On this day, July 6
1777 During the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga.
1892 Three hundred Pinkerton men were engaged by millworkers in a pitched battle at the Homestead works after arriving via the Monongahela River on two barges; 16 men were killed and many more wounded.
1942 Anne Frank, her parents and sister entered a “secret annex” in an Amsterdam building where they were later joined by four other people; they hid from Nazi occupiers for two years before being discovered and arrested.
1966 The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra was given a $2.5 million grant by the Ford Foundation.
1988 Medical waste and other debris began washing up on New York City-area seashores, forcing the closing of several popular beaches.
2004 Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill into law legalizing 61,000 slot machines in Pennsylvania, more than any other state except Nevada.
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: The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 85. Actor Ned Beatty, 83. Singer Gene Chandler, 80. Country singer Jeannie Seely, 80. Actor Burt Ward, 75. Former President George W. Bush, 74. Actor-director Sylvester Stallone, 74. Actor Fred Dryer, 74. Actress Shelley Hack, 73. Actress Nathalie Baye, 72. Actor Geoffrey Rush, 69. Actress Allyce Beasley, 69. Rock musician John Bazz (The Blasters), 68. Actor Grant Goodeve, 68. Country singer Nanci Griffith, 67. Retired MLB All-Star Willie Randolph, 66. Jazz musician Rick Braun, 65. Actor Casey Sander, 65. Country musician John Jorgenson, 64. Former first daughter Susan Ford Bales, 63. Hockey player and coach Ron Duguay, 63. Actress-writer Jennifer Saunders, 62. Rock musician John Keeble (Spandau Ballet), 61. Actor Pip Torrens, 60. Actor Brian Posehn, 54. Actor Robb Derringer, 53. Political reporter/moderator John Dickerson, 52. Actor Brian Van Holt, 51. Rapper Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan), 50. TV host Josh Elliott,
49. Rapper 50 Cent, 45. Actresses Tia and Tamera Mowry, 42. Comedian-actor Kevin Hart, 41. Actress Eva Green, 40. Actor Gregory Smith, 37. Rock musician Chris “Woody” Wood (Bastille), 35. Rock singer Kate Nash, 33. Actor Jeremy Suarez,
30. Baseball star Manny Machado, 28. NBA star Zion Williamson, 20.
Thought for today: “On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points.”
— Virginia Woolf, English author and critic (1882-1941)