12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 6 Deaths for July 3, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1608 – French explorer Samuel de Champlain founds the city of Quebec.
- 1775 – George Washington takes formal command of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
- 1863 – The Battle of Gettysburg ends with a Union victory, turning the tide of the Civil War.
- 1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the first true automobile powered by an internal combustion engine.
- 1890 – Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
- 1938 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg.
- 1962 – Algeria gains independence from France after a prolonged war for liberation.
- 1971 – Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, is found dead in Paris at age 27.
- 1988 – U.S. Navy warship USS Vincennes mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 on board.
- 2005 – Spain legalizes same-sex marriage, becoming the third country in the world to do so.
- 2013 – Egypt’s interim government suspends the constitution after President Mohamed Morsi’s removal.
- 2023 – Twitter temporarily limits the number of posts users can view daily, sparking user backlash and outages.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1947 – Betty Buckley, actress and singer (Cats, Eight is Enough) (78)
- 1962 – Tom Cruise, actor (Top Gun, Mission: Impossible) (63)
- 1969 – Kevin Hearn, musician with Barenaked Ladies (56)
- 1971 – Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder (54)
- 1973 – Patrick Wilson, actor (The Conjuring, Watchmen) (52)
- 1987 – Sebastian Vettel, four-time Formula 1 World Champion (38)
- 1990 – Olivia Munn, actress and TV personality (The Newsroom) (35)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1904 – Theodor Herzl, founder of modern political Zionism (Age 44)
- 1969 – Brian Jones, founding member of The Rolling Stones (Age 27)
- 1971 – Jim Morrison, iconic rock singer of The Doors (Age 27)
- 1989 – Jim Backus, actor and voice of Mr. Magoo (Age 76)
- 2000 – Harold Nicholas, legendary tap dancer of the Nicholas Brothers (Age 79)
- 2020 – Earl Cameron, pioneering Black British film actor (Pool of London) (Age 102)
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