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July 4, 1963

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from July 4, 1963

O.A.S., 14-1, URGES CUBA TRAVEL BAN TO CONTROL REDS; Security Plan Also Seeks to Freeze Funds--Dissent in Council Disturbs U.S. Four Countries Abstain Measures Proposed O.A.S., 14-1, ASKS CUBA TRAVEL BAN

By Henry Raymont Special To the New York Times

WASHINGTON, July 3--The Council of the Organization of American States approved a series of recommendations today urging governments of the Western Hemisphere to take new steps against Communist subversion originating in Cuba.

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U.S. AGAIN STATES IT WOULD ACCEPT LIMITED TEST BAN; But It Is Dubious About Link With an East-West Accord Sought by Khrushchev PRESIDENT WEIGHS PLAN Confers Twice During First Day Back From Europe on Bid Termed Important Soviet Shuns Inspections Moscow's Position Studied U.S. Is Still Willing to Accept A Limited Treaty on Test Ban A Hint of Trouble Return from European Trip

By Max Frankel Special To the New York Times

Kennedy Adm reiterates willingness to accept ltd tests ban but dubious about linking it with nonaggression pact; stand grows out of Kennedy confs on Khrushchev proposal with Secs Rusk and McNamara, Admr Foster and Under Secs Ball and Harriman; reaction explained to Ambs of GB, France and W Ger

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Notable Births

Henri Leconte

1963Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster[†]

Henri Leconte is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. During his career, he won singles titles on all four major court surfaces: hard, clay, grass and carpet. Leconte's career-high singles ranking was world No. 5.

Laureano Márquez

1963Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist[†]

Laureano Márquez is a Spanish-born Venezuelan humorist and political scientist.

José Oquendo

1963José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach[†]

José Manuel Oquendo Contreras, nicknamed "the Secret Weapon", is a Puerto Rican former infielder and current coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He currently serves as Minor League Infield Coordinator of the St. Louis Cardinals, an organization with whom he has been affiliated since 1985. He managed the Puerto Rico national team in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics. During his playing career, Oquendo proved highly versatile defensively: he played primarily second base and shortstop, but also frequently in the outfield, and made at least one appearance at every position during his MLB playing career. Oquendo has the second-highest career fielding percentage for second basemen at .9919 (99.19%), behind only Plácido Polanco's career mark of .9927 (99.27%).

Sonia Pierre

1963Sonia Pierre, Haitian-Dominican human rights activist (died 2011)[†]

Solange Pierre, known as Sonia Pierre, was a human rights advocate in the Dominican Republic who worked to end antihaitianismo, which is discrimination against individuals of Haitian origin either born in Haiti or in the Dominican Republic. For this work, she won the 2006 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.

Notable Deaths

Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg

1963Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (born 1889)[†]

Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th governor-general of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952 - the first to have been raised and educated in New Zealand.

Clyde Kennard

1963Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (born 1927)[†]

Clyde Kennard was an American Korean War veteran and civil rights leader from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In the 1950s, he attempted several times to enroll at the all-white Mississippi Southern College to complete his undergraduate degree started at the University of Chicago. Although the United States Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, the college rejected him. Kennard was among the thousands of local activists in the 1940s and 1950s who pressed for their rights.

Pingali Venkayya

1963Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (born 1876)[†]

Pingali Venkayya was an Indian freedom fighter, known for designing the initial version of the Indian National Flag. Apart from his role in the independence movement, Venkayya was a lecturer, author, geologist, educationalist, agriculturist, and a polyglot.

Historical Context for July 4, 1963

In 1963, the world population was approximately 3,192,807,828 people[†]