On this day, July 1
1805 The cornerstone was laid for the Old Round Church of St. Luke’s Protestant Episcopal Congregation. Its charter was granted on Sept. 1.
1863 The pivotal, three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in a Union victory, began in Adams County, Pennsylvania. 1961, Diana, the princess of Wales, was born in Sandringham, England. (She died in a 1997 car crash in Paris at age 36.)
1997 After nearly closing in 1995 due to financial difficulties, the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club merges with another historic institution, the Pittsburgh Club (founded in 1879), to become the HYPPittsburgh Club. “Instead of losing two beloved and venerable institutions, Pittsburgh got the best of both worlds by combining the membership of the two Clubs and keeping a longtime luncheon tradition in old-world elegance alive,” said Simin Yazdgerdi Curtis, President of the HYP-Pittsburgh Club, 1997-1998.
2019 Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, 27, was found dead in his room at the Texas hotel where the team was staying. The medical examiner found that Skaggs had a toxic mix of alcohol and the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his body.
Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).
— Compiled by Rick Nowlin
Today’s birthdays: Actress Olivia de Havilland, 104. Actressdancer Leslie Caron, 89. Actress Jean Marsh, 86. Actor Jamie Farr, 86. Actor David Prowse, 85. Cookiemaker Wally Amos, 84. Dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp, 79. Actress Genevieve Bujold,
78. Rock singer-actress Deborah Harry, 75. Movie-TV producer-director Michael Pressman, 70. Actor Daryl Anderson, 69. Actor Trevor Eve, 69. Actor Terrence Mann, 69. Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd, 68. Actress Lorna Patterson, 64. Actor Alan Ruck, 64. Rhythm and blues singer Evelyn “Champagne” King, 60. Olympic gold medal track star Carl Lewis, 59. Actor Andre Braugher, 58. Actor Dominic Keating, 58. Actress Pamela Anderson, 53. Actor Henry Simmons, 50. Hip-hop artist Missy Elliott, 49. Actress Julianne Nicholson, 49. Actress Melissa Peterman, 49. Actress/ writer Jill Kargman, 46. Singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, 45. Actor Thomas Sadoski, 44. Actress Liv Tyler, 43. Actress Hilarie Burton, 38. Actress Lynsey Bartilson, 37. Actress Lea Seydoux, 35. Actor Evan Ellingson, 32. Actors Andrew and Steven Cavarno are
28. Actress/singer Chloe Bailey, 22. Actress Storm Reid, 17. Thought for today: “Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well-informed about the United States.”
— J. Bartlet Brebner, Canadian historian (1895-1957)