July 5: First African American signs on American League in MLB

July 5, 11:38 PMPortland History ExaminerNatalie Leavitt

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Maine Fast Fact: Famous families with summer homes in Maine include the Bush family in Kennebunkport, the Rockefeller family in Bar Harbor and the Roosevelts on Campobello Island.

Births:

• 1586: Thomas Hooker, founder of the Colony of Connecticut, helped to create the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, one of the first written constitutions in the world
• 1810: P.T. Barnum, American circus owner
• 1948: Huey Lewis, American musician, part of the group Huey Lewis and the News
• 1950: Michael Monarch, American musician, lead guitarist of the group Steppenwolf
• 1954: Jimmy Crespo, American musician, guitarist of the group Aerosmith
• 1955: Pete McNamara, Australian tennis player
• 1963: Edie Falco, American actress, known for her lead role on the HBO television series The Sopranos
• 1980: Jason Wade, American musician, part of the group Lifehouse

Deaths:

• 1948: Carole Landis, American actress
• 2002: Ted Williams, American baseball player

History:

• 1687: Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiae Naturalia Principia Mathematica which contains Newton’s laws of motion.
• 1811: Venezuela declares its independence from Spain.
• 1865: The Salvation Army is established in East End, London.
• 1935: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the National Labor Relations Act into law which governs labor relations in the United States.
• 1937: Spam is released by the Hormel Foods Corporation; the highest temperature in Canada is recorded at 113 degrees Fahrenheit in Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan.
• 1940: The United Kingdom ends diplomatic relations with the Vichy government of France (the government that was created following a military defeat by Nazi Germany in World War II).
• 1945: The liberation of the Philippines is declared.
• 1946: The bikini makes its debut at an outdoor fashion show in Paris.
• 1947: Larry Doby becomes the first African American baseball player for the American League (Jackie Robinson signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League 11 weeks earlier).
• 1950: The first clash between American and North Korean forces takes place in the Battle of Osan; The Law of Return is passed by The Knesset to grant all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
• 1954: The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin; Elvis Presley makes his first recording session at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
• 1962: Algeria gains its independence from France.
• 1971: President Richard Nixon formally certifies the Twenty-sixth Amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years old.
• 1975: Arthur Ashe becomes the first African American man to win the Wimbledon singles title; Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
• 1996: Dolly the Sheep becomes the first cloned mammal from an adult cell.
• 1998: Japan launches a probe to Mars and becomes a space-exploring nation with the United States and Russia.
• 2003: The World Health Organization declares SARS to be contained.
• 2006: North Korea test-fires seven missiles into the Sea of Japan and at least one is believed to be able to reach the U.S. mainland.
• 2004: The first round of the Indonesian presidential elections are held, the first time that Indonesians are able to directly elect a President and Vice President.

July 5 is Independence Day in Algeria, Cape Verde and Venezuela. All three countries gained their independence from France, Portugal and Spain.