This Day in History

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July 2

1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.

1776 – The Continental Congress adopts the Lee Resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4.

1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinqué take over the slave ship La Amistad.

1853 – The Russian Army crossed the Pruth river into the Danubian Principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia, providing the spark that set off the Crimean War.

1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from an infection on September 19.

1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.

1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.

1956 - Elvis Presley recorded 'Hound Dog' at RCA Studios, New York. Take 31 being the version they released. This was the first time The Jordanaires worked with Presley. The single sold over 10 million copies globally, became his best-selling song and topped the pop chart for 11 weeks, a record that stood for 36 years.

1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.

Jimi Hendrix was honourably discharged from the 101st Airborne Paratroopers (Screaming Eagles), after breaking his ankle during his 26th and final parachute jump.

1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.

1969, Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit The Jimi Hendrix Experience after completing the three-day Denver Pop Festival.

1971 - Queen appeared at Surrey College, England. This was the group's first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted.

2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.

Births

1492 – Elizabeth Tudor; 1877 – Hermann Hesse; 1904 – René Lacoste; 1908 – Thurgood Marshall; 1916 – Ken Curtis; 1922 – Pierre Cardin; 1925 – Medgar Evers; 1927 – Brock Peters; 1929 – Imelda Marcos; 1932 – Dave Thomas (Wendy's); 1937 – Polly Holliday, Richard Petty; 1939 – John H. Sununu, Paul Williams; 1942 – Vicente Fox; 1946 – Ron Silver; 1947 – Larry David; 1948 – Gene McFadden (McFadden & Whitehead); 1956 – Jerry Hall; 1957 – Bret Hart; 1964 – Doug Benson, Jose Canseco, Ozzie Canseco; 1979 – Sam Hornish Jr.; 1985 - Ashley Tisdale; 1986 – Lindsay Lohan; 1990 – Margot Robbie

Deaths

1566 – Nostradamus; 1961 – Ernest Hemingway; 1964 – Fireball Roberts; 1973 – Betty Grable; 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov; 1991 – Lee Remick; 1993 – Fred Gwynne; 1999 – Mario Puzo; 2007 – Beverly Sills