On This Day July 4

1976
Largest U.S. classical concert: A crowd of 400,000 attends a concert conducted by Arthur Fielder.

1961
Nuclear mishap: The Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine experiences a reactor failure during its maiden voyage, killing 10 crewmen.

1960
American Flag: The U.S. officially raises its new 50-star flag for the first time.

1952
First song by a British artist to hit #1 on the American Billboard chart: Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart by Vera Lynn.

1946
Philippine Independence: Pres. Truman grants independence to the islands which were acquired by the U.S. in 1898.

1934
Mt. Rushmore: Washington's face is completed and dedicated. The memorial was completed in 1941.

1919
Jack Dempsey: The American fighter known as the Manassa Mauler becomes the world heavy weight boxing championship with a 3rd-round TKO's of defending champion Jess Willard.

1908
First airplane flight of one kilometer: American aviator Glenn Curtiss flies the 1¼-mile distance in 1 minute 42 2/5 seconds, winning the prize offered by Scientific American.

1903
First Pacific Cable: The communications cable connecting San Francisco and the Philippines opens. Pres. Roosevelt sends a message around the world in 12 minutes.

1895
America the Beautiful: Katherine Lee Bates' poem is first published in the church publication Congregationalist.

1884
Statue of Liberty: The 151-foot high gift from the French people is assembled on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. In 1885 it was dismantled and moved to its present location.

1862
Alice in Wonderland: While on a rowboat to a picnic, 10-year-old Alice Liddell asks Charles Dodgson (AKA Lewis Carroll) to her and her sisters a story. He spun the story of a girl named Alice and her adventures when she fell down a rabbit hole.

1848
Washington Monument: The cornerstone of the first national monument to honor George Washington is laid. It was completed in 1884.

1842
First ship sunk by an electrically detonated mine: American gun manufacturer Samuel Colt sinks a gun boat with his device - called a torpedo - in New York harbor.

1828
First U.S. passenger railroad: The Baltimore & Ohio begins construction.

1789
First U.S. tariff law: Congress enacts a tax on imported goods to protect U.S. products. It also established customs officers.

1776
Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson drafts the famous document. Signing began on August 2nd.

1951
Ralph Johnson, American drummer, with Earth, Wind & Fire. Music: Shining Star (1975, #1, Grammy), Best of My Love (1977, #1), and After the Love has Gone (1979, #2, Grammy).

1930
George Steinbrenner, American baseball owner, principal owner of the N.Y. Yankees since 1973.

1927
Neil Simon, American playwright. Film: Barefoot in the Park (1967), The Odd Couple (1968), The Sunshine Boys (1975)

1927
Gina Lollobrigida (Luigina Lollobrigida), Italian actress, photographer, one of the most glamorous stars of the 1950s.

1924
Eva Marie Saint, American Oscar-winning actress. Film: On the Waterfront (1954, Oscar) and North By Northwest (1959). TV: Moonlighting (Maddie Hayes' mother).

1918
Ann Landers (Esther Pauline Friedman) and Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Esther Friedman), American advisors, twins.

1911
Mitch Miller, American music producer, arranger. Music: Let Me Go, Lover (1954, #1). The FBI used his songs in an attempt to drive the cult Branch Davidians from their compound (1993).

1903 d. 1966
Abe Saperstein, basketball coach Hall of Famer, formed the Harlem Globetrotters (1927).

1902 d. 1983
Meyer Lansky (Maier Suchowljanksy), Russian-born American organized-crime financial wizard. He was responsible for laundering much of the Mafia's money.

1883 d. 1970
Rube Goldberg (Reuben Lucius Goldberg), American Pulitzer-winning cartoonist (1948), known for designing elaborate machines to perform simple tasks.

1878 d. 1942
George M. Cohan, American playwright, songwriter, Over There, You're a Grand Old Flag and I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy. Note: His birthday was actually July 3, although he claimed July 4.

1872 d. 1933
Calvin Coolidge, 30th U.S. President (1923-29) and 29 U.S. Vice-President (1921-23). He became president after the death of Harding.

1847 d. 1906
James Anthony Bailey, American showman, Barnum's partner, owner of Jumbo, the giant elephant.

1826 d. 1864
Stephen Collins Foster, American songwriter. Music: Oh! Susanna (1848) and My Old Kentucky Home (1853).

1804 d. 1864
Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author, The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of Seven Gables (1851).

1790 d. 1866
Sir George Everest, British surveyor, and for whom Mt. Everest is named.

1753 d. 1809
Jean Pierre Francois Blanchard, French balloonist, first to cross the English Channel in a balloon (1785) and is credited with inventing the parachute.

1934 b. 1867
Madame Marie Curie, Polish-born French Nobel-winning physicist, pioneer in the study of radioactivity.

1910 b. 1835
Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer. He discovered the "canals" of Mars (1877).

1840 b. 1787
Karl Ferdinand von Graefe, German surgeon, founder of modern plastic surgery.

1826 b. 1743
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd U.S. President (1801-09), 2nd U.S. Vice-President (1797-1801), author of the Declaration of Independence, and the first U.S. Secretary of State (1790-93). Both he and John Adams died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

1826 b. 1735
John Adams, first U.S. Vice-President (1789-97) and 2nd U.S. President (1797-1801). Father of the 6th president John Quincy Adams.

July 4

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