On this day: July 2
A president is shot, a Supreme Court justice is born, aliens land -- or not -- and an acting legend passes, all on this day in history.
1679: Europeans first visit Minnesota and see the headwaters of the Mississippi River in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
1679: Europeans first visit Minnesota and see the headwaters of the Mississippi River in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
1698: Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
1776: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain, although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4.
1881: Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from an infection on Sept. 19.
1897: Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.
1908: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall is born.
1929: Imelda Marcos, Filipino first lady and wife of Ferdinand Marcos, is born.
1937: Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
1937: NASCAR driver and seven-time Daytona 500 champion Richard Petty is born.
1939: President Theodore Roosevelt's face is dedicated at Mount Rushmore.
1947: An object crashes near Roswell, N.M. The U.S. Army Air Force insists it's a weather balloon, but eyewitness accounts lead to speculation that it might have been an alien spacecraft.
1947: "Seinfeld" co-creator and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David is born.
1955: ABC Television premieres "The Lawrence Welk Show."
1956: Elvis Presley records "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel."
1956: Buddy Holly's first single, "Love Me," is released.
1961: Author Ernest Hemingway dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
1962: The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Ark.
1964: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
1964: Major-league baseball player Jose Canseco is born.
1971: The blaxploitation film "Shaft," starring Richard Roundtree in the title role, is released.
1979: The U.S. Mint officially releases the Susan B. Anthony coin in Rochester, N.Y.
1984: Epic Records sets a record as 2 million copies of the Jacksons' "Victory" album were shipped to stores. It was the first time that such a large initial shipment had been made.
1986: Actress Lindsay Lohan is born.
1986: The Prince movie "Under The Cherry Moon" is released. It was the musician's second movie, following 1984's "Purple Rain."
1991: Axl Rose sparks a riot during a Guns N' Roses concert outside of St. Louis when he jumps off the stage, attacks a fan videotaping the concert and then storms off stage. The resulting riot left 60 injured.
1997: Actor Jimmy Stewart dies.
1997: "Men in Black," starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, is released. The movie topped box office charts for three straight weekends, opening with a $51 million box office in the U.S. and eventually grossing $326 million worldwide.
2002: Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
2005: MTV and VH1 air the eight hours of the Live 8 concerts. The performances, featuring U2, Coldplay, Madonna, Dave Matthews Band and a reunited Pink Floyd among many others, were held in eight cities to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.
