July 7th this day in history video clips

Today July 7th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009

Events
1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.
1534 – European colonization of the Americas: first known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in New Brunswick.
1543 – French troops invade Luxembourg.
1585 – Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Hubbardton
1798 – Quasi-War: the U.S. Congress rescinds treaties with France sparking the war.
1799 – Ranjit Singh s men take up their positions outside Lahore.
1807 – Napoleonic Wars: Peace of Tilsit between France, Prussia and Russia ends the Fourth Coalition.
1846 – Mexican-American War: American troops occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena, thus beginning the United States conquest of California.
1863 – United States begins first military draft; exemptions cost $100
1865 – American Civil War: four conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln are hanged.
1892 – Katipunan: the Revolutionary Philippine Brotherhood is established leading to the fall of the Spanish Empire in Asia.
1898 – President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
1915 – World War I: end of First Battle of the Isonzo.
1915 – A Great Gorge and International Railway trolley with an extreme overload of 157 passengers crashes near Queenston, Ontario, killing 15.
1917 – Russian Revolution: Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov forms Provisional Government in Russia after the deposing of the Tsar Nicholas II.
1928 – Sliced bread is sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri. It is described as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.
1930 – Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam).
1937 – Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge – Japanese forces invade Beijing, China.
1941 – World War II: U.S. forces land in Iceland to forestall an invasion by Germany.
1941 – World War II: Beirut is occupied by Free France and British troops.
1946 – Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.
1946 – Howard Hughes nearly dies when his XF-11 spy plane prototype crashes in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.
1947 – Alleged and disputed Roswell UFO incident.
1953 – Che Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.
1954 – Formation of the TANU in Tanzania
1956 – Fritz Moravec reaches the peak of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m).
1958 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into United States law.
1959 – 14:28 UT Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event was used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere.
1967 – Beginning of the civil war in Biafra.
1969 – In Canada, the Official Languages Act is adopted making the French language equal to the English language throughout the Federal government.
1978 – The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
1980 – Institution of sharia in Iran.
1980 – The Safra massacre in Lebanon.
1983 – Cold War: Samantha Smith, a U.S. schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov.
1991 – Yugoslav Wars: the Brioni Agreement ends the ten-day independence war in Slovenia against the rest of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
2002 – A scandal breaks out in the United Kingdom when news reports accuse MI6 of sheltering Abu Qatada, the supposed European Al Qaeda leader.
2003 – The United Communist Party of Armenia is formed.
2005 – A series of four terrorist explosions occur on London s transport system killing 56 people, including four suicide bombers.
2005 – Influenced by Live 8, the G8 leaders pledge to double 2004 levels of aid to Africa from US$25 to US$50 billion by the year 2010.
2007 – Pope Benedict XVI issues the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, removing restrictions on celebrating the old Tridentine Mass.
2007 – Worldwide performances by charity event Live Earth.

Births
1053 – Emperor Shirakawa of Japan (d. 1129)
1119 – Emperor Sutoku of Japan (d. 1164)
1528 – Anna of Austria, Duchess of Bavaria, daughter of Ferdinand I (d. 1590)
1586 – Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English statesman (d. 1646)
1656 – Guru Har Krishan, 8th Guru of Sikhism (d. 1664)
1746 – Giuseppe Piazzi, Italian astronomer (d. 1826)
1752 – Joseph-Marie Jacquard, French inventor (d. 1834)
1766 – Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (d. 1815)
1843 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and Nobel laureate (d. 1926)
1848 – Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian politician (d. 1919)
1851 – Charles Tindley, American gospel music composer (d. 1933)
1855 – Ludwig Ganghofer, German writer (d. 1920)
1860 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (d. 1911)
1874 – Erwin Bumke, German jurist (d. 1945)
1884 – Lion Feuchtwanger, German dramatist (d. 1958)
1887 – Marc Chagall, Russian painter (d. 1985)
1891 – Virginia Rappe, Silent Film Actress (d. 1921)
1893 – Miroslav Krleža, Croatian writer (d. 1981)
1899 – George Cukor, American director (d. 1983)
1900 – Earle E. Partridge, United States Air Force general (d. 1990)
1901 – Vittorio De Sica, Italian director (d. 1974)
1901 – Sam Katzman, American film producer (d. 1973)
1901 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese film producer (d. 1970)
1902 – Ted Double Duty Radcliffe, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1904 – Simone Beck, French chef (d. 1991)
1906 – William Feller, Croatian mathematician (d. 1970)
1906 – Satchel Paige, American baseball player (d. 1982)
1906 – Anton Karas, Austrian musician (d. 1985)
1906 – Anna Marie Hahn, German-born American serial killer (d. 1938)
1907 – Robert A. Heinlein, American writer (d. 1988)
1908 – Revilo P. Oliver, American professor (d. 1994)
1911 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer (d. 2007)
1913 – Pinetop Perkins, American blues musician
1915 – Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander, American novelist and poet (d. 1998)
1917 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadoran politician (d. 2003)
1919 – Jon Pertwee, British actor (d. 1996)
1921 – Adolf von Thadden, German politician (d. 1996)
1921 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (d. 1975)
1922 – Pierre Cardin, French fashion designer
1924 – Mary Ford, American singer (d. 1977)
1925 – Wally Phillips, American radio personality (d. 2008)
1927 – Doc Severinsen, American composer and musician
1927 – Charlie Louvin, American country musician
1929 – Hasan Abidi, Pakistani journalist and poet (d. 2005)
1930 – Henry (Hank) Mobley, American Jazz composer and saxophonist (d. 1986)
1931 – David Eddings, American author
1932 – Josef Zawinul, Austrian composer and musician (d. 2007)
1933 – Murray Halberg, New Zealand runner
1933 – David McCullough, American historian and author
1936 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer (d. 1980)
1936 – Jo Siffert, Swiss race car driver (d. 1971)
1937 – Tung Chee-Hwa, Hong Kong administrator
1940 – Ringo Starr, English drummer and singer (The Beatles)
1941 – Michael Howard, British politician
1941 – Bill Oddie, English comedian and ornithologist
1942 – Carmen Duncan, Australian actress
1943 – Toto Cutugno, Italian singer
1943 – Joel Siegel, American film critic (d. 2007)
1945 – Michael Ancram, British politician
1946 – Joe Spano, American actor
1947 – Felix Standaert, Belgian diplomat
1947 – Howard Rheingold, American author
1947 – Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, King of Nepal
1947 – Rob Townsend, English drummer (Family)
1947 – Víctor Manuel, Spanish songwriter and singer
1948 – Jean Leclerc, French-Canadian actor
1949 – Shelley Duvall, American actress
1952 – Mando Guerrero, Mexican professional wrestler
1955 – Len Barker, American baseball player
1957 – Jonathan Dayton, American film director
1957 – Berry Sakharof, Turkish-born Israeli guitarist (Minimal Compact)
1959 – Billy Campbell, American actor
1959 – Jessica Hahn, American model
1959 – Ben Linder, American engineer (d. 1987)
1960 – Kevin A. Ford, American astronaut
1963 – Vonda Shepard, American singer
1965 – Paula Devicq, Canadian actress
1965 – Mo Collins, American actress
1965 – Jeremy Kyle, English television presenter
1966 – Jim Gaffigan, American comedian
1966 – Gundula Krause, German folk violinist
1966 – Neil Tobin, American magician
1967 – Tom Kristensen, Danish race car driver
1967 – Jackie Neal, American singer (d. 2005)
1968 – Amy Carlson, American actress
1968 – Jorja Fox, American actress
1968 – Jeff VanderMeer, American writer
1969 – Sylke Otto, German luger
1969 – Joe Sakic, Canadian ice hockey player
1969 – Nathalie Simard, French Canadian singer
1969 – Cree Summer, American voice actress
1969 – Robin Weigert, American actress
1970 – Wayne McCullough, Irish boxer
1970 – Erik Zabel, German cyclist
1970 – Robia LaMorte, American actress and dancer
1971 – Alistair Potts, British rower
1972 – Lisa Leslie, American basketball player
1972 – Manfred Stohl, Austrian rally driver
1973 – Troy Garity, American actor
1973 – José Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
1973 – Matt Mantei, American baseball player
1973 – Karlis Skrastinš, Latvian ice hockey player
1973 – Natsuki Takaya, Japanese manga-ka
1974 – Patrick Lalime, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Tony Benshoof, American luger
1975 – Michael Voss, Australian rules footballer
1976 – Dominic Foley, Irish footballer
1977 – Felix Vasquez, American municipal employee
1979 – Anastasios Gousis, Greek sprinter
1979 – Carl Breeze, British racing driver
1980 – John Buck, American baseball player
1980 – Deidre Downs, American beauty queen
1980 – Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
1980 – Kaisa Jouhki, Finnish vocalist (Battlelore)
1980 – Dan Whitesides, American drummer (The Used)
1981 – Synyster Gates, American guitarist (Avenged Sevenfold)
1981 – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricketer
1982 – Cassidy, American rapper
1982 – Mike Glita, American bassist (Senses Fail)
1982 – George Owu, Ghanaian footballer
1983 – Justin Davies, Australian rules footballer
1983 – D. Woods, American singer (Danity Kane)
1983 – Ciara Newell, Irish singer
1984 – Minas Alozidis, Greek hurdler
1984 – Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladeshi cricketer
1984 – Marie-Mai, Canadian singer
1987 – Lena Ma, Canadian beauty pageant contestant
1988 – Kaci Brown, American singer
1989 – Giannoulis Fakinos, Greek footballer
1995 – Chloe Greenfield, Child Actress

Deaths
1304 – Pope Benedict XI (b. 1240)
1307 – King Edward I of England (b. 1239)
1537 – Madeleine of Valois, queen of James V of Scotland (b. 1520)
1572 – King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland (b. 1520)
1573 – Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Italian architect (b. 1507)
1647 – Thomas Hooker, Connecticut colonist (b. 1586)
1663 – Thomas Baltzar, German violinist
1701 – William Stoughton, American judge at the Salem witch trials (b. 1631)
1713 – Henry Compton, Bishop of Oxford and privy councillor (b. 1632)
1730 – Olivier Levasseur, French pirate
1764 – William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, English politician (b. 1683)
1776 – Jeremiah Markland, English classical scholar (b. 1693)
1790 – François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (b. 1721)
1816 – Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright and politician (b. 1751)
1855 – Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet (b. 1787)
1865 – Mary Surratt, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1823)
1865 – Lewis Paine, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1844)
1865 – David Herold, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1842)
1865 – George Atzerodt, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1833)
1878 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician (b. 1847)
1890 – Henri Nestlé, Founder of Nestlé S.A. (b. 1814)
1901 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (b. 1827)
1913 – Edward Burd Grubb, American Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General (b. 1841)
1922 – Cathal Brugha, Chief of Staff of Irish Republican Army (b. 1874)
1925 – Clarence Hudson White American photographer (b. 1871)
1927 – Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician (b. 1846)
1930 – Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer (b. 1859)
1932 – Alexander Grin, Russian novelist (b. 1880)
1932 – Henry Eyster Jacobs, American Lutheran theologian (b. 1844)
1949 – Bunk Johnson, American musician
1956 – Gottfried Benn, German poet (b. 1886)
1964 – Lillian Copeland, American athlete (b. 1904)
1965 – Moshe Sharett, 2nd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1894)
1967 – Jo Schlesser, French Formula One racing driver (b. 1928)
1971 – Claude Gauvreau, Canadian writer (b. 1925)
1971 – Ub Iwerks, American artist, director, and cartoonist (b. 1901)
1972 – Athenagoras, Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 1886)
1972 – King Talal of Jordan (b. 1909)
1973 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (b. 1895)
1973 – Veronica Lake, American actress (b. 1919)
1975 – Ruffian, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 1972)
1976 – Walter Giesler, American soccer coach (b. 1910)
1980 – Dore Schary, American film producer and writer (b. 1905)
1981 – Mildred Lisette Norman a.k.a. Peace Pilgrim, American pacifist and activist
1984 – Alexander Fu Sheng, Hong Kong actor
1984 – Carl Boenish, American father of BASE jumping (b. 1941)
1990 – Bill Cullen, American game show host (b. 1920)
1990 – Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer (b. 1958)
1993 – Mia Zapata, American singer with The Gits (b. 1965)
1994 – Carlo Chiti, Italian race car engineer (b. 1924)
1994 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe Officer (b. 1907)
1999 – Captain Vikram Batra, Indian Army officer, awarded Param Vir Chakra
2000 – Kenny Irwin, Jr., American race car driver (b. 1969)
2001 – Fred Neil, American singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
2002 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (b. 1969)
2002 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian business tycoon (b. 1933)
2003 – Izhak Graziani, Bulgarian-born conductor (b. 1924)
2006 – Juan de Ávalos, Spanish sculptor (b. 1911)
2006 – Syd Barrett, original guitarist and vocalist of the band Pink Floyd (b. 1946)
2006 – John Money, Sexologist (b. 1921)
2008 – Bruce Conner, American artist (b. 1933)
2008 – Dorian Leigh, American supermodel (b. 1917)