July 2 in Pop Culture History
1698 – Thomas Savery patented the first steam engine.
1776 – The Continental Congress adopted a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain, although the final wording of the formal Declaration of Independence was not approved until July 4.
1839 – 53 African slaves took over the slave ship Amistad.
1890 – The US Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
1897 – Guglielmo Marconi obtained his patent for radio in London.
1900 – The first Zeppelin flight took place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan were last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
1937 – The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded every minute since midnight July 2, 1937.
1939 – The First World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) was held in the Caravan Hall in New York from July 2 to July 4, 1939.
1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas.
1964 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the (Republican written) Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
1977 – #1 Hit July 2, 1977 – July 8, 1977: Bill Conti – Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)
1982 – *Greatest Week in Movie History* – The week of July 2nd, 1982!
E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial, Rocky 3, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Star Trek 2 and Conan The Barbarian were all simultaneously playing at the cinema.
1982 – The Secret of NIMH was released in theaters.
1988 – #1 Hit July 2, 1988 – July 8, 1988: Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana
1993 – The Firm, Son-in-Law and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (re-issue) debuted in theaters.
1997 – Men in Black was released in theaters.
1999 – Summer of Sam was released in theaters.
2002 – Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo around the world (Australia to Australia ) nonstop in a balloon in just under two weeks.
2003 – Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde were released in theaters.
2005 – #1 Hit July 2, 2005 – September 16, 2005: Carrie Underwood – Inside Your Heaven
2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts – more than 1,000 musicians performed and were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
2008 – Hancock was released in theaters.
2014 – Tammy, Deliver Us From Evil and Earth to Echo debuted in theaters.
