Did you know
Adams was the first vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.
Notable Deaths on July 4
1826 — John Adams
American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (born 1735)
July 4 has 142 recorded notable deaths across history, from 673 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
142 source records
673 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on July 4
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1966 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year. Source
- 1827 Slavery is abolished in the State of New York. Source
- 1776 American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress, formally announcing and explaining separation from the Kingdom of Great Britain and the creation of the United States. Source
- 1855 The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn. Source
Did you know
Eva Gabor was a Hungarian born American actress and socialite.
Did you know
Though Israel's counter-terrorist operation was a success, with 102 of the 106 hostages being rescued, Netanyahu was killed in action – the only Israeli soldier killed during the crisis.
Did you know
In later works, Certified Copy (2010) and Like Someone in Love (2012), he filmed for the first time outside Iran: in Italy and Japan, respectively.
Did you know
Lenglen won six Wimbledon singles titles, including five in a row from 1919 to 1923, and was the champion in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at the first two open French Championships in 1925 and 1926.
More major people who died on July 4
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1995
Eva Gabor
Hungarian-American actress and singer (born 1919)
Eva Gabor was a Hungarian born American actress and socialite.
1976
Yonatan Netanyahu
Israeli colonel (born 1946)
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu was an Israeli military officer who commanded Sayeret Matkal during the Entebbe raid.
2016
Abbas Kiarostami
Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (born 1940)
Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer.
1938
Suzanne Lenglen
French tennis player (born 1899)
Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total.
2012
Eric Sykes
English actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1923)
Eric Sykes was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years.
1974
Georgette Heyer
English author (born 1902)
Georgette Heyer was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres.
1910
Melville Fuller
American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (born 1833)
Melville Weston Fuller was an American politician, attorney, and jurist who served as the eighth chief justice of the United States from 1888 until his death in 1910.
1971
August Derleth
American anthologist and author (born 1909)
August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. He was the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.
1916
Alan Seeger
American soldier and poet (born 1888)
Alan Seeger was an American war poet who fought and died in World War I during the Battle of the Somme, serving in the French Foreign Legion.
1938
Otto Bauer
Austrian philosopher and politician, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1881)
Otto Bauer was an Austrian politician who was one of the founders and leading thinkers of the Austromarxists who sought a middle ground between social democracy and revolutionary socialism.
2012
Jimmy Bivins
American boxer (born 1919)
James Louis Bivins was an American boxer whose professional career ran from 1940 to 1955. He was born in Dry Branch, Georgia.
2009
Allen Klein
American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (born 1931)
Allen Klein was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated.
2003
Barry White
American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (born 1944)
Barry Eugene White was an American R&B, soul and disco singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer.
1910
Kabua the Great
Marshallese iroijlaplap (born c. 1820)
Kabua the Great, also Kabua Laplap, was a Marshallese iroij whom the German Empire recognized as the king of the Marshall Islands.
1949
François Brandt
Dutch rower and engineer (born 1874)
François Antoine Brandt was a Dutch rower who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Brandt was part of the Dutch eight team that won a bronze medal with Hermanus Brockmann as the coxswain.
2017
Gene Conley
American MLB player and NBA player (born 1930)
Donald Eugene Conley was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He pitched for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963.
1187
Raynald of Châtillon
French knight (born 1125)
Raynald of Châtillon, also known as Reynald, Reginald, or Renaud, was Prince of Antioch—a crusader state in the Middle East—from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Transjordan—a large fiefdom in the crusader Kingdom of…
2008
Jesse Helms
American politician (born 1921)
Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. was an American politician, a journalist, and Navy veteran. A leader in the conservative and nationalist movement, he represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2003.
1831
James Monroe
American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (born 1758)
James Monroe was a Founding Father and the fifth president of the United States, serving from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as president, as well as the last president of the Virginia dynasty.