24-07-2012, 13:02
1411 – Battle of Harlaw, one of the bloodiest battles in Scotland, takes place.
1567 - Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her 1 year old son, James VI.
1883 - Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English channel (1875) drowned whilst attempting to swim the rapids at Niagara Falls.
1911 - Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham.
1943 - World War II: The start of Operation Gomorrah saw British and Canadian aeroplanes bomb Hamburg by night, and Americans by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives had killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.
1967 – During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! (Long live free Quebec!). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delighted many Quebecers but angered the Canadian government and many English Canadians.
2001 – 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.
2005 –Lance Armstrong wins his seventh consecutive Tour de France.
2009 – The MV Arctic Sea, reportedly carrying a cargo of timber, is allegedly hijacked in the North Sea by pirates, but much speculation remains as to the actual cargo and events.
1567 - Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her 1 year old son, James VI.
1883 - Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English channel (1875) drowned whilst attempting to swim the rapids at Niagara Falls.
1911 - Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham.
1943 - World War II: The start of Operation Gomorrah saw British and Canadian aeroplanes bomb Hamburg by night, and Americans by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives had killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.
1967 – During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! (Long live free Quebec!). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delighted many Quebecers but angered the Canadian government and many English Canadians.
2001 – 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.
2005 –Lance Armstrong wins his seventh consecutive Tour de France.
2009 – The MV Arctic Sea, reportedly carrying a cargo of timber, is allegedly hijacked in the North Sea by pirates, but much speculation remains as to the actual cargo and events.