On This Day — historical anniversaries
A daily piece on an event or life that marks this date in history, published every morning by Vesper's editors. Browse the full archive by date.
June
July
July 11916On this day, 1 July 1916: the first day of the Battle of the SommeJuly 21937On this day, 2 July 1937: Amelia Earhart vanishes over the PacificJuly 31938On this day, 3 July 1938: Mallard sets the steam speed record still unbeatenJuly 41934On this day, 4 July 1934: Marie Curie, pioneer of radioactivity, diesIn memoriamJuly 51996On this day, 5 July 1996: Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, is bornJuly 61885On this day, 6 July 1885: Pasteur first uses the rabies vaccine on a humanJuly 71930On this day in 1930: Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, diesIn memoriamJuly 81889On this day, 8 July 1889: the first issue of The Wall Street JournalJuly 91816On this day, 9 July 1816: Argentina declares independence at the Congress of TucumánJuly 101962On this day, 10 July 1962: Telstar, the first active communications satellite, launchesJuly 111804On this day, 11 July 1804: the Hamilton-Burr duel that shook American politicsJuly 131930On this day: the first FIFA World Cup kicks off in UruguayJuly 141789On this day, 14 July 1789: the storming of the BastilleJuly 151799On this day: the 1799 discovery of the Rosetta Stone that unlocked hieroglyphsJuly 161969On this day, 16 July 1969: Apollo 11 launches for the MoonJuly 171918On this day: the execution of the Romanov family, July 17, 1918In memoriamJuly 181918On this day: Nelson Mandela was born in 1918July 1964On this day: the Great Fire of Rome broke out in 64 ADJuly 21Today1861On this day, 21 July 1861: the First Battle of Bull Run shocks a nation expecting a short war