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ON THIS DAY

On This Day: July 4

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On July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentential. In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
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On July 4, 1872, Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, was born. Following his death on Jan. 5, 1933, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

1802	The U.S. Military Academy opened at West Point, N.Y.
1804	Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Mass.
1826	Death claimed the second and third presidents of the United States: John Adams died at age 90 in Braintree, Mass., while Thomas Jefferson died at 83 at Monticello, his home near Charlottesville, Va.
1831	James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, died at age 73 in New York City.
1845	American writer Henry David Thoreau began a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond near Concord, Mass.
1872	Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, was born in Plymouth, Vt.
1939	Baseball player Lou Gehrig, afflicted with a fatal illness, bid a tearful farewell at Yankee Stadium in New York, telling fans, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."
1946	The Philippines became independent.
1958	Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was appointed auxilliary bishop of Krakow in his native Poland.
1966	President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act into law.
1976	Israeli commandos raided Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing almost all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers.
1987	Former Getaspo chief Klaus Barbie was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison.
2010	Gen. David Petraeus formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan.

Current Birthdays

Playwright Neil Simon turns 84 years old today.

AP Photo/Charles Sykes

Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera turns 68 years old today.

AP Photo/Red Huber

1918	Pauline Phillips, Advice columnist ("Dear Abby"), turns 93
1924	Eva Marie Saint, Actress, turns 87
1927	Gina Lollobrigida, Actress, turns 84
1938	Bill Withers, R&B singer, turns 73
1940	Karolyn Grimes, Actress ("It's a Wonderful Life"), turns 71
1955	John Waite, Rock singer, turns 56
1962	Pam Shriver, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 49
1965	Horace Grant, Basketball player, turns 46
1978	Becki Newton, Actress ("Ugly Betty"), turns 33

Historic Birthdays

Calvin Coolidge7/4/1872 - 1/5/1933American 30th president of the U.S.Go to obituary »

55	Jean-Pierre Blanchard 7/4/1753 - 3/7/1809 French balloonist; made first English Channel aerial crossing
59	Nathaniel Hawthorne 7/4/1804 - 5/19/1864 American novelist and short story writer
74	Giuseppe Garibaldi 7/4/1807 - 6/2/1882 Italian patriot
81	E. R. Squibb 7/4/1819 - 10/25/1900 American pharmaceutical manufacturer
37	Stephen Foster 7/4/1826 - 1/13/1864 American composer of minstrel and romantic songs
87	Rube Goldberg 7/4/1883 - 12/7/1970 American satirical cartoonist
72	Louis B. Mayer 7/4/1885 - 10/29/1957 Russian-born American movie executive
54	Gertrude Lawrence 7/4/1898 - 9/6/1952 English musical comedy actress
80	Meyer Lansky 7/4/1902 - 1/15/1983 American crime syndicate chief
89	George Murphy 7/4/1902 - 5/3/1992 American actor and politician
70	Lionel Trilling 7/4/1905 - 11/5/1975 American literary critic and teacher