July 4
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Events on This Day
1776 - U.S. citizens celebrate their independence from the British every July 4th, which commemorates the approval of the Declaration of Independence. No it wasn’t signed on this day - just approved. The actual signing didn’t take place until a month later. Most of the delegates signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776, the first signature being that of John Hancock. The document proclaimed the equality of “all men” and their “unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
1826 - The second and third presidents of the U.S., John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, died on the same Independence Day. Jefferson expired at midday at his home at Monticello, Virginia; Adams died a few hours later around sunset at his farm at Quincy, Massachusetts. The day marked the 50th anniversary of the approval of the Declaration of Independence.
1827 - The first boat arrived in Cleveland as the the ‘Western Reserve’ portion of the Ohio Canal (originally known as the Lake Erie and Ohio Canal) opened. The canal from Cleveland to Portsmouth, Ohio was completed in the summer of 1833.
1828 - The ceremonial laying of the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) railroad’s first stone was held on this day. The B&O was the first railroad to be chartered and built in the U.S. (Feb 27, 1827). Among many other firsts, it was first to earn passenger revenue (Dec 1829).
1832 - It was on this day that America was sung in public for the first time -- at the Park Street Church in Boston, MA. Dr. Samuel Francis Smith wrote the words, borrowing the tune from a German songbook. Ironically, and unknown to Dr. Smith at the time, the melody is the same as the British national anthem.
1848 - The cornerstone for the Washington Monument was laid with “elaborate Masonic ceremonies.” The trowel used by Washington at the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol in 1793 was used on this occasion.
1855 - The first edition of Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman, was published in Brooklyn, NY.
1881 - Tuskegee Institute opened its doors to the students who built it with bricks made in their own kiln. An abandoned plantation in Tuskegee, Alabama was the site chosen for Booker T. Washington’s institution for academic and vocational training.
1884 - Bullfighting was introduced in America. No, not in Texas or Arizona, but in Dodge City, Kansas.
1888 - The first rodeo in America was held at Prescott, Arizona. A group of Prescott businessmen organized the first ‘cowboy tournament’ and offered cash prizes for the winners.
1895 - America the Beautiful, the famous song often touted as the true U.S. national anthem, was originally a poem written by Katharine Lee Bates. The Wellesley College professor’s poem was first published this day in the Congregationalist, a church newspaper.
1903 - The Pacific Cable (San Francisco, Hawaii, Guam, Phillipines) carried the first round-the-world message from President Theodore Roosevelt. He first sent a message to the Phillipines in 9.5 minutes, then the message around the world, which took 12 minutes.
1908 - The U.S. flag grew to 46 stars with the addition to the Union of Oklahoma.
1912 - Two stars were added to the Stars and Stripes this day for Arizona and New Mexico. This brought the total number of stars on the flag to 48.
1923 - Jack Dempsey defeated Tommy Gibbons in a fight held in that boxing mecca of Shelby, Montana. The fight had been called the strangest fight in boxing history (until the 1997 match between Evander Holyfield and the ‘ear-biting’ Mike Tyson).
1939 - Lou Gehrig retired from baseball in a touching ceremony at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Some 62,000 fans of the ‘Iron Horse’ came out to bid him goodbye. To feel the emotion of the moment, see the movie Pride of the Yankees.
1942 - The Irving Berlin musical, This is the Army, opened at New York’s Broadway Theatre. Net profits of the show were $780,000.
1943 - The Rhythm Boys, Bing Crosby, Al Rinker and Harry Barris, were reunited for the first time since the 1930s on Paul Whiteman Presents on NBC radio.
1946 - The Philippines established a Republic and became fully independent of the United States on this day. The Philippines had been ceded to the U.S. in 1899 by the Treaty of Paris after the Spanish-American War.
1951 - Jack Webb did a summer switch -- from his Dragnet role of Sgt. Joe Friday to that of Pete Kelly. Pete Kelly’s Blues, a crime drama, was the summer replacement on NBC radio for Halls of Ivy (with Ronald Colman and Benita Hume). Webb also played Pete Kelly in the 1955 movie of the same name; then produced and directed a 1959 TV series, also titled Pete Kelly’s Blues, starring William Reynolds as Pete.
1959 - America’s 49-star flag, honoring Alaskan statehood, was officially unfurled. It was the official U.S. flag for only one year (see 1960).
1960 - America’s 50-star flag, honoring Hawaiian statehood, became the official flag of the U.S. The 27th, and current, flag of the United States was officially displayed for the first time at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA.
1966 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act, which went into effect in on this day in 1967.
1970 - Casey Kasem hosted radio’s American Top 40 for the first time this day.
1973 - Riva Ridge won the Brooklyn Handicap in a world-record time of 1:52 2/5 in the 1-3/16-mile event. Riva Ridge became thoroughbred racing’s 12th, million-dollar race horse.
1976 - The United States celebrated its bicentennial with daylong festivities. Queen Elizabeth II, visiting the U.S., congratulated England’s former colony on its hard-won independence. U.S. President Gerald Ford made stops in Valley Forge, PA, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and New York. Hundreds of ‘tall ships’ from around the world converged on New York harbor to participate in the celebration. These were mostly sailing ships from the 19th century, but there were a few US Navy warships, along with dozens of smaller vessels.
1982 - Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado was elected president of Mexico.
1985 - A crowd, estimated at one million, gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate the 209th anniversary of America’s independence. The Beach Boys were joined by Mr. T. on drums to really add some fireworks to the festivities. The Oak Ridge Boys, Joan Jett and Jimmy Page joined in the celebration (but wouldn’t let Mr. T. play ...)
1986 - The Statue of Liberty reopened, after months of refurbishing, in time to celebrate its 100th birthday.
1987 - Martina Navratilova captured her sixth consecutive Wimbledon singles title.
1996 - Hotmail, a free Internet email service started up. The date was a great choice in terms of corporate symbolism, but not so good for making news. Most media outlets operate with skeleton crews over Independence Day, so the launch generated almost no press coverage. But, stop worrying, Hotmail went on to become the largest Web-based email service in the world with 50-million registered users. (Hotmail was sold to Microsoft for $400 million in Jan 1998.)
1997 - The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, launched by NASA from the Earth in December 1996, entered the atmosphere of Mars. A heat shield, parachutes, and airbags helped it land safely. The Sojourner rover searched the surface of Mars for rocks while millions of earthlings watch it on TV and the Internet.
1999 - Jose Canseco of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays smacked his 30th home run of the season, although Tampa Bay lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. Canseco became the first player in major-league history to hit 30 home runs with four different teams. He had previously reached that mark with the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics. Note: Canseco hit 30 or more homers with Oakland five times.
2000 - U.S. President Bill Clinton presided over the largest naval parade in history in New York harbor. Tall ships sailed through New York Harbor during OpSail 2000, celebrating Independence Day.
2000 - Laisenia Qarase was sworn in as prime minister of Fiji, along with a 19-member all-Fijian temporary government.
2001 - These films opened in the U.S.: Cats & Dogs, using a combination of live action and puppetry plus computer animation, featuring all (or the voice) of Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Alexander Pollock, Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes, Susan Sarandon, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Lovitz and Charlton Heston; and Scary Movie 2, starring Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Tori Spelling, Kathleen Robertson, Andy Richter, Chris Masterson, Chris Elliott and Tim Curry.
2001 - A Russian airliner crashed in Siberia killing all 143 people aboard. The Tu-154 jet plunged into a meadow in a Siberian forest and burned up after trying unsuccessfully to land at the city of Irkutsk.
2002 - A gunman opened fire while standing in line at Israel’s El Al airline ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport. The man killed two people and wounded four others before an El Al security officer shot him dead.
2002 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr. died in Washington at 89 years of age. Davis was the leader of the all-black Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and the first black general in the U.S. Air Force.
2003 - Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault after a woman accused him of misconduct at a hotel near Vail, Colorado.
2003 - Singer, songwriter Barry White died in Los Angeles. He was 58 years old. White’s rich bass voice stirred romance in the hearts of a generation of fans. His hits include I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby, Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe, Never, Never Gonna Give You Up and Love’s Theme, with his Love Unlimited Orchestra.
2004 - A 20-ton slab of granite, inscribed to honor “the enduring spirit of freedom,” was laid at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Freedom Tower (now One World Trade Center) in New York City. The tower replaced the destroyed World Trade Center.
2006 - Beaujolais wine producer Georges Duboeuf was fined £21,000 ($30,000) for falsely labelling and blending over 200,000 litres of wine. The French court said Duboeuf mixed a variety of grapes into its Beaujolais.
2007 - Bill Pinkney, the last of the original members of the musical group The Drifters, died at 81 years of age.
2007 - Joey Chestnut knocked off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi to become the new champ at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City. Chestnut ate 66 dogs in 12 minutes.
2008 - Diminished Capacity debuted across the U.S. The comedy stars Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick and Virginia Madsen.
2008 - 27 major wildfires were active in California. These included the Basin Complex Fire in Los Padres National Forest where over 68,700 acres were scorched, and the Indians Fire in Monterey County with 81,300 acres burned.
2008 - Deaths on this day included Jesse Helms, former 5-term U.S. Senator from North Carolina, who died at 86 years of age in Raleigh, NC; and American film star Evelyn Keyes died at 91 years of age in Montecito, CA.
2009 - Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair (36) was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on a sofa in his Nashville condominium living room. McNair’s girlfriend Sahel Kazemi (20) was discovered near him, killed by a single gunshot wound. McNair was married with four children.
2009 - 25-year-old Joey Chestnut of San Jose, California ate a record 68 hot dogs on the way to capturing his 3rd straight Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, New York City.
2010 - Joey Chestnut ate his way to a 4th straight Nathan’s Famous championship, but fell short of his record by downing only 54 hot dogs at the Coney Island contest.
2010 - Toyota began a recall of more than 270,000 luxury Lexus and Crown vehicles over defective engines.
2011 - Results of a study of twins indicated that environmental factors, including conditions in the womb, might be at least as important as genes in causing autism.
2011 - Joey Chestnut won his fifth straight Nathan’s July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest managing to down ‘only’ 62 hot dogs -- in 95-degree weather. Chestnut set that hot dog-eating record in 2009 in 70-degree weather.
2012 - Make that six straight. Joey Chestnut won again, matching his own record of eating 68 hot dogs in ten minutes at the 2012 version of Nathan’s Coney Island contest.
2012 - Austrian police identified 272 suspects in the country as part of a months-long investigation of Internet-based child pornography involving 141 nations. All of the suspects were male and came from a wide cross-section of professions, including school and kindergarten teachers. Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner said the suspects ranged in age from 17 to 70.
2013 - Adli Mansour, chief justice of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court, was sworn in as Egypt’s interim president. Mansour took over just hours after the military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The prosecutor’s office ordered the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s top leader, Mohamed Badie, and his deputy Khairat el-Shater on accusations of inciting violence in which at least eight people were killed.
2014 - Movies opening in the U.S. included the thriller, Bobby Jasoos, with Vidya Balan, Ali Fazal and Supriya Pathak; and the documentar, Life Itself, about the life of film critic Roger Ebert.
2014 - Joey Chestnut proposed to his longtime girlfriend before the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, New York. Chestnut then packed away 61 hot dogs -- and buns -- to hold onto his coveted mustard yellow winner’s belt. It was his 8th consecutive win.
2015 - 23-year-old Alexander Ciccolo, the estranged son of a respected Boston police captain, was arrested by FBI agents in a counter-terrorism operation against alleged ISIS-inspired domestic terrorists. His arrest came after a warning from his father that the young man might pose a danger.
2015 - Matt Stonie ended the 8-year winning streak of Joey Chestnut as Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest champ. Stonie downed 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes -- to Joey’s 60.
2016 - Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut regained the Mustard Yellow International Belt, ousting Matt ‘The Megatoad’ Stonie of the championship title. This, at the annual July Fourth hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island. Chestnut, 32, downed 70 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes - the most hot dogs and buns ever eaten at the competition. He - polishing off 17 more dogs than Stonie. Chestnut’s eight straight victories ended in 2015 when he lost the championship title in an upset to Stonie. Both men are from San Jose, California.
2017 - Joey Chestnut ate a record 72 hotdogs to win the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, NY. It was Chestnut’s 10th Mustard Belt in 11 years. Second place went to Carmen Cincotti who managed to force down just 62 dogs.
2017 - Hong Kong customs officials seized more than $9 million worth of ivory stashed in a 7.2-ton shipment from Malaysia that had been labeled as frozen fish. Three people at a trading company in Hong Kong were arrested.
2017 - North Korea successfully test-launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile, a potential game-changing development in what may be the world’s most dangerous nuclear standoff. The missile reached an altitude of 1,500 miles and covered 600 miles.
2018 - The First Purge opened in U.S. movie theatres. The action horror film stars Y’Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, Luna Lauren Velez, Marisa Tomei, Melonie Diaz, Mo McRae, Steve Harris and Chyna Layne.
2018 - British police said they were investigating six claims of sexual assault -- or assault -- by Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, three more than previously disclosed. Five of the alleged offenses took place in London between 1996 and 2008, and the sixth in the western English city of Gloucester in 2013.
2018 - India’s government said it has asked WhatsApp to take “immediate action” to prevent the social media platform from being misused to spread rumors and irresponsible statements like those blamed for recent deadly mob attacks in the country. At least 20 people have been killed in mostly rural villages in several Indian states in attacks by mobs that had been inflamed by social media. Victims were accused in the viral messages of belonging to gangs trying to abduct children. The brutal attacks, which began in early May, have also left dozens of people injured. WhatsApp which had over 200 million monthly active users in India, listed a number of measures it had taken to control the spread of misinformation and abuse on its platform.
2018 - Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss the salvaging of an Iran nuclear deal. This, after the U.S. withdrew and reinstated sanctions on Tehran. Kurz emphasized to Rouhani that he considered it “absolutely unacceptable” to question the right of Israel to exist or call for the Jewish state’s destruction.
2018 - Joey Chestnut downed a record 74 wieners and buns at the Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest -- and won the coveted Mustard Belt for the 11th time. Miki Sudo held on to her title as the top women’s contender eating 37 franks and buns (her fourth consecutive win).
2019 - New York City Joey Chestnut ate 71 wieners and buns to secure his 12th title at Nathan's Famous annual July Fourth hot dog eating contest. That 71 number was 3 shy of Chestnut’s all-time hot dog record set in 2018.
2019 - Temperatures in Alaska reached record highs with Anchorage recording 90 degrees. The city’s previous record was 85 degrees on June 14, 1969. Rick Thoman of the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy told the Associated Press the high temperatures were both a weather story -- and a climate story -- as extreme weather events continued to become more likely in a warming world.
2019 - Swiss scientists advised that the most effective way to fight global warming is to plant trees -- a trillion of them, maybe more. As trees grow, they absorb and store the carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global heating. New research estimates that a worldwide planting program could remove two-thirds of all the emissions from human activities that remain in the atmosphere today, a figure the scientists described as “mind-blowing.”
2020 - POTUS Trump made remarks at a Salute to America July 4th event in Washington, DC, claiming that a therapeutic and/or vaccine will be around “long before the end of the year.” Trump also put forward a mystifying -- and dangerously misleading claim -- that 99% of coronavirus cases in America were “totally harmless.”
2020 - Protesters in Baltimore, Maryland pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus and threw it into the city’s Inner Harbor. The statue was dedicated in 1984 by former Mayor William Donald Schaefer and then President Ronald Reagan.
2020 - Joey Chestnut (36) downed a record 75 hot dogs at the Nathan’s Famous contest at Coney Island. In the women’s division, returning champion Miki Sudo topped a field of five by devouring a record 48.5 hot dogs and buns. Our crack 440 history department informs us that Nathan Handwerker opened his world renown seaside restaurant in 1916.
2021 - A million people began planting 250 million saplings in northern Uttar Pradesh state, India to help reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of global climate change. The effort spanned 68,000 villages and 83,000 forest sites.
2021 - Hackers demanded $70 million to restore the data they were holding ransom in a mass extortion attack that affected hundreds of companies worldwide. The demand was posted on a blog typically used by the REvil cybercrime gang, a Russia-linked group that was counted among the cybercriminal world’s most prolific extortionists.
2021 - Cuba evacuated 180,000 people in the path of Tropical Storm Elsa. The big blow had battered several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people.
2021 - Joey Chestnut broke his own record as he won his 14th Nathan Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Chestnut downed 76 franks and buns in 10 minutes. Michelle Lesco took the women’s title, eating 30 3/4 hot dogs and buns.
2022 - The Minneosta Twins made the first 8-5 (center fielder to third baseman) triple play in MLB history. Centerfielder Byron Buxton made a catch and third baseman Gio Urshela tagged one runner out in the basepath and doubled-off another runner by tagging second base -- against the White Sox in Chicago.
2022 - A shooter at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Chicago killed seven and wound dozens of others. The suspected killer was taken into custody in Lake Forest after a nearly eight-hour manhunt and brief police pursuit. Dr. David Baum, who was attending the parade, helped treat those who were injured in the shooting. “The bodies that I saw, it was not an image that anyone who’s not a physician would have an easy time processing,” said Baum.
2022 - President Biden celebrated the Fourth of July with a White House cookout with military families while calling for Americans to set aside their differences. “We’ve been tested before, just as we’re being tested today,” Biden said in his July 4th remarks. “But we’ve never failed, because we have never walked away from the core beliefs and promises that define this nation.”
2023 - It was a very warm June: The hottest global temperature ever was recorded on this day. It hit 17.18 degrees Celsius. The previous record was (hit on the July 3 that year) was 17.01 degrees Celsius. And the heat record would be broken two more times in the following two days.
2023 - Nine people were injured in a shooting in Washington, DC, as the victims were celebrating the Fourth of July. In Philadelphia, a shooting the day before left five people dead and two others wounded. On the same night in Fort Worth, Texas, a shooting killed three people and wounded eight others. Separately, block parties had recently turned deadly in Indianapolis and Baltimore, leaving investigators scouring the crime scenes for answers.
and more...
Birthdays on This Day July 4
1804 - Nathaniel Hawthorne
author: The Scarlet Letter, Wakefield, The House of the Seven Gables; died May 19, 18641826 - Stephen Foster
song writer of about 200 songs including: Oh! Susannah, Camptown Races, Old Folks at Home [Swanee River], Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair, Beautiful Dreamer; died Jan 13, 18641872 - Calvin Coolidge
30th U.S. President [1923-1929]; married to Grace Goodhue [two sons]; nickname: Silent Cal; died Jan 5, 19331883 - Rube (Reuben Lucius) Goldberg
inventor of elaborate, involved contraptions that accomplish simple tasks; cartoonist; died Dec 7, 19701884 - Louis B. (Burt) Mayer
motion picture mogul: the Mayer in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM]; founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [AMPAS]; died Oct 29, 19571902 - George (Lloyd) Murphy
actor: This is the Army, Little Miss Broadway, For Me and My Gal; politician: U.S. Senator; died May 3, 19921903 - Howard ‘Hobby’ Hobson
basketball coach: Southern Oregon College, Univ of Oregon, Yale Univ; career record of 495-291; pioneered intersectional play and wrote many basketball books that helped revolutionize the game; died Jun 9, 19911910 - Gloria Stuart
actress: Land of Plenty, The Love Letter, Titanic, Wildcats, The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan, The Legend of Lizzie Borden; died Sep 26, 20101911 - Mitch Miller
record company executive, producer, arranger: Columbia, Mercury; musician & instrumentalist: Tzena, Tzena, Tzena, The Yellow Rose of Texas, March from The River Kwai; Sing Along with Mitch LPs and TV show; died Jul 31, 20101912 - Virginia Graham (Komiss)
TV hostess: The Strawhatters; panelist: Where Was I?; died Dec 22, 19981918 - Ann Landers (Eppie Lederer) (née Esther Pauline Friedman)
advice columnist; twin sister of Abigail Van Buren; died Jun 22, 20021918 - Johnnie Parsons
automobile racing champ: Indianapolis 500 [1950]; west coast zone supervisor: United States Auto Club; died Sep 8, 1984
1918 - Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Phillips) (née Pauline Esther Friedman)
advice columnist: Dear Abby; twin sister of Ann Landers; died Jan 16, 20131920 - Leona Helmsley
hotel mogul: Helmsley Hotels; died Aug 20, 20071924 - Eva Marie Saint
Academy Award-winning actress: On the Waterfront [1954]; North by Northwest, Exodus, Raintree County1927 - Gina Lollobrigida
actress: Trapeze, Belles de Nuit, Solomon and Sheba, Strange Bedfellows, Come September; died Jan 16, 20231927 - Neil (Marvin) Simon
Tony Award-winning playwright: The Odd Couple [1965], Lost in Yonkers [and Pulitzer Prize: 1991]; The Sunshine Boys, Barefoot in the Park, The Goodbye Girl, California Suite, Plaza Suite, Seems like Old Times, Prisoner of Second Avenue; died Aug 26, 20181929 - Al Davis
Pro Football Hall of Fame GM, owner: Oakland Raiders; only one in pro football to be scout, asst. coach, head coach, general manager, league commissioner and owner; died Oct 8, 20111929 - Chuck (Charles William) Tanner
baseball: Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, LA Angels; manager: Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves; died Feb 11, 20111930 - George Steinbrenner
shipping magnate, baseball team owner: New York Yankees; died Jul 13, 20101931 - Stephen Boyd
actor: The Man Who Never Was, Ben-Hur, Fantastic Voyage, Lisa, Slaves, Carter’s Army; died June 2, 19771937 - Rosey (Roosevelt) Taylor
football: Grambling College, Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins: Super Bowl VII; died May 29, 20201937 - Ray Pillow
singer: Take Your Hands Off My Heart, Thank You Ma’am, I’ll Take the Dog, Volkswagon, Gone with the Wine; died Mar 26, 20231938 - Bill Withers
Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer: Ain’t No Sunshine [1971], Lean on Me, Use Me; died Mar 30, 20201940 - Dave Rowberry
musician: keyboards: group: The Animals: It’s My Life, We Gotta Get Out of This Place, Don’t Let Me Down, House of the Rising Sun; died Jun 6, 20031940 - Pat Stapleton
hockey: NHL: Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks; died Apr 8, 20201942 - Floyd Little
football: College Football Hall of Famer: Syracuse: 3-time All-American running back; Denver Broncos: rushed for 6,323 yards on 1,641 carries & 43 touchdowns; died Jan 1, 20211943 - Emerson Boozer
football: NY Jets running back: Super Bowl III1943 - Geraldo Rivera
investigative reporter, talk show host: Geraldo1943 - Al ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson
musician: guitar, harmonica; singer: group: Canned Heat: On the Road Again, Going Up the Country, Let’s Work Together; died Sep 3, 19701945 - Bruce French
actor: Passions, The Riches, Beautiful Boy, Dark and Stormy Night, Jane Doe: Ties That Bind, Mr. Deeds, Jurassic Park III, Jack Reed: Badge of Honor1948 - Jeremy Spencer
musician: guitar: group: Fleetwood Mac: Black Magic Woman, Need Your Love So Bad, Albatross, Man of the World, The Green Manalishi [With the Two-Pronged Crown]1949 - Ed O’Ross
actor: Lethal Weapon, Full Metal Jacket, Another 48 Hrs., Dark Planet1951 - Ralph Johnson
musician: drums; singer: group: Earth Wind and Fire: Shining Star, That’s the Way of the World, September, Can’t Hide Love, Got to Get You Into My Life, Sing a Song1955 - John Waite
singer: Missing You, Tears; group: The Babys: Isn’t It Time, Everytime I Think of You, Back on My Feet Again1957 - Jenny Seagrove
actress: Zoem, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Incident at Victoria Falls, The Guardian, Diana, A Chorus of Disapproval, In Like Flynn1958 - Kirk Pengilly
singer, musician guitar, saxophone: group: INXS: Just Keep Walking, The One Thing, Original Sin, Melting in the Sun, This Time1960 - Signy Coleman
actress: The Young and the Restless1962 - Pam Shriver
tennis: grand slam doubles winner [1984]; w/ Martina Navratilova won 7 Australian, 4 French, 5 Wimbledon, 4 U.S. Opens [1981-1989]1963 - Matt Malley
musician: bass guitar: group: Counting Crows: Mr. Jones, Round Here, Einstein on the Beach [For an Eggman], Rain King, A Murder of One, Angels of the Silences1963 - Michael Sweet
musician: guitar; songwriter, singer: LPs: Michael Sweet, Truth, HMS1965 - Harvey Grant
basketball: Washington Bullets, Portland Trailblazers, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards; twin brother of Horace1965 - Horace Grant
basketball: Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics, LA Lakers; twin brother of Harvey1965 - Rosie Malek-Yonan
actress: Rendition, ER, Chicago Hope, The Practice, JAG, Eli Stone; more1967 - Vinny Castilla
baseball: Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, TB Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals1971 - Brendan Donnelly
baseball [pitcher]: Mesa Jr. College; Anaheim/LA Angels1974 - Jenica Bergere
actress: The Drew Carey Show, Men Behaving Badly, The Faculty, I Shaved My Legs for This, Rat Race, The Expendables, Psycho Beach Party, Road Rage, Splendor1974 - Steve Bush
football [tight end]: Arizona State Univ; NFL: Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, SF 49ers1974 - La’Roi Glover
football: San Diego State Univ; NFL: Oakland Raiders, NO Saints, Dallas Cowboys1978 - Becki Newton
actress: Ugly Betty, Mode After Hours, August Rush, P.S., The Guiding Light1981 - Will Smith
football [defensive end]: NFL: New Orleans Saints [2004–2013]: Super Bowl XLIV champs; fatally shot Apr 9, 2016 after exchanging words with a man who had rear-ended his car1986 - Holly Wellin
actress [2004-2011]: X-rated films: Young Ripe Mellons 6, Neo Pornographia 4, Fast Times at Naughty America University, Porn Star Pool Party, Masturbation Nation1989 - Alyssa Miller
fashion model: cover appearances on for Vogue [Germany] and Elle [Italy]; model–spokesperson: Guess, Victoria’s Secret; appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue1990 - David Kross
actor: War Horse, Into the White, The Reader, Measuring the World, Same Same But Different1994 - Julianna Rose
actress: Crazy, Stupid, Love, Khumba, Tiger Cruise, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Chrimbus Special1995 - Post Malone
rapper, singer: Congratulations, Rockstar [featuring 21 Savage], Psycho [featuring Ty Dolla Sign], Sunflower [with Swae Lee], Circles, I Like You [A Happier Song] [featuring Doja Cat], One Right Now [with the Weeknd], Chemical, I Had Some Help [featuring Morgan Wallen]
and still more...
Hit Music on This Day July 4
1948You Can’t Be True, Dear (facts) - The Ken Griffin Orchestra (vocal: Jerry Wayne)
Nature Boy (facts) - Nat King Cole
1957
1966
1975
1984
1993
2002
2011
2020
and even more...
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...
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