Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1608

The city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain.

1775

Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass.

1863

The Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended after three days in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated.

1886

The first modern automobile, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, was unveiled by Karl Benz in Germany. The maximum speed for the vehicle was 10 miles per hour.

1890

Idaho became the 43rd state.

1898

The U.S. Navy defeated a Spanish fleet in the harbor at Santiago, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War.

1930

Congress created the U.S. Veterans Administration.

1944

Soviet forces recaptured Minsk during World War II.

1955

The "Andy Williams Show" aired for the first time on ABC.

1962

Algeria became independent after 132 years of French rule.

1985

"Back to the Future", starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, was released in theaters and would become the highest-grossing film of the year, while inspiring several sequels.

1986

President Reagan presided over a gala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.

1988

The USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard. The Vincennes crew misidentified the plane as an Iranian F-14 fighter. Admiral William Crowe, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

1971

Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter of The Doors died in Paris at age 27. (b. 1943)

2006

Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist, developed the OBJ programming language (b. 1941)

2012

Andy Griffith, legendary American actor, singer, comedian, and producer died at age 86. (b. 1926)