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11 July 2006 – Mumbai train bombings: Two hundred nine people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.

2006 Mumbai train bombings

2006 terrorist attack on the Mumbai Suburban Railway by Lashkar-e-Taiba

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The 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts on 11 July. They took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains plying on the Western Line Suburban Section of the Mumbai Division of Western Railway. The blasts killed 209 people and injured over 700 more.

Pressure cookers were used in the bombing and other attacks^[1][2][3] to increase the afterburn in a thermobaric reaction, more powerful than conventional high explosives.^[4] The first blast reportedly took place at 18:24 IST (12:54 UTC), and the explosions continued until 18:35,^[5] during the after-work rush hour. All the bombs had been placed in the first-class "general" compartments of several trains running from Churchgate, the city-centre end of the western railway line, to the western suburbs of the city. They exploded at or in the near vicinity of the suburban railway stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali.^[6][7] Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that authorities had "some" information an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known".^[8]

1. ^ "Gaffar bomb was in pressure cooker". Hindustan Times. India. 23 September 2008. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
2. ^ "Notes from the Technology Underground: Pressure Cooker Bombs". Nfttu.blogspot.com. 14 March 2006. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
3. ^ "Suspected pressure cooker bomb found near CM's public meeting venue". News.webindia123.com. 24 September 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
4. ^ "Bomb Prevention". Acfnewsource.org. 31 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
5. ^ "At least 174 killed in Indian train blasts". CNN. 10 July 2006. Archived from the original on 11 July 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2006.
6. ^ "Blasts rock Mumbai rail network". news.bbc.co.uk. 10 July 2006. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2006.
7. ^ "Tuesday terror: Six blasts rock Mumbai railway stations". The Times of India. India. 10 July 2006. Archived from the original on 25 January 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2006.
8. ^ "Scores dead in Mumbai train bombs". news.bbc.co.uk. 10 July 2006. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2006.

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12 July 2007 – U.S. Army Apache helicopters engage in airstrikes against armed insurgents in Baghdad, Iraq, where civilians are killed; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet

July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike

Series of air-to-ground attacks conducted in New Baghdad during the Iraqi insurgency

"Collateral Murder" redirects here. For the general concept, see Collateral damage.

On July 12, 2007, a series of air-to-ground attacks were conducted by a team of two U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, New Baghdad, during the Iraqi insurgency which followed the invasion of Iraq. On April 5, 2010, the attacks received worldwide coverage and controversy following the release of 39 minutes of classified gunsight footage by WikiLeaks.^[6] The video, which WikiLeaks titled Collateral Murder,^[7][8] showed the crew firing on a group of people and killing several of them, including two Reuters journalists, and then laughing at some of the casualties, all of whom were civilians.^[15] An anonymous U.S. military official confirmed the authenticity of the footage,^[16] which provoked global discussion on the legality and morality of the attacks.

In the first strike, the crews of two Apaches directed 30 mm cannon fire at a group of ten Iraqi men.^[17][18][19] Among the group were two Iraqi war correspondents working for Reuters, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. Seven men (including Noor-Eldeen) were killed during this first strike; Chmagh, who was injured, died in the second strike.

The second strike, also using 30 mm rounds, was directed at a van whose driver, Saleh Matasher Tomal, drove by and helped the wounded Chmagh. Both Chmagh and Tomal were killed in the second strike, and two of Tomal's children were badly wounded.

In a third strike, Apache pilots watched people, including some armed men, run into a building and attacked the building with several AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytimes20100726 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT20100505_Bumiller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NewYorker-Nosecrets was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ Keller, Bill (January 26, 2011). "Dealing With Assange and the WikiLeaks Secrets" (adapted from introduction to the book Open Secrets). New York Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
5. ^ "Iraq war files: Apache Hellfire victims". Channel 4. October 22, 2010. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
6. ^ Leaked U.S. video shows deaths of Reuters' Iraqi staffers Archived November 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Reuters.
7. ^ Gilson, Dave. "What the WikiLeaks Media Blitz Has Revealed About WikiLeaks". Mother Jones. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
8. ^ "Collateral Murder, 5 Apr 2010". WikiLeaks.
9. ^ Thakur, Ramesh (2016). "International Criminal Justice". The United Nations, Peace and Security (2nd ed.). Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 109–133. ISBN 9781107176942. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
10. ^ "Bradley Manning Convicted for Classified U.S. Document Leaks". Historic Documents of 2013. Los Angeles/London: SAGE Publishing. 2014. p. 365. ISBN 9781483347868. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
11. ^ "US military video showing 2007 Apache attack on Iraqi civilians released". The Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group. April 5, 2010. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
12. ^ Bamat, Joseph (April 6, 2010). "Leaked video shows US military killing of civilians, Reuters staff". France 24. Paris: France Médias Monde. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
13. ^ Morris, Alex (August 30, 2012). "Permission to Engage: WikiLeaks collateral murder footage examined". London: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
14. ^ "US soldier linked to Iraq helicopter video leak charged". BBC News. BBC. July 6, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
15. ^ ^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}
16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reuters: leaked video was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
17. ^ Cite error: The named reference PolitiFact was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
18. ^ Cite error: The named reference cohen-cnn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
19. ^ Cite error: The named reference legal-review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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13 July 2011 – Mumbai is rocked by three bomb blasts during the evening rush hour, killing 26 and injuring 130.

2011 Mumbai bombings

Coordinated terrorist attacks in India

The 2011 Mumbai bombings, also known as 13/7, were a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations in Mumbai, India, on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST.^[5] The blasts occurred at the Opera House, at Zaveri Bazaar and at Dadar West localities,^[6] leaving 26 killed and 130 injured.^[2][3][4] Indian Mujahideen is believed to have carried out the attack with the personal involvement of its co-founder Yasin Bhatkal.^[7]

Investigations began swiftly, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) probing the incidents. Initial findings suggested the use of sophisticated ammonium nitrate-based explosives. Authorities scrutinized CCTV footage, leading to the arrest of suspects linked to the Indian Mujahideen. The investigation revealed a complex network involving local and international operatives. The aftermath saw heightened security measures and calls for improved emergency communication infrastructure. The attacks drew widespread domestic and international condemnation, with leaders and organizations expressing solidarity with India and urging justice for the victims.

1. ^ Three blasts in Mumbai, thirteen dead, 81 injured, NDTV, archived from the original on 13 July 2011, retrieved 13 July 2011
2. ^ ^{a b} Mumbai-blasts-Death-toll-rises-to-26, archived from the original on 5 September 2012, retrieved 30 July 2011
3. ^ ^{a b} "Mumbai blasts: Death toll rises to 23". NDTV. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Death toll in Mumbai terror blasts rises to 19". NDTV. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
5. ^ "Three blasts in Mumbai". NDTV 24x7. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
6. ^ "3 bomb blasts in Mumbai; 8 killed, 70 injured". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
7. ^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 201107130009". Global Terrorism Database. Retrieved 19 August 2022.

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14 July 1933 – Nazi eugenics programme begins with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring requiring the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffers from alleged genetic disorders

Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring

1933 compulsory sterilisation law in Nazi Germany

Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring (German: Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses) or "Sterilisation Law" was a statute in Nazi Germany enacted on July 14, 1933, (and made active in January 1934)^[1] which allowed the compulsory sterilisation of any citizen who in the opinion of a "Genetic Health Court" (Erbgesundheitsgericht) suffered from a list of alleged genetic disorders – many of which were not, in fact, genetic. The elaborate interpretive commentary on the law was written by three dominant figures in the racial hygiene movement: Ernst Rüdin, Arthur Gütt [de] and the lawyer Falk Ruttke [de].

While it has close resemblances with the American Model Eugenical Sterilization Law developed by Harry H. Laughlin, the law itself was initially drafted in 1932, at the end of the Weimar Republic period, by a committee led by the Prussian health board.

1. ^ ... made active: IBM and the Holocaust, Edwin Black, 2001 Crown / Random House, p 93

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15 July 1927 – Massacre of July 15, 1927: Eighty-nine protesters are killed by the Austrian police in Vienna.

July Revolt of 1927

Riots in Vienna, First Austrian Republic

The July Revolt of 1927 (also known as the Vienna Palace of Justice fire, German: Wiener Justizpalastbrand) was a major riot starting on 15 July 1927 in the Austrian capital, Vienna. The revolt was sparked by the acquittal of three nationalist paramilitary members for the killing of two social democratic Republikanischer Schutzbund members and culminated with police forces firing into the outraged crowd and killing 89 protesters,^[1] and five policemen died. More than 600 protestors and around 600 policemen were injured.

1. ^ Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (December 1996). The Austrians : a thousand-year odyssey. HarperCollins. p. 260. ISBN 0-00-638255-X.

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16 July 1965 – The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France and Italy opens.

Mont Blanc Tunnel

Highway tunnel underneath the Alps connecting France and Italy

The Mont Blanc Tunnel (French: Tunnel du Mont-Blanc, Italian: Traforo del Monte Bianco) is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under Mont Blanc in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian Traforo T1 (forming the European route E25), in particular the motorways serving Geneva (A40 of France) and Turin (A5 of Italy). The passageway is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on this tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe. It reduces the route from France to Turin by 50 kilometres (30 miles) and to Milan by 100 km (60 mi). Northeast of Mont Blanc's summit, the tunnel is about 15 km (10 mi) southwest of the tripoint with Switzerland, near Mont Dolent.

The agreement between France and Italy on building a tunnel was signed in 1949. Two operating companies were founded, each responsible for one half of the tunnel: the French Autoroutes et tunnel du Mont-Blanc (ATMB), founded on 30 April 1958, and the Italian Società italiana per azioni per il Traforo del Monte Bianco (SITMB), founded on 1 September 1957.^[1] Drilling began in 1959 and was completed in 1962; the tunnel was opened to traffic on 19 July 1965.

The tunnel is 11.611 km (7.215 mi) in length, 8.6 m (28 ft) in width, and 4.35 m (14.3 ft) in height. The passageway is not horizontal, but in a slightly inverted "V", which assists ventilation. The tunnel consists of a single gallery with a two-lane dual direction road. At the time of its construction, it was twice as long as any existing highway tunnel.^[2]

The tunnel passes almost exactly under the summit of the Aiguille du Midi. At this spot, it lies 2,480 metres (8,140 ft) beneath the surface, making it the world's second deepest operational tunnel^[3] after the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

The Mont Blanc Tunnel was originally managed by the two building companies. Following a fire in 1999 in which 39 people died, which showed how lack of coordination could hamper the safety of the tunnel, all the operations are managed by a single entity: MBT-EEIG, controlled by both ATMB and SITMB together, through a 50–50 shares distribution.^[4]

An alternative route for road traffic between France to Italy is the Fréjus Road Tunnel. Road traffic grew steadily until 1994, even with the opening of the Fréjus tunnel. Since then, the combined traffic volume of the former has remained roughly constant.

1. ^ Barry, Keith (15 July 2010). "July 16, 1965: Mont Blanc Tunnel Opens". Wired. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
2. ^ Soule, Gardner (December 1959). "World's longest auto tunnel to pierce the Alps". Popular Science. pp. 121–123/236–238.
3. ^ "Today in Science History". Retrieved 22 November 2014.
4. ^ "A French-Italian Operator - Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont Blanc". Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.

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17 July 1996 – TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.

TWA Flight 800

1996 explosion of an American aircraft

For the documentary, see TWA Flight 800 (film). For the 1964 crash in Rome, see TWA Flight 800 (1964).

"Flight 800" redirects here. For other uses, see Flight 800 (disambiguation).

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (known as TW800 or TWA800) was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States, to Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, with a stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. On July 17, 1996, at approximately 8:31 p.m. EDT, twelve minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 747-100 exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, United States.^[2]: 1

All 230 people on board died in the crash; it is the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history. Accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) traveled to the scene, arriving the following morning^[2]: 313 amid speculation that a terrorist attack was the cause of the crash.^[3][4][5] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and New York Police Department Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) initiated a parallel criminal investigation.^[6] Sixteen months later, the JTTF announced that no evidence of a criminal act had been found and closed its active investigation.^[7]

The four-year NTSB investigation concluded with the approval of the Aircraft Accident Report on August 23, 2000, ending the most extensive, complex, and costly air disaster investigation in U.S. history up to that time.^[8][9] The report's conclusion was that the probable cause of the accident was the explosion of flammable fuel vapors in the center fuel tank. Although it could not be determined with certainty, the likely ignition source was a short circuit.^[2]: xvi Problems with the aircraft's wiring were found, including evidence of arcing in the fuel quantity indication system (FQIS) wiring that enters the tank. The FQIS on Flight 800 is known to have been malfunctioning; the captain remarked about "crazy" readings from the system about two minutes and 30 seconds before the aircraft exploded. As a result of the investigation, new requirements were developed for aircraft to prevent future fuel-tank explosions.^[10]

1. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Aviation Safety Network > Accident investigation > CVR / FDR > Transcripts > CVR transcript TWA Flight 800 - 17 JUL 1996". mail.aviation-safety.net. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "In-flight Breakup Over The Atlantic Ocean, Trans World Airlines Flight 800, Boeing 747-131, N93119, Near East Moriches, New York, July 17, 1996" (PDF). Aircraft Accident Report. National Transportation Safety Board. August 23, 2000. NTSB/AAR-00/03. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
3. ^ "What happened to Flight 800?". CNN. July 19, 1996. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
4. ^ Knowlton, Brian (July 24, 1996). "Investigators Focus Closely on Terrorism As Cause of Explosion: Chemicals Found on Jet Victims, U.S. Reports". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
5. ^ Fedarko, Kevin; et al. (July 29, 1996). "Terror on Flight 800: Who wishes us ill?". Time. Archived from the original on January 31, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
6. ^ "Aviation and criminal experts probe TWA crash". CNN. July 19, 1996. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
7. ^ "FBI: No criminal evidence behind TWA 800 crash". CNN. November 18, 1997. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
8. ^ "NTSB Board Meeting on TWA 800 August 23, 2000, Part 4". National Transportation Safety Board. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
9. ^ Tauss, Randolph M. (August 14, 2008). "The Crash of TWA Flight 800". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
10. ^ Lowery, Joan (July 16, 2008). "Jet fuel-tank protection ordered". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved April 5, 2011.

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18 July 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant requires Christians to either accept dhimmi status, emigrate from ISIL lands, or be killed.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Redirect to:

• Islamic State

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18 July 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant requires Christians to either accept dhimmi status, emigrate from ISIL lands, or be killed.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Redirect to:

• Islamic State

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19 July 1981 – In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.

Farewell Dossier

Early 1980s leak of classified documents exposing the USSR's copying of Western technology

The Farewell Dossier was the collection of documents that Colonel Vladimir Vetrov, a KGB defector "en place" (code-named "Farewell"), gathered and gave to the Direction de la surveillance du territoire (DST) in 1981–82, during the Cold War.

Vetrov was an engineer who had been assigned to evaluate information on NATO hardware and software gathered by the "Line X" technical intelligence operation for Directorate T, the Soviet Union directorate for scientific and technical intelligence collection from the West. He became increasingly disillusioned with the Soviet system and decided to work with the French at the end of the 1970s. Between early 1981 and early 1982, Vetrov gave almost 4,000 secret documents to the DST, including the complete list of 250 Line X officers stationed under legal cover in embassies around the world.

As a consequence, Western nations undertook a mass expulsion of Soviet technology spies.

Vetrov's story inspired the 1997 book Bonjour Farewell: La Vérité sur la Taupe Française du KGB by Serguei Kostine.^[1] It was adapted in the French film L'affaire Farewell (2009) starring Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet.^[2]

1. ^ Kostine, Sergueï (1997). Bonjour, Farewell: La Vérité sur la Taupe Française du KGB. R. Laffont. ISBN 2221079086.
2. ^ "L'affaire Farewell". IMDb.

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20 July 1960 – The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.

UGM-27 Polaris

"Polaris missile" redirects here. For the North Korean missile, see Pukguksong-1.

Submarine-launched ballistic missile

The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980.

In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missile project with the U.S. Army, and had influenced the design by making it squat so it would fit in submarines. However, they had concerns about the use of liquid fuel rockets on board ships, and some consideration was given to a solid fuel version, Jupiter S. In 1956, during an anti-submarine study known as Project Nobska, Edward Teller suggested that very small hydrogen bomb warheads were possible. A crash program to develop a missile suitable for carrying such warheads began as Polaris, launching its first shot less than four years later, in February 1960.^[1]

As the Polaris missile was fired underwater from a moving platform, it was essentially invulnerable to counterattack. This led the Navy to suggest, starting around 1959, that they be given the entire nuclear deterrent role. This led to new infighting between the Navy and the U.S. Air Force, the latter responding by developing the counterforce concept that argued for the strategic bomber and ICBM as key elements in flexible response. Polaris formed the backbone of the U.S. Navy's nuclear force aboard a number of custom-designed submarines. In 1963, the Polaris Sales Agreement led to the Royal Navy taking over the United Kingdom's nuclear role, and while some tests were carried out by the Italian Navy, this did not lead to use.

The Polaris missile was gradually replaced on 31 of the 41 original SSBNs in the U.S. Navy by the MIRV-capable Poseidon missile beginning in 1972. During the 1980s, these missiles were replaced on 12 of these submarines by the Trident I missile. The 10 George Washington- and Ethan Allen-class SSBNs retained Polaris A-3 until 1980 because their missile tubes were not large enough to accommodate Poseidon. With USS Ohio beginning sea trials in 1980, these submarines were disarmed and redesignated as attack submarines to avoid exceeding the SALT II strategic arms treaty limits.

The Polaris missile program's complexity led to the development of new project management techniques, including the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) to replace the simpler Gantt chart methodology.

1. ^ "Polaris A1". Retrieved 26 November 2017.

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21 July 2011 – NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Space Shuttle orbiter (1985–2011)

Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle designation: OV‑104) is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States.^[1] Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built.^[2][3] Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.

Atlantis embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, STS-135, on July 8, 2011. STS-134 by Endeavour was expected to be the final flight before STS-135 was authorized in October 2010. STS-135 took advantage of the processing for the STS-335 Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if STS-134's crew became stranded in orbit.^[4] Atlantis landed for the final time at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011.

By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 mi (203,000,000 km), which is more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.

Atlantis is named after RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.^[5]

The space shuttle is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

1. ^ "Space Shuttle Overview: Atlantis (OV-104)". NASA. 2007. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2007. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. ^ Justin Ray (May 11, 2010). "Respecting Atlantis as the shuttle faces retirement". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
3. ^ Peter W. Merlin (May 20, 2010). "Space Shuttle Atlantis Wraps Up 25-year Career". NASA. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2010. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. ^ Svitak, Amy (November 19, 2010). "Bolden Says Extra Shuttle Flight Needed As Hedge Against Additional COTS Delays". Space News International. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
5. ^ "Space Shuttle Atlantis Orbitor Fleet". Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2008. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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22 July 1983 – Martial law in Poland is officially revoked.

Martial law in Poland

1981–83 period of repression

Martial law in Poland (Polish: Stan wojenny w Polsce) existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an attempt to counter political opposition, in particular the Solidarity movement.

Since the late 1970s, Poland had been in a deep economic recession. Edward Gierek, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), had obtained a series of large loans from foreign creditors to achieve better economic output. This instead resulted in a domestic crisis. Essential goods were heavily rationed, which acted as a stimulus to establishing the first anticommunist trade union in the Eastern Bloc, known as Solidarity (Polish: Solidarnośćcode: pol promoted to code: pl ), in 1980. Gierek, who permitted the trade union to appear per the Gdańsk Agreement, was dismissed from his post less than a month later and confined to house arrest. Following countless strikes and demonstrations by employees of chief industrial regions, Poland was heading towards bankruptcy. The new First Secretary, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, was determined to end the demonstrations by force if necessary.

On 13 December 1981, Jaruzelski announced the imposition of martial law in a televised speech, following the vote of the Council of State the previous day which formally authorised its introduction. An extraconstitutional military junta, the Military Council of National Salvation (WRON), was formed to rule Poland during the time. The Polish People's Army, Citizens' Militia (MO), special paramilitary units of the Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia ("ZOMO"), and tanks were deployed on the streets to demoralize demonstrators, begin regular patrols, control strategic enterprises, and maintain militia hour, a curfew. Intercity travelling without a permit was forbidden, food shortages intensified, and censorship was placed on all media and correspondence. The Security Service (Służba Bezpieczeństwa, or SB) wiretapped phones in public booths and state institutions. Thousands of opposition activists were imprisoned without trial,^[2] and although martial law was lifted in 1983, many political prisoners were not released until a general amnesty in 1986. The crackdown on the opposition led the Reagan Administration to introduce economic sanctions against Poland and the neighbouring Soviet Union, further worsening the former's economy.

Some protests appeared in response to the introduction of martial law. On 16 December, the Pacification of Wujek, when ZOMO squads pacified the pro-Solidarity miners' strike in the Wujek Coal Mine in the industrial city of Katowice, killed nine demonstrators. Other demonstrations across Poland were dispersed by the military or paramilitary units, which utilized water cannons, tear gas, batons, truncheons, and clubs, killing 91 people in total. However, this figure is uncertain and is still debated among historians.^[2] Martial law succeeded in marginalising the Solidarity movement, which would largely remain on the sidelines until the late 1980s. As fewer people engaged in anti-government demonstrations, martial law was suspended on 31 December 1982,^[3] based on a resolution adopted on 19 December^[4] and was formally lifted by a resolution of the Council of State on 22 July 1983, the National Day of the Rebirth of Poland, following an appeal of the Military Council of National Salvation.

1. ^ "The Day Poland Stood Still: Memories from the Introduction of Martial Law". Culture.pl.
2. ^ ^{a b} Poland marks communist crackdown, BBC News, 13 December 2006
3. ^ Barcikowski, Kazimierz (1998). U szczytów władzy (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Projekt. p. 130. ISBN 8387168203.
4. ^ "35 lat temu Rada Państwa PRL zawiesiła stan wojenny" (in Polish). dzieje.pl. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2024.

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23 July 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.

Ford Motor Company

American multinational automobile manufacturer

"FORD" redirects here. For other uses, see Ford (disambiguation).

The Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the single-letter ticker symbol F and is controlled by the Ford family. They have minority ownership but a plurality of the voting power.^[3][5]

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. By 1914, these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford's former British subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000, respectively, were sold to the Indian automaker Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010.^[6] In the third quarter of 2010, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed upscale cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938.^[7]

Ford is the second-largest American-based automaker, behind General Motors, and the sixth-largest in the world, behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, Stellantis, and General Motors, based on 2022 vehicle production.^[8] The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares, retain 40 percent of the voting rights.^[3][9] During the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis, the company struggled financially but did not have to be rescued by the federal government, unlike the other two major US automakers.^[10][11] Ford Motors has since returned to profitability,^[12] and was the eleventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2018 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2017 of $156.7 billion.^[13] In 2023, Ford produced 4.4 million automobiles, and employed about 177,000 employees worldwide. The company operates joint ventures in China (Changan Ford and Jiangling Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand (AutoAlliance Thailand), and Turkey (Ford Otosan). Ford owns a 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors.^[14][15]

1. ^ Hyde, Charles K. (June 2005). "National Historic Landmark Nomination – Ford Piquette Avenue Plant" (PDF). National Park Service. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
2. ^ "Ford Motor Company 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 6, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Rogers, Christina (May 12, 2016). "Shareholders Again Back Ford Family". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
4. ^ Howard, Phoebe Wall (March 2, 2022). "Ford reveals radical plan to restructure automaker into three business units". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
5. ^ Muller, Joann (December 2, 2010). "Ford Family's Stake Is Smaller, But They're Richer And Still Firmly In Control". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
6. ^ "Ford Motor Company Completes Sale of Volvo to Geely" (Press release). Ford Motor Company. August 2, 2010. Archived from the original on August 3, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
7. ^ Maynard, Micheline (June 2, 2010). "Ford to End Production of Its Mercury Line". The New York Times.
8. ^ "Top 15 Automakers in the World | Car Sales Rank Worldwide". F&I Tools.
9. ^ Muller, Joann (March 9, 2014). "William Clay Ford's Legacy Cemented Family's Dynasty". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
10. ^ "Bush announces $17.4 billion auto bailout". Politico. December 19, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
11. ^ "Stopgap auto bailout to help GM, Chrysler". CNN Money. December 19, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
12. ^ Hammond, Lou Ann (January 13, 2011). "How Ford stayed strong through the financial crisis". Fortune. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
13. ^ "Ford Motor". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
14. ^ "Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ltd. 2017 Annual Report" (PDF). JMC. pp. 27, 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2019 – via Sohu.
15. ^ "Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ltd. 2022 Annual Report" (PDF). www.sina.com.cn. March 2023. p. 64. Retrieved May 10, 2024.

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24 July 2013 – A high-speed train derails in Spain rounding a curve with an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit at 190 km/h (120 mph), killing 78 passengers.

Santiago de Compostela derailment

2013 train crash in Galicia, Spain

The Santiago de Compostela derailment occurred on 24 July 2013, when an Alvia high-speed train travelling from Madrid to Ferrol, in the north-west of Spain, derailed at high speed on a bend about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) outside of the railway station at Santiago de Compostela. Of the 178 people injured, the provisional number of deaths in hospital had reached 79 by the following 28 July.^[2]

The train's data recorder showed that it had been travelling at over twice the posted speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) when it entered a curve on the track. The crash was recorded on a track-side camera that shows all thirteen train cars derailing and four overturning. On 28 July 2013, the train's driver, Francisco José Garzón Amo, was charged with 79 counts of homicide by professional recklessness and an undetermined number of counts of causing injury by professional recklessness.^[3]

The crash was Spain's worst rail accident in over forty years, since a crash near El Cuervo, Seville, in 1972.^{[4][note 1]} It is also the second-deadliest high-speed train accident in history, after the 1998 Eschede train disaster in Germany.

1. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference renfe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ (in Spanish) "El fallecimiento de una estadounidense eleva a 79 los muertos en el accidente de Santiago" RTVE. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
3. ^ "Spanish train conductor charged in deadly crash". CNN. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
4. ^ Gómez, Luis (25 July 2013). "El accidente de la cochinita deja 86 muertos". El País. ELPAIS. Retrieved 29 July 2013.

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25 July 1946 – The Crossroads Baker device is the first underwater nuclear weapon test.

Operation Crossroads

1946 nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll

Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity on July 16, 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The purpose of the tests was to investigate the effect of nuclear weapons on warships.

The Crossroads tests were the first of many nuclear tests held in the Marshall Islands and the first to be publicly announced beforehand and observed by an invited audience, including a large press corps. They were conducted by Joint Army/Navy Task Force One, headed by Vice Admiral William H. P. Blandy rather than by the Manhattan Project, which had developed nuclear weapons during World War II. A fleet of 95 target ships was assembled in Bikini Lagoon and hit with two detonations of Fat Man plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapons of the kind dropped on Nagasaki in 1945, each with a yield of 23 kilotons of TNT (96 TJ).

The first test was Able. The bomb was named Gilda after Rita Hayworth's character in the 1946 film Gilda and was dropped from the B-29 Superfortress Dave's Dream of the 509th Bombardment Group on July 1, 1946. It detonated 520 feet (158 m) above the target fleet and caused less than the expected amount of ship damage because it missed its aim point by 2,130 feet (649 m).

The second test was Baker. The bomb was known as Helen of Bikini and was detonated 90 feet (27 m) underwater on July 25, 1946. Radioactive sea spray caused extensive contamination. A third deep-water test named Charlie was planned for 1947 but was canceled primarily because of the United States Navy's inability to decontaminate the target ships after the Baker test. Ultimately, only nine target ships were able to be scrapped rather than scuttled. Charlie was rescheduled as Operation Wigwam, a deep-water shot conducted in 1955 off the coast of Mexico (Baja California).

Bikini's native residents were evacuated from the island on board the LST-861, with most moving to the Rongerik Atoll. In the 1950s, a series of large thermonuclear tests rendered Bikini unfit for subsistence farming and fishing because of radioactive contamination. Bikini remains uninhabited as of 2017^[update], though it is occasionally visited by sport divers.

Planners attempted to protect participants in the Operation Crossroads tests against radiation sickness, but one study showed that the life expectancy of participants was reduced by an average of three months. The Baker test's radioactive contamination of all the target ships was the first case of immediate, concentrated radioactive fallout from a nuclear explosion. Chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, the longest-serving chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, called Baker "the world's first nuclear disaster."^[1]

1. ^ Weisgall 1994, p. ix.

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26 July 2005 – Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing over 5,000 people.

Maharashtra floods of 2005

2005 natural disaster in the Indian state of Maharashtra

"26/7" redirects here. For the date, see July 26.

The 2005 Maharashtra floods impacted many parts of the Indian state of Maharashtra including large areas of the metropolis Mumbai, a city located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, on the Western coast of India, in which approximately 1,094 people died. It occurred just one month after the June 2005 Gujarat floods. The term 26 July, is used to refer to the day when the city of Mumbai came to a standstill due to flooding.

Many people were stranded on the roads, lost their homes while many walked long distances back home from work that evening. The floods were caused by the eighth heaviest-ever recorded 24-hour rainfall figure of 944 mm (37.17 inches) which lashed the metropolis on 26 July 2005, and intermittently continued for the next day. 644mm (25.35 inches) was received within the 12-hour period between 8 am and 8 pm. Torrential rainfall continued for the next week. The highest 24-hour period in India was 1,168 mm (46.0 inches) in Aminidivi in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep on 6 May 2004 although some reports suggest that it was a new Indian record. The previous record high rainfall in a 24-hour period for Mumbai was 575 mm (22.6 inches) in 1974.

Other places severely affected were Raigad, Chiplun and Khed, Guhagar.

1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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27 July 1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.

De_Havilland_Comet[/wili]

 

28 July 1960 – The German Volkswagen Act came into force.

Volkswagen Act

1960 West German laws regarding privatisation and government control of companies

The Volkswagen Act is a set of German (originally West German) federal laws enacted in 1960, regulating the privatization of Volkswagenwerk GmbH into the Volkswagen Group.^[1] In order to maintain government control in the privately owned company, it stipulated that the votes in major shareholder meeting resolutions require 4/5th (80%) agreement.^[2] This part of the law was deemed to violate the "free movement of capital" principle of European Union corporate law.^[3] After a series of challenges from 2007 to 2013, the German parliament finally amended the part in 2013 to EU Court of Justice satisfaction.^[4]

1. ^ "Gesetz über die Überführung der Anteilsrechte an der Volkswagenwerk Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung in private Hand". Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz.
2. ^ § 4, Abs.3 of the above referenced law.
3. ^ F. Sander. "Case C-112/05, European Commission v. Federal Republic of Germany The Volkswagen Case and Art. 56 EC". Columbia Journal of European Law (2008). 14: 359–370.
4. ^ "Germany has complied with Volkswagen law ruling". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved 2014-07-28.

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29 July 1980 – Iran adopts a new "holy" flag after the Islamic Revolution.

Flag of Iran

See also: List of Iranian flags

The national flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also known as the Tricolour Flag of Iran (پرچم سه‌رنگ ایران), is a tricolour featuring the Pan-Iranian colors comprising equal horizontal bands of green, white and red with the national emblem (Allah) in red centred on the white band and the takbir written 11 times each in the Kufic script in white, at the bottom of the green and the top of the red band.^[1]

Originally adopted on 7 October 1907 in the 1:3 ratio, the current flag was adopted on 29 July 1980 following the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Many Iranian exiles opposed to the Iranian government use the Iranian monarchy tricolour flag with the Lion and Sun at the center,^[2] or the tricolour without additional emblems. This is, however, not the official flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

1. ^ Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Chapter II, Article 18: "The official flag of Iran is composed of green, white and red colours with the special emblem of the Islamic Republic, together with the motto (Allahu Akbar)."
2. ^ Najmabadi, Afsaneh (2005), Women with Mustaches and Men without Beards: Gender and Sexual Anxieties of Iranian Modernity, University of California Press, pp. 86–88, ISBN 0-520-24262-9

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29 July 1980 – Iran adopts a new "holy" flag after the Islamic Revolution.

Flag of Iran

See also: List of Iranian flags

The national flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also known as the Tricolour Flag of Iran (پرچم سه‌رنگ ایران), is a tricolour featuring the Pan-Iranian colors comprising equal horizontal bands of green, white and red with the national emblem (Allah) in red centred on the white band and the takbir written 11 times each in the Kufic script in white, at the bottom of the green and the top of the red band.^[1]

Originally adopted on 7 October 1907 in the 1:3 ratio, the current flag was adopted on 29 July 1980 following the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Many Iranian exiles opposed to the Iranian government use the Iranian monarchy tricolour flag with the Lion and Sun at the center,^[2] or the tricolour without additional emblems. This is, however, not the official flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

1. ^ Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Chapter II, Article 18: "The official flag of Iran is composed of green, white and red colours with the special emblem of the Islamic Republic, together with the motto (Allahu Akbar)."
2. ^ Najmabadi, Afsaneh (2005), Women with Mustaches and Men without Beards: Gender and Sexual Anxieties of Iranian Modernity, University of California Press, pp. 86–88, ISBN 0-520-24262-9

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30 July 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.

Jimmy Hoffa

American labor union leader (born 1913, disappeared 1975, declared legally dead 1982)

"James Hoffa" redirects here. For his son, see James P. Hoffa.

James Riddle Hoffa (/ˈhɒfə/;^[1] born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975, declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 to 1971. He was alleged to have ties to organized crime, and disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1975.

From an early age, Hoffa was a union activist: he became an important regional figure with the IBT by his mid-20s. By 1952, he was the national vice-president of the IBT and between 1957 and 1971, he served as its general president. Hoffa secured the first national agreement for teamsters' rates in 1964 with the National Master Freight Agreement. He played a major role in the growth and the development of the union, which eventually became the largest by membership in the United States, with over 2.3 million members at its peak, during his terms as its leader.

Hoffa became involved with organized crime from the early years of his Teamsters work, a connection that continued until his disappearance. He was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, conspiracy, along with mail and wire fraud in 1964 in two separate trials. He was imprisoned in 1967 and sentenced to 13 years.

In mid-1971, Hoffa resigned as president of the union as part of a commutation agreement with U.S. president Richard Nixon and was released later that year, but he was barred from union activities until 1980. Hoping to regain support and to return to IBT leadership, he unsuccessfully tried to overturn the order. Hoffa disappeared on July 30, 1975: he is thought to have been murdered in a Mafia hit and was declared legally dead in 1982. Hoffa's legacy and the circumstances of his disappearance continue to stir debate.^[2]

1. ^ "Hoffa". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
2. ^ "Jimmy Hoffa's Legacy". The New York Times. New York City. July 24, 1994. p. 27. Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-25.

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30 July 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.

Jimmy Hoffa

American labor union leader (born 1913, disappeared 1975, declared legally dead 1982)

"James Hoffa" redirects here. For his son, see James P. Hoffa.

James Riddle Hoffa (/ˈhɒfə/;^[1] born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975, declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 to 1971. He was alleged to have ties to organized crime, and disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1975.

From an early age, Hoffa was a union activist: he became an important regional figure with the IBT by his mid-20s. By 1952, he was the national vice-president of the IBT and between 1957 and 1971, he served as its general president. Hoffa secured the first national agreement for teamsters' rates in 1964 with the National Master Freight Agreement. He played a major role in the growth and the development of the union, which eventually became the largest by membership in the United States, with over 2.3 million members at its peak, during his terms as its leader.

Hoffa became involved with organized crime from the early years of his Teamsters work, a connection that continued until his disappearance. He was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, conspiracy, along with mail and wire fraud in 1964 in two separate trials. He was imprisoned in 1967 and sentenced to 13 years.

In mid-1971, Hoffa resigned as president of the union as part of a commutation agreement with U.S. president Richard Nixon and was released later that year, but he was barred from union activities until 1980. Hoping to regain support and to return to IBT leadership, he unsuccessfully tried to overturn the order. Hoffa disappeared on July 30, 1975: he is thought to have been murdered in a Mafia hit and was declared legally dead in 1982. Hoffa's legacy and the circumstances of his disappearance continue to stir debate.^[2]

1. ^ "Hoffa". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
2. ^ "Jimmy Hoffa's Legacy". The New York Times. New York City. July 24, 1994. p. 27. Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-25.

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31 July 1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question."

The Holocaust

Genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany

This article is about the genocide of European Jews committed by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945. For all peoples persecuted by Nazi Germany, see Victims of Nazi Germany. For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation).

"Jewish genocide" redirects here. For other massacres and persecutions of Jews, see Persecution of Jews.

The Holocaust (/ˈhɒləkɔːst/ ^ⓘ),^[1] known in Hebrew as the Shoah (שואה), was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. The murders were committed primarily through mass shootings across Eastern Europe and poison gas chambers in extermination camps, chiefly Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, and Chełmno in occupied Poland. Separate Nazi persecutions killed millions of other non-Jewish civilians and prisoners of war (POWs); the term Holocaust is sometimes used to include the murder and persecution of non-Jewish groups.

The Nazis developed their ideology based on racism and pursuit of "living space", and seized power in early 1933. Meant to force all German Jews to emigrate, regardless of means, the regime passed anti-Jewish laws, encouraged harassment, and orchestrated a nationwide pogrom in November 1938. After Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, occupation authorities began to establish ghettos to segregate Jews. Following the June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, 1.5 to 2 million Jews were shot by German forces and local collaborators. By early 1942, the Nazis decided to murder all Jews in Europe. Victims were deported to extermination camps where those who had survived the trip were killed with poisonous gas, while others were sent to forced labor camps where many died from starvation, abuse, exhaustion, or being used as test subjects in experiments. Property belonging to murdered Jews was redistributed to the German occupiers and other non-Jews. Although the majority of Holocaust victims died in 1942, the killing continued until the end of the war in May 1945.

Many Jewish survivors emigrated out of Europe after the war. A few Holocaust perpetrators faced criminal trials. Billions of dollars in reparations have been paid, although falling short of the Jews' losses. The Holocaust has also been commemorated in museums, memorials, and culture. It has become central to Western historical consciousness as a symbol of the ultimate human evil.

1. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.

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1 August 1976 – Niki Lauda has a severe accident that almost claims his life at the German Grand Prix at Nurburgring

Niki Lauda

Austrian racing driver (1949–2019)

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from 1971 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1985. Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the time of his retirement—held the record for most podium finishes (54); he remains the only driver to have won a World Drivers' Championship with both Ferrari and McLaren, and won 25 Grands Prix across 13 seasons.

Born and raised in Vienna, Lauda was the grandson of local industrialist Hans Lauda. Starting his career in karting, he progressed to Formula Vee and privateer racing in the late 1960s. With his career stalled, Lauda took out a £30,000 bank loan and secured a place in European Formula Two with March in 1971, making his Formula One debut with the team at the Austrian Grand Prix. He was promoted to a full-time seat in 1972, ending the season with a non-classified championship finish, amongst winning the British Formula Two Championship. Lauda moved to BRM for the 1973 season, scoring his maiden points finish in Belgium and earning a seat with Ferrari the following year alongside Clay Regazzoni. Lauda took his maiden podium on debut for Ferrari, and his maiden victory three races later at the Spanish Grand Prix. After winning five Grands Prix in his 1975 campaign, Lauda won his first title, becoming the first Ferrari-powered World Drivers' Champion in 11 years.

Whilst leading the 1976 championship—amidst a fierce title battle with James Hunt—Lauda was seriously injured during the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, suffering severe burns and other life-changing injuries as his Ferrari 312T2 caught fire during a crash. He returned to racing six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix, eventually losing the title to Hunt by one point. Lauda remained at Ferrari in 1977, winning several races on the way to his second championship. Vacating his seat after clinching the title at the United States Grand Prix and replaced by Gilles Villeneuve, Lauda signed with Brabham in 1978, achieving podiums in every race he finished that season, with victories in Sweden and Italy. Amidst a winless 1979 season for Brabham alongside Nelson Piquet, Lauda left the team after the Italian Grand Prix, following their move to Ford Cosworth V8 engines. After a two-year hiatus, Lauda returned with McLaren in 1982, winning multiple races upon his return. After a winless 1983 campaign, Lauda was partnered by Alain Prost the following season, where he beat Prost to his third title by a record half-point.^[a] Lauda retired at the conclusion of the 1985 season—taking his final victory at the Dutch Grand Prix—having achieved 25 race wins, 24 pole positions, 24 fastest laps and 54 podiums in Formula One.

Outside of Formula One, Lauda won the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 1973 with Alpina, and the inaugural BMW M1 Procar Championship in 1979 with Project Four. In aviation, Lauda founded and managed three airlines: Lauda Air from 1985 to 1999, Niki from 2003 to 2011, and Lauda from 2016 onwards. He returned to Formula One in an advisory role at Ferrari in 1993, and was the team principal of Jaguar from 2001 to 2002. From 2012 until his death, Lauda was the non-executive chairman and co-owner of Mercedes, winning six consecutive World Constructors' Championships with the team from 2014 to 2019. Lauda was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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2 August 1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War.

Invasion of Kuwait

Redirect to:

• Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

• From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.

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3 August 1492 – Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator and explorer (1451–1506)

"Cristoforo Colombo" and "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" redirect here. For his direct descendant, see Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal, 18th Duke of Veragua. For other uses, see Christopher Columbus (disambiguation) and Cristoforo Colombo (disambiguation).

Christopher Columbus^[b] (/kəˈlʌmbəs/;^[2] between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian^[3][c] explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa^[3][4] who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing up on the coast of Liguria, he went to sea at a young age and traveled widely, as far north as the British Isles and as far south as what is now Ghana. He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore a son, Diego, and was based in Lisbon for several years. He later took a Castilian mistress, Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, who bore a son, Ferdinand.^[5][6][7]

Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in geography, astronomy, and history. He developed a plan to seek a western sea passage to the East Indies, hoping to profit from the lucrative spice trade. After the Granada War, and Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, agreed to sponsor a journey west. Columbus left Castile in August 1492 with three ships and made landfall in the Americas on 12 October, ending the period of human habitation in the Americas now referred to as the pre-Columbian era. His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, known by its native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited the islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola, establishing a colony in what is now Haiti. Columbus returned to Castile in early 1493, with captured natives. Word of his voyage soon spread throughout Europe.

Columbus made three further voyages to the Americas, exploring the Lesser Antilles in 1493, Trinidad and the northern coast of South America in 1498, and the east coast of Central America in 1502. Many of the names given to geographical features by Columbus, particularly the names of islands, are still in use. He gave the name indios ('Indians') to the indigenous peoples he encountered. The extent to which he was aware that the Americas were a wholly separate landmass is uncertain; he never clearly renounced his belief he had reached the Far East. As a colonial governor, Columbus was accused by some of his contemporaries of significant brutality and removed from the post. Columbus's strained relationship with the Crown of Castile and its colonial administrators in America led to his arrest and removal from Hispaniola in 1500, and later to protracted litigation over the privileges he and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the Crown.

Columbus's expeditions inaugurated a period of exploration, conquest, and colonization that lasted for centuries, thus bringing the Americas into the European sphere of influence. The transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and New World that followed his first voyage are known as the Columbian exchange, named after him. These events and the effects which persist to the present are often cited as the beginning of the modern era.^[8][9] Diseases introduced from the Old World contributed to the depopulation of Hispaniola's indigenous Taíno people, who were also subject to enslavement and other mistreatments by Columbus's government. Increased public awareness of these interactions has led to Columbus being less celebrated in Western culture, which has historically idealized him as a heroic discoverer. Numerous places have been named for him, as has Columbia, a personification commonly used to represent the United States.

1. ^ Lester, Paul M. (January 1993). "Looks are deceiving: The portraits of Christopher Columbus". Visual Anthropology. 5 (3–4): 211–227. doi:10.1080/08949468.1993.9966590. ISSN 0894-9468.
2. ^ "Columbus". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
3. ^ ^{a b} Delaney, Carol (2011). Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem. Free Press/Simon and Schuster. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-4391-0237-4.
4. ^ ^{a b} Flint, Valerie I. J. (16 May 2021). "Christopher Columbus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
5. ^ Fernández-Armesto, Felipe (2010). Columbus on Himself. Hackett. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-60384-317-1. The date of Fernando's birth, November 1488, gives a terminus ante quem early in that year for the start of Columbus's liaison with Beatriz Enríquez. She was of peasant parentage, but, when Columbus met her, was the ward of a well-to-do relative in Cordoba. A meat business gave her income of her own, mentioned in the only other record of Columbus's solicitude for her: a letter to Diego, written in 1502, just before departure on the fourth Atlantic crossing, in which the explorer enjoins his son to 'take Beatriz Enriquez in your care for love of me, as you your own mother'. Varela, Cristóbal Colón, p. 309.
6. ^ Taviani, Paolo Emilio (2016). "Beatriz de Arana". In Bedini, Silvio A. (ed.). The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia. Springer. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-1-349-12573-9. Columbus never married Beatriz. When he returned from the first voyage, he was given the greatest of honors and elevated to the highest position in Spain. Because of his discovery, he became one of the most illustrious persons at the Spanish court and had to submit, like all the great persons of the time, to customary legal restrictions on matters of marriage and extramarital relations. The Alphonsine laws forbade extramarital relations of concubinage for "illustrious people" (king, princes, dukes, counts, marquis) with plebeian women, if they themselves were or their forefathers had been of inferior social condition.
7. ^ Phillips & Phillips 1992, p. 126.
8. ^ Dowlah, Caf (2020). Cross-Border Labor Mobility: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-36506-6. Most researchers however trace the beginning of the early modern era to Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas in the 1490s
9. ^ Mills, Keneth and Taylor, William B., Colonial Spanish America: A Documentary History, p. 36, SR Books, 1998, ISBN 0-8420-2573-1

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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4 August 1914 – In response to the German invasion of Belgium, Belgium and the British Empire declare war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality.

German invasion of Belgium (1914)

World War I military campaign

The German invasion of Belgium was a military campaign which began on 4 August 1914. On 24 July, the Belgian government had announced that if war came it would uphold its neutrality. The Belgian government mobilised its armed forces on 31 July and a state of heightened alert (Kriegsgefahr) was proclaimed in Germany. On 2 August, the German government sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding passage through the country and German forces invaded Luxembourg. Two days later, the Belgian government refused the German demands and the British government guaranteed military support to Belgium. The German government declared war on Belgium on 4 August; German troops crossed the border and began the Battle of Liège.

German military operations in Belgium were intended to bring the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armies into positions in Belgium from which they could invade France, which, after the fall of Liège on 7 August, led to sieges of Belgian fortresses along the river Meuse at Namur and the surrender of the last forts (16–17 August). The government abandoned the capital, Brussels, on 17 August and after fighting on the Gete river, the Belgian field army withdrew westwards to the National Redoubt at Antwerp on 19 August. Brussels was occupied the following day and the siege of Namur began on 21 August.

After the Battle of Mons and the Battle of Charleroi, the bulk of the German armies in Belgium marched south into France, leaving small forces to garrison Brussels and the Belgian railways. The III Reserve Corps advanced to the fortified zone around Antwerp and a division of the IV Reserve Corps took over in Brussels. The Belgian field army made several sorties from Antwerp in late August and September to harass German communications and to assist the French and the BEF by keeping German troops in Belgium. German troop withdrawals to reinforce the main armies in France were postponed to repulse a Belgian sortie from 9 to 13 September and a German corps in transit was retained in Belgium for several days. Belgian resistance and German fear of francs-tireurs led the Germans to implement a policy of terror (schrecklichkeit) against Belgian civilians soon after the invasion, in which massacres, executions, hostage-taking and the burning of towns and villages took place and became known as the Rape of Belgium.

After the Battle of the Frontiers ended, the French armies in the north and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) began the Great Retreat into France (24 August – 28 September), the Belgian army and small detachments of French and British troops fought in Belgium against German cavalry and Jäger. On 27 August, a squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) flew to Ostend, to conduct air reconnaissance between Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. Royal Marines landed in France on 19–20 September and began scouting unoccupied Belgium in motor cars; an RNAS Armoured Car Section was created by fitting vehicles with bulletproof steel. On 2 October, the Marine Brigade of the Royal Naval Division was moved to Antwerp, followed by the rest of the division on 6 October. From 6 to 7 October, the 7th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division landed at Zeebrugge and naval forces collected at Dover were formed into the Dover Patrol, to operate in the Channel and off the French–Belgian coast. Despite minor British reinforcement, the siege of Antwerp ended when its defensive ring of forts was destroyed by German super-heavy artillery. The city was abandoned on 9 October and Allied forces withdrew to West Flanders.

At the end of the Great Retreat, the Race to the Sea (17 September – 19 October) began, a period of reciprocal attempts by German and Franco-British forces to outflank each other, extending the front line northwards from the Aisne, into Picardy, Artois, and Flanders. Military operations in Belgium also moved westwards as the Belgian army withdrew from Antwerp to the area close to the border with France. The Belgian army fought the defensive Battle of the Yser (16–31 October) from Nieuwpoort (Nieuport) south to Diksmuide (Dixmude), as the German 4th Army attacked westwards and French, British, and some Belgian troops fought the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November) against the German 4th and 6th Armies. By November 1914, most of Belgium was under German occupation and Allied naval blockade. A German military administration was established on 26 August 1914, to rule through the pre-war Belgian administrative system, overseen by a small group of German officers and officials. Belgium was divided into administrative zones, the General Government of Brussels and its hinterland; a second zone, under the 4th Army, including Ghent and Antwerp and a third zone under the German Navy along the coastline. The German occupation lasted until late 1918.

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5 August 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.

Traffic light

Signaling device to control competing flows of traffic

This article is about lights used for signalling. For other uses, see Traffic light (disambiguation).

"Stoplight" redirects here. For other uses, see Stoplight (disambiguation).

Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa,^[1][2] Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control the flow of traffic.^[3]

Traffic lights usually consist of three signals, transmitting meaningful information to road users through colours and symbols, including arrows and bicycles. The usual traffic light colours are red to stop traffic, amber for traffic change, and green to allow traffic to proceed. These are arranged vertically or horizontally in that order. Although this is internationally standardised,^[4] variations in traffic light sequences and laws exist on national and local scales.^[5]

Traffic lights were first introduced in December 1868 on Parliament Square in London to reduce the need for police officers to control traffic.^[6] Since then, electricity and computerised control have advanced traffic light technology and increased intersection capacity.^[7] The system is also used for other purposes, including the control of pedestrian movements, variable lane control (such as tidal flow systems or smart motorways), and railway level crossings.

1. ^ "robot – definition of robot in English – Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries – English. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018.
2. ^ "see robot – definition of robot in Dictionary of South African English". Editor's Note: The origin of 'robot' used as 'traffic light' is from the English translation of the play R.U.R. by Karel Čapek which debuted in England in 1923 and introduced the term 'robot' to an English audience. For a short time in England it was fashionable to use 'robot' for 'traffic light' from the late 1920s, when traffic lights were being installed in England. This usage travelled to South Africa in the early 1930s, when they had their first traffic lights installed, and where it continues to be used almost 90 years later, while 'robot' for 'traffic light' fell out of usage in England. See Foster, B. 1970. The changing English language. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.
3. ^ McShane, Clay (March 1999). "The Origins and Globalization of Traffic Control Signals" (PDF). Journal of Urban History. 25 (3): 379–404. doi:10.1177/009614429902500304. S2CID 110125733. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
4. ^ Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968; European Agreement Supplementing the Convention; and, Protocol on Road Markings, Additional to the European Agreement : (2006 consolidated versions). New York: United Nations. Economic Commission for Europe. Transport Division. 2007. ISBN 978-92-1-139128-2. OCLC 227191711.
5. ^ see Variations in traffic light operation
6. ^ Thames Leisure. "12 Amazing Facts About London". Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
7. ^ Sessions (1971), p. 141.

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5 August 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.

Traffic light

Signaling device to control competing flows of traffic

This article is about lights used for signalling. For other uses, see Traffic light (disambiguation).

"Stoplight" redirects here. For other uses, see Stoplight (disambiguation).

Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa,^[1][2] Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control the flow of traffic.^[3]

Traffic lights usually consist of three signals, transmitting meaningful information to road users through colours and symbols, including arrows and bicycles. The usual traffic light colours are red to stop traffic, amber for traffic change, and green to allow traffic to proceed. These are arranged vertically or horizontally in that order. Although this is internationally standardised,^[4] variations in traffic light sequences and laws exist on national and local scales.^[5]

Traffic lights were first introduced in December 1868 on Parliament Square in London to reduce the need for police officers to control traffic.^[6] Since then, electricity and computerised control have advanced traffic light technology and increased intersection capacity.^[7] The system is also used for other purposes, including the control of pedestrian movements, variable lane control (such as tidal flow systems or smart motorways), and railway level crossings.

1. ^ "robot – definition of robot in English – Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries – English. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018.
2. ^ "see robot – definition of robot in Dictionary of South African English". Editor's Note: The origin of 'robot' used as 'traffic light' is from the English translation of the play R.U.R. by Karel Čapek which debuted in England in 1923 and introduced the term 'robot' to an English audience. For a short time in England it was fashionable to use 'robot' for 'traffic light' from the late 1920s, when traffic lights were being installed in England. This usage travelled to South Africa in the early 1930s, when they had their first traffic lights installed, and where it continues to be used almost 90 years later, while 'robot' for 'traffic light' fell out of usage in England. See Foster, B. 1970. The changing English language. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.
3. ^ McShane, Clay (March 1999). "The Origins and Globalization of Traffic Control Signals" (PDF). Journal of Urban History. 25 (3): 379–404. doi:10.1177/009614429902500304. S2CID 110125733. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
4. ^ Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968; European Agreement Supplementing the Convention; and, Protocol on Road Markings, Additional to the European Agreement : (2006 consolidated versions). New York: United Nations. Economic Commission for Europe. Transport Division. 2007. ISBN 978-92-1-139128-2. OCLC 227191711.
5. ^ see Variations in traffic light operation
6. ^ Thames Leisure. "12 Amazing Facts About London". Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
7. ^ Sessions (1971), p. 141.

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6 August 1944 – The Warsaw Uprising occurs on August 1. It is brutally suppressed and all able-bodied men in Kraków are detained afterwards to prevent a similar uprising, the Kraków Uprising, that was planned but never carried out.

Warsaw Uprising

Major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army

For other uses, see Warsaw Uprising (disambiguation).

For the preceding Jewish-only uprising in 1943, see Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

"Powstanie Warszawskie" redirects here. For the Lao Che album, see Powstanie Warszawskie (album).

The Warsaw Uprising (Polish: powstanie warszawskie; German: Warschauer Aufstand), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (Polish: powstanie sierpniowe),^[16] or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led by the Polish resistance Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa). The uprising was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance.^[17] While approaching the eastern suburbs of the city, the Red Army halted combat operations, enabling the Germans to regroup and defeat the Polish resistance and to destroy the city in retaliation. The Uprising was fought for 63 days with little outside support. It was the single largest military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.^[18] The defeat of the uprising and suppression of the Home Army enabled the pro-Soviet Polish administration, instead of the Polish government-in-exile based in London, to take control of Poland afterwards. Poland would remain as part of the Soviet-aligned Eastern Bloc throughout the Cold War until 1989.

The Uprising began on 1 August 1944 as part of a nationwide Operation Tempest, launched at the time of the Soviet Lublin–Brest Offensive. The main Polish objectives were to drive the Germans out of Warsaw while helping the Allies defeat Germany. An additional, political goal of the Polish Underground State was to liberate Poland's capital and assert Polish sovereignty before the Soviet Union and Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation, which already controlled eastern Poland, could assume control. Other immediate causes included a threat of mass German round-ups of able-bodied Poles for "evacuation"; calls by Radio Moscow's Polish Service for uprising; and an emotional Polish desire for justice and revenge against the enemy after five years of German occupation.^[19][20]

Despite the early gains by the Home Army, the Germans successfully counterattacked on 25 August, in an attack that killed as many as 40,000 civilians. The uprising was now in a siege phase which favored the better-equipped Germans and eventually the Home Army surrendered on October 2 when their supplies ran out. The Germans then deported the remaining civilians in the city and razed the city itself. In the end, as many as 15,000 insurgents and 250,000 civilians lost their lives, while the Germans lost around 16,000 men.^[21]

Scholarship since the fall of the Soviet Union, combined with eyewitness accounts, has questioned Soviet motives and suggested their lack of support for the Warsaw Uprising represented their ambitions in Eastern Europe. The Red Army did not reinforce resistance fighters or provide air support. Declassified documents indicate that Joseph Stalin had tactically halted his forces from advancing on Warsaw in order to exhaust the Polish Home Army and to aid his political desires of turning Poland into a Soviet-aligned state.^[22][23] Scholars note the two month period of the Warsaw Uprising marked the start of the Cold War.^[24]

Casualties during the Warsaw Uprising were catastrophic. Although the exact number of casualties is unknown, it is estimated that about 16,000 members of the Polish resistance were killed and about 6,000 badly wounded. In addition, between 150,000 and 200,000 Polish civilians died, mostly from mass executions. Jews being harboured by Poles were exposed by German house-to-house clearances and mass evictions of entire neighbourhoods. The defeat of the Warsaw Uprising also further decimated urban areas of Poland.^[25]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davies 2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Airlift to Warsaw. The Rising of 1944 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Executed by Germans on 28 August, see Bronislav Kaminski § Death
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference AB1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. ^ Borodziej, p. 75.
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference WUmuseumcom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} Cite error: The named reference wufaq was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. ^ Tadeusz Sawicki: Rozkaz zdławić powstanie. Niemcy i ich sojusznicy w walce z powstaniem warszawskim. Warszawa: Bellona, 2010. ISBN 978-83-11-11892-8. p. 189.
10. ^ Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski: Armia Podziemna. Warszawa: Bellona, 1994. ISBN 83-11-08338-X. p. 443.
11. ^ Marek Getter. Straty ludzkie i materialne w Powstaniu Warszawskim. "Biuletyn IPN". 8–9 (43–44), sierpień – wrzesień 2004., s. 70.
12. ^ Ilu Niemców naprawdę zginęło w Powstaniu Warszawskim? Paweł Stachnik, ciekawostkihistoryczne.pl 31.07.2017 Accessed 12 September 2019
13. ^ Meng, Michael (2011). Shattered Spaces. Encountering Jewish Ruins in Postwar Germany and Poland. Harvard University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0674053038.
14. ^ Bartrop, Paul R.; Grimm, Eve E. (2019). Perpetrating the Holocaust: Leaders, Enablers, and Collaborators. ABC-CLIO. p. 12. ISBN 978-1440858963.
15. ^ Wolfson, Leah (2015). Jewish Responses to Persecution: 1944–1946. Rowman&Littlefield. p. 534. ISBN 978-1442243378.
16. ^ Stolica uczci poległych bohaterów w pierwszą rocznicę Powstania Sierpniowego. In: Kurier Codzienny, no. 5. 12 July 1945, p. 8.
17. ^ Cite error: The named reference sb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
18. ^ Duraczyński, Eugeniusz; Terej, Jerzy Janusz (1974). Europa podziemna: 1939–1945 [Europe underground: 1939–1945] (in Polish). Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna. OCLC 463203458.
19. ^ Davies 2008, pp. 268, 271.
20. ^ Warsaw Uprising 1944 www.warsawuprising.com, accessed 12 September 2019
21. ^ "Warsaw Uprising | Summary, Dates, & Monument | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
22. ^ Cienciala, Anna M.; Hanson, Joanna K. M. (January 1984). "The Civilian Population and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944". Military Affairs. 48 (1): 49. doi:10.2307/1988362. ISSN 0026-3931. JSTOR 1988362.
23. ^ Garliński, Jarek (1 April 2015). "Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising". The Polish Review. 60 (1): 111–115. doi:10.5406/polishreview.60.1.0111. ISSN 0032-2970.
24. ^ Rock, William R. (June 1995). "The Origins of the Cold War in Europe: International Perspectives". History: Reviews of New Books. 23 (4): 179–180. doi:10.1080/03612759.1995.9946252. ISSN 0361-2759.
25. ^ Alfred Peszke, Michael (December 2005). "A Review of: "Norman Davies.Rising '44. The Battle For Warsaw."". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 18 (4): 767–769. doi:10.1080/13518040500357003. ISSN 1351-8046. S2CID 219625918.

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7 August 1999 – The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades neighboring Dagestan

War of Dagestan

Redirect to:

• War in Dagestan (1999)

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8 August 2000 – Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.

H. L. Hunley (submarine)

Redirect to:

• H. L. Hunley

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9 August 1965 – Singapore is expelled from Malaysia and becomes the only country to date to gain independence unwillingly.

History of the Republic of Singapore

For the full history of Singapore before independence dating back to settlement, see History of Singapore.

The history of the Republic of Singapore began when Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.^[1] After the separation, the fledgling nation had to become self-sufficient, however was faced with problems including mass unemployment, housing shortages and lack of land and natural resources such as petroleum. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his government curbed unemployment, raised the standard of living and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country's economic infrastructure was developed, racial tension was eliminated and an independent national defence system was established. Singapore evolved from a third world nation to first world nation towards the end of the 20th century.^[2]

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as prime minister. During his tenure, the country tackled the economic impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak, as well as terrorist threats posed by the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) post-9/11 and the Bali bombings. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister.^[3] In 2024, Lee was succeeded by Lawrence Wong as prime minister.

1. ^ "Road to Independence". U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 14 April 2006.
2. ^ "Country Groups". The World Bank. Retrieved 2 May 2006.
3. ^ "Country profile: Singapore". BBC News. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2006.

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10 August 2014 – Forty people are killed when Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 crashes at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport.

Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915

2014 aviation accident

Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Iranian capital Tehran Mehrabad International Airport to Tabas, South Khorasan province, Iran. On 10 August 2014, the HESA IrAn-140 twin turboprop serving the flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Mehrabad International Airport, falling into a boulevard near the Azadi Stadium.^[1][2] Of the 42 passengers and six crew on board, 40 people died.^[3][4]

Iran's Civil Aviation Organization mainly attributed the crash to mechanical error. The aircraft suffered a malfunction on one of its engines shortly after take-off. Mismanagement of the emergency by the crew caused the aircraft to lose altitude rapidly, causing it to crash onto a boulevard. Subsequently, investigators also blamed the confusing Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) that caused the crew to over-estimate the maximum take-off weight.^[3]

1. ^ "Dozens dead in plane crash at Tehran airport". Al Jazeera. 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
2. ^ Haroon, Agha Iqrar (10 August 2014). "Passenger plane crashed with 48 persons on board in Tehran". Dispatch News Desk. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Crash Near Airfield Following Aircraft One Engine Failure Just Upon Lift-Off, Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915, Antonov 140-100, MSN 90-05, Tehran, Mehrabad International Airport, August 10, 2014" (PDF). Iran Civil Aviation Organization. 9 August 2017. A13930519EPGPA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
4. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident HESA IrAn-140-100 EP-GPA Tehran-Mehrabad Airport (THR)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2019.

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11 August 2006 – The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill.

Guimaras oil spill

2006 environmental disaster in Panay Gulf, Philippines

On August 11, 2006, an oil spill occurred in Panay Gulf when the oil tanker, MT Solar 1, sank off the coasts of Guimaras and Negros in the Philippines, causing what is considered to be the worst oil spill in the country's history.^[2][3]

1. ^ Baua, Niko (2012-03-17). "Petron, Sunshine Maritime face P200-M suit over oil spill". ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
2. ^ Sarah Toms (15 August 2006). "Oil spill threatens Philippines". BBC News. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
3. ^ "Arroyo forms task force to oversee oil spill cleanup". INQ7.net. 2006-08-23.

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12 August 1964 – South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies.

Apartheid

South African system of racial segregation

This article is about apartheid in South Africa. For apartheid as defined in international law, see Crime of apartheid. For other uses, see Apartheid (disambiguation).

Apartheid (/əˈpɑːrt(h)aɪt/ ə-PART-(h)yte, especially South African English: /əˈpɑːrt(h)eɪt/ ə-PART-(h)ayt, Afrikaans: [aˈpart(ɦ)əit] ^ⓘ; transl. "separateness", lit. 'aparthood') was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa^[a] (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s.^{[note 1]} It was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap (lit. 'boss-ship' or 'boss-hood'), which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population.^[4] Under this minoritarian system, white citizens held the highest status, followed by Indians, Coloureds and black Africans, in that order.^[4] The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day, particularly inequality.^[5][6][7][8]

Broadly speaking, apartheid was delineated into petty apartheid, which entailed the segregation of public facilities and social events, and grand apartheid, which strictly separated housing and employment opportunities by race.^[9] The first apartheid law was the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949, followed closely by the Immorality Amendment Act of 1950, which made it illegal for most South African citizens to marry or pursue sexual relationships across racial lines.^[10] The Population Registration Act, 1950 classified all South Africans into one of four racial groups based on appearance, known ancestry, socioeconomic status, and cultural lifestyle: "Black", "White", "Coloured", and "Indian", the last two of which included several sub-classifications.^[11] Places of residence were determined by racial classification.^[10] Between 1960 and 1983, 3.5 million black Africans were removed from their homes and forced into segregated neighbourhoods as a result of apartheid legislation, in some of the largest mass evictions in modern history.^[12] Most of these targeted removals were intended to restrict the black population to ten designated "tribal homelands", also known as bantustans, four of which became nominally independent states.^[10] The government announced that relocated persons would lose their South African citizenship as they were absorbed into the bantustans.^[9]

Apartheid sparked significant international and domestic opposition, resulting in some of the most influential global social movements of the 20th century.^[13] It was the target of frequent condemnation in the United Nations and brought about extensive international sanctions, including arms embargoes and economic sanctions on South Africa.^[14] During the 1970s and 1980s, internal resistance to apartheid became increasingly militant, prompting brutal crackdowns by the National Party ruling government and protracted sectarian violence that left thousands dead or in detention.^[15] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that there were 21,000 deaths from political violence, with 7,000 deaths between 1948 and 1989, and 14,000 deaths and 22,000 injuries in the transition period between 1990 and 1994.^[16][17] Some reforms of the apartheid system were undertaken, including allowing for Indian and Coloured political representation in parliament, but these measures failed to appease most activist groups.^[18]

Between 1987 and 1993, the National Party entered into bilateral negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC), the leading anti-apartheid political movement, for ending segregation and introducing majority rule.^[18][19] In 1990, prominent ANC figures, such as Nelson Mandela, were released from prison.^[20] Apartheid legislation was repealed on 17 June 1991,^[2] leading to non-racial elections in April 1994.^[21] Since the end of apartheid, elections have been open and competitive.^[22]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ "Repeal of Population Registration Act". C-Span. 17 June 1991. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
2. ^ ^{a b} Myre, Greg (18 June 1991). "South Africa ends racial classifications". Cape Girardeau: Southeast Missourian. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
3. ^ Bartusis, Mark (2012). Gomez, Edmund; Premdas, Ralph (eds.). Affirmative Action, Ethnicity and Conflict. New York: Routledge Books. pp. 126–132. ISBN 978-0415627689.
4. ^ ^{a b} Mayne, Alan (1999). From Politics Past to Politics Future: An Integrated Analysis of Current and Emergent Paradigms. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-275-96151-0.
5. ^ Leander (15 June 2015). "Despite the 1994 political victory against apartheid, its economic legacy persists by Haydn Cornish-Jenkins". South African History Online. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
6. ^ Moeti, Thato (27 April 2018). "Apartheid legacy haunts SA economy". www.sabcnews.com. SABC News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
7. ^ Hirsch, Alan (6 April 2018). "Ramaphosa's tough job on fixing Apartheid legacy". The Conversation Africa. AllAfrica.
8. ^ Msimang, Sisonke (12 December 2017). "All Is Not Forgiven: South Africa and the Scars of Apartheid". Foreign Affairs. No. January/February 2018. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
9. ^ ^{a b} Crompton, Samuel Willard (2007). Desmond Tutu: Fighting Apartheid. New York: Chelsea House, Publishers. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-0791092217.
10. ^ ^{a b c} Walton, F. Carl; Udayakumar, S.P.; Muck, William; McIlwain, Charlton; Kramer, Eric; Jensen, Robert; Ibrahim, Vivian; Caliendo, Stephen Maynard; Asher, Nhia (2011). The Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity. New York: Routledge Books. pp. 103–105. ISBN 978-0415777070.
11. ^ Baldwin-Ragaven, Laurel; London, Lesley; du Gruchy, Jeanelle (1999). An ambulance of the wrong colour: health professionals, human rights and ethics in South Africa. Juta and Company Limited. p. 18.
12. ^ "South Africa – Overcoming Apartheid". African Studies Center of Michigan State University. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
13. ^ Lodge, Tim (2011). Sharpeville: An Apartheid Massacre and Its Consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 234–235. ISBN 978-0192801852.
14. ^ Lodge, Tom (1983). Black Politics in South Africa Since 1945. New York: Longman.
15. ^ Pandey, Satish Chandra (2006). International Terrorism and the Contemporary World. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons, Publishers. pp. 197–199. ISBN 978-8176256384.
16. ^ Ugorji, Basil (2012). From Cultural Justice to Inter-Ethnic Mediation: A Reflection on the Possibility of Ethno-Religious Mediation in Africa. Denver: Outskirts Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-1432788353.
17. ^ "SAPA – 27 May 97 – HRC SUBMITS APARTHEID REPRESSION BOOK TO TRUTH BODY".
18. ^ ^{a b} Thomas, Scott (1995). The Diplomacy of Liberation: The Foreign Relations of the ANC Since 1960. London: Tauris Academic Studies. pp. 202–210. ISBN 978-1850439936.
19. ^ "De Klerk dismantles apartheid in South Africa". BBC News. 2 February 1990. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
20. ^ Alex Duval Smith (31 January 2010). "Why FW de Klerk let Nelson Mandela out of prison". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
21. ^ Mitchell, Thomas (2008). Native vs Settler: Ethnic Conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland and South Africa. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 8. ISBN 978-0313313578.
22. ^ Lieberman, Evan (2022). Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa after Apartheid. Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv244ssrw. ISBN 978-0-691-20300-3. JSTOR j.ctv244ssrw.

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13 August 1967 – Two young women became the first fatal victims of grizzly bear attacks in the 57-year history of Montana's Glacier National Park in separate incidents

Night of the Grizzlies

1969 nonfiction novel by Jack Olsen

This article is about the book, for the unrelated 1966 movie, see The Night of the Grizzly

Night of the Grizzlies (1969) is a book by Jack Olsen which details events surrounding the night of August 13, 1967,^[1] when two young women were separately attacked and killed in Glacier National Park, Montana, by grizzly bears. Both women, Julie Helgeson, 19, of Albert Lea, Minnesota, and Michele Koons, 19, of San Diego, California, died of their injuries.^[2]

1. ^ "Capsule Book Reviews". Sarasota Herald Tribune. United Press International. November 23, 1969.
2. ^ Jabin, Clyde (August 14, 1967). "Grizzlies turn killer – two girls die, youth mauled". The Windsor Star. UPI.

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14 August 1994 – Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, also known as "Carlos the Jackal", is captured

Carlos the Jackal

Venezuelan-born international terror operative (born 1949)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ramírez and the second or maternal family name is Sánchez.

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (Spanish: [iˈlitʃ raˈmiɾes ˈsantʃes]; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal (Spanish: Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985. A committed Marxist–Leninist, he was one of the most notorious political terrorists of his era,^[1][2][3] protected and supported by the Stasi and the KGB.^[4] After several bungled bombings, Carlos led the 1975 raid on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarters in Vienna, during which three people were killed. He and five others demanded a plane and flew with a number of hostages to Libya.

After his wife Magdalena Kopp was arrested and imprisoned, Carlos detonated a series of bombs, claiming 11 lives and injuring more than 100, demanding the French release his wife.^[5] For many years he was among the most-wanted international fugitives. He was ultimately captured by extra-judicial means in Sudan and transferred to France, where he was convicted of multiple crimes, and is currently serving three life sentences in France. In his first trial, he was convicted of the 1975 murder of an informant for the French government and two French counterintelligence agents.^[6][7][8] While in prison, he was further convicted of attacks in France that killed 11 and injured 150 people and sentenced to an additional life term in 2011,^[9][10] and then to a third life term in 2017.^[11]

1. ^ Clark, Nicola. "Ilich Ramírez (Carlos the Jackal) Sánchez". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 November 2011.
2. ^ "Ilich Ramirez Sanchez (Carlos the Jackal) 1949". Historyofwar.org. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
3. ^ "Feared Terrorist Mastermind Goes On Trial". Huffington Post. 6 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference shredder was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ "Carlos the Jackal's Parisian trail of destruction". RFI. 4 November 2010. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
6. ^ Morenne, Benoît (28 March 2017). "Carlos the Jackal Receives a Third Life Sentence in France". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
7. ^ "Venezuela's Hugo Chavez defends 'Carlos the Jackal'". BBC News. UK. 21 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
8. ^ "Communists want 'Carlos the Jackal' repatriated". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011.
9. ^ "Carlos the Jackal convicted for 1980s French terrorist attacks". The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017.
10. ^ "Carlos the Jackal given another life sentence for 1980s terror attack". The Guardian. London. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
11. ^ "'Carlos the Jackal' sentenced to third life term for 1974 attack". abc.net.au. 29 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017.

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15 August 1483 – Pope Sixtus IV consecrates the Sistine Chapel.

Sistine Chapel

Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City

Rome

840m
916yds

Sistine Chapel

   

The Sistine Chapel (/ˈsɪstiːn/ SIST-een; Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina [kapˈpɛlla siˈstiːna]) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, it has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The chapel's fame lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate its interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.

During the reign of Sixtus IV, a team of Renaissance painters including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, created a series of frescoes depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe-l'œil drapery below. They were completed in 1482, and on 15 August 1483 Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, during which the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.^[3][4]

Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the chapel's ceiling, a project that changed the course of Western art and is regarded as one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization.^[5][6] In a different political climate, after the Sack of Rome, he returned and, between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgment for popes Clement VII and Paul III.^[7] The fame of Michelangelo's paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel since they were revealed five centuries ago.

1. ^ ^{a b c} Cite error: The named reference EHT2006_313 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Vatican City, Whc.unesco.org, archived from the original on 25 December 2017, retrieved 9 August 2011
3. ^ Pietrangeli 1986, p. 28
4. ^ Monfasani, John (1983), "A Description of the Sistine Chapel under Pope Sixtus IV", Artibus et Historiae, 4 (7), IRSA s.c.: 9–18, doi:10.2307/1483178, ISSN 0391-9064, JSTOR 1483178, archived from the original on 1 August 2015, retrieved 7 March 2009.
5. ^ Gardner, Helen (1970) Art through the Ages, p. 469, Harcourt, Brace and World. ISBN 978-0-15-508315-8
6. ^ Robert Coughlan, The World of Michelangelo, Time-Life International, (1966) p. 116
7. ^ Robert Coughlan, p. 127

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