1603 – James VI of Scotland is crowned king of England (James I of England), bringing the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union.
A personal union is the combination of two or more countries that have the same leader while their borders, laws, and interests remain distinct. Political union wouldn’t occur until a century later in the Acts of Union, two acts of parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. A political union is the unification of two or more states into one centralized government (Parliament in Great Britain’s case) recognized by the international community.
1722 – Dummer’s War begins along the Maine-Massachusetts border.
1788 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K550).
1866 – The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army. The General of the Army is a five-star general officer and the second highest possible rank in the United States Army; The ranking of general officers in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force are composed of brigadier Generals (One-star), major generals (Two-star), lieutenant generals (Three-star), and generals (Four-star).
Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to the rank of General of the Army. The only higher rank in the United States military is the General of the Armies, a special rank only conferred to twice in US history- The first to John J. Pershing on September 3, 1919 for his success in World War I and posthumously to George Washington on July 4, 1976 to commemorate his leadership and importance in American history.
Births
1750 – Henry Knox, American general, and politician, first United States Secretary of War (d. 1806)
1839 – Francis Garnier, French captain and explorer (d. 1873)
1894 – Gavrilo Princip, assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
1906 – Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1970)
1915 – Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
1952 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, a Portuguese architect, designed the Estádio Municipal de Braga
Deaths
306 – Constantius Chlorus, Roman emperor (b. 250)
1572 – Isaac Luria, Ottoman rabbi and mystic (b. 1534)
1790 – William Livingston, first Governor of New Jersey (b. 1723)
2013 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (b. 1924)