TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: JULY 18
64 A great fire began that ultimately destroyed most of Rome. The emperor Nero blamed it on Christians and began the first Roman persecution of them.
1536 Pope’s authority declared void in England
1716 Jews are expelled from Brussels Belgium
1743 “The New York Weekly Journal” published the first half-page newspaper ad.
1812 Great Britain signs the Treaty of Orebro, making peace with Russia and Sweden.
1872 The Ballot Act is passed in Great Britain, providing for secret election ballots.
1877 Inventor Thomas Edison records the human voice for the first time.
1925 Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf (original title was the catchy “Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice”)
1936 General Francisco Franco of Spain revolts against the Republican government, starting the Spanish Civil War.
1938 Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan arrives in Ireland-left NY for Calif
1942 The German Me-262, the first jet-propelled aircraft to fly in combat, makes its first flight.
1947 U.S. President Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act, which placed the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore next in the line of succession after the vice president.
1964 Race riot in Harlem (NYC); riots spread to Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bkln)
1968 Founded in Santa Clara, California, the Intel corporation is the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer.
1969 Mary Jo Kopechne & Sen Kennedy plunge off Chappaquiddick bridge ( https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-true-story-chappaquiddick-impossible-tell-180968638/ )
1975 Jury can’t decide on trial of Dave Fopbes of Boston Bruins (1st athlete indicted for excessive violence during play)
1984 James Huberty kills 21 McDonalds patrons in San Ysidro Calif
1993 Agathe Uwilingiyimana elected as Prime Minister of Rwanda. Rwanda’s only female prime minister’s tenure was cut short when she was assassinated at the outset of the Rwandan genocide.
1994 In Buenos Aires, a massive car bomb kills 96 people.
2001 A train derailed, involving 60 cars, in a Baltimore train tunnel. The fire that resulted lasted for six days and virtually closed down downtown Baltimore for several days.
2012 Kim Jong-un is officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea and given the rank of Marshal in the Korean People’s Army
2013 Detroit, Michigan, files for bankruptcy, becoming the largest US municipal bankruptcy ever at $18.5 billion
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
