July 3rd in History

Michael Dobson | July 3

The last two confirmed breeding pair of the Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) are killed on July 3, 1844, although unconfirmed reports of individuals continue until 1852. The painting of a Great Auk surrounded by its true relatives is by Archibald Thorburn, date uncertain but prior to 1935.

Today in History

  • American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army (1775)
  • The last pair of great auks are killed (1844)
  • American Civil War: On the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pickett’s Charge takes place (1863)
  • The first Dow Jones Average is published (1884)
  • The USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing 290 (1988)
  • The Stone of Scone is returned to Scotland (1996)
  • The Egyptian military overthrows the regime of President Mohamed Morsi (2013)

Birthdays

  • Li Shizhen (李時珍), polymath (1518)
  • Albert Gottschalk, painter (1866)
  • George M. Cohan, entertainer (1898)
  • Alfred Korzybski, linguist (1879)
  • Franz Kafka, author (1883)
  • Raymond Spruance, admiral (1886)
  • Mississippi John Hurt, blues musician (1893)
  • George Sanders, actor (1906)
  • Dorothy Kilgallen, game show regular (1913)
  • Ken Russell, director (1927)
  • Pete Fountain, clarinet player (1930)
  • Richard Mellon Scaife, businessman (1932)
  • Harrison Schmitt, astronaut (1935)
  • Tom Stoppard, playwright (1937)
  • Dave Barry, humorist (1947)
  • Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian president (1951)
  • Montel Williams, talk show host (1956)
  • Laura Branigan, singer-songwriter (1952)
  • Tom Cruise, actor (1962)
  • Yeardley Smith, actress and voice artist (1964)
  • Olivia Munn, actress (1980)

Deaths

  • Anna Maria Mozart, composer spouse (1778)
  • Joel Chandler Harris, folklorist (1908)
  • Hetty Green, financier known as the “Witch of Wall Street” (1916)
  • André Citroën, car maker (1935)
  • Jacob Schick, inventor of the electric razor (1937)
  • Trigger, horse (1965)
  • Brian Jones, member of the Rolling Stones (1969)
  • Jim Morrison, singer-songwriter (1971)
  • Ross Martin, actor (1981)
  • Rudy Vallée, singer and actor (1986)
  • Jim Backus, actor and voice artist (1989)
  • Joe DeRita, actor, member of the Three Stooges (1993)
  • Don Drysdale, baseball player (1983)
  • Pancho Gonzales, tennis player (1995)
  • Boots Randolph, saxophonist (2007)
  • Larry Harmon, creator of Bozo the Clown (2008)
  • Andy Griffith, actor and singer (2012)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Disobedience Day (informal)
  • Emancipation Day (US Virgin Islands)
  • Independence Day (Belarus)
  • Women’s Day (Myanmar)

July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years). There are 181 days remaining until the end of the year.