What happened on July 3? There are more than 246 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About July 3
July 3 is the 185th day of the year 2024. There are 181 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 27th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Clarksville, Michigan 48815 sunrise will occur at 06:06 AM and sunset will occur at 09:24 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Cancer. The modern birthstone for this month is Ruby while the mystical birthstone is Ruby.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 210 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 20 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For July 3
- 324Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium.
- 987Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France till the French Revolution in 1792.
- 1608Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
- 1754French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
- 1767Norway’s oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.
- 1767Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret.
- 1775American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1778American Revolutionary War: British forces kill 360 people in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
- 1819The Bank of Savings in New York City, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
- 1839The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today’s Framingham State College, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with 3 students.
- 1844The last pair of Great Auks is killed.
- 1848Slaves are freed in the Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) by Peter von Scholten in the culmination of a year-long plot by enslaved Africans.
- 1849The French enter Rome in order to restore Pope Pius IX to power. This would prove a major obstacle to Italian unification.
- 1852Congress establishes the United States’ 2nd mint in San Francisco, California.
- 1863American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett’s Charge.
- 1866Austro-Prussian War is decided at the Battle of Königgratz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
- 1884Dow Jones and Company publishes its first stock average.
- 1886Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent Motorwagen – the first purpose-built automobile.
- 1886The New York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
- 1890Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
- 1898Spanish-American War: The Spanish fleet, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is destroyed by the U.S. Navy in Santiago, Cuba.
- 1913Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett’s Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
- 1938President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
- 1938World speed record for a steam railway locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 126 mph.
- 1940World War II: the French fleet of the Atlantic based at Mers el Kébir, is bombarded by the British fleet, coming from Gibraltar, causing the loss of three battleships: Dunkerque, Provence and Bretagne. One thousand two hundred sailors perish.
- 1944World War II: Minsk is liberated from Nazi control by Soviet troops during Operation Bagration.
- 1952The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the Congress of the United States.
- 1952The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary.
- 1962The Algerian War of Independence against the French ends.
- 1969The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
- 1970A British Dan-Air De Havilland Comet chartered jetliner crashes into mountains north of Barcelona, Spain killing 113 people.
- 1970The Troubles: the “Falls Curfew” begins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1979U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
- 1988The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus.
- 1988United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
- 1994The deadliest day in Texas traffic history, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Forty-six people are killed in crashes.
- 1996Stone of Scone is returned to Scotland.
- 2001A Vladivostok Avia Tupolev Tu-154 jetliner crashes on approach to landing at Irkutsk, Russia killing 145 people.
- 2005Same-sex marriage in Spain becomes legal.
- 2006Valencia metro accident leaves 43 dead in Valencia, Spain.
Who Were Born On July 3?
- 1423King Louis XI of France (d. 1483)
- 1442Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)
- 1518Li Shizhen, Chinese physician (d. 1593)
- 1530Claude Fauchet, French historian (d. 1601)
- 1676Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian field marshal (d. 1747)
- 1683Edward Young, English poet (d. 1765)
- 1685Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer (d. 1768)
- 1728Robert Adam, Scottish architect (d. 1792)
- 1738John Singleton Copley, American painter (d. 1815)
- 1743Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, queen consort of Sweden (d. 1813)
- 1851Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (d. 1930)
- 1854Leoš Janáček, Czech composer (d. 1928)
- 1866Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1907)
- 1870Richard Bedford Bennett, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
- 1875Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon (d. 1951)
- 1876Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher (d. 1957)
- 1878George M. Cohan, American actor, director, singer and dancer (d. 1942)
- 1879Alfred Korzybski, Polish linguist (d. 1950)
- 1880Carl Schuricht, Polish-born German conductor (d. 1967)
- 1883Franz Kafka, Czech-German writer (d. 1924)
- 1886Raymond A. Spruance, American Navy admiral (d. 1969)
- 1888Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spanish writer (d. 1963)
- 1893Mississippi John Hurt, country blues singer and guitarist (d. 1966) (some confusion about date of birth)
- 1900Alessandro Blasetti, Italian film director (d. 1987)
- 1903Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1992)
- 1906George Sanders, British actor (d. 1972)
- 1906Jack Earle, American actor and sideshow performer (d. 1952)
- 1908M. F. K. Fisher, American writer (d. 1992)
- 1908Robert B. Meyner, American politician (d. 1990)
- 1910Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1954)
- 1913Dorothy Kilgallen, American columnist (d. 1965)
- 1916John Kundla, American college and professional basketball coach
- 1917João Saldanha, Brazilian journalist and football manager (d. 1990)
- 1918S. V. Ranga Rao, South Indian actor (Telugu Cinema Actor) (d. 1974)
- 1920Paul O'Dea, American baseball player (d. 1978)
- 1921Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952)
- 1922Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian painter, called Corneille (d. 2010)
- 1924S. R. Nathan, 6th president of Singapore
- 1926Johnny Coles, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1997)
- 1927Ken Russell, British director (d. 2011)
- 1928Roger Horchow, American entrepreneur and Broadway producer
- 1930Carlos Kleiber, Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
- 1930Pete Fountain, American clarinetist
- 1930Tommy Tedesco, American musician (d. 1997)
- 1931Frits Helmuth, Danish actor (d. 2004)
- 1932Richard Mellon Scaife, American newspaper publisher
- 1933Edward Brandt, American doctor and public health official (d. 2007)
- 1935Harrison Schmitt, American astronaut and politician
- 1936Baard Owe, Norwegian-born Danish actor
- 1937Tom Stoppard, Czech-born, British playwright
- 1938Bolo Yeung, Hong Kong actor
- 1939Brigitte Fassbaender, German mezzo-soprano
- 1939László Kovács, Hungarian politician and diplomat
- 1940César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1940Fontella Bass, American soul singer
- 1940Jerzy Buzek, Prime Minister of Poland
- 1940Lamar Alexander, American politician
- 1941Gloria Allred, American Attorney
- 1942Eddy Mitchell, French singer and actor
- 1942Paco Stanley, Mexican TV personality (d. 1999)
- 1943Judith Durham, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1943Kurtwood Smith, American actor
- 1944Michel Polnareff, French singer and songwriter
- 1945Michael Cole, American TV actor
- 1945Saharon Shelah, Israeli mathematician
- 1946Johnny Lee, American country-and-western singer
- 1946Leszek Miller, Prime Minister of Poland
- 1947Anthony “Top” Topham, English musician
- 1947Betty Buckley, American actress
- 1947Dave Barry, American humorist and author
- 1948Paul Barrere, American guitarist & songwriter (Little Feat)
- 1948Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish comics artist
- 1949Jan Smithers, American actress
- 1949Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (Heatwave) (d. 2006)
- 1950Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricketer
- 1950James Hahn, American politician
- 1951Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician
- 1951Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
- 1952Amit Kumar, Indian singer
- 1952Andy Fraser, English songwriter and bass guitarist
- 1955Sanma Akashiya, Japanese television performer
- 1956Don Vito, American Viva La Bam castmember
- 1956Montel Williams, American talk show host
- 1957Ken Ober, American game show host (d. 2009)
- 1957Laura Branigan, American singer (d. 2004)
- 1958Aaron Tippin, American singer
- 1958Charlie Higson, English author and actor
- 1958Didier Mouron, Swiss artist
- 1958Matthew Fraser, Canadian-British journalist
- 1958Siân Lloyd, Welsh weather presenter
- 1959David Shore, Canadian-born writer
- 1959Julie Burchill, British journalist and author
- 1959Stephen Pearcy, American singer (Ratt)
- 1960Vince Clarke, British songwriter (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure)
- 1961Pedro Romeiras, Portuguese dancer
- 1961Tim Smith, English musician (Cardiacs)
- 1962Hugh Page, former South African cricketer
- 1962Hunter Tylo, American actress
- 1962Thomas Gibson, American actor
- 1962Tom Cruise, American actor
- 1964Joanne Harris, British author
- 1964Yeardley Smith, French-born American actress
- 1965Connie Nielsen, Danish actress
- 1965Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1966Moisés Alou, Dominican baseball player
- 1966Robin Burgener, Canadian programmer, inventor of 20Q
- 1967Brian Cashman, American major league baseball executive
- 1967Spiros Marangos, Greek footballer
- 1968Aku Louhimies, Finnish film director and screenwriter
- 1969Kevin Hearn, Canadian musician (Barenaked Ladies)
- 1970Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian cyclist
- 1970Shawnee Smith, American actress
- 1970Teemu Selänne, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1971Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher and Internet activist
- 1972Tim Rose, Australian Artist
- 1972Warren Furman, British television personality
- 1973Ólafur Stefánsson, Icelandic handball player
- 1973Emma Cunniffe, British actress
- 1973Johnny Terris, Canadian actor and director
- 1973Patrick Wilson, American actor
- 1976Andrea Barber, American actress
- 1976Bobby Skinstad, Springbok rugby player
- 1976Henry Olonga, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1976Shane Lynch, Boyzone singer
- 1976Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1976Wanderlei Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1977David Bowens, American football player
- 1978Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
- 1979Ludivine Sagnier, French actress
- 1980Bostjan Nachbar, Slovenian basketball player
- 1980Giorgos Theodoridis, Greek footballer
- 1980Harbhajan Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1980Melisa Young, American Rapper (“Kid Sister”)
- 1980Olivia Munn, American television hostess
- 1980Roland Mark Schoeman, South African swimmer
- 1981Justin Torkildsen, American actor
- 1982Kanika, Indian actress
- 1983Edinson Volquez, Dominican baseball player
- 1983Steph Jones, American singer and model
- 1984Corey Sevier, Canadian actor
- 1984Manny Lawson, American football player
- 1984Nicolas Roche, Irish cyclist
- 1984Syed Rasel, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1985Minami Keisuke, Japanese singer and actor
- 1986Greg Paulus, American basketball and football player
- 1987Sebastian Vettel, German racing driver
- 1988Winston Reid, New Zealand-Danish footballer
- 1989Godfrey Walusimbi, Ugandan footbller
- 1990Bobby Hopkinson, English footballer
- 1992Nathalia Ramos, Spanish actress and singer
Who Died On July 3?
- 1570Aonio Paleario, Italian humanist
- 1672Francis Willughby, English biologist (b. 1635)
- 1749William Jones, Welsh mathematician (b. 1675)
- 1778Anna Maria Pertl Mozart, mother of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1720)
- 1790Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle, French chemist (b. 1736)
- 1795Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general and governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
- 1795Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French historian (b. 1714)
- 1809Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (b. 1746)
- 1858Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Russian painter (b. 1806)
- 1863George Hull Ward, American general (b. 1826)
- 1904Edouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
- 1904Theodor Herzl, Austrian Zionist (b. 1860)
- 1908Joel Chandler Harris, American writer (b. 1845)
- 1916Hetty Green, American businesswoman (b. 1834)
- 1918Sultan Mehmed V of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1844)
- 1933Hipólito Yrigoyen, President of Argentina (b. 1852)
- 1935André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (b. 1878)
- 1937Jacob Schick, American-Canadian electric razor inventor (b. 1877)
- 1942Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, French general (b. 1856)
- 1954Siegfried Handloser, German physician (b. 1895)
- 1957Dolf Luque, baseball player (b. 1890)
- 1965Trigger, Roy Rogers’ horse (b. 1932)
- 1969Brian Jones, English musician (The Rolling Stones) (b. 1942)
- 1971Jim Morrison, American singer (The Doors) (b. 1943)
- 1977Alexander M. Volkov, Russian novelist and mathematician (b. 1891)
- 1978James Daly, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1979Louis Durey, French composer (b. 1888)
- 1981Ross Martin, Polish-American actor (b. 1920)
- 1985Frank Selke, Canadian ice hockey manager (b. 1893)
- 1986Rudy Vallee, American singer (b. 1901)
- 1989Jim Backus, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1991Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician (b. 1918)
- 1993Curly Joe DeRita, American actor and comedian (b. 1909)
- 1993Don Drysdale, American baseball player (b. 1936)
- 1994Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player (b. 1934)
- 1995Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 1995Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (b. 1928)
- 1997Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Mexican drug lord and leader of the Juárez Cartel (b. 1956)
- 1998Danielle Bunten Berry, American software developer (b. 1949)
- 1999Mark Sandman, American musician (b. 1952)
- 2000Kemal Sunal, Turkish actor (b. 1944)
- 2001Johnny Russell, American country singer and songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2001Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (b. 1931)
- 2003Gaetano Alibrandi, Papal diplomat (b. 1914)
- 2004Andrian Nikolayev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1929)
- 2005Alberto Lattuada, Italian film director (b. 1914)
- 2005Gaylord Nelson, American politician (b. 1916)
- 2006Benjamin Hendrickson, American actor (b. 1950)
- 2006Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist (b. 1941)
- 2007Alice Timander, Swedish dentist (b. 1915)
- 2007Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
- 2008Clive Hornby, English soap actor (“Emmerdale”) (b. 1944)
- 2008Ernie Cooksey, English footballer (b. 1980)
- 2008Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (b. 1925)
- 2008Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler and composer (b. 1956)
- 2009John A. Keel, American fortean, television scriptwriter, author of The Mothman Prophecies (b. 1930)
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