Jul 4 1054, People on Earth witness the supernoval explosion of a star that will form the Crab Nebula. For several days thereafter the star will shine so bright it will be visible during the day
Jul 4 1187, Saladin defeats the Crusaders at Tiberias
Jul 4 1546, Murad III, sultan of Turkey, is born
Jul 4 1623, William Byrd, English composer, father of the English madrigal, dies in Stondon Massey, Essex, England
Jul 4 1753, Jean Pierre Francois Blanchard, French aeronaut who invented the parachute, is born
Jul 4 1776, Declaration of Independence signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 4 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne, author, is born in Salem, Massachusetts
Jul 4 1826, John Adams, patriot and the 2nd president of the United States, dies
Jul 4 1826, Thomas Jefferson, patriot, inventor and the 3rd president of the United States, dies
Jul 4 1828, The first rail is laid to begin construction of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Jul 4 1831, James Monroe, the 5th president of the United States, dies. He is the third to die on July 4.
Jul 4 1832, The song "America" is written by Dr Samual Smith on scrap of paper and performed by Boston school children
Jul 4 1845, Henry David Thoreau moves to Walden Pond, Massachusetts
Jul 4 1848, The corner stone of Washington monument is laid by President Polk
Jul 4 1863, The battle of Vicksburg won by Union forces
Jul 4 1869, The first railroad bridge to cross the Missouri River is opened for traffic, providing a through route from Kansas City to Chicago.
Jul 4 1872, Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, is born in Plymouth, VT
Jul 4 1884, Statue of Liberty is given to U.S. to commemorate the French and American revolutions
Jul 4 1912, Prof. Harold Hill, The Music Man, arrives in River City, Iowa
Jul 4 1918, Abigail Van Buren, Dear Abby author, is born
Jul 4 1918, Ann Landers, twin sister of Dear Abby author, is born in Sioux City, Iowa. Her real name was Esther "Eppie" Friedman but took the last name Lederer when she got married
Jul 4 1920, Leona Helmsley, former hotel executive, is born in Brooklyn
Jul 4 1927, Gina Lollobrigida, actress, photographer and director of a documentary on Fidel Castro, is born in Subiaco, Abruzzan, Italy
Jul 4 1927, Neil Simon, playwright, is born
Jul 4 1934, Marie Curie, French chemist and Nobel Prize winner, dies
Jul 4 1937, Hanna Reitsch pilots first successful helicopter flight, in Bremen Germany
Jul 4 1943, Geraldo Rivera, talk show host, is born in New York City
Jul 4 1947, 4000 motorcyclists converge on Holister, California to party and show off their machines
Jul 4 1954, The pregnant wife of osteopath Dr Sam Sheppard is killed by an intruder. He will be convicted of the crime but always claim he is innocent. This case became the basis for the TV series "The Fugitive"
Jul 4 1995, Eva Gabor, Hungarian born actress in the TV show Green Acres, dies
Jul 4 1997, Charles Kuralt, journalist and "on the road" chronicler of America, dies
Jul 4 1997, The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft lands on Mars. It will use a robot rover to gather data from geologically rich Ares Valles region of Mars
Jul 4 2003, Barry White, baritone/bass singer who sang songs such as "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe", dies of kidney failure at 58
Jul 4 2004, The corner stone for "Freedom Tower" is laid. The tower is designed to be 1776 feet tall and replace the destroyed World Trade Center. It is to be completed by 2009
Jul 4 2006, North Korea performs 6 missile tests, launching missiles into the Sea of Japan. Many nations are concerned with Korea's attention seeking actions
Jul 4 2007, The 50 star United States flag becomes the longest flying of the various United States flags. The previous record was the 48 star flag
Jul 4, Gandalf imprisoned by Saruman, from the history of Middle Earth
Jul 4,| The annual butterfly count by the North American Butterfly Association occurs around this day every year
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