On This Day In History
July 2nd
626 Incident at Xuanwu Gate: in fear of assassination, Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng
1776 Continental Congress resolves “these United Colonies are and of right ought to be Free and Independent States”
1823 Bahia Independence Day: the end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia
1964 US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act into law
1990 1,426 pilgrims trampled to death after a panic in a tunnel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Did You Know?
Slaves aboard a Spanish schooner La Amistad revolt to secure their freedom while being transported from one Cuban port to another
Today in History in 1839
Would You Believe?
French frigate “La Méduse” runs aground under incompetent leadership of Viscount of Chaumareys, 400 passengers evacuated. 150 men, 1 woman are left on “la Machine,” a poorly provisioned raft. 13 days later only 15 survivors remain, inspires Théodore Géricault‘s painting “The Raft of the Medusa”
Today in History in 1816
July 3rd
324 Battle of Adrianople: Roman Emperor Constantine I defeats his co-emperor Licinius, who flees to Byzantium
1187 Battle of Horns of Hattin: Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, destroys Jerusalem’s crusader army
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, largest battle ever fought on the American continent, ends in a major victory for the Union during the US Civil War
1884 Dow Jones publishes its 1st stock index, the Dow Jones Transportation Average
1996 UK House of Commons announces that the Stone of Scone, aka the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish (and subsequently English and British monarchs), will be returned to Scotland after 700 years in Westminster Abbey
Did You Know?
Intergovernmental Conference on Identity Certificates for Russian Refugees, convened by Fridtjof Nansen in Geneva, creates the Nansen passports (for stateless persons)
Today in History in 1922
Would You Believe?
Common tern banded in Maine; found dead in 1919 in Africa (1st bird known to have crossed the Atlantic)
Today in History in 1913
Diogo Jota, Liverpool and Portugal footballer, dies aged 28 in car crash
Quote from Charlie Charles IV on July 3, 2025, 1:04 pmDiogo Jota, Liverpool and Portugal footballer, dies aged 28 in car crash
A tragedy for a young man with a young family. Only married a couple of weeks ago. RIP
July 4th
1776 US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Great Britain
1785 James Hutton, geologist, publicly reads an abstract of his theory of uniformitarianism for the first time at the meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
1803 The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people by President Thomas Jefferson
1838 Huskar Colliery Mining Disaster in Silkstone England: mining pit floods drown 26 children, leads to 1842 ‘Mines and Collieries Act’ bans women and children working underground
1934 Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb
2017 North Korea tests first successful intercontinental ballistic missile into Sea of Japan
Did You Know?
Howard Florey and Norman Heatley meet for 1st time, 11 days later they successfully recreate penicillin
Today in History in 1941
Would You Believe?
Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4
Today in History in 1892