1804 – Novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (“The Scarlet Letter’ and “The House of the Seven Gables”) is born in Salem, Massachusetts.
1826 – Popular song writer Stephen Foster is born in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania.
1872 – 30th President of the United States Calvin Coolidge is born in Plymouth, Vermont.
1878 – Entertainer, composer, and theatrical producer George M. Cohan (“Yankee Doodle Boy” and “A Grand Old Flag”) is born in Providence, Rhode Island (technically his birth certificate says he was born on July 3 but he and his family always maintained he was born on July 4).
1883 – The creator of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets Rube Goldberg is born in San Francisco, California.
1927 – Prolific American playwright Neil Simon is born in the Bronx, New York.