On this day

1948 - The first post-war Olympic Games opened in London
http://www.information-britain.co.uk/fam...php?id=546

1900 - London Underground's Central Line was opened by the Prince of Wales, with a two pence fare for all destinations.

1928 - The MGM lion roared for the first time.

1935 - 'Penguin' paperback books, founded by Allen Lane, went on sale in Britain.

1956 – A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto.

1973 - British victims of the drug Thalidomide were awarded £20 million compensation as their 11 year case against the Distillers company ended in victory.

1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again, and will be declared legally dead on this date in 1982.

30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.

1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.

1904 - The Trans-Siberian railroad connecting the Ural Mountains with Russia's Pacific coast, was completed.

1910 - Dr Crippen was arrested aboard the SS Montrose as it was docking at Quebec. He was charged with the murder of his wife and was the first criminal to be caught by the use of radio.

1922 - The first water skis were demonstrated, by Ralph Samuelson.

1942 - The Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (later called Oxfam) was founded.

1948 - New York's International Airport was dedicated; it was later renamed John F. Kennedy Airport.

1959 - Cliff Richard had his first British No.1 with Living Doll.

1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.

1969 - The halfpenny ceased to be legal tender in Britain.

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.

1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 – NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo.

1998 - The British Government announced a total ban on landmines, a month before the first anniversary of the death of Princess Diana.

(31-07-2011 11:35 )skully Wrote:  ~~~~
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1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 – NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cydonia_%28...of_Mars%29

1740 - Rule Britannia was sung for the first time, for the then Prince of Wales's daughter's third birthday.

1774 - English chemist Joseph Priestley identified oxygen, which he called 'a new species of air'.

1834 - Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. An estimated 770,000 slaves were freed.

1873 - The first cable streetcar in America began operation on Clay Street Hill in San Francisco, California.

1914 - World War I began with Germany's invasion of Luxembourg. The same day, Germany and Russia declared war against each other.

1944 - Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her diary; days later she and her family were taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died at age 15.

1965 - In Britain, cigarette advertising was banned on television.

1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.

(01-08-2011 11:20 )skully Wrote:  1834 - Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. An estimated 770,000 slaves were freed.

1975-Yorkshire Day was 1st celebrated.By a protest group Y. Ridings Soc. against the government reorganization of 1974.Also the date of the Battle of Minden 1759 (Minden day) was already celebrated by amongst others the Kings Own Yorks. Light Inf.Also Yorkshire MP.William Wilberforce campaigned for the emancipation of slaves.

1610 – Henry Hudson sails into what is now known as Hudson Bay thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean.

1776 – The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.

1824 - Fifth Avenue was opened in New York City.

1865 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was published but was soon withdrawn because of bad printing. Only 21 copies of the first edition survived, making it one of the rarest 19th century books.

1887 - Barbed wire was patented by Rowell Hodge.

1894 - Death duties, now known as inheritance tax, were introduced in Britain.

1934 - With the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler became absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuhrer.

1939 – Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan project to develop a nuclear weapon.

1989 – Pakistan is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations after having restoring democracy for the first time since 1972.

1990 - Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate; the Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert Storm.

1460 - James II, King of Scotland, died after being injured by an exploding cannon at Kelso, in the Scottish Borders.

1783 – Mount Asama erupts in Japan, killing 35,000 people.

1856 - London was divided into postal districts, in order to speed up letter deliveries.

1858 - Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, was discovered by the explorer John Speke.

1926 - Britain installed its first traffic lights - at Piccadilly Circus, in London.

1958 - The nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

1977 – The United States Senate begins its hearing about Project MKULTRA.

2004 - The Statue of Liberty monument reopened for the first time since the September 11 attacks.

1914 – World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declare their neutrality.

1954 - Britain's first supersonic fighter plane, the English Electric Lightning P-1, made its maiden flight.

1966 - In a U.S. radio interview, John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were probably more popular than Jesus Christ.

1989 – Licence to Kill goes on general cinema release in the United Kingdom.

1993 – A federal judge sentences LAPD officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King's civil rights.

2000 - Celebrations took place all over the United Kingdom to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She was the first ever member of the Royal Family to reach her centenary.

1305 - Sir William Wallace, Scottish hero and champion of Scottish independence who beat Edward I at the battle of Stirling Bridge, was captured by the English and later executed as a traitor.

1901 - Britain's first cinema, the Mohawk, opened in Islington, north London. Films were accompanied by the 16-piece Fonobian Orchestra.

1962 - ANC leader Nelson Mandela was arrested and given a life sentence on charges of attempting to overthrow the South African government.

1963 - A Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow by Russia, the United States and Britain. Under the treaty, nuclear tests in the Earth's atmosphere, in space or under the sea were outlawed.

1983 - Twenty two members of the IRA were jailed for a total of more than 4,000 years following Northern Ireland's biggest-ever terrorist trial.