Historical Events on July 1
- 1766: For the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic procession through Abbeville in France, François-Jean de la Barre is tortured, beheaded and burned on a pyre with a copy of the Dictionnaire philosophique by Voltaire nailed to his chest.
- 1770: Lexell’s Comet comes within 0.0146 a.u of the Earth. That’s closer than any other comet in recorded human history.
- 1782: The British colony of Lunenburg in Nova Scotia is attacked and raided by American privateers.
- 1819: The Great Comet of 1819 is discovered by Johann Georg Tralles. It’s the first comet to be analyzed using Polarimetry.
- 1837: In England and Wales, a system is devised to record births, deaths and marriages.
- 1855: The Quinault Treaty is signed. This treaty cedes the lands of the Quinault and the Quileute to the U.S.
- 1863: During the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg starts.
- 1870: The U.S Department of Justice is created.
- 1898: During the Spanish American War, the Battle of San Juan Hill begins.
- 1903: The first Tour de France bicycle race is held on this date.
- 1908: The standard SOS signal becomes the official international distress signal.
- 1916: It’s the first day of the Battle of Somme during World War I. On this day, almost 20,000 British soldiers are killed and over 40,000 are wounded.
- 1922: In the United States, the Great Railroad Strike begins.
- 1923: All Chinese immigration into Canada is suspended by the Canadian Parliament.
- 1931: Boeing Air Transport is founded. This airline would eventually become United Airlines.
- 1942: The First Battle of El Alamein is fought on this date during World War 2.
Famous Birthdays on July 1
- British-American actress Olivia de Havilland is born in 1916.
- American actress Florence Stanley is born in 1924.
- American actor Farley Granger is born in 1925.
- American biologist and Nobel Prize laureate, Gerald Edelman is born in 1929.
- American actor Jamie Farr is born in 1934.
- English actress and screenwriter, Jean Marsh is born in 1934.
- American actor and director, Sydney Pollack is born in 1934.
- English actor David Prowse is born in 1935.
- American actress Karen Black is born in 1939.
