July 221376 - The legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin leading rats out of town is said to have occurred on this date. 1587 - A second English colony was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina. The colony vanished under mysterious circumstances. 1796 - Cleveland was founded by General Moses Cleaveland. 1798 - The USS Constitution was underway and out to sea for the first time since being launched on October 21, 1797. 1812 - English troops under the Duke of Wellington defeated the French at the Battle of Salamanca in Spain. 1926 - Babe Ruth caught a baseball at Mitchell Field in New York. The ball had been dropped from an airplane flying at 250 feet. 1933 - Wiley Post ended his around-the-world flight. He had traveled 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. 1937 - The U.S. Senate rejected President Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court. 1943 - American forces led by General George S. Patton captured Palermo, Sicily. 1941 - Plans for the Pentagon were presented to the House Subcommittee on Appropriations. 1955 - U.S. Vice-President Richard M. Nixon chaired a cabinet meeting in Washington, DC. It was the first time that a Vice-President had carried out the task. 1965 - "Till Death Us Do Part" debuted on England’s BBC-TV. 1975 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee had his U.S. citizenship restored by the U.S. Congress. 1987 - The U.S. began its policy of escorting re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers up and down the Persian Gulf to protect them from possible attack by Iran. 1998 - Iran tested medium-range missile, capable of reaching Israel or Saudi Arabia. 2000 - Astronomers at the University of Arizona announced that they had found a 17th moon orbiting Jupiter. 2003 - In northern Iraq, Saddam Hussein's sons Odai and Qusai died after a gunfight with U.S. forces. 2003 - In Paris, France, a fire broke out near the top of the Eiffel Tower. About 4,000 visitors were evacuated and no injuries were reported. 2004 - The September 11 commission's final report was released. The 575-page report concluded that hijackers exploited "deep institutional failings within our government." The report was released to White House officials the day before. 2009 - The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurred over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean. |