Happy Birthday June 4

George III of the United Kingdom was born at Norfolk House, London on June 4, 1738. He was the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months premature and was thought unlikely to survive, he was baptized the same day. 

George III by Allan Ramsay, 1762

George succeeded to the UK throne when his grandfather, George II, died suddenly on October 25, 1760. His father had died unexpectedly from a lung injury nine years earlier).  He reigned for 59 years and 2 months, which was longer than any other British monarch before him.

Pal, the star of Lassie Come Home and six other Lassie films was born on June 4, 1940. Lassie Come Home, starring Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor was filmed by MGM in 1943. Altogether, 298 dogs were auditioned for the title role, a male Rough Collie called Pal was chosen to play the female dog. He would star in six more Lassie films and died in 1958 at the grand old age of 18.

For more June 4 anniversaries, including the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon, the release of Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA album and the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests, check out OnThatDay.