Interesting things that happened July 7th:

Birthdays on this date:

• In 1752 Joseph-Marie Jacquard, invented the programmable loom and punch cards
• In 1843 Camillo Golgi, Italian physician, cytologist (Nobel 1906)
• In 1860 Gustav Mahler, Bohemian composer
• In 1887 Marc Chagall (in Vitebsk, Russia), artist
  + Raymond Hatton, actor (... over 300 movies ...)
• In 1899 George Cukor, director (The Women, Philadelphia Story, My Fair Lady)
• In 1902 Vittorio De Sica, director (A Farewell to Arms, If It's Tuesday...)
• In 1906 Satchel Paige, baseball great
• In 1907 Robert A. Heinlein, author who helped develop Science Fiction as a sophisticated mode of literary expression
• In 1911 Gian Carlo Menotti, composer (Amahl and the Night Visitors)
• In 1917 Lawrence F. O'Brien, US Postmaster General (1965-68), NBA Commissioner (1975-84)
• In 1919 William Kunstler, "radical lawyer", civil right activist
  + John Pertwee, actor, third Doctor (Doctor Who)
• In 1921 Ezzard Charles, world heavyweight boxing champion (1950-51)
• In 1922 Pierre Cardin, fashion designer
• In 1923 Jean Kerr, novelist (Please Don't Eat the Daisies)
• In 1927 Alan Dixon, US Senator (D-IL, 1981-93)
  + Carl "Doc" Severinsen, band leader, trumpet player, sharp-dressed man
• In 1928 Vince Edwards, actor (Ben Casey, MD)
• In 1940 Ringo Starr, musician with hole in pocket, Beatle
• In 1946 Joe Spano, actor (Hill St Blues)
• In 1948 Fred Brown, Seattle SuperSonic
  + Jean LeClerc, actor (All My Children, Blown Away, Whispers)
• In 1949 Shelley Duvall, actor (Thieves Like Us, 3 Women, The Shining)

Events worth noting:

• + Dog Days.
  + Feast of Cyril and Methodius, converted Slavs and devised Cyrillic alphabet
• In 1668 Isaac Newton receives his M.A. from Trinity College, Cambridge.
• In 1754 Kings College in NYC opens. School later renamed Columbia College.
• In 1838 Central American federation is dissolved.
• In 1846 US annexation of California was proclaimed, flag raised at Monterey.
• In 1865 Four people, including Mary Surratt, hanged in Washington D.C. convicted of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth in the Lincoln Assassination.
• In 1891 A patent was granted for the travelers cheque.
• In 1898 Hawaii annexed to the US as a territory.
• In 1908 The Great White Fleet leaves San Francisco Bay.
• In 1928 First commercial sale of bread sliced using a slicing machine.
• In 1930 Construction began on Boulder Dam (later renamed Hoover Dam).
• In 1941 US forces land in Iceland to forestall any Nazi invasion.
• In 1946 Mother Frances X. Cabrini canonized as first American saint.
• In 1949 "Dragnet" premiers on NBC radio. (Became a TV series in 1951 and in 1967)
• In 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska statehood bill.
• In 1967 Vivian Leigh (Gone with the Wind) dies at 53.
• In 1973 Veronica Lake dies at age 58.
• In 1978 Solomon Islands gain independence from Britain (National Day).
• In 1980 First solar-powered aircraft crosses English Channel.
• In 1981 AZ Judge Sandra Day O'Connor is 1st female nominated to Supreme Court.
• In 1986 Supreme Court struck down Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction law saying it violated the Constitution's separation of powers.
• In 1987 Kiwanis Clubs end men-only tradition -- vote to admit women.
  + Yanks trailing by 7 score 7 in 7th on 7/7. Five more runs in the 8th inning lead to a 12-7 win over the Twins.
• In 2007 For one second this morning, the time is 07:07:07, 07-07-07.

And remember ...

• Baked Beans Month
• Hot Dog Month
• Ice Cream Month
• National Cell Phone Courtesy Month