99 years old. Downs co-anchored NBC’s Today show from 1962 to 1971, but is probably most remembered for his 21 years as co-host of the ABC evening newsmagazine 20/20, and his signature sign-off: “We’re in touch, so you be in touch.” He served as the announcer for one of the earliest incarnations of NBC’s Tonight Show, starring Jack Paar, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. And he launched one the popular daytime show, Concentration, serving as host for more than 10 years even as he continued his Today duties. And he hosted PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts for much of the 1990s. “Downs was actually an early pioneer in the infotainment industry that seamlessly seems to blend news and entertainment,” said Mark Jurkowitz of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, “He was a reassuring, relaxed and silky smooth television talent.”
2021 - U.S. and British agencies disclosed details of methods used by Russian intelligence to break into the cloud services of hundreds of government agencies, energy companies and other organizations. The brute force attacks involve the automated spraying of sites with potential passwords until hackers got access. Companies were urged to adopt the use of multi-factor authentication and stronger passwords.
2021 - The Boy Scouts of America filed an $850 million agreement to compensate sex-abuse victims. The agreement drew outrage from some survivors and their advocates, while others were encouraged and saw it as the best outcome that could be achieved under the circumstances.
2021 - The mayor of Amsterdam apologized for the extensive involvement of the Dutch capital’s former governors in the global slave trade, saying the moment had come for Amsterdam to confront its grim history. Amsterdam municipality was not alone in apologizing for its role in slavery. In 2007, then-London Mayor Ken Livingstone made an emotional speech apologizing for the city’s involvement. And in2020 the Bank of England apologized for the links some of its past governors had with slavery.
2022 - Movies opening in the U.S. included: the animated Minions: The Rise of Gru, featuring characters voiced by Steve Carell, Pierre Coffi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michelle Yeoh, Dolph Lundgren, Lucy Lawless, Danny Trejo, Julie Andrews, Russell Brand and Alan Arkin; and Mr. Malcolm’s List, starring Theo James, Ashley Park and Zawe Ashton.
2021 - The state of New York charged The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with tax fraud and grand larceny. (Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August of 2022 -- to 15 counts ranging from grand larceny to tax fraud to falsifying business records.)
2022 - Germany signed an agreement to return ownership of more than 1,000 Benin Bronzes, looted during colonial times, to Nigeria.
2022 - The White House announced that President Biden was awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 people, some posthumously. The recipients included gymnast Simone Biles, former congressmember Gabby Giffords, Khizr Khan, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, actor Denzel Washington, former Senator Alan Simpson, civil rights advocate Raúl Yzaguirre, Brigadier General Wilma Vaught, civil rights organizer Diane Nash, Father Alexander Karloutsos, civil rights attorney Fred Gray, former University of Texas at Brownsville president Julieta Garcia, Catholic social justice leader Sister Simone Campbell, and the nurse who received the first COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., Sandra Lindsay. Biden also was posthumously awarding the medal to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Senator John McCain, and longtime AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.
2023 - Dutch King Willem-Alexander made a formal apology for the country’s role in the slave trade. The apology came on the 160th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands.
2023 - The Euclid telescope was launched into space on a Falcon-9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The mission would create a 3D map of the cosmos and search for dark matter -- and dark energy.
and more...
Birthdays on This Day July 1
1804 - George Sand (Amandine Aurore Lucile Dudevant)
author; one of the first liberated women; died June 8, 18761872 - Louis Bleriot
aviator: first man to fly an airplane across the English Channel [1909]; died Aug 2, 19361899 - Thomas A. (Andrew) Dorsey
‘Father of Gospel Music’: musician: pianist; blues composer; gospel music composer: composed over 1,000 gospel songs; died Jan 23, 19931899 - Charles Laughton
Academy Award-winning actor: The Private Life of Henry VIII [1933]; Mutiny on the Bounty, Witness for the Prosecution, Advise and Consent, Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Captain Kidd, The Man on the Eiffel Tower, Spartacus; husband of actress Elsa Lanchester; died Dec 15, 19621902 - Myron Cohen
comedian, entertainer, actor: When Nature Calls; died Mar 10, 19861902 - William Wyler
director: Funny Girl, Ben Hur, The Big Country, Friendly Persuasion, Roman Holiday, Carrie, Wuthering Heights; died July 27, 19811907 - Bill Stern
radio sportscaster: Bill Stern Sports Review, Bill Stern’s Sports Newsreel, Colgate Sports Newsreel; died Nov 19, 19711908 - Estée Lauder
cosmetics mogul; died Apr 24, 20041911 - Alvino Rey
musician: steel guitar; bandleader: Deep in the Heart of Texas, Cement Mixer, April in Paris, Blue Lou, Drowsy Old Riff; died Feb 24, 20041913 - Roberta Sherwood
singer: You’re Nobody ’Til Somebody Loves You, Up a Lazy River, You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry, Gee, But I Hate to Go Home Alone, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing; died July 5, 19991915 - Willie Dixon
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame blues musician: bass: Big Three Trio; songwriter, producer: 1950s Chicago sound; died Jan 29, 19921916 - Olivia de Havilland
Academy Award-winning actress: To Each His Own [1946], The Heiress [1949]; Gone with the Wind; sister of actress, Joan Fontaine; died Jul 25, 20201917 - Virginia Dale
actress: Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder, North and South, Bare Essence, The Hucksters, Dragnet [1947], Holiday Inn, Kiss the Boys Goodbye; died Oct 3, 19941923 - Constance Ford
actress: 99 and 44/100% Dead, The Caretakers, All Fall Down, Claudelle Inglish, The Iron Chef, The Last Hunt; died Feb 26, 19931925 - Farley Granger (Farley Earle II)
actor: Very Close Quarters, Night Flight from Moscow, The Purple Heart, The Robe, Arnold; died Mar 27, 20111928 - Bobby Day (Byrd)
singer: Rockin’ Robin; groups: Hollywood Flames, Bob & Earl; died July 27, 19901931 - Leslie Caron
actress: Lili, The L-Shaped Room, Gigi, An American in Paris, Father Goose, Daddy Long Legs1934 - Claude Berri (Langmann)
actor, director: Le Sex Shop, Marry Me, Marry Me, director: Germinal, Uranus, Manon of the Spring, Jean de Florette, Tchao Pantin, I Love All of You, One Wild Moment, The Two of Us; died Jan 12, 20091934 - Jamie Farr (Jameel Joseph Farah)
actor: M*A*S*H, The Blackboard Jungle, Scrooged, Cannonball Run, With Six You Get Egg Roll1934 - Jean Marsh
actress: Upstairs, Downstairs, The Jewel in the Crown, Fatherland, Frenzy, The Changeling1934 - Sydney Pollack
director: The Firm, Out of Africa, Tootsie, Absence of Malice, They Shoot Horses Don’t They, Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were; died May 26, 20081936 - Wally Amos Jr.
entrepreneur: originated Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, [sold name]; resides in Kailua, Hawaii [w/wife Christine Harris-Amos]1939 - Karen Black
actress: Easy Rider, You’re a Big Boy Now, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, House of 1000 Corpses; died Aug 8, 20131939 - Delaney Bramlett
musician: guitar, singer: duo: Delaney & Bonnie: Never Ending Song of Love, Only You Know and I Know, LP: Delaney and Friends: Class Reunion, To Delaney from Bonnie, Accept No Substitute: The Original Delaney and Bonnie; TV performer: Shindig; died Dec 27, 20081939 - Frank Parker (Ciccio)
singer [with Marion Marlowe]: An Old Fashioned Picture, Kiss Me Once [And Then Again], Make Believe, Romance, The Melba Waltz; one of the ‘Little Godfreys’ on the Arthur Godfrey Show; quiz show panelist: Masquerade Party; actor: The Concorde: Airport ’79, General Hospital [soap], Days of Our Lives [soap]; died Sep 16, 20181941 - Rod Gilbert
NHL Hall-of-Famer: NY Rangers all-time scoring leader; eight-time NHL All-Star; Patrick Trophy [1991]; Masterton Trophy [1975-76]1941 - Twyla Tharp
dancer, film and Broadway choreographer: Movin’ Out, The Catherine Wheel, White Nights1942 - Geneviève Bujold
actress: Anne of a Thousand Days, Coma, Dead Ringers1945 - Debbie (Deborah Ann) Harry
singer: group: Blondie: The Tide is High, Rapture, Heart of Glass, Call Me1947 - Harold McLinton
football: Washington Redskins linebacker: Super Bowl VII1951 - Fred Schneider
musician: keyboards, singer: groups: Shake Society, The B-52’s: Rock Lobster, Quiche Lorraine, 606 0842, Dance This Mess Around1951 - Victor Willis
singer: group: The Village People [cop/naval officer]: Y.M.C.A., In the Navy, Can’t Stop the Music, I Am What I Am, San Francisco [You Got Me]1952 - Dan Aykroyd
comedian, actor: Driving Miss Daisy, Sneakers, Coneheads, Saturday Night Live, Dragnet, Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers, Pearl Harbor1952 - Steve Shutt
hockey: Montreal Canadiens, LA Kings; during career, won 5 Stanley Cups, scored 424 goals and had 393 assists; broadcaster; assistant coach for the Canadiens1953 - Pat Donovan
football: Dallas Cowboys tackle: Super Bowl X, XII, XIII1956 - Lorna Patterson
actress: Goodtime Girls, Airplane!, Private Benjamin [TV]1956 - Alan Ruck
actor: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Spin City, Greek, Eureka, Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, Persons Unknown, Extraordinary Measures, Justified, Hawaii Five-0 [2012]1957 - Lisa Blount
actress: A.K.A. Birdseye, Traffic, Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story, Murder Between Friends, Great Balls of Fire!, Prince of Darkness; won 2001 Oscar [w/husband Ray McKinnon] for Best Live Action Short Film [The Accountant]; died Oct 25, 20101959 - Dale Midkiff
actor: Maximum Velocity, Nancy Drew, Air Bud: World Pup, Another Woman’s Husband, Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct: Ice, Love Potion No.91961 - Carl Lewis
Olympic Gold Medalist: long jump [1996], long jump and 4x100 relay [1992], 100 meter in 9.93 seconds, a world record, long jump, 4x100 meter relay [1988], 100 meter & 200 meter sprints, long jump & 4x100 meter relay [1984]; Olympic Hall of Famer; AP Male Athlete of the Year [1983, 1984]1961 - Princess Diana (Spencer)
Princess of Wales; killed in car crash in Paris, France, August 31, 19971962 - Andre Braugher
actor: A Soldier’s Girl, Duets, Frequency, City of Angels, Primal Fear, The Tuskegee Airmen, Without Warning: Terror in the Towers, Hack; died Dec 11, 20231963 - Roddy Bottum
musician: keyboards: group: Faith No More1966 - Shawn Burr
hockey: Detroit Red Wings, TB Lightning, SJ Sharks1967 - Pamela Anderson
actress: Baywatch, Raw Justice, Playboy’s Babes of Baywatch, Pam & Tommy Lee: Stolen Honeymoon, Cribs1967 - Mike Eastwood
hockey: Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, NY Rangers, SL Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins1970 - Henry Simmons
actor: NYPD Blue, Another World, One Life to Live, A Gentleman’s Game1971 - Steven W. Bailey
actor: Grey’s Anatomy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mix Tape, Chestnut Hill, Nash Bridges1971 - Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliott
songwriter, singer: I Want You Back, Pass that Dutch, Gossip Folks, Quick Rush, Are You Feelin’ Me?, Who You Gonna Call1971 - Bobby Hamilton
football: Southern Mississippi Univ; NFL: Seattle Seahawks, NY Jets, NE Patriots, Oakland Raiders1971 - Melissa Peterman
actress: Reba, Baby Daddy, Dancing Fools, Bet On Your Baby, The Singing Bee, Dirty Politics, Here Comes the Boom, Muffin Top1971 - Jamie Walker
baseball [pitcher]: Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles1972 - Claire Forlani
actress: CSI: New York, J.F.K.: Reckless Youth, Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, The Rock, The Last Time I Committed Suicide, Meet Joe Black, AntiTrust, NCIS: Los Angeles, Hawaii Five-01972 - Dan McGillis
hockey: Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, SJ Sharks, Boston Bruins1975 - Mike Cloud
football [running back]: Boston College; NFL: KC Chiefs, NE Patriots, NY Giants1977 - Liv Tyler
model, actress: Silent Fall, Heavy, That Thing You Do!, Armageddon, Cookie’s Fortune, Lord of the Rings series1977 - Kathy Wagner
actress: You Did What?, Half-Caste, The Slow and the Cautious, The Ryan White Story, Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story1980 - Nelson Cruz
baseball [outfield]: Milwaukee Brewers [2005], Texas Rangers [2006–2013]: 2011 ALCS MLB records: 6 home runs in a single postseason series, 13 RBIs in a single postseason series; Baltimore Orioles [2014]; Seattle Mariners [2015–2018]; Minnesota Twins [2019–2021]; Tampa Bay Rays [2021]; Washington Nationals [2022]; San Diego Padres [2023– ]1982 - Hilarie Burton
actress: One Tree Hill, Our Very Own, Solstice, The List, Grey’s Anatomy, Forever, Surprised by Love, White Collar1985 - Léa Seydoux
actress: Blue is the Warmest Color, The Beautiful Person, Inglourious Basterds, Robin Hood, Midnight in Paris, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Belle Épine, Farewell, My Queen, Spectre1989 - Hannah Murray
actress: Skins, Game of Thrones, Marple: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, Above Suspicion: the Red Dahlia, The Numbers Station, God Help the Girl, Lily & Kat, Suburbs1992 - Bryant Jones
actor: Nate Hastings, The Young & the Restless, Rich’s Hot GoGo Boys: Chasing the Sun1993 - Raini Rodriguez
actress: Austin & Ally, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Prom2001 - Chosen Jacobs
actor: Hawaii Five-0, It, It Chapter Two, God Friended Me, When the Streetlights Go On2003 - Storm Reid
actress: A Wrinkle in Time, Sleight, A Happening of Monumental Proportions, Euphoria
and still more...
Hit Music on This Day July 1
1945Laura (facts) - The Woody Herman Orchestra
Dream (facts) - The Pied Pipers
1954
1963
1972
1981
1990
1999
2008
2017
and even more...
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...
TWtD Calendar
