10th July 1940: The Vichy government established in France
The Vichy government was established in France after the National Assembly approved a new French Constitutional Law that granted full powers to Marshal ...
10 Jul 0s
9th July 1877: The world’s first official lawn tennis tournament begins at Wimbledon in London
The first Wimbledon Championship was staged in order to raise money to repair the roller that was used to maintain the lawns at the club, and only featured a Gentlemen’s Singles ...
9 Jul 0s
8th July 1497: Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon on the first known voyage to India from Europe
In May 1498, the expedition reached the Indian city of Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) on the Malabar Coast. Da Gama met with the the local ruler, and attempted to establish a trading ...
8 Jul 0s
7th July 1928: Pre-sliced and wrapped bread first sold by the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri
The Chillicothe Baking Company's ‘Kleen Maid Sliced Bread’ proved incredibly popular and was advertised as ‘the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was ...
7 Jul 0s
6th July 1988: Piper Alpha oil platform destroyed by a series of explosions in the deadliest offshore oil disaster in history
The public inquiry into the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster identified numerous failings in maintenance procedures, communication, design, and emergency ...
6 Jul 0s
5th July 1865: United States Secret Service established in Washington, D.C., by the Department of the Treasury
Although the Secret Service is now most commonly associated with the protection of national leaders, this didn’t begin until after the assassination of President William McKinley in September ...
5 Jul 0s
4th July 1862: Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) first tells the story of Alice in Wonderland
Charles Dodgson, better known as the author Lewis Carroll, told a story to the sisters Alice, Lorina and Edith Liddell that was to develop into Alice's Adventures in ...
4 Jul 0s
3rd July 1973: David Bowie announces the end of Ziggy Stardust during a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London
Prior to the last song of the performance, Bowie told the crowd, “Not only is it the last show of the tour, but it’s the last show that we’ll ever do.” Even some of the band members were taken by surprise at the ...
3 Jul 0s
