July 3, 1985 – The blockbuster action-comedy “Back to the Future,” in which John DeLorean’s iconic concept car is memorably transformed into a time-travel device, was released in theaters across the United States.
July 4, 1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, respectively died on this day, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson still survives,” though his old friend and political adversary had died a few hours before.
July 5, 1865 – In the East End of London, revivalist preacher William Booth and his wife Catherine established the Christian Mission, later known as the Salvation Army. Determined to wage war against the evils of poverty and religious indifference with military efficiency, Booth modeled his Methodist sect after the British army, labeling uniformed ministers as “officers” and new members as “recruits.”
July 6, 1971 – Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, died in New York City at the age of 69. A world-renowned jazz trumpeter and vocalist, he pioneered jazz improvisation and the style known as swing.
July 7, 1981 – President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor, an Arizona court of appeals judge, to be the first woman Supreme Court justice in U.S. history. On September 21, the Senate unanimously approved her appointment to the nation’s highest court, and on September 25, she was sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger.
July 8, 1972 – Bill Withers stepped into a recording studio for the very first time at the age of 32, and two years later, he’d written and recorded one of the most beloved pop songs of the modern era, “Lean on Me,” which began its first stay at #1 on the pop charts on this day in 1972.
July 9, 1941 – On this day in 1941, crackerjack British cryptologists broke the secret code Enigma used by the German army to direct ground-to-air operations on the Eastern front.
Abstracted from www.history.com/this-day-in-history
