JULY 7 | Birthdays and Events

Notable Birthdays for July 7

Nettie Stevens (1861-1912) - Geneticist who discovered the X and Y chromosomes.

Otto Rohwedder (1880-1960) - Inventor of sliced bread.

Satchel Paige (1906-1982) - Professional baseball player/pitcher who played in the Negro League and Major League.

Robert Heinlein (1907-1988) - Considered the "Dean of Science Fiction Writers".

Helene Johnson (1907-1995) - Acclaimed Harlem Renaissance poet.

Shelley Duvall (1949-2024) - Actress who played Wendy Torrance in The Shining  and Olive Oyl in the movie Popeye.

Kirsten Vangsness (1972-Still Living) - Actress known for her role as Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds.

Memorable Events for July 7

1802 - The first comic book The Wasp is published in NY.

1863 - The first military draft begins in the U.S., exempting those who could pay a $300 fee.

1928 - Sliced bread is sold for the first time on the birthday of it's inventor Otto Rohwedder.

1930 - Construction of Hoover Dam begins.

1936 - Henry Phillips receives patents for a new "cross-recessed" screw and screwdriver.

1946 - Mother Francesca S. Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.

1948 - Six female reservists become the first women sworn into the regular Navy.

1958 - President Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into law declaring Alaska as the 49th state to join the Union.

1972 - Susan Roley and Joanne Pierce become the first women sworn into the FBI.

1981 - President Reagan nominates the first female to the Supreme Court (Sandra Day O'Connor).

1983 - Samantha Smith leaves Maine for Russia to visit with Soviet leader Yuri Andropov about peace.

2019 - The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team wins the FIFA Women's World Cup (defeated the Netherlands).