On This Day In History
July 18th
64 Great Fire of Rome begins under the Emperor Nero
1925 Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf (original title was the catchy “Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice”)
1936 Spanish Civil War: General Francisco Franco issues manifesto and leads an uprising in the Spanish army stationed in Morocco
2012 Kim Jong-un is officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea and given the rank of Marshal in the Korean People’s Army
2013 Detroit, Michigan, files for bankruptcy, becoming the largest US municipal bankruptcy ever at $18.5 billion
Did You Know?
1st half-page newspaper ad is published (NY Weekly Journal)
Today in History in 1743
Would You Believe?
Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan arrives in Ireland after a 28 hours flight, supposedly left NY flying for California
Today in History in 1938
July 19th
1595 Astronomer Johannes Kepler has an epiphany and develops his theory of the geometrical basis of the universe while teaching in Graz
1843 The steamship SS Great Britain is launched, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, is the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and the largest vessel afloat in the world
1848 1st US women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls NY, organised by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott
1941 British PM Winston Churchill launches his “V for Victory” campaign
Did You Know?
Michael Brunet discovers the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis in the Djurab Desert, Chad. One of the oldest known species in the human family tree, 6-7 million years ago years old
Today in History in 2001
Would You Believe?
US scientists calculate total amount plastic ever produced – 8.3 billion tonnes, equal to weight of 1 billion elephants
Today in History in 2017
July 20th
1881 Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull, surrenders to US federal troops
1921 Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives
1969 Apollo 11 lunar module carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin lands on the surface of the Moon; Aldrin and Armstrong walk on the moon seven hours later; Michael Collins remains in orbit in the lunar module
1976 US Viking 1 lands on Mars at Chryse Planitia, 1st Martian landing
2017 China announces a plan against “foreign garbage” banning 24 categories of plastic and recyclable waste from 2018
Did You Know?
Euston railway station opens in London as the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR), the city’s 1st intercity railway station
Today in History in 1837
Would You Believe?
USSR recovers 2 dogs; 1st living organisms to return from space
Today in History in 1960
July 21st
356 BC Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World
365 Crete Earthquake followed by tsunami around the Eastern Mediterranean allegedly destroys Alexandria
1861 First Battle of Bull Run [Battle of First Manassas], 1st major battle of the US Civil War is fought near Manassas, Virginia, Confederate victory
1904 After 13 years, the 4,607-mile Trans-Siberian railway is completed
1925 John T. Scopes found guilty of teaching evolution in the “Scopes monkey trial” in Dayton, Tennessee, fined $100 and costs
1954 Geneva Accords for Indochina signed, dividing French colonial territories into the countries of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam), Cambodia, and Laos
1969 Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to step on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT)
1970 Aswan High Dam opens in Egypt, enables human control of the flooding of the Nile
2015 On This Day changes its domain name and brand from HistoryOrb.com to OnThisDay.com
Did You Know?
In market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first true western showdown
Today in History in 1865
Would You Believe?
World’s lowest-ever natural temperature recorded −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F; 184.0 K) at Soviet Vostok Station, Antarctica
Today in History in 1983
July 22nd
1099 First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem
1456 Battle at Nandorfehervar (Belgrade): Hungarian army under Janos Hunyadi beats Sultan Murad II
1515 First Congress of Vienna settles issues between Poland and Holy Roman Empire – rise of the Habsburgs influence
1942 Warsaw Ghetto Jews (300,000) are sent to Treblinka Extermination Camp
1963 Sarawak achieves independence from British colonial rule
2011 Norway is the victim of twin terror attacks, the first a bomb blast targeting government buildings in central Oslo, second a massacre at a youth camp on island of Utøya
Did You Know?
Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada
Today in History in 1793
Would You Believe?
Crew of Belgium RV Belgica see 1st sunrise in 1600 hrs – 1st expedition to endure Antarctic winter
Today in History in 1898
July 23rd
1215 Frederick II crowned King of the Romans (King of the Germans) in Aachen
1829 William Austin Burt patents America’s first “typographer” (typewriter)
1840 Union Act passed by British Parliament, uniting Upper & Lower Canada
1944 Conference of Bretton Woods signed; IMF operations begin
1995 Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and becomes visible to the naked eye nearly a year later
Did You Know?
NASA’s Kepler mission announces discovery of the most Earth-like planet yet – Kepler-452b, 1,400 light years from Earth
Today in History in 2015
Would You Believe?
American opera singer Grace Bumbry becomes the first black singer to perform at the Bayreuth Festival, Germany, she earns 42 curtain calls
Today in History in 1961
July 24th
1534 Jacques Cartier lands in Canada, claims it for France
1567 Mary Queen of Scots is forced to abdicate; her 1-year-old son becomes King James VI of Scots
1911 American explorer Hiram Bingham discovers Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas
1943 Operation Gomorrah: RAF begins bombing Hamburg (till 3rd August), creating a firestorm and killing 42,600 people
1982 Single “Eye Of The Tiger” by Survivor from “Rocky III” soundtrack starts 6-week run at No. 1 on US charts (Grammy for Best Rock Performance)
2019 Global warming is the fastest in 2,000 years and scientific consensus that humans are the cause is at 99%, according to three major reports published in journals “Nature” and “Nature Geoscience”
Did You Know?
Harrisburg Pennsylvanian newspaper publishes results of 1st public opinion poll, with a clear lead for Andrew Jackson
Today in History in 1824
Would You Believe?
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office.
Today in History in 2001