1775 – The Second Continental Congress established the United States Post Office and appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General.
1847 – Liberia was declared an independent republic, making it the first African republic to proclaim independence.
1945 – The Labour Party, led by Clement Attlee, won a landslide victory in the United Kingdom general election, ending Winston Churchill’s wartime leadership.
1953 – Fidel Castro led a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks, considered the beginning of the Cuban Revolution.
1956 – Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, sparking the Suez Crisis.
1990 – The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush, prohibiting discrimination based on disability.
Famous Birthdays
Carl Jung (1875–1961), Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature
Blake Edwards (1922–2010), American film director and screenwriter, known for The Pink Panther series
Mick Jagger (born 1943), English singer and co-founder of The Rolling Stones
Sandra Bullock (born 1964), American actress and producer
Kate Beckinsale (born 1973), English actress known for Underworld and Pearl Harbor
Notable Deaths
Eva Perón (d. 1952), First Lady of Argentina and humanitarian figure (b. 1919)
William Jennings Bryan (d. 1925), American orator and politician (b. 1860)
Sam Houston (d. 1863), American statesman and key figure in Texas history (b. 1793)
Pearl S. Buck (d. 1973), American writer and Nobel Prize winner (b. 1892)
Holidays
Independence Day (Liberia) – Celebrates Liberia’s declaration of independence in 1847
Day of the National Rebellion (Cuba) – Marks the beginning of the Cuban Revolution
Feast Day of Saint Anne – Observed in various Christian traditions, honoring the mother of the Virgin Mary
Fun Facts
The Americans with Disabilities Act signed on this day in 1990 is considered one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in U.S. history.
Mick Jagger, one of rock music’s most iconic frontmen, shares a birthday with psychologist Carl Jung.
Liberia’s name comes from the Latin word for “free,” symbolizing its founding by freed American slaves.
Eva Perón, known as “Evita,” died at just 33 years old, becoming a national symbol in Argentina.
George Bernard Shaw remains the only person to have won both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar.