What Happened On
Walmart's first store (1962, Rogers, Arkansas)
Walmart's first store (1962, Rogers, Arkansas)
Walmart
July 2, 1962
The future retail giant Walmart opens its first store, Wal-Mart Discount City, in Rogers, Arkansas. It was started by Sam Walton who had previous success with his Bentonville, Arkansas 5&10 store.
Earhart's Lockheed Model 10 Electra
Earhart's Lockheed Model 10 Electra
Amelia Earhart Disappears
July 2, 1937
The aviator Amelia Earhart's plane disappears over the Pacific Ocean, as she and Fred Noonan were attempting to circle the globe.
The LZ-1 on its maiden voyage
The LZ-1 on its maiden voyage
First Flight of a Zeppelin
July 2, 1900
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin flies his first airship, the LZ-1. The airship remained in the air for 20 minutes, but was damaged on landing. After repairs two further flights were made in October. His Zeppelins were used by Germany during World War I as bombers and scout ships. The success of his airships launched the air transport business.
Garfield (center right) leaning after being shot
Garfield (center right) leaning after being shot
President Garfield Assassination
July 2, 1881
U.S. President James A. Garfield is shot and mortally wounded by Charles J. Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C.
Guiteau believed he deserved an appointed position due to his support of Garfield's presidential campaign. When that didn't happen, he decided to kill the President. Garfield died in September after extensive medical treatment. Guiteau was apprehended at the shooting and was tried and hanged for his crime.
First Woman Executed in the U.S. by American Courts
July 2, 1778
Bathsheba Spooner is hanged. She conspired with her boyfriend and two others to kill her husband. They killed him and put the body in the Spooner's well. She tried to get her execution delayed because she was pregnant with her boyfriend's child. Her request was denied. An autopsy showed that she was pregnant with five-month-old male fetus at the time of execution. This was the first capital case of the newly-formed United States.
Benjamin Franklin (left), John Adams (center), and Thomas Jefferson (right) reviewing a draft of the Declaration of Independence
Benjamin Franklin (left), John Adams (center), and Thomas Jefferson (right) reviewing a draft of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
July 2, 1776
The Continental Congress votes to adopt a resolution of independence. The vote was unanimous except for New York which abstained. New York would vote to accept the resolution on July 9th. Thomas Jefferson was selected to compose the original draft which was to be edited by Congress. It was adopted by Congress on July 4th.
The 1,000,000th Corvette
July 2, 1992
The 1,000,000th Corvette rolls off the assembly line. The Corvette was introduced in 1953.
Guns N' Roses Riot
July 2, 1991
The crowd erupts after lead singer Axl Rose ends the concert early. He stormed off the stage after diving into the crowd and attacking a fan for having a camera.
Kiddy-porn
July 2, 1982
A New York law banning the production and sale of kiddy-porn is upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court (9-0).
Death Penalty Ban Overruled
July 2, 1976
The U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1972 ban on the death penalty.
First Coast-To-Coast Black-Owned and Operated Radio News Network
July 2, 1973
The National Black Network (NBN) begins operations.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
July 2, 1965
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is established.
Securities and Exchange Commission
July 2, 1934
Securities and Exchange Commission is established.
World War I - U.S. and Germany Officially End State of War
July 2, 1921
U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox-Porter Resolution terminating the state of war with Germany. Although the U.S. was among the signatories of the Treaty of Versailles ending the war with Germany, the U.S. Senate refused to consent to ratification of the treaty, due in large measure to its objections to U.S. participation in the League of Nations, necessitating the need for a separate treaty.
First Lighter-Than-Air Transatlantic Flight
July 2, 1919
Major George H. Scott takes off from Firth of Fourth, Scotland. He landed in Mineola, New York on July 13.
Birthdays
Founder of Wendy's Hamburgers
Dave Thomas (Rex David Thomas)
Born July 2, 1932 d. 2002
American restaurateur. Founder of Wendy's hamburger restaurants (1969).
Ken Curtis (Curtis Gates)
Born July 2, 1916 d. 1991
American actor. TV: Gunsmoke (1959-75, Festus). Film: The Killer Shrews (1959) and The Giant Gila Monster (1959). He began his career singing with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.
General Anthony McAuliffe
Born July 2, 1898 d. 1975
American. His response to the Germans' request that he surrender during the Battle of the Bulge was "NUTS!"
The Germans had encircled the Allied forces with armored units and thinking they had certain victory, sent an ultimatum to McAuliffe to surrender or face immediate annihilation. Upon hearing the demand, McAuliffe replied, "Aw nuts". He then sent back the following message:
"To the German Commander.
NUTS!
The American Commander."
The 101st held off the Germans and the Battle of Bulge ended in an Allied victory. It was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II.
Ronald Goldman
Born July 2, 1968 d. 1994
American murder victim. He and Nicole Brown Simpson were murdered together. O.J. Simpson was tried and found not guilty of the crime. Goldman was returning Nicole's mother's glasses to Nicole when he was murdered. Nicole's mother had left the glasses at the restaurant where Goldman worked.
Ron Silver
Born July 2, 1946 d. 2009
American Tony-winning actor. TV: Rhoda (Gary Levy).
John H. Sununu
Born July 2, 1939
White House Chief of Staff, traveler.
Richard Petty
Born July 2, 1937
American auto racer, 7-time-winner of the Daytona 500 and 7-time NASCAR national champ.
Polly Holliday
Born July 2, 1937
American actress. TV: Alice (1976-80, Flo Castleberry). "Kiss my grits!"
Pierre Cardin (Pietro Costante Cardino)
Born July 2, 1922 d. 2020
Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. Known for his avant-garde style and Space Age designs, he founded his fashion company in 1950.
Thurgood Marshall
Born July 2, 1908 d. 1993
American civil-rights lawyer. He was the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice (1967-91), and legal director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Hermann Hesse
Born July 2, 1877 d. 1962
German Nobel-winning author. Quote: "If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us." Writings: Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game.
Clarence Walker Barron
Born July 2, 1855 d. 1928
American financial editor, Barron's Financial Weekly (1921-28).
Deaths
Invented the Mouse
Douglas Engelbart
Died July 2, 2013 b. 1925
American computer scientist. Inventor of the computer mouse (1967).
James Stewart
Died July 2, 1997 b. 1908
American Oscar-winning actor. Stewart was one of the first major celebrities to join the U.S. armed forces after the outbreak of WWII. He flew combat missions over Germany and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service. Film: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and It's a Wonderful Life (1947, George Bailey).
Fred Gwynne
Died July 2, 1993 b. 1926
American actor. TV: Car 54, Where Are You? (1961-63, officer Francis Muldoon) and The Munsters (1964-66, Herman). Film: My Cousin Vinny (1992, Judge Chamberlain Haller).
While attending Harvard, Gwynne was a cartoonist for and served as president of the Harvard Lampoon and also acted in Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals shows.
Betty Grable (Elizabeth Ruth Grable)
Died July 2, 1973 b. 1916
American actress, dancer, pin-up girl. Her legs were insured for $1,000,000 with Lloyds of London, stating "I became a star for two reasons, and I'm standing on them." Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million and her bathing suit poster made her the number-one pin-up girl of World War II.
Ernest Hemingway
Died July 2, 1961 b. 1899
American Nobel and Pulitzer-winning author. Writings: The Sun Also Rises (1926), To Have and Have Not (1937), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), and The Old Man and the Sea (1952, Pulitzer).
Émile Coué
Died July 2, 1926 b. 1857
French psychologist and pharmacist. He created the psychotherapeutic technique of Coueism, which is based on repeating the saying "Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better." This was to be repeated up to 20 times a day, preferably in the morning and before going to bed.
Steamboat Pioneer
John Fitch
Died July 2, 1798 b. 1743
American pioneer steamboat builder. Operated the first steamboat service in the U.S. He launched his first steamboat in 1787.
First Woman Executed in the U.S. by American Courts
Bathsheba Spooner
Died July 2, 1778 b. 1746
American criminal. She was the first woman executed in the U.S. by American courts. She conspired with her boyfriend and two others to kill her husband. She tried to get her execution delayed because she was pregnant with her boyfriend's child. Her request was denied. An autopsy showed that she was pregnant with a five-month-old male fetus at the time of execution.
Nostradamus (Michel de Nostredame)
Died July 2, 1566 b. 1503
French astrologer, physician, prophet. He predicted both the date and manner of his death.
Lee Iacocca (Lido Anthony Iacocca)
Died July 2, 2019 b. 1924
American auto maker. Ex-president of Ford Motor Company and chairman of Chrysler Corporation. He was instrumental in the development of the Ford Mustang and Pinto automobiles.
Beverly Sills (Belle Silverman)
Died July 2, 2007 b. 1929
American opera singer, soprano.
Ray Brown
Died July 2, 2002 b. 1926
American Grammy-winning jazz string bassist. Performed with Dizzy Gillespie in the late '40s. He was married to Ella Fitzgerald (1947-52).
Mario Puzo
Died July 2, 1999 b. 1920
American author, screenwriter. Writings: The Godfather (1969, he won an Oscar for the 1972 screenplay and for the 1974 Godfather Part II screenplay), and Superman (1978)
Marion Williams
Died July 2, 1994 b. 1927
American gospel singer. Rolling Stone magazine called her the greatest Gospel singer of all time. Music: Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go (1971).
Lee Remick
Died July 2, 1991 b. 1935
American actress. Film: Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and The Days of Wine and Roses (1962).
Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko
Died July 2, 1989 b. 1909
Soviet statesman. Director of Soviet affairs with the West for nearly 50 years.
Manuel II
Died July 2, 1932 b. 1889
King of Portugal (1908-10), Portugal's last monarch. Deposed during a revolt, he lived out his life in exile in England.
Sir Robert Peel
Died July 2, 1850 b. 1788
English statesman, founder of the metropolitan police in London (c1829). The term "bobbie" is derived from his first name.
Founder of Homeopathic Medicine
Samuel Hahnemann
Died July 2, 1843 b. 1755
German physician. Founder of homeopathic medicine, based on the "law of similars." Hahnemann had noticed that cinchona, the bark of a Peruvian tree, that was used to treat malaria also caused malaria-like symptoms. This led him to postulate the healing principle of "Like cures like: that which can produce a set of symptoms in a healthy individual, can treat a sick individual who is manifesting a similar set of symptoms."
He also postulated that many diseases are caused by coffee.