What Happened on July 4

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.

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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

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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

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