12 History Lessons + 5 Births & 6 Deaths for July 2, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1776 – The Continental Congress officially votes for independence from Great Britain, two days before the Declaration is adopted.
- 1839 – Enslaved Africans aboard the ship La Amistad revolt and take control of the vessel.
- 1881 – U.S. President James A. Garfield is shot by Charles J. Guiteau in Washington, D.C.; he dies later that year.
- 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act, aiming to curb monopolies and promote fair competition.
- 1937 – Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappear over the Pacific Ocean during their attempted around-the-world flight.
- 1962 – The first Walmart store opens in Rogers, Arkansas.
- 1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, banning segregation and discrimination.
- 1976 – North and South Vietnam reunite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- 1990 – A stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca kills over 1,400 people in one of the deadliest crowd disasters in history.
- 2001 – The world’s first self-contained artificial heart is implanted in patient Robert Tools in Louisville, Kentucky.
- 2013 – The Egyptian military overthrows President Mohamed Morsi after mass protests.
- 2020 – Ghislaine Maxwell, associate of Jeffrey Epstein, is arrested by the FBI in New Hampshire.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1951 – Cheryl Ladd, actress (Charlie’s Angels) (74)
- 1970 – Yancy Butler, actress (Witchblade) (55)
- 1977 – Brock Lesnar, pro wrestler and MMA fighter (48)
- 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, actress and singer (The Parent Trap) (39)
- 1992 – Margot Robbie, actress (Barbie, The Wolf of Wall Street) (33)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and physician (62)
- 1937 – Amelia Earhart, aviation pioneer (39)
- 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist and Nobel laureate (61)
- 1997 – James Stewart, legendary Hollywood actor (It’s a Wonderful Life) (89)
- 2005 – Luther Vandross, Grammy-winning R&B artist (54)
- 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, British author and five-time Booker Prize nominee (75)
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