Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi – 1834 – a French sculptor who is best known for designing and creating the Statue of Liberty. Construction of the statue began in France in the early 1870s, and it was completed in 1884. The statue was then disassembled and shipped to the United States, where it was reassembled on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

Myrna Loy – 1905 – an American actress, most famous for her role as Nora Charles in the “Thin Man” film series, in which she starred alongside William Powell. Some of her other notable films include “The Best Years of Our Lives,” “The Great Ziegfeld,” “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer” and “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.”

Ann Dvorak – 1911 – an American actress. Some of her notable film roles include “Scarface”, “Three on a Match” and “I Was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang”.

Beatrice Straight – 1914 – an American actress, best known for her role as Louise Schumacher in the movie “Network”. Her performance earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Some of her other film credits include “Poltergeist,” “The Nun’s Story” and “The Promise.”

Carroll O’Connor – 1924 – an American actor best known for his iconic role as Archie Bunker in the television sitcom “All in the Family”. His performance earned him four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He also appeared in movies such as “Kelly’s Heroes”, “In the Heat of the Night”, “In the Heat of the Night” and “The Rockford Files”.

Peter O’Toole – 1932 – a highly regarded Irish-born actor. Some of his notable films include: “Lawrence of Arabia”, “The Lion in Winter,” “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” “My Favorite Year,” “The Stunt Man” and “The Last Emperor”.

Joanna Cassidy – 1945 – an American actress known for her role as Zhora in the film “Blade Runner”. She also appeared in movies like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “The Fourth Protocol” and “Under Fire”. In addition to her film work, Joanna Cassidy had roles in TV shows such as “Six Feet Under,” “Boston Legal”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Desperate Housewives”.

Kathryn Harrold – 1950 – an American actress. Some of her notable film credits include her role as Jean Thornton in the film “The Hunter,” where she starred alongside Steve McQueen. She also appeared in movies like “Modern Romance,” “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper,” “Raw Deal” and “The Sender.”

Butch Patrick – 1953 – an American actor best known for his role as Eddie Munster in the television series “The Munsters.”

Cynthia Stevenson – 1962 – an American actress. Some of her notable television credits include her roles in series such as “Men in Trees”, “Dead Like Me”, “My Big Fat Greek Life,” “The X-Files” and “Scrubs”. In film, Cynthia Stevenson has appeared in movies like “The Player,” “Happiness” and “Home for the Holidays.”

Mary-Louise Parker – 1964 – an American actress. Some of her notable film roles include her performance in the film “Fried Green Tomatoes”, as well as appearances in “Boys on the Side,” “The Client,” and “Red” (and its sequel, “Red 2”). In television, she is well-known for her role as Nancy Botwin in the series “Weeds,” for which she won a Golden Globe Award.

Kevin Smith – 1970 – an American filmmaker and actor, best known for his film “Clerks”. He also directed films like “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

Sam Worthington – 1976 – an Australian actor best known for his role as Jake Sully in James Cameron’s epic science fiction film “Avatar”. He has also appeared in several other notable films, including “Terminator Salvation”, “Clash of the Titans” and “Wrath of the Titans”.

Nadia Bjorlin – 1980 – an American actress most famous for her role as Chloe Lane on the long-running soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” She has appeared in various television series, including “Venice the Series,” “2 Broke Girls” and “NCIS.”

Hallie Eisenberg – 1992 – an American actress known for her role as the younger sister of Helen Hunt’s character in the romantic comedy “The Miracle Worker”. She also starred in the family comedy “How to Eat Fried Worms” and in the drama “The Beautiful Life”.

Cassidy Gifford – 1993 – an American actress, best known for her role as Cassidy Spilker in the thriller film “The Gallows”. She has also appeared in various television shows, including “The Grinder” and “Blue Bloods.” Cassidy is the daughter of famous television host Kathie Lee Gifford and the late American football player and sportscaster Frank Gifford.

1776 – Formal signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. The US Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The signing process took place over several weeks, with some delegates signing as late as August 2, 1776. The date of July 4th is celebrated as Independence Day in the United States.

1870 – Tower Subway, the world’s first underground tunnel for public transportation, opened in London. The Tower Subway was a pedestrian tunnel running under the River Thames, connecting Tower Hill and Vine Lane near Bermondsey.

1909 – The first Lincoln penny, also known as the Lincoln cent, was issued, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. It was the first U.S. coin to depict a real person rather than an allegorical figure or a historical symbol.

1990 – Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. This event marked the beginning of the Gulf War, a conflict between Iraq, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, and a coalition of nations led by the United States.

1992 – Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus becomes the first gymnast to win 6 gold medals at one Olympics and also first to win 4 gold medals in one day. His incredible performance on that day made him one of the most celebrated gymnasts in Olympic history.

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. Ostriches have very large eyes that can measure around 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter, making them the largest eyes of any land animal.

In North Korea women can choose from just 15 government-approved hairstyles. Unmarried women must keep their hair short.

The Mid-Atlantic Oceanic Ridge is actually the longest mountain range on Earth – and it’s all underwater. Spanning 40,389 miles (about 65,000 kilometers) around the globe, it extends through the Atlantic Ocean, running from the Arctic Ocean down to the Southern Ocean.