July 3

Birthdays:

1980~ Olivia Munn (née Lisa Olivia Munn), American actress.

1975~ Matt Haig, British journalist.

1971~ Julian Assange (né Julian Paul Hawkins), Australian activist and founder of WikiLeaks.

1962~ Tom Cruise (né Thomas Cruise Mapother, IV), American actor.

1956~ Montel Williams (né Montel Brian Anthony Williams), American talk show host.

1955~ Amy Wallace (né Amy Deborah Wallace; d. Aug. 10, 2013), American author.  She was the daughter of writer Irving Wallace.  She died of a heart condition at age 58.

1952~ Laura Branigan (née Laura Ann Branigan; d. Aug 26, 2004), American singer.  She died of a brain aneurysm at age 47.

1952~ Rohinton Mistry, Indian-born Canadian author, best known for his novel, A Fine Balance.

1951~ Baby Doc Duvalier (né Jean-Claude Duvalier; d. Oct. 4, 2014), President and brutal dictator of Haiti from 1971 until 1986, when he was overthrown in a popular uprising.  He succeeded his father, François Duvalier, who was known as Papa Doc.  He died of a heart attack at age 63.

1950~ James Hahn (néJames Kenneth Hahn), 40^thMayor of Los Angeles.  He served as Mayor from July 1985 until July 2001.

1949~ Elizabeth Edwards (née Mary Elizabeth Anania; d. Dec. 7, 2010), American lawyer and wife of politician John Edwards.  She blazed her own trail.  She died of breast cancer at age 61.

1947~ Dave Barry (né David McAlister Barry), American journalist and humorist.

1945~ Saharon Shelah, Israeli mathematician.  He was born in Jerusalem.

1941~ Gloria Allred (née Gloria Rachel Bloom), American celebrity attorney .

1940~ Lamar Alexander (né Andrew Lamar Alexander, Jr.), 5^th United States Secretary of Education.  He served under President George H.W. Bush from March 1991 until January 1993.

1937~ Sir Tom Stoppard (né Tomáš Straussler), Czech-English playwright.

1933~ Edward Brandt, Jr. (né Edward Newman Brandt, Jr.; d. Aug. 26, 2007), American physician and mathematician.  He served as Acting Surgeon General of the United States in 1981.  He died of lung cancer at age 74.

1930~ Pete Fountain (né Pierre Dewey LaFountaine, Jr.; d. Aug. 6, 2016), American jazz clarinet player.  He played traditional Dixieland and Creole music.  He was born and died in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He died about a month after his 86^th birthday.

1927~ Ken Russell (né Henry Kenneth Albert Russell, d. Nov. 27, 2011), British movie director who loved to shock.  His first commercial success was his 1969 adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love.  He died at age 84.

1922~ Mary Doyle Keefe (d. Apr. 21, 2015), American petite model who became “Rosie the Riveter.”  She was 92 years old.

1916~ John Kundla (né John Albert Kundla; d. July 23, 2017), American basketball coach who built pro basketball’s first dynasty, the Minnesota Lakers.  He died 20 days after his 101^st birthday.

1909~ Earl Butz (né Earl Lauer Butz, d. Feb. 2, 2008), 18^th United States Secretary of Agriculture.  He served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from December 1971 until October 1976.  He was forced to resign over a racist joke.  He died at age 98.

1908~ Robert B. Meyner (né Robert Baumie Mayner, d. May 27, 1990), 44^th Governor of New Jersey.  He was Governor from January 1954 until January 1962.  He died at age 81.

1908~ M.F.K. Fisher (née Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, d. June 22, 1992), American food writer.  She 11 days before her 84^th birthday.

1897~ Jesse Douglas (d. Sept. 7, 1965), American mathematician.  He was the recipient of the 1936 Fields Medal.  He died at age 68.

1883~ Franz Kafka (d. June 3, 1924), Czech novelist.  He died of tuberculosis a month before his 41^st birthday.

1879~ Alfred Korzybski (d. Mar. 1, 1950), Polish mathematician and linguist.  He died in Connecticut at age 70.

1878~ George M. Cohan (né George Michael Cohan; d. Nov. 5, 1942), American actor, director, singer and dancer.  He died of cancer at age 64.

1860~ Charlotte Perkins Gilman (née Charlotte Perkins; d. Aug. 17, 1935), American sociologist, feminist activist, and author.  She was born in Hartford, Connecticut.  She died at age 75.

1860~ Hubert Work (d. Dec. 14, 1942), 29^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge from March 1923 until July 1928.  He previously served as the 47^th United States Postmaster General under President Warren Harding from March 1922 until March 1923.  He died at age 82.

1738~ John Singleton Copley (d. Sept. 9, 1815), American painter, best known for his portraits of early American patriots.  The exact date is unknown, but he is believed to have been born on July 3, making him 77 at the time of his death.

1423~ King Louis XI of France (d. Aug. 30, 1483).  He was known as Louis the Prudent.  He was King from July 1461 until his death at age 60 in August 1483.

Events that Changed the World:

2013~ Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (b. 1951) was overthrown by the military after 4 days of protests.

2005~ Spain legalized same-sex marriages.

1988~ The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge was completed over the Bosphorus, connecting Europe and Asia in Istanbul, Turkey.

1962~ Jackie Robinson (1919 ~ 1972) became the first African-American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

1890~ Idaho became the 43^rd State in the Union.

1884~ The Dow Jones and Company published its first stock average.

1852~ Congress established a mint in San Francisco, California.

1839~ The first state Normal School in the United States opened in Lexington, Massachusetts.  This school later became the Framingham State College.

1819~ The Bank of Savings in New York City became the first savings bank to open in the United States.

1775~ General George Washington (1732 ~ 1799) took command of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary war.

1754~ During the French and Indian War, George Washington surrendered Fort Necessity to French Captain Louis Coulon de Villiers.  This was Washington’s only military surrender.

1608~ Samuel de Champlain (1574 ~ 1635) founded the City of Québec.

1035~ William the Conqueror (1028 ~ 1087) became the Duke of Normandy.

987~ Hugh Capet (941 ~ 996) was crowned King of France, beginning the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.

Good-byes:

2016~ Noel Neill (née Noel Darleen Neill; b. Nov. 25, 1920), American actress and journalist’s daughter who became Lois Lane in the early film series.  She died at age 95.

2013~ Radu Vasile (b. Oct. 10, 1942), Romanian Prime Minister.  He served in this Office from April 1998 until December 1999.  He died at age 70.

2012~ Andy Griffith (né Andy Samuel Griffith; b. June 1, 1926), American actor best known as the TV sheriff who solved problems with common sense.  He died of a heart attack about a month before his 87^th birthday.

2001~ Mordecai Richler (b. Jan. 27, 1931), Canadian Jewish writer.  He died at age 70.

1989~ Jim Backus (né James Gilmore Backus, b. Feb. 25, 1913), American actor, best known for his roles as Mr. Magoo and the Millionaire on Guilligan’s Island.  He died of pneumonia at age 76.

1986~ Rudy Vallée (né Hubert Prior Vallée; b. July 28, 1901), American singer.  He was born in Island Pond, Vermont.  He is known for his rendition of The Maine Stein Song, the theme song of the University of Maine.  He died 25 days before his 85^th birthday.

1977~ Alexander Volkov (d. June 14, 1891), Russian novelist and mathematician.  He died 19 days after his 86^th birthday.

1971~ Jim Morrison (néJames Douglas Morrison; b. Dec. 8, 1943), American frontman for the band The Doors.  He died at age 27.

1937~ Jacob Schick (b. Sept. 16, 1877), American-Canadian inventor of the electric razor.  He was the founder of the Schick Razor Company.  He died of complications following kidney disease at age 59.

1935~ André Citroën (né André-Gustave Citroën; b. Feb. 5, 1878), French industrialist and founder of the Citroën Company.  He died of stomach cancer at age 57.

1933~ Hipólito Yrigoyen (b. July 12, 1852), President of Argentina.  He served two terms; the first from October 1916 until October 1922, and the second from October 1928 until September 1930.  He died 9 days before his 81^st birthday.

1916~ Hetty Green (née Henrietta Howland Robinson; b. Nov. 21, 1834), American businesswoman and financier.  She was the richest woman in America during the Gilded Age.  She was known for her wealth and her miserliness.  She was called the Witch of Wall Street.  She was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  She died of a stroke at age 81.

1908~ Joel Chandler Harris (b. Dec. 9, 1848), American writer.  He is best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories.  He died at age 59.

1904~ Theodor Herzl (b. May 2, 1860), Austrian journalist and Zionist.  He advocated Jewish migration to what is now Israel.  He died at age 44 of heart disease.

1881~ Hasan Tahsini (b. Apr. 7, 1811), Albanian astronomer and mathematician.  He died at age 70.

1795~ Antonio de Ulloa (né Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giral; b. Jan. 12, 1716), Spanish general and 1^st Spanish Colonial Governor of Louisiana.  He served in that position from 1763 until 1768.  He died at age 79.

1749~ William Jones (b. 1675), Welsh mathematician.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.  He is believed to have been 74 at the time of his death.

1642~ Marie de’Medici (b. Apr. 26, 1575), wife of King Henry IV of France.  She died at age 67.

710~ Zhongzong (b. Nov. 26, 656), 4^th Chinese Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.  He died at age 53.