people. The Standard Oil refinery in Bayonne, New Jersey, was destroyed. A lightning strike set fire to three of the 40,000-gallon tanks, which then spread to explode seven others. Windows were shattered in the Hook Village section of town, and the bay itself was set on fire. The fire, which caused in damage, was brought under control by July 7. The latest addition to William Randolph Hearst's newspaper empire, the Chicago American, published its first edition. The paper lasted 74 years, changing its name to Chicago Today, and publishing its final issue on September 13, 1974. During his lifetime, Louis Armstrong gave his birthdate as July 4, 1900. After the jazz musician died in 1971, however, biographer Gary Giddins located the baptismal register certificate that showed Armstrong had actually been born on August 4, 1901. Born: Robert Desnos, French surrealist poet, in Paris (d. 1945, typhoid fever contracted while in a German concentration camp) Died: Alexander Skene, 73, Scottish gynecologist, discoverer of the Skene's gland (b. 1837) Thursday, July 5, 1900 The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act passed the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In Kansas City, at the Democratic Convention, William Jennings Bryan was nominated for President, and former U.S. Vice-President Adlai E. Stevenson was selected as his running mate. The nomination, set for July 4, had been delayed over a battle on the "16 to 1" ratio of silver to gold as part of the Democratic platform. The proposition passed 26–24, with the margin coming from delegates from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Hawaii, which were not yet states, while Alaska was against the proposition). Football club West Ham United was created in East London, acquiring the assets of the defunct Thames Ironworks football team. Friday, July 6, 1900 The Allies were forced to retreat from Tien-tsin after a six-hour battle against Chinese troops. However, reinforcements arrived and the Eight-Nation Alliance would take the city on July 14. Warren Earp, 45, was shot and killed at the Headquarters Saloon in Willcox, Arizona. The town still holds its Western Heritage Days in acknowledgment of the event. Born: Frederica Sagor Maas, American screenwriter, in New York City (d. 2012). Maas passed away at age 111, having lived in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Saturday, July 7, 1900 In China, Bishop Antonino Fantosati and Father Joseph Gambaro were tortured and killed as they were returning by boat from a pastoral