July 2:

1776: The Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain.

1809: Shawnee Chief Tecumseh called on Native Americans to unite to fight against further encroachments of white settlers into their lands.

1839: Mutiny on the Amistad: Africans aboard the Spanish ship Amistad, seized control of the vessel rather than accept their fate to be slaves in Cuba.

1863: Battle of Gettysburg: In the second day of the battle, Col. Joshua Chamberlain and his 20thMaine volunteers held off an attack of the 15thAlabama on Little Round Top. His daring leadership saved the Union Army and perhaps the Union itself.

1881: Pres. James A. Garfield was shot by a disgruntled office seeker, Charles J. Guiteau. He died soon after.

1937: Amelia Earhart disappeared near Howland Island in the Pacific while attempting to fly around the world.

1947: The Soviet Union rejected America's offer of Marshall Plan financial aid to rebuild after WWII.

1964: Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. This is one of the most important pieces of legislation in U.S. history.

July 3:

1775: George Washington took command of the Continental Army.

1776: After declaring independence, Massachusetts delegate John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail stating, "It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

1863: Battle of Gettysburg: On the third day of the battle Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered Gen. George Pickett to lead his men in a frontal assault on the Union's fortified positions. Pickett's Charge was a disaster, decimating Confederate forces. It was a price they could not afford.

1890: Idaho became the 43rdstate.

1988: The U.S. Navy cruiser Vincennesshot down an Iranian passenger jet, mistaking it for a fighter jet. All 290 people on board were killed.

1990: The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca proved deadly as a stampede of pedestrians in a tunnel left over 1,400 dead.

July 3, 2004

17 yr old Maria Sharapova wins Wimbledon after defeating Serena Williams in the final match

1776: The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence

1826: Former presidents John Adams & Thomas Jefferson died on the nation's 50thbirthday. They had been close friends during the War for Independence, even collaborating on the Declaration of Independence, then became political enemies after George Washington's 2 terms as president, and finally renewed their friendship via correspondence near the end of their lives. Adams last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still survives" but he was off by 5 hours.

1863: Confederate forces surrendered to Union general Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg, their last stronghold on the Mississippi River. The Union now controlled the entire river, splitting the Confederacy in two and greatly disrupting their supply lines.

1884: France gave the U.S. the Statue of Liberty as a birthday present.

1954: A sensationalized murder trial inspired "The Fugitive" TV show and later motion picture.

1997: NASA's probe Pathfinderlanded on Mars.

Historian have you watched Hamilton? I want to know what you thought about it. I loved it but I was trying to make sure it stuck to the facts. I didn't mind the different cultures

No, I have not seen Hamilton but I am familiar with some of the music (the BUGWB halftime show in 2018 helped) and I would like to see it on stage some day. When I first heard about it I was intrigued because Alexander Hamilton is often misunderstood and under appreciated. I think they get some of the basic facts correct but I do not know about the details.

To be honest, Hollywood (& Broadway) has a very poor track record with historical accuracy. It's only a slight exaggeration to say I'm happy if they get anything correct. Usually, they can accurately identify some of the main figures and do reasonable with the relationships. But they also usually distort things significantly in the interest of drama, political correctness, or some other political motive. The best thing to remember with any form of historical entertainment is that they are entertainment first and history is a distant second.

It is worthwhile, though, if it encourages people to learn more of the truth. To that end, if you want to learn more about the Founding Father, I would suggest reading a good biography: Forest McDonald or Richard Brookhiser, for example, or perhaps Ron Chernow.

historian said:

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No, I have not seen Hamilton but I am familiar with some of the music (the BUGWB halftime show in 2018 helped) and I would like to see it on stage some day. When I first heard about it I was intrigued because Alexander Hamilton is often misunderstood and under appreciated. I think they get some of the basic facts correct but I do not know about the details.

To be honest, Hollywood (& Broadway) has a very poor track record with historical accuracy. It's only a slight exaggeration to say I'm happy if they get anything correct. Usually, they can accurately identify some of the main figures and do reasonable with the relationships. But they also usually distort things significantly in the interest of drama, political correctness, or some other political motive. The best thing to remember with any form of historical entertainment is that they are entertainment first and history is a distant second.

It is worthwhile, though, if it encourages people to learn more of the truth. To that end, if you want to learn more about the Founding Father, I would suggest reading a good biography: Forest McDonald or Richard Brookhiser, for example, or perhaps Ron Chernow.

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I feel they actually portrayed Alexander Hamilton correctly. I loved the music. Really great.

Maybe they did a good job with his personality. That's often difficult to discern 200 years later even with an abundance of primary source material. Much of history also depends on perspective. One historian will think very highly of a person while another will be highly critical. And, to be honest, we are all complex individuals so it is naturally difficult to have a deep understanding of a person or event from the distant past. It's possible that the musical might provide some real insight. I do want to see it some day. I have no idea when I will be able.

historian said:

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Maybe they did a good job with his personality. That's often difficult to discern 200 years later even with an abundance of primary source material. Much of history also depends on perspective. One historian will think very highly of a person while another will be highly critical. And, to be honest, we are all complex individuals so it is naturally difficult to have a deep understanding of a person or event from the distant past. It's possible that the musical might provide some real insight. I do want to see it some day. I have no idea when I will be able.

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It was on tv last night. My son had it on so it might have been on Netflix. Not sure. Look it up Found it. Disney+

It's not currently available on Netflix. It must have been a one time thing I did not know about. Disappointing.

July 5:

1775: Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition, a last ditch effort at peace between the American colonists and the British government.

1865: William Booth established the Salvation Army as a Christian mission.

1865: Court-martial of the conspirators who had attempted to assassinate Pres. Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

1914: German "blank check": Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany pledged unconditional support to the government of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the measures they would take against Serbia for the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, days earlier in Serajevo. From this point, events snowballed resulting in WWI.

1921: The Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series.

1946: French designer Louis Reard introduced the bikini, the name inspired by news of an atomic weapon's test at the Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific.

1950: Pvt. Kenneth Shadrick became America's first fatality in the Korean War.

1975: Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win at Wimbledon.

1996: Scientists in the Rosin Institute in Scotland cloned a sheep, "Dolly", the first successful cloning of a mammal.

2003: The World Health Organization declared the SARS pandemic to be contained globally.

historian said:

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It's not currently available on Netflix. It must have been a one time thing I did not know about. Disappointing.

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Disney+

I don't have Disney+ and have no plans to get it anytime soon. Thanks for the information, though.

historian said:

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I don't have Disney+ and have no plans to get it anytime soon. Thanks for the information, though.

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welcome

July 6:

1942: Anne Frank's family went into hiding in a secret room in Amsterdam.

1946: George W. Bush's birthday

1957: Althea Gibson was the first black woman to win at Wimbledon.

1967: Civil war broke out in Nigeria.

1976: For the first time women were inducted into the U.S. Naval Academy.

July 6, 1933 First MLB All Star game. Babe Ruth hits the 1st All Star game home run in a 5-2 win for the AL.

July 7:

1912: Jim Thorpe won the pentathlon at the Stockholm Olympics.

1930: Construction of Hoover Dam began.

1946: Future president Jimmy Carter married Eleanor Rosalynn Smith.

1865: Mary Surratt became the first woman to be executed by the federal government. She had been convicted as a conspirator in the assassination of Pres. Abraham Lincoln.

1976: For the first time, women cadets enrolled at West Point.

1981: Pres. Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court, the first woman to become a justice on the Court.

2005: Islamofascist terrorists bombed London's Underground during rush hour killing 56 people.

2019: The U.S. women's soccer team won a record 4thWorld Cup title.

7/7/2013 - On 7/7 Andy Murray becomes the 1st Brit to win Wimbledon in 77 years

July 8:

250 BC: Legendary founding of the city of Paris.

1776: The Liberty Bell tolled to announce the Declaration of Independence.

1853: Com. Matthew C. Perry sailed into Edo Bay (Tokyo Bay) with a letter from the president of the U.S. seeking diplomatic and trade relations. The friendly message was overshadowed by the manner of its delivery, a fleet of modern naval vessels. Self-isolated for 250 years, the Tokugawa hogunate eventually collapsed to be followed by the rise of a new modern government under the Meiji Restoration.

1918: Ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway was wounded while on the Italian front during WWI.

1950: Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander of UN forces in Korea.

1994: Kim il-Sung, the "Great Leader" of North Korea, died. He was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-il.

July 9:

1762: The wife of Russia's Czar Peter I rallied the army against her husband to overthrow and murder him. She was proclaimed empress Catherine II ("the Great").

1777: New York elected Brig. Gen. George Clinton as its first governor.

1846: During the Mexican-American War, the U.S. seized San Francisco from Mexico.

1850: Unexpected death of Pres. Zachary Taylor.

1877: First Wimbledon Tournament

1915: The Germans surrendered Southwest Africa to the Union of South Africa. It was a badly needed victory for the Allies.

1918: William Faulkner joined the Royal Air Force but never saw combat because the war ended before he completed his training.

1941: British cryptologists broke the Enigma code, the top secret code used by the German army to direct ground to air operations during WWII.

1947: Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Florence Blanchfield as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. She was the first woman to hold permanent military rank.

1993: Scientists used DNA tests to positively identify the remains of the last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, his wife, and three of his daughters, including Anastasia.

Should we cede San Fran back to Mexico and apologize?

A tempting idea but it is one of the world's best natural harbors and an economic benefit to the nation--despite the Marxist policies of their city and state government's.

July 10:

1850: Millard Fillmore was sworn in as president of the U.S. after the death of Zachary Taylor.

1925: Opening of Scopes Monkey Trial

1940: Beginning of the Battle of Britain

1943: The Allies landed on Sicily.

July 11:

1656: The first Quaker colonists landed at Boston.

1767: Birthday of John Quincy Adams, future president of the U.S.

1782: The British evacuated Savannah, Georgia.

1804: Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in the most famous duel in American history.

1914: MLB debut of Babe Ruth

1945: The Soviets agreed to surrender control of the western zones of Berlin to the western Allies, as per earlier agreements.

1960: Publication of To Kill a Mockingbird

1979: Skylab, America's first space station, broke apart with parts falling down to earth.

1995: The U.S. established diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

7/11/1974 - World Football League plays its 1st games

July 12:

1389: Geoffrey Chaucer was named chief clerk by King Richard II.

1984: Walter Mondale, the leading Democrat candidate for president, announced his running mate: Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to become a candidate for either of the nation's top two offices by one of the main two parties.

1861: Wild Bill Hickok was in his first gunfight, shooting three men in Nebraska.

1862: Pres. Abraham Lincoln signed into law a bill creating the Medal of Honor.

1943: The Red Army defeated the Germans at the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history. Along with the victory at Stalingrad shortly before, these Soviet victories turned the tide of battle in Europe with the Germans mostly in retreat until their surrender.

1957: Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

1965: The first Marine to receive a Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam, Lt. Frank Reasoner, was killed.

1990: Boris Yeltsin resigned for the Soviet Communist Party.

" 1984: Walter Mondale, the leading Democrat candidate for president, announced his running mate: Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to become a candidate for either of the nation's top two offices by one of the main two parties."

That was a bland leading a blonde...

July 13:

1787: Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, organizing the Northwest Territory and providing for its settlement, subdivision into smaller territories, government, and eventual admission as states. Thomas Jefferson had some influence behind the scenes insuring that slavery would be forbidden in the new territories.

1793: Charlotte Corday assassinated French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat.

1863: Riots broke out in New York City in opposition to the draft, primarily Irish-Americans including a number of recent immigrants.

1930: France defeated Mexico in the first World Cup.

1960: John F. Kennedy was nominated as the Democrat candidate for president.

historian said:

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Fat Daddy said:

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" 1984: Walter Mondale, the leading Democrat candidate for president, announced his running mate: Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to become a candidate for either of the nation's top two offices by one of the main two parties."

That was a bland leading a blonde...

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Probably the best moment of the campaign:

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lolololol how funny!

It may have sealed Reagan's landslide victory as Mondale had no response but to laugh at the joke. Even the moderator (who, like much of the media & academia, probably hated Reagan) couldn't help but laugh. Mondale would end up winning only his home state of Minnesota (barely) & Washington, D.C.

July 14:

1099: During the First Crusade Jerusalem was captured.

1789: Storming of the Bastille: A French mob overran the Bastille, a royal prison in Paris, and the warden was murdered. This is often seen as the beginning of the French Revolution, 25 years of turmoil and chaos during which the government of France changed 7 times and Europe was thrown into almost constant warfare.

1798: Congress passed the Sedition Act while the U.S. was engaged in the "Quasi War" with France.

1881: Sheriff Pat Garett shot Billy the Kid to death.

1913: Birthday of Gerald R. Ford, future president of the U.S.

1918: Quentin Roosevelt, youngest son of former president Theodore Roosevelt, was killed when the plane he was flying on the western front was shot down by a German pilot.

1968: Hank Aaron hit his 500th home run.

2016: An Islamofascist terrorist drove a truck through the Bastille Day celebration in Nice, killing 86.

Have friends who are big baseball fans choose July 14 (several years back) as their wedding date, since Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs.

July 15:

1806: Zebulon Pike, US Army officer, began his expedition to explore the southwest during which he viewed the eponymous mountain and was arrested by Spanish authorities in New Mexico.

1903: The newly formed Ford Motor Co. took its first order, for a Model A.

1918: Beginning of the Second Battle of the Marne: the Germans launched their final offensive on the western front and would ultimately be stopped again, this time primarily due to the influx of large numbers of fresh American troops.

1964: The GOP nominated Sen. Barry Goldwater for president.

1965: Mariner 4 passed over the surface of Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet.

1971: Pres. Richard M. Nixon announced his upcoming visit to communist China.

1979: Pres. Jimmy Carter gave his famous speech describing Americans' "crisis of confidence." It has come to be known as the "malaise" speech although that word was not used.

1997: Fashion designer Gianni Versace was murdered.

2006: Launch of Twitter