July 1
1903 – The first Tour de France bicycle race begins
1904 – The 3rd modern Olympic games opens in St. Louis
1916 – Coca-Cola brings current coke formula to the market
1916 – Pres. Dwight Eisenhower marries Mary 'Mamie' Geneva Doud in Denver, CO
1919 – The 1st class postage drops from 3 cents to 2 cents
1924 – The Light Brigade forms
1929 – The U.S. Immigration law of 1924 in effect
1929 – U.S. cartoonist Elzie Segar creates "Popeye"
1934 – The first x-ray photo of the entire body in Rochester, NY
1950 – New York City bus fare rises to 10 cents equal to subway fare
1957 – International Geophysical Year begins (until Dec 31, 1958)
1966 – Explorer 33 launched
1966 – Medicare goes into effect
1969 – John & Yoko are hospitalized after a car crash
1971 – The Golden Gate Bridge is paid for
1971 – The State of Washington becomes 1st state to ban sex discrimination
1982 – Cal Ripken's 1st game
1993 – One second is added to the clock

July 2
1901 – Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid rob train of $40,000 at Wagner Montana
1937 – Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific Ocean
1955 – The "Lawrence Welk Show" premieres on ABC
1964 – President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act & Voting Rights Act into law
1976 – The Supreme Court rules death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual
1979 – The Susan B. Anthony dollar is issued; first U.S. coin to honor a woman
1994 – Thirty-seven die in U.S. Air DC-9 crash in NC

July 3
1915 – U.S. military forces occupy Haiti, remain until 1934
1916 – The first of three fatal shark attacks occurred near NJ shore (4 die)
1930 – The Veterans Administration is created
1944 – The Oriole Park (minor league baseball stadium) burns down in Baltimore
1952 – Puerto Rico's constitution approved by US Congress
1966 – Race riots in Omaha, NE
1978 – The Supreme Court rules FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words"
1983 – Calvin Smith of US becomes fastest man alive (9.93 for 100m)
1984 – The Supreme Court rules Jaycees may be forced to admit women as members
1986 – Pres. Reagan presided over relighting of renovated Statue of Liberty
1989 – Supreme Court rules states do not have to provide funds for abortions

July 4
1776 - Declaration of Independence-US gains independence from Britain
1914 – First U.S. motorcycle race of 300 miles in Dodge City, KS
1931 – The first fireworks are held at Cleveland Stadium
1933 – Work begins on Oakland Bay Bridge
1944 – 1,100 U.S. guns fire 4th of July salute at German lines in Normandy
1946 – The Philippines gains independence from U.S.
1956 – The Independence National Historical Park forms in Philadelphia
1960 – Mickey Mantle is 18th to hit 300 HRs
1982 – The fourth Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 4 lands at Edwards AFB
1996 – Hot Mail, a free Internet e-mail service, begins

July 5
1935 – Franklin D. Roosevelt signs National Labor Relations Act
1937 – Marks Joe DiMaggio's 1st grand slammer
1944 – Harry Crosby takes 1st rocket airplane, MX-324, for maiden flight
1946 – Louis Reard's bikini swimsuit design debuts at Paris fashion show
1951 – Dr. William Shockley invents junction transistor (Murray Hill, NJ)
1966 – The National Guard mobilizes in Omaha after 3rd night of rioting
1971 – The 26th amendment is certified (reduces voting age to 18)
1982 – The Challenger flies to Kennedy Space Center via Ellington AFB, Texas
1983 – A woman gives birth to baby 84 days after brain death (Roanoke, VA)
1984 – The Supreme Court weakens 70-year-old "exclusionary rule"-evidence seized with defective court warrants can now be used in criminal trials
1986 – Nancy Reagan cuts red, white & blue ribbon; reopens Statue of Liberty
1994 – The U.S. changes refugee policy by sending Haitian boat people back

July 6
1908 – Robert Peary's expedition sails from NYC for north pole
1912 – The 5th Olympic games are held in Stockholm
1928 – The first all-talking motion picture shown in NY (Lights of NY)
1932 – The 1st class postage is back up to 3 cents from 2 cents
1942 – Anne Frank's family goes into hiding in After House, Amsterdam
1944 – 170 people die in a fire at Ringling Bros Circus in Hartford, CT
1945 – President Truman signs executive order establishing Medal of Freedom
1957 – Beatle John Lennon first meets Paul McCartney
1957 – The Harry S. Truman Library forms in Independence, MI
1958 – Alaska becomes 49th state
1970 – California passes the first "no fault" divorce law
1983 – The Supreme Court rules retirement plans can't pay women less
1993 – John F. Kennedy Jr., gives notice of quitting as ADA in Manhattan

July 7
1923 – The University of Delaware invents "junior year abroad" (at Sorbonne)
1930 – Construction begins on Boulder (Hoover) Dam
1946 – Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini canonized as first American saint
1948 – Six female reservists become 1st women sworn into the regular U.S. Navy
1958 – President Eisenhower signed a bill approving Alaskan statehood
1961 – James R. Hoffa elected chairman of Teamsters
1972 – Susan Lynn Roley & Joanne E. Pierce sworn into FBI; first women
1980 – The first solar-powered aircraft crosses English Channel
1981 – Sandra Day O'Connor nominated for the Supreme Court

The Everyday Book of History and Chronology