JULY 3
1828 John Austin Wharton CSA (July 23, 1828 â April 6, 1865) was a lawyer, plantation owner, and Confederate general during the American Civil War. He is considered one of the Confederacy’s best tactical cavalry commanders.
1848 General Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha (3 July 1848 â 31 March 1920) was a German military commander during the European new colonial era. As a brigade commander of the East Asian Expedition Corps, he was involved in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in Qing China, commanding troops which made up the German contribution to the Eight-Nation Alliance. He later served as governor of German South West Africa and Commander in Chief of its colonial forces, in which role he suppressed a native rebellion during the Herero Wars. He was widely condemned for his brutality in the Herero Wars, particularly for his role in the genocide that led to the near-extermination of the Herero.
1886 Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 â December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II. He commanded U.S. naval forces during one of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He also commanded Task Force 16 at the Battle of Midway, comprising the carriers Enterprise and Hornet. At Midway, dive bombers from the Enterprise crippled two carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Kaga and the flagship Akagi. Most historians consider Midway the turning point of the Pacific War.
1906 Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Franz Joseph Christian Olaf of Prussia (4 July 1906 â 26 May 1940) was the eldest child of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At his birth, he was second in line to the German throne and was expected to succeed to the throne after the deaths of his grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm II, and his father, Crown Prince Wilhelm. Both, however, outlived him. During the Weimar Republic, Wilhelm inadvertently caused a public scandal by attending Army manoeuvres in the uniform of the old Imperial First Foot Guards without first seeking government approval. The commander of the Reichswehr, Hans von Seeckt, was forced to resign as a result. The Oster conspiracy of 1938 sought to restore Wilhelm to the throne. At the beginning of World War II, Wilhelm was among a number of princes from the former German monarchies who enlisted to serve in the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Germany.
1913 Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Stirling Mackenzie, KCB, DSO & Bar, DSC (3 July 1913 â 8 October 1996) was a Royal Navy officer who became Flag Officer Submarines and Chief Polaris Executive.
1956 Montel Brian Anthony Williams (born July 3, 1956) is an American former television host, actor and motivational speaker. He is best known as host of the long-running daytime tabloid talk show The Montel Williams Show. Williams enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1974. He completed the one-year Naval Academy Preparatory School course and then in 1975, he was accepted as the first black Marine into the four-year officer training program at the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated in 1980 with a degree in general engineering and a minor in international security affairs. He completed Naval Cryptologic Officer training, and spent 18 months in Guam as a cryptologic officer for naval intelligence. He was later supervising cryptologic officer with the Naval Security Fleet Support Division at Fort Meade, Maryland. It was there Williams worked for the National Security Agency, where he was involved in the U.S. victory in Grenada in 1983, known as Operation Urgent Fury. On several occasions, he worked to secure the release of United States citizens â typically military personnel who had been captured in foreign lands â returned to U.S. soil. After 17 years of active duty and 5 more as a reservist, Williams retired in 1996 from the Naval Reserve at the rank of lieutenant commander after 22 years of service. His awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, two Navy Expeditionary Medals, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and two Humanitarian Service Medals.
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