Today in History

Declaration of Independence

 

Touring the Erie Canal

 

Today in History July 5th

1610 John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland

1643 1st recorded tornado in US (Essex County, Massachusetts)

1687 Isaac Newton's great work Principia published by Royal Society in England, outlining
his laws of motion and universal gravitation

1934 "Bloody Thursday" - Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco

1937 Spam, the luncheon meat is first introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation

1971 26th amendment to the US constitution certified (reduces voting age to 18)

1989 "Seinfield" Debuts on NBC starring Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards

1994 Amazon.com founded in Bellevue, Washington by Jeff Bezos

 

Oh the Erie was a risin' and the gin was a gettin' low, and I scarcely think
we'd get another drink till we get to Buffalo ho ho, till we get to Buffalo.

 

JULY 5th: 1996 " Dolly the Sheep"

The first cloning of an animal by scientists was revealed by the Roslin Institute in Scotland when Dolly the Sheep was cloned from tissue taken from a 6 year old ewe's udder.

The Life of Dolly | Dolly the Sheep (ed.ac.uk)

 

JULY 5th: 1946 "Bikini Swimsuit Introduced" =

The Bikini swimsuit (a daring 2 piece swimming costume for ladies) was introduced by French designer Louis Reard

at a popular swimming pool in Paris.
. . . . . . .

History of the bikini - Wikipedia

 

JULY 5th: 1975 "Arthur Ashe"

Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon men's singles championship beating the legendary Jimmy Connors.
Ashe's Wimbledon Win Over Connors, recorded his greatest triumph on a tennis court. ..
1975 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles - Wikipedia

 

JULY 5th: 1969 "Brian Jones tribute"

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The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in London's Hyde Park before an audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Adonais' and released 3,500 butterflies; it was also guitarist's Mick Taylor's debut with the Stones, King Crimson, Family, The Third Ear Band, Screw and Alexis Korner's New Church also appeared on the day.
The Stones in the Park - Wikipedia

 

JULY 5th: 2003 "A last concert for Johnny Cash"

Johnny Cash made his last ever live performance when he appeared at the Carter Ranch
Cash gave his final public live performance, a 30-minute set at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Va.
Although visibly frail (he needed help walking from a wheelchair to a chair in front of the mic), the legend was in good spirits.
Before singing "Ring of Fire", Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage: “The spirit of June Carter overshadows me tonight with the love she had for me and the love I have for her. We connect somewhere between here and heaven.
She came down for a short visit, I guess, from heaven to visit with me tonight to give me courage and inspiration like she always has.
” Cash died on Sept 12th of this year.

 

JULY 5th: 1948 "UK NHS Begins"

Britain's National Health Service Act (NHS) takes effect, providing government funded medical and dental care and headed by the Health Minister Aneurin Bevan.
The National Health Service was part of the "cradle to grave" welfare-state reforms.
The NHS is funded from taxes including a proportion from National Insurance payments.
The National Health Service is the world's largest health service and the world's fourth-largest employer.
National Health Service - Wikipedia

 

JULY 5th: 1998 "England Party In The Park"

The Prince of Wales Prince's Trust "Party in the park" (Hyde Park) charity event attracts 100,000 hoping to raise as much as £500,000 for the Prince's Trust charity.
Some of the best known stars of screen and popular music give their performances for free including All Saints, Des'ree, Louise, Natalie Imbruglia, Tom Jones, Lionel Richie, Boyzone and Gary Barlow from the music world.
BBC News | Entertainment | Party in the park

 

JULY 6th: 1957 " A Meeting of Musicians"

John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete where The Quarry Men were appearing.
As The Quarry Men were setting up for their evening performance, McCartney eager to impress Lennon picked up a guitar and played ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ (Eddie Cochran) and ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ (Gene Vincent). Lennon was impressed, and even more so when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they'd been paying someone else to do for them.

 

JULY 6th: 1988 "Piper Alpha"

An explosion on the Piper Alpha oil rig 120 miles off the north east coast of Scotland in the North Sea caused a fireball 350 feet high and engulfed the platform killing 167 workers.
Piper Alpha - Wikipedia

 

JULY 6th: 2005 "Miller Jailed for Refusing to Reveal Sources"

Following the outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame by Judith Miller earlier Judith Miller has been jailed For Refusing To Reveal Sources of the story.
The case is based around allegations that senior administration officials leaked details of Ms Plame's role as a CIA employee to undermine her husband former ambassador Joseph Wilson who had criticized the Bush administration, saying it had "twisted" evidence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat in the run-up to war.
The disclosure of the source did come out in the end I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby former Assistant to the President of the United States, George W. Bush, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs).
Libby was indicted and found guilty on June 5th, 2007 of four counts. One count of obstruction of justice; Two counts of perjury; One count of making false statements to federal investigators and was sentenced to 30 months in prison which was commuted by President George W. Bush to a $250,000 fine two years of supervised release, including 400 hours of community service.
Judith Miller - Wikipedia

 

JULY 6th: 2002 "Me Too"

Carol Hawkins, the former personal assistant of U2 bassist Adam Clayton was jailed for seven years for embezzling 2.8m euros (£2.2m) of his money to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Hawkins was convicted on 181 counts of theft from the bassist's bank accounts over a four-year period.
The judge said Hawkins' crimes were "rooted in greed and nothing else".
Former U2 personal assistant Carol Hawkins jailed for seven years - BBC News

 

JULY 6th: 1984 "Victory. . . . for the Charities"

The Jacksons kicked off their North American Victory tour at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City.
Over 2 million people attended the 55 concerts which grossed over $75 million.

• Michael Jackson donated $5 million to various charities.

Victory Tour (The Jacksons tour) - Wikipedia

 

Today in History July 7th

1947 UFO Crash at Roswell

Note: On July 8, 1947, Roswell Army Air Field issued a press release stating that they had recovered a "flying disc"

 

JULY 7th: 2007 "Seven - NEW - Wonders of the Modern World"
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An official declaration of the new Seven Wonders of the Modern World was made determined from a worldwide poll organized by the New7Wonders Foundation.
The New Wonders of the World are:

1. The Great Wall of China (It is the largest man made monument ever to have been built and is visible from space.)
2. Petra, Jordan (Petra On the edge of the Desert, was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV)
3. Christ Redeemer Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Statue of Jesus stands some 38 meters tall, atop the Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro)
4. Machu Picchu, Peru (Ancient Inca City built by the Incan Emperor Pachacútec halfway up the Andes Plateau, and deep in the Amazon jungle)
5. Pyramid at Chichén Itzá, Mexico (the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization)
6. The Roman Colosseum, Italy (This great amphitheater in the center of Rome to celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire)
7. The Taj Mahal, India (This immense mausoleum by the fifth Muslim Mogul emperor, to honor the memory of his beloved late wife)

The original 7 wonders of the world were:

1. Great Pyramid of Giza Egypt (Built as the tomb of Fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu) still standing
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Multi-leveled gardens reaching 22 meters (75 feet) high) destroyed by earthquake
3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (took 120 years to build Dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis) destroyed by Arson
4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia Greece (40 feet tall) destroyed by fire or earthquake.
5. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (Stood approximately 45 meters (135 feet) tall with each of the four sides adorned with sculptural reliefs) disassembled by European Crusaders
6. Colossus of Rhodes (giant statue of the Greek god Helios roughly) Destroyed by Earthquake
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria (between 383 - 440 ft tall it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries) Destroyed By Earthquake

 

JULY 7th: 1985 "England Boris Becker Wins Wimbledon"

Boris Becker wins the men's Wimbledon championships breaking multiple records in the process.
1. The youngest ever player to win the men's title at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
2. The first German ever to win the men's title.
3. The first unseeded player to ever win the championship.
BBC ON THIS DAY | 7 | 1985: Boris Becker wins Wimbledon at 17

 

JULY 7th: 2005 " Terrorist Bombing - London Underground"

Terrorists bombs are detonated in three crowded London subways on London's Underground System and one bus during peak rush hour travel in a synchronized attack by suicide bombers thought to be members of al-Qaeda, killing 56 people including the bombers and injuring another 700.
7 July 2005 London bombings - Wikipedia