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15 July 1207 – King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.

John, King of England

King of England from 1199 to 1216 and grantor of Magna Carta

John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the French Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document considered an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

John was the youngest of the four surviving sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was nicknamed John Lackland because he was not expected to inherit significant lands.^[1] He became Henry's favourite child following the failed revolt of 1173–1174 by his brothers Henry the Young King, Richard, and Geoffrey against the King. John was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against the royal administrators of his brother, King Richard, whilst Richard was participating in the Third Crusade, but he was proclaimed king after Richard died in 1199. He came to an agreement with Philip II of France to recognise John's possession of the continental Angevin lands at the peace treaty of Le Goulet in 1200.

When war with France broke out again in 1202, John achieved early victories, but shortages of military resources and his treatment of Norman, Breton, and Anjou nobles resulted in the collapse of his empire in northern France in 1204. He spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. His judicial reforms had a lasting effect on the English common law system, as well as providing an additional source of revenue. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to John's excommunication in 1209, a dispute he finally settled in 1213. John's attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed because of the French victory over John's allies at the battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, who were unhappy with his fiscal policies and his treatment of many of England's most powerful nobles. Although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis VIII of France. It soon descended into a stalemate. John died of dysentery contracted whilst on campaign in eastern England during late 1216; supporters of his son Henry III went on to achieve victory over Louis and the rebel barons the following year.

Contemporary chroniclers were mostly critical of John's performance as king, and his reign has since been the subject of significant debate and periodic revision by historians from the 16th century onwards. Historian Jim Bradbury has summarised the current historical opinion of John's positive qualities, observing that John is today usually considered a "hard-working administrator, an able man, an able general".^[2] Nonetheless, modern historians agree that he also had many faults as king, including what historian Ralph Turner describes as "distasteful, even dangerous personality traits", such as pettiness, spitefulness, and cruelty.^[3] These negative qualities provided extensive material for fiction writers in the Victorian era, and John remains a recurring character within Western popular culture, primarily as a villain in films and stories depicting the Robin Hood legends.

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

1. ^ Norgate (1902), pp. 1–2.
2. ^ Bradbury (2007), p. 353.
3. ^ Turner, p. 23.

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16 July 1979 – Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.

Saddam Hussein

President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003

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

In this Arabic name, the surname is al-Tikriti.

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (/hʊˈseɪn/;^[3] Arabic: صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي, romanized: Ṣaddām Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Tikrītī;^[a] 28 April 1935^[b] – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.^[8] A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organization, the Iraqi Ba'ath Party—which espoused Ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism—Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup (later referred to as the 17 July Revolution) that brought the party to power in Iraq.

As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government, Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflicts between the government and the armed forces. In the early 1970s, Saddam nationalised the Iraq Petroleum Company and independent banks, eventually leaving the banking system insolvent due to inflation and bad loans.^[9] Through the 1970s, Saddam consolidated his authority over the apparatus of government as oil money helped Iraq's economy grow rapidly. Positions of power in the country were mostly filled with Sunni Arabs, a minority that made up only a fifth of the population.^[10]

Saddam formally took power in 1979, although he had already been the de facto head of Iraq for several years. He suppressed several movements, particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements which sought to overthrow the government or gain independence, respectively,^[11] and maintained power during the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War. He ran a repressive authoritarian government,^[12] which several analysts have described as totalitarian,^[c] although the applicability of that label has been contested.^[13] Saddam's rule was marked by numerous human rights abuses, including an estimated 250,000 arbitrary killings^[14] and bloody invasions of neighboring Iran and Kuwait.^[15]

In 2003, a coalition led by the United States (US) invaded Iraq to depose Saddam. US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair erroneously accused Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction and having ties to al-Qaeda. Saddam's Ba'ath party was disbanded and the country's first democratic elections were held. After his capture on 13 December 2003, the trial of Saddam Hussein took place under the Iraqi Interim Government. On 5 November 2006, Saddam was convicted by an Iraqi court of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'a and sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed on 30 December 2006.^[16]

1. ^ "National Progressive Front". Encyclopædia Britannica.
2. ^ Eur (2002). The Middle East and North Africa 2003. Psychology Press. p. 494. ISBN 978-1-85743-132-2.
3. ^ "Hussein". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
4. ^ Burns, John F. (2 July 2004). "Defiant Hussein Rebukes Iraqi Court for Trying Him". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2004.
5. ^ "Saddam Hussein". Encyclopædia Britannica.
6. ^ Shewchuk, Blair (February 2003). "Saddam or Mr. Hussein?". CBC News.
7. ^ Con Coughlin, Saddam: The Secret Life Pan Books, 2003 (ISBN 0-330-39310-3).
8. ^ "Online NewsHour Update: Coalition Says Iraqi Regime Has Lost Control of Baghdad — 9 April 2003". PBS. 9 April 2003. Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
9. ^ "Banking in Iraq – A tricky operation". The Economist. 24 June 2004.
10. ^ Karsh, Efraim; Rautsi, Inari (2002). Saddam Hussein: A Political Biography. Grove Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8021-3978-8.
11. ^ "U.S. Relations With Anti-Saddam Groups" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
12. ^ Blaydes, Lisa (2018). State of Repression: Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-9032-3. OCLC 1104855351.
13. ^ Sassoon, Joseph (February 2017). "Aaron M. Faust, The Ba'thification of Iraq: Saddam Hussein's Totalitarianism [Book Review]". International Journal of Middle East Studies. Cambridge University Press. 49 (1): 205–206. doi:10.1017/S0020743816001392. S2CID 164804585. First, Faust totally ignores the economy in his analysis. This oversight is remarkable given his attempt to trace how the regime became totalitarian, which, by definition, encompasses all facets of life. ... Second, the comparison with Stalin or Hitler is weak when one takes into consideration how many Iraqis were allowed to leave the country. Although citizens needed to undergo a convoluted and bureaucratic procedure to obtain the necessary papers to leave the country, the fact remains that more than one million Iraqis migrated from Iraq from the end of the Iran–Iraq War in 1988 until the US-led invasion in 2003. Third, religion under Stalin did not function in the same manner as it did in Iraq, and while Faust details how the Shia were not allowed to engage in some of their ceremonies, the average Iraqi was allowed to pray at home and in a mosque. ... it is correct that the security services kept a watch on religious establishments and mosques, but the Iraqi approach is somewhat different from that pursued by Stalin's totalitarianism.
14. ^ Cite error: The named reference 250k was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
15. ^ Burns, John F. (26 January 2003). "How Many People Has Hussein Killed?". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022. The largest number of deaths attributable to Mr. Hussein's regime resulted from the war between Iraq and Iran between 1980 and 1988, which was launched by Mr. Hussein. Iraq says its own toll was 500,000, and Iran's reckoning ranges upward of 300,000. Then there are the casualties in the wake of Iraq's 1990 occupation of Kuwait. Iraq's official toll from American bombing in that war is 100,000—surely a gross exaggeration—but nobody contests that thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians were killed in the American campaign to oust Mr. Hussein's forces from Kuwait. In addition, 1,000 Kuwaitis died during the fighting and occupation in their country. Casualties from Iraq's gulag are harder to estimate. Accounts collected by Western human rights groups from Iraqi émigrés and defectors have suggested that the number of those who have 'disappeared' into the hands of the secret police, never to be heard from again, could be 200,000.
16. ^ "Saddam Hussein executed in Iraq". BBC News. 30 December 2006.

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17 July 1762 – Former emperor Peter III of Russia is murdered.

Peter III of Russia

Tsar of the Russian Empire from January to July 1762

Peter III^[a] (10 February 1728 – 6 July 1762) was an emperor of Russia who was overthrown by his wife, Catherine the Great. He was born in Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (German: Karl Peter Ulrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp), the only child of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (the son of Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, sister of Charles XII), and Anna Petrovna (the elder surviving daughter of Peter the Great).

The German-born Peter III could hardly speak Russian and pursued a strongly pro-Prussian policy, which made him an unpopular leader. He was deposed by troops loyal to his wife, Catherine, the former Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst who, despite her own German origins, was a Russian nationalist. She succeeded him as Empress Catherine II. Peter III died in captivity soon after his overthrow, perhaps with Catherine's approval as part of the coup conspiracy. However, another theory is that his death was unplanned, resulting from a drunken brawl with one of his guards.^[3]

Despite his generally poor reputation, Peter III made some progressive reforms during his short reign. He proclaimed religious freedom and encouraged education, sought to modernize the Russian army, abolished the secret police, which had been infamous for its extreme violence, and made it illegal for landowners to kill their serfs without going to court. Catherine reversed some of his reforms and carried through others, notably the annexation of church property.^[4]

1. ^ "Love, Sex And Power In Affairs Of State And Heart", Canberra Times, July 29, 2006.
2. ^ Valishevsky 1893.
3. ^ Dixon, Simon (2009). Catherine the Great. London, England: Profile Books. pp. 124–25. ISBN 978-1615237326.
4. ^ "Романовы. Исторические портреты".

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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18 July 1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.

Mein Kampf

1925 autobiographical manifesto by Adolf Hitler

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

Mein Kampf (German: [maɪn ˈkampf]; My Struggle or My Battle) is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926.^[1] The book was edited first by Emil Maurice, then by Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess.^[2][3]

Hitler began Mein Kampf while imprisoned following his failed coup in Munich in November 1923 and a trial in February 1924 for high treason, in which he received a sentence of five years. Although he received many visitors initially, he soon devoted himself entirely to the book. As he continued, he realized that it would have to be a two-volume work, with the first volume scheduled for release in early 1925. The governor of Landsberg noted at the time that "he [Hitler] hopes the book will run into many editions, thus enabling him to fulfill his financial obligations and to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial."^[4][5] After slow initial sales, the book became a bestseller in Germany following Hitler's rise to power in 1933.^[6]

After Hitler's death, copyright of Mein Kampf passed to the state government of Bavaria, which refused to allow any copying or printing of the book in Germany. In 2016, following the expiration of the copyright held by the Bavarian state government, Mein Kampf was republished in Germany for the first time since 1945, which prompted public debate and divided reactions from Jewish groups. A team of scholars from the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich published a German-language two-volume almost 2,000-page edition annotated with about 3,500 notes. This was followed in 2021 by a 1,000-page French edition based on the German annotated version, with about twice as much commentary as text.^[7]

1. ^ Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), Adolf Hitler (originally 1925–1926), Reissue edition (15 September 1998), Publisher: Mariner Books, Language: English, paperback, 720 pages, ISBN 978-1495333347
2. ^ Shirer 1960, p. 85.
3. ^ Robert G.L. Waite, The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler, Basic Books, 1977, pp. 237–243
4. ^ Heinz, Heinz (1934). Germany's Hitler. Hurst & Blackett. p. 191.
5. ^ Payne, Robert (1973). The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler. Popular Library. p. 203.
6. ^ Shirer 1960, pp. 80–81.
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference historicizing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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19 July 1952 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

Helsinki

Capital and most populous city of Finland

This article is about the capital city of Finland. For the parliamentary constituency, see Helsinki (constituency). For the 2009 Finnish film, see Hellsinki.

"Helsingfors" redirects here. For the village in Västerbotten County, Sweden, see Hälsingfors. For the ships, see SS Helsingfors.

Not to be confused with Helsinge.

Capital city in Uusimaa, Finland

Helsinki (/ˈhɛlsɪŋki/ HEL-sink-ee or /hɛlˈsɪŋki/ (listen) hel-SINK-ee;^[9][10] Finnish: [ˈhelsiŋki] (listen); Swedish: Helsingfors, Finland Swedish: [helsiŋˈforsː] (listen); Latin: Helsingia) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of 658,864.^[5][11] The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296,^[12] making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland as well as the country's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research; while Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region, located 179 kilometres (111 mi) to the north from Helsinki, is the second largest urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these three cities.

Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen (and surrounding commuter towns,^[13] including the eastern neighboring municipality of Sipoo^[14]), Helsinki forms the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which has a population of over 1.5 million. Often considered to be Finland's only metropolis, it is the world's northernmost metro area with over one million people as well as the northernmost capital of an EU member state. After Copenhagen and Stockholm, Helsinki is the third largest municipality in the Nordic countries. Finnish and Swedish are both official languages. The city is served by the international Helsinki Airport, located in the neighboring city of Vantaa, with frequent service to many destinations in Europe and Asia.

Helsinki was the World Design Capital for 2012,^[15] the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the host of the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest in 2007.

Helsinki has one of the world's highest standards of urban living. In 2011, the British magazine Monocle ranked Helsinki the world's most liveable city in its liveable cities index.^[16] In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2016 liveability survey, Helsinki was ranked ninth among 140 cities.^[17] In July 2021, the American magazine Time ranked Helsinki one of the greatest places in the world in 2021 as a city that "can grow into a sprouting cultural nest in the future," and which has already been known in the world as an environmental pioneer.^[18][19] An international Cities of Choice survey conducted in 2021 by the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group and the BCG Henderson Institute raised Helsinki the third best city in the world to live, with London and New York City ranking the first and the second.^[20][21][22] Also, together with Rovaniemi in the Lapland region, Helsinki is one of Finland's most significant tourist cities in terms of foreign tourism.^[23]

1. ^ Ainiala, Terhi (2009). "Place Names in the Construction of Social Identities: The Uses of Names of Helsinki". Research Institute for the Languages of Finland. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nickname1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference nickname2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Preliminary population structure by area, 2021M01*-2021M12*". StatFin (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
6. ^ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
7. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
8. ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2021" (PDF). Tax Administration of Finland. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
9. ^ "Helsinki". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins.
10. ^ "Helsinki". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins.
11. ^ "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
12. ^ "Taulukko: Taajamat väkiluvun ja väestöntiheyden mukaan 31.12.2017" (in Finnish). 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
13. ^ "Cities of Finland". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
14. ^ "Sipoo - kahden keskuksen kunta Helsingin tuntumassa". ta.fi. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
15. ^ "Past capital: Helsinki". Worlddesigncapital.com. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
16. ^ "Most liveable city: Helsinki — Monocle Film / Affairs". Monocle.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
17. ^ "Global Liveability Ranking 2016". www.eiu.com.
18. ^ "Helsinki: The World's 100 Greatest Places of 2021". Time.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
19. ^ YLE: Time-lehti nimesi Helsingin yhdeksi maailman loistavimmista paikoista – Suomen pääkaupungista maalataan tulevaisuuden kulttuuripesäkettä (in Finnish)
20. ^ "Kansainvälinen vertailu: Helsinki on maailman kolmanneksi paras kaupunki asua ja elää". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 13 July 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
21. ^ "Helsinki comes in third in ranking of world's best cities to live". Helsinki Times. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
22. ^ Ghouri, Farah (4 August 2021). "London hailed as world's 'city of choice' in quality of life report". City A.M. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
23. ^ Lapin Kansa: Rovaniemen ja Helsingin johtajat saivat ministeriltä tehtävän miettiä, miten matkailu nousee korona-ajan mentyä ohi – Rahaa on luvassa EU:n elpymispaketista (in Finnish)

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20 July 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.

Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)

Part of the Jewish–Roman war

For the siege by Nebuchadnezzar that led to the destruction of the First Temple, see Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC). For other sieges upon the city of Jerusalem, see Siege of Jerusalem.

The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Judaea. Following a brutal five-month siege, the Romans destroyed the city and the Second Jewish Temple.^[4][5][6]

On 14 April 70 CE, three days before Passover, the Roman army started besieging Jerusalem.^[7][8] The city had been taken over by several rebel factions following a period of massive unrest and the collapse of a short-lived provisional government. Within three weeks, the Roman army broke the first two walls of the city, but a stubborn rebel standoff prevented them from penetrating the thickest and third wall.^[7][9] According to Josephus, a contemporary historian and the main source for the war, the city was ravaged by murder, famine and cannibalism.^[10]

On Tisha B'Av, 4 August 70 CE^[11][12] or 30 August 70 CE,^[13] Roman forces finally overwhelmed the defenders and set fire to the Temple.^[14] Resistance continued for another month, but eventually the upper and lower parts of the city were taken as well, and the city was burned to the ground. Titus spared only the three towers of the Herodian citadel as a testimony to the city's former might.^[15][16] Josephus wrote that over a million people perished in the siege and the subsequent fighting.^[17] While contemporary studies dispute this figure, all agree that the siege had a major toll on human life, with many people being killed and enslaved, and large parts of the city destroyed. This victory gave the Flavian dynasty legitimacy to claim control over the empire. A triumph was held in Rome to celebrate the fall of Jerusalem, and two triumphal arches were built to commemorate it. The treasures looted from the Temple were put on display.^[10]

The destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple marked a major turning point in Jewish history.^[10][18][19] The loss of mother-city and temple necessitated a reshaping of Jewish culture to ensure its survival. Judaism's Temple-based sects, including the priesthood and the Sadducees, diminished in importance.^[20] A new form of Judaism that became known as Rabbinic Judaism developed out of Pharisaic school and eventually became the mainstream form of the religion.^{[5][19][10][21]} The followers of Jesus of Nazareth also survived the city's destruction. They spread his teachings across the Roman Empire, giving rise to the new religion of Christianity.^[10] After the war had ended, a military camp of Legio X Fretensis was established on the city's ruins.^[22][23] Jerusalem was later re-founded as the Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina. Foreign cults were introduced and Jews were forbidden entry.^[24][25][26] This event is often considered one of the catalysts for the Bar Kokhba revolt.^[27][28]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference livius1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ ^{a b} Josephus. BJ. 6.9.3., Perseus Project BJ6.9.3, .
3. ^ "Atrocity statistics from the Roman Era". Necrometrics.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
4. ^ Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit (2019). Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman period: in light of archaeological research. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6. OCLC 1170143447. The historical description is consistent with the archeological finds. Collapses of massive stones from the walls of the Temple Mount were exposed lying over the Herodian street running along the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The residential buildings of the Ophel and the Upper City were destroyed by great fire. The large urban drainage channel and the Pool of Siloam in the Lower City silted up and ceased to function, and in many places the city walls collapsed. [...] Following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, a new era began in the city's history. The Herodian city was destroyed and a military camp of the Tenth Roman Legion established on part of the ruins. In around 130 CE, the Roman emperor Hadrian founded a new city in place of Herodian Jerusalem next to the military camp. He honored the city with the status of a colony and named it Aelia Capitolina and possibly also forbidding Jews from entering its boundaries
5. ^ ^{a b} Westwood, Ursula (1 April 2017). "A History of the Jewish War, AD 66–74". Journal of Jewish Studies. 68 (1): 189–193. doi:10.18647/3311/jjs-2017. ISSN 0022-2097.
6. ^ Ben-Ami, Doron; Tchekhanovets, Yana (2011). "The Lower City of Jerusalem on the Eve of Its Destruction, 70 CE: A View From Hanyon Givati". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 364: 61–85. doi:10.5615/bullamerschoorie.364.0061. ISSN 0003-097X. S2CID 164199980.
7. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference Schäfer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ Cite error: The named reference War of the Jews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. ^ Si Shepperd, The Jewish Revolt AD 66–74, (Osprey Publishing), p. 62.
10. ^ ^{a b c d e} Maclean Rogers, Guy (2021). For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66–74 CE. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 3–5. ISBN 978-0-300-26256-8. OCLC 1294393934.
11. ^ "Hebrew Calendar". www.cgsf.org.
12. ^ Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning, which is considered inappropriate for the joyful atmosphere of the Sabbath. Thus, if its date falls on a Sabbath, it is observed on the 10th of Av instead. If this modern Jewish practice was followed in the Second Temple period, Tisha B'Av would have fallen on Sunday August 5 in 70 CE. Josephus gives the date of 10 Loos for the destruction, in a lunar calendar almost identical to the Hebrew calendar.
13. ^ Bunson, Matthew (1995). A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0195102338.
14. ^ The destruction of both the First and Second Temples is still mourned annually during the Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av.
15. ^ Rocca (2008), pp. 51-52.
16. ^ Goodman, Martin (2008). Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. Penguin. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-14-029127-8. OCLC 1016414322. The capitulation of the rest of Jerusalem was rapid. Those parts of the lower city already under Roman control were deliberately set on fire. The erection of new towers to break down the walls of the upper city was completed on 7 Elul (in mid-August), and the troops forced their way in. By 8 Elul the whole city was in Roman hands – and in ruins. In recompense for the ferocious fighting they had been required to endure, the soldiers were given free rein to loot and kill, until eventually Titus ordered that the city be razed to the ground, “leaving only the loftiest of the towers, Phasael, Hippicus and Mariamme, and the portion of the wall enclosing the city on the west: the latter as an encampment for the garrison that was to remain, and the towers to indicate to posterity the nature of the city and of the strong defences which had yet yielded to Roman prowess. All the rest of the wall encompassing the city was so completely levelled to the ground as to leave future visitors to the spot no ground for believing that it had ever been inhabited.”
17. ^ Sebag Montefiore, Simon (2012). Jerusalem: The Biography (First Vintage books ed.). New York. p. 11. ISBN 978-0307280503.
18. ^ Neusner, Jacob (28 November 2017), Hinnells, John (ed.), "Judaism in a Time of Crisis: Four Responses to the Destruction of the Second Temple", Neusner on Judaism, Routledge, pp. 399–413, doi:10.4324/9781351152761-20, ISBN 978-1351152761, retrieved 22 May 2022
19. ^ ^{a b} Karesh, Sara E. (2006). Encyclopedia of Judaism. ISBN 1-78785-171-0. OCLC 1162305378. Until the modern period, the destruction of the Temple was the most cataclysmic moment in the history of the Jewish people. Without the Temple, the Sadducees no longer had any claim to authority, and they faded away. The sage Yochanan ben Zakkai, with permission from Rome, set up the outpost of Yavneh to continue develop of Pharisaic, or rabbinic, Judaism.
20. ^ Alföldy, Géza (1995). "Eine Bauinschrift aus dem Colosseum". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 109: 195–226. JSTOR 20189648.
21. ^ Goldenberg, Robert (1977). "The Broken Axis: Rabbinic Judaism and the Fall of Jerusalem". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. XLV (3): 353. doi:10.1093/jaarel/xlv.3.353. ISSN 0002-7189.
22. ^ Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit (9 December 2019), "The Camp of the Legion X Fretensis", Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman Period, BRILL, pp. 19–50, doi:10.1163/9789004417076_003, ISBN 978-9004417076, S2CID 214005509, retrieved 19 May 2022, After the destruction of the Herodian city of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, a military camp of the Tenth Roman Legion was established on part of the ruins to guard the former center of the revolt. This is clearly stated by Josephus (Jos. BJ, 7:1–,5,17; Vita, 422); it can be understood from the text of a diploma of 93 CE: “(veterani) qui militaverunt Hierosolymnis in legione X Fretense”, and it is also clear from epigraphic finds from the town. A bulk of military small finds recovered from several sites around the Old City indicates the presence of the XFretensis in Jerusalem
23. ^ Geva, Hillel (1984). "The Camp of the Tenth Legion in Jerusalem: An Archaeological Reconsideration". Israel Exploration Journal. 34 (4): 239–254. ISSN 0021-2059. JSTOR 27925952.
24. ^ Peter Schäfer (2003). The Bar Kokhba war reconsidered: new perspectives on the second Jewish revolt against Rome. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-3-16-148076-8. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
25. ^ Lehmann, Clayton Miles (22 February 2007). "Palestine: History". The On-line Encyclopedia of the Roman Provinces. The University of South Dakota. Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
26. ^ Cohen, Shaye J. D. (1996). "Judaism to Mishnah: 135–220 AD". In Hershel Shanks (ed.). Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of their Origins and Early Development. Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society. p. 196.
27. ^ Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah (2019). Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman Period: In Light of Archaeological Research. Brill. pp. 54–58. ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6.
28. ^ Jacobson, David. "The Enigma of the Name Īliyā (= Aelia) for Jerusalem in Early Islam". Revision 4. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

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21 July 1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.

Aswan Dam

For the older Aswan Dam built downstream in 1902, see Aswan Low Dam.

Dam in Aswan, Egypt

The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is the world's largest embankment dam, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan Low Dam initially completed in 1902 downstream. Based on the success of the Low Dam, then at its maximum utilization, construction of the High Dam became a key objective of the government following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952; with its ability to better control flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation and generate hydroelectricity, the dam was seen as pivotal to Egypt's planned industrialization. Like the earlier implementation, the High Dam has had a significant effect on the economy and culture of Egypt.

Before the High Dam was built, even with the old dam in place, the annual flooding of the Nile during late summer had continued to pass largely unimpeded down the valley from its East African drainage basin. These floods brought high water with natural nutrients and minerals that annually enriched the fertile soil along its floodplain and delta; this predictability had made the Nile valley ideal for farming since ancient times. However, this natural flooding varied, since high-water years could destroy the whole crop, while low-water years could create widespread drought and consequently famine. Both these events had continued to occur periodically. As Egypt's population grew and technology increased, both a desire and the ability developed to completely control the flooding, and thus both protect and support farmland and its economically important cotton crop. With the greatly increased reservoir storage provided by the High Aswan Dam, the floods could be controlled and the water could be stored for later release over multiple years.

The Aswan Dam was designed by the Moscow-based Hydroproject Institute.^[2]

1. ^ "Aswan High Dam". Carbon Monitoring for Action. Archived from the original on 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
2. ^ Smith, Jean Edward (2012). Eisenhower in War and Peace. Random House Publishing Group. p. 694. ISBN 9780679644293.

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22 July 1977 – Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power.

Deng Xiaoping

Chinese politician and paramount leader from 1978 to 1989

In this Chinese name, the family name is Deng.

Deng Xiaoping^[a] (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997), also known by his courtesy name Xixian (希贤),^[5] was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to 1992. After Mao Zedong's death in 1976, Deng gradually rose to supreme power and led China through a series of far-reaching market-economy reforms earning him the reputation as the "Architect of Modern China".^[6] He contributed to China becoming the world's second largest economy in 2010.^[7][8]

Born in the province of Sichuan in the Qing dynasty, Deng studied and worked in France in the 1920s, where he became a follower of Marxism–Leninism and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1924. In early 1926, Deng travelled to Moscow to study Communist doctrines and became a political commissar for the Red Army upon returning to China. In late 1929, Deng led local Red Army uprisings in Guangxi. In 1931, he was demoted within the party due to his support of Mao, but was promoted again during the Zunyi Conference. Deng played an important role in the Long March (1934–1935), the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949). Following the founding of the PRC on 1 October 1949, Deng worked in Tibet as well as in southwest China as the regional party chief to consolidate CCP control until 1952, when he returned to Beijing to serve in the central government. In 1955, when the PLA adopted a Russian-style rank system, Deng was considered for the rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China, which he declined to accept. As the party's Secretary-General under Mao and Vice Premier in the 1950s, Deng presided over the Anti-Rightist Campaign launched by Mao and became instrumental in China's economic reconstruction following the disastrous Great Leap Forward (1958–1960). However, his right-leaning political stance and economic policies eventually caused him to fall out of favor with Mao, and he was purged twice during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).

Following Mao's death in September 1976, Deng outmaneuvered the late chairman's chosen successor Hua Guofeng and became the de facto leader of China in December 1978 at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee. Having inherited a country beset with institutional disorder and disenchantment with Communism resulting from the chaotic political movements of the Mao era, Deng started the "Boluan Fanzheng" program which gradually brought the country back to order. From 1977 to early 1979, he resumed the National College Entrance Examination that had been interrupted by the Cultural Revolution for ten years, initiated the Reform and Opening-up of China, designated special economic zones including Shenzhen, and started a one-month Sino-Vietnamese War. On 1 January 1979, the PRC established diplomatic relations with the United States, and Deng became the first Chinese paramount leader to visit the U.S. In August 1980, Deng embarked on a series of political reforms by setting constitutional term limits for state officials and other systematic revisions, which were incorporated in China's third Constitution (1982). In the 1980s, Deng supported the one-child policy to cope with China's overpopulation crisis, helped establish China's nine-year compulsory education, and launched the 863 Program for science and technology. Deng also proposed the One Country, Two Systems principle for the governance of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the future unification with Taiwan.

The reforms carried out by Deng and his allies gradually led China away from a planned economy and Maoist ideologies, opened it up to foreign investment and technology, and introduced its vast labor force to the global market, thus turning China into one of the world's fastest-growing economies.^[9] He was eventually characterized as the "architect" of a new brand of thinking combining socialist ideology with free enterprise, dubbed "socialism with Chinese characteristics" (now known as Deng Xiaoping Theory). Despite never holding office as either the PRC's head of state or head of government nor as the head of CCP, Deng is generally viewed as the "core" of the CCP's second-generation leadership, a status enshrined within the party's constitution.^[10] Deng was named the Time Person of the Year for 1978 and 1985.^[11][12] He was criticized for ordering a military crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, yet was praised for his reaffirmation of the reform program in his Southern Tour of 1992 as well as the reversion of Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 and the return of Macau in 1999.

1. ^ "Deng Xiaoping". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
2. ^ "Deng Xiaoping". Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. (US) and "Deng Xiaoping". Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. n.d. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
3. ^ "Teng Hsiao-p'ing". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
4. ^ "Mao's last hurrah: the campaign against Teng Hsiao-Ping" (PDF). CIA. August 1976. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2021.
5. ^ Xia, Zhengnong (2003). 大辭海. Vol. 哲學卷. Shanghai: Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House. p. 38. ISBN 9787532612369.
6. ^ Faison, Seth (20 February 1997). "Deng Xiaoping is Dead at 92; Architect of Modern China". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
7. ^ "China overtakes Japan as world's second-largest economy". the Guardian. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
8. ^ Barboza, David (16 August 2010). "China Passes Japan as Second-Largest Economy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
9. ^ Denmark, Abraham. "40 years ago, Deng Xiaoping changed China — and the world". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
10. ^ "Constitution of the Communist Party of China" (PDF). Xinhuanet. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
11. ^ "Man of the Year: Teng Hsiao-p'ing: Visions of a New China". Time. 1 January 1979. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
12. ^ "Man of the Year: Deng Xiaoping". Time. 6 January 1986. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

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23 July 1881 – The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.

Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina

1881 territorial settlement establishing the Argentina-Chile Border

French map of 1862 shows Patagonia as Terra Nullius ("réclamée par la république Argentine") and Tierra del Fuego with the same color as the Falkland Islands. This map does not reflect actual de facto borders of Chile and Argentina.

The Boundary Treaty of 1881 (Spanish: Tratado de Límites de 1881) between Argentina and Chile was signed on 23 July 1881 in Buenos Aires by Bernardo de Irigoyen, on the part of Argentina, and Francisco de Borja Echeverría, on the part of Chile, with the aim of establishing a precise and exact border between the two countries based on the uti possidetis juris principle. Despite dividing largely unexplored lands, the treaty laid the groundwork for nearly all of Chile's and Argentina's 5600 km^[1] current border.

1. ^ See Libro de Defensa de Chile CONTINUIDAD: HISTORIA Y GEOGRAFÍA Archived 2009-07-26 at the Wayback Machine

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24 July 1148 – Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade.

Siege_of_Damascus_(1148)[/wiki

 

25 July 315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.

Arch of Constantine

Ancient Roman triumphal arch, a landmark of Rome, Italy

The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, the arch spans the Via Triumphalis, the route taken by victorious military leaders when they entered the city in a triumphal procession. ^[a] Dedicated in 315, it is the largest Roman triumphal arch, with overall dimensions of^[1] 21 m (69 ft) high, 25.9 m (85 ft) wide and 7.4 m (24 ft) deep. It has three bays, the central one being 11.5 m (38 ft) high and 6.5 m (21 ft) wide and the laterals 7.4 m (24 ft) by 3.4 m (11 ft) each. The arch is constructed of brick-faced concrete covered in marble.

The three bay design with detached columns was first used for the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum (which stands at the end of the triumph route) and repeated in several other arches now lost.

Though dedicated to Constantine, much of the sculptural decoration consists of reliefs and statues removed from earlier triumphal monuments dedicated to Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180).

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. ^ Watkin, David (2011). A History of Western Architecture: Fifth Edition. London: Laurence King Publishing. p. 87.

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26 July 1945 – The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power.

1945 United Kingdom general election

The 1945 United Kingdom general election was a national election held on 5 July 1945, but polling in some constituencies was delayed by some days, and the counting of votes was delayed until 26 July to provide time for overseas votes to be brought to Britain. The governing Conservative Party sought to maintain its position in Parliament but faced challenges from public opinion about the future of the United Kingdom in the post-war period. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed to call for a general election in Parliament, which passed with a majority vote less than two months after the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe.^[1]

The election's campaigning was focused on leadership of the country and its postwar future. Churchill sought to use his wartime popularity as part of his campaign to keep the Conservatives in power after a wartime coalition had been in place since 1940 with the other political parties, but he faced questions from public opinion surrounding the Conservatives' actions in the 1930s and his ability to handle domestic issues unrelated to warfare. Clement Attlee, leader of the Labour Party, had been Deputy Prime Minister in the wartime coalition in 1940-1945 and was seen as a more competent leader by voters, particularly those who feared a return to the levels of unemployment in the 1930s and sought a strong figurehead in British politics to lead the postwar rebuilding of the country. Opinion polls when the election was called showed strong approval ratings for Churchill, but Labour had gradually gained support for months prior to the war's conclusion.

The final result of the election showed Labour to have won a landslide victory,^[2] making a net gain of 239 seats, winning 47.7% of the popular vote and achieving a majority of 145 seats, thus allowing Attlee to be appointed prime minister. This election marked the first time that the Labour Party had won an outright majority in parliament, and allowed Attlee to begin implementing the party's post-war reforms for the country.^[3] For the Conservatives, the Labour victory was a shock,^[4] as they suffered a net loss of 189 seats although they won 36.2% of the vote and had campaigned on the mistaken belief that Churchill would win as people praised his progression of the war. Of the other two major parties, the Liberal Party faced a serious blow after taking a net loss of nine seats with a vote share of 9.0%, many within urban areas and including the seat held by its leader, Archibald Sinclair. The Liberal National Party fared significantly worse, enduring a net loss of 22 seats with a vote share of 2.9%, with its leader Ernest Brown losing his seat.

The 10.7% swing from the Conservatives to an opposition party is the largest since the Acts of Union 1800; the Conservative loss of the vote exceeded that of the 1906 Liberal landslide ousting of a Conservative administration. It was also the first election since 1906 in which the Conservatives did not win the popular vote. Churchill remained actively involved in politics and returned as prime minister after leading his party into the 1951 general election. For the National Liberals, the election was their last as a distinct party, as they merged with the Conservatives in 1947 while Ernest Brown resigned from politics in the aftermath of the election.

1. ^ McCallum, R.B.; Readman, Alison (1964). The British General Election of 1945. Nuffield Studies.
2. ^ Rowe 2004, p. 37.
3. ^ Lynch 2008, p. 4.
4. ^ "1945: Churchill loses general election". BBC News. 26 July 1945. Retrieved 22 February 2009.

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27 July 1890 – Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.

Vincent van Gogh

Dutch painter (1853–1890)

"Van Gogh" redirects here. For other uses, see Van Gogh (disambiguation) and Vincent van Gogh (disambiguation).

In this Dutch name, the surname is van Gogh, not Gogh.

Sunflowers (F.458), repetition of the 4th version (yellow background), August 1889.^[1] Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Wheatfield with Crows, 1890. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch: [ˈvɪnsɛnt ˈʋɪləɱ vɑŋ ˈɣɔx] (listen);^{[note 1]} 30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. He was not commercially successful and, struggling with severe depression and poverty, committed suicide at the age of 37.

Van Gogh was born into an upper-middle-class family. As a child he was serious, quiet and thoughtful. He began drawing at an early age and as a young man worked as an art dealer, often traveling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion and spent time as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881, having returned home to his parents. His younger brother Theo supported him financially; the two kept a long correspondence by letter.

His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, contain few signs of the vivid colour that distinguished his later work. In 1886, he moved to Paris where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As his work developed he created a new approach to still life and landscape. His paintings grew brighter as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the South of France in 1888. During this period he broadened his subject matter to include series of olive trees, wheat fields and sunflowers.

Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions and though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly and drank heavily. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation between the two when, in a rage, Van Gogh severed a part of his own left ear with a razor. After, he spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, he came under the care of the homeopathic doctor Paul Gachet. His depression persisted and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh is believed to have shot himself in the chest with a revolver, dying from his injuries two days later.

Van Gogh's paintings did not sell during his lifetime, during which he was generally considered a madman and a failure, although some collectors recognised the value of his work. His fame came only after his death, when he evolved in the public imagination into a misunderstood genius.^[6] His reputation grew in the early 20th century as elements of his style came to be incorporated by the Fauves and German Expressionists. He attained widespread critical and commercial success over the ensuing decades, and is remembered as an important but tragic painter whose troubled personality typifies the romantic ideal of the tortured artist.

Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings to have ever sold, and his legacy is honoured by a museum in his name, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings.

1. ^ "Sunflowers – Van Gogh Museum". vangoghmuseum.nl. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
2. ^ "BBC – Magazine Monitor: How to Say: Van Gogh". BBC. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
3. ^ Sweetman (1990), 7.
4. ^ Davies (2007), p. 83.
5. ^ Veltkamp, Paul. "Pronunciation of the Name 'Van Gogh'". vggallery.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015.
6. ^ McQuillan (1989), 9.

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28 July 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

1868 amendment addressing citizenship rights, civil and political liberties

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. The amendment was bitterly contested, particularly by the states of the defeated Confederacy, which were forced to ratify it in order to regain representation in Congress. The amendment, particularly its first section, is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution, forming the basis for landmark Supreme Court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954) regarding racial segregation, Roe v. Wade (1973) regarding abortion (overturned in 2022), Bush v. Gore (2000) regarding the 2000 presidential election, and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) regarding same-sex marriage. The amendment limits the actions of all state and local officials, and also those acting on behalf of such officials.

The amendment's first section includes several clauses: the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause. The Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship, nullifying the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which had held that Americans descended from African slaves could not be citizens of the United States. Since the Slaughter-House Cases (1873), the Privileges or Immunities Clause has been interpreted to do very little.

The Due Process Clause prohibits state and local governments from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without a fair procedure. The Supreme Court has ruled this clause makes most of the Bill of Rights as applicable to the states as it is to the federal government, as well as to recognize substantive and procedural requirements that state laws must satisfy. The Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people, including all non-citizens, within its jurisdiction. This clause has been the basis for many decisions rejecting irrational or unnecessary discrimination against people belonging to various groups.

The second, third, and fourth sections of the amendment are seldom litigated. However, the second section's reference to "rebellion, or other crime" has been invoked as a constitutional ground for felony disenfranchisement. The fourth section was held, in Perry v. United States (1935), to prohibit a current Congress from abrogating a contract of debt incurred by a prior Congress. The fifth section gives Congress the power to enforce the amendment's provisions by "appropriate legislation"; however, under City of Boerne v. Flores (1997), this power may not be used to contradict a Supreme Court decision interpreting the amendment.

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29 July 1899 – The First Hague Convention is signed.

Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907

The First Hague Conference in 1899: A meeting in the Orange Hall of Huis ten Bosch palace

Series of international treaties helping establish international law

The Second Hague Conference in 1907

The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the body of secular international law. A third conference was planned for 1914 and later rescheduled for 1915, but it did not take place because of the start of World War I.

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30 July 1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council.

Defenestrations of Prague

Incidents in Bohemian history (1419, 1483, 1618)

The Defenestrations of Prague (Czech: Pražská defenestrace, German: Prager Fenstersturz, Latin: Defenestratio Pragensis) were three incidents in the history of Bohemia in which people were defenestrated (thrown out of a window). Though already existing in Middle French, the word defenestrate ("out of the window") is believed to have first been used in English in reference to the episodes in Prague in 1618 when the disgruntled Protestant estates threw two royal governors out of a window of the Hradčany Castle and wrote an extensive apologia explaining their action. In the Middle Ages and early modern times, defenestration was not uncommon—the act carried elements of lynching and mob violence in the form of murder committed together.

The first governmental defenestration occurred in 1419, second in 1483 and the third in 1618, although the term "Defenestration of Prague" more commonly refers to the third. Often, however, the 1483 event is not recognized as a "significant defenestration", which leads to some ambiguity when the 1618 defenestration is referred to as the "second Prague defenestration". The first and third defenestrations helped to trigger a prolonged religious conflict inside Bohemia (the Hussite Wars, 1st defenestration) or beyond (Thirty Years' War, 3rd defenestration), while the second helped establish a religious peace in the country for 31 years (Peace of Kutná Hora, 2nd defenestration).

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31 July 1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.

Black Tot Day

Last day on which rum was issued to Royal Navy sailors (31 July 1970)

Measuring out the tot (diorama aboard HMS Belfast)

The grog tub of HMS Cavalier

Black Tot Day (31 July 1970) was the last day on which the Royal Navy issued sailors with a daily rum ration (the daily tot).

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1 August 1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

1936 Summer Olympics

Multi-sport event in Berlin, Germany

This article is about the 1936 August Olympics in Berlin. For the planned 1936 August Olympics in Barcelona, see People's Olympiad.

The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1936), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: Spiele der XI. Olympiade) and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona at the 29th IOC Session on 26 April 1931. The 1936 Games marked the second and most recent time the International Olympic Committee gathered to vote in a city that was bidding to host those Games. Later rule modifications forbade cities hosting the bid vote from being awarded the games.

To outdo the 1932 Los Angeles Games, Reich Führer Adolf Hitler had a new 100,000-seat track and field stadium built, as well as six gymnasiums and other smaller arenas. The Games were the first to be televised, with radio broadcasts reaching 41 countries.^[2] Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl was commissioned by the German Olympic Committee to film the Games for $7 million.^[2] Her film, titled Olympia, pioneered many of the techniques now common in the filming of sports.

Hitler saw the 1936 Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy and antisemitism, and the official Nazi Party paper, the Völkischer Beobachter, wrote in the strongest terms that Jews should not be allowed to participate in the Games.^[3][4] German Jewish athletes were barred or prevented from taking part in the Games by a variety of methods,^[5] although some women swimmers from the Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna did participate. Jewish athletes from other countries were said to have been side-lined to avoid offending the Nazi regime.^[6]

Total ticket revenues were 7.5 million Reichsmark, generating a profit of over one million R.M. The official budget did not include outlays by the city of Berlin (which issued an itemized report detailing its costs of 16.5 million R.M.) or outlays of the German national government (which did not make its costs public, but is estimated to have spent US$30 million).^[7]

Jesse Owens of the United States won four gold medals in the sprint and long jump events, and became the most successful athlete to compete in Berlin, while Germany was the most successful country overall with 89 medals total, with the United States coming in second with 56 medals. These were the final Olympic Games under the presidency of Henri de Baillet-Latour and the final Games for 12 years due to the disruption of the Second World War. The next Olympic Games were held in 1948 (the Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland and then the Summer Games in London, England).

1. ^ ^{a b} "Factsheet - Opening Ceremony of the Games f the Olympiad" (PDF) (Press release). International Olympic Committee. 13 September 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
2. ^ ^{a b} Rader, Benjamin G. "American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports" --5th Ed.
3. ^ Hitlerland. p. 188.
4. ^ David Clay Large, Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936, p. 58.
5. ^ "The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936". Ushmm.org. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
6. ^ "Jewish Athletes – Marty Glickman & Sam Stoller". Ushmm.org. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
7. ^ Zarnowski, C. Frank (Summer 1992). "A Look at Olympic Costs" (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 1 (1): 16–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2007.

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2 August 1858 – The Government of India Act 1858 replaces Company rule in India with that of the British Raj.

Government of India Act 1858

1858 United Kingdom legislation transferring India from company to imperial rule

United Kingdom legislation

The Government of India Act 1858 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on 2 August 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company (who had up to this point been ruling British India under the auspices of Parliament) and the transference of its functions to the British Crown.^[2] Lord Palmerston, then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, introduced a bill for the transfer of control of the Government of India from the East India Company to the Crown, referring to the grave defects in the existing system of the government of India. However, before this bill was to be passed, Palmerston was forced to resign on another issue. Later Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby (who would later become the first Secretary of State for India), introduced another bill which was originally titled as "An Act for the Better Governance of India" and it was passed on 2 August 1858. This act provided that India was to be governed directly and in the name of the Crown.

1. ^ This short title was conferred on the Act by the Short Titles Act 1896, s. 1
2. ^ Wolpert, Stanley (1989). A New History of India (3d ed.), pp. 239–240. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505637-X.

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3 August 1977 – Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.

TRS-80

Microcomputer launched in 1977, sold by Tandy Corporation through Radio Shack stores

This article is about the original TRS-80 (Model I) and its successors (Models III and 4). For an overview of all computers using the TRS-80 and Tandy names, see List of TRS-80 and Tandy-branded computers. For other uses, see TRS-80 (disambiguation).

The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of Tandy Radio Shack, Z80 [microprocessor].^[4] It is one of the earliest mass-produced and mass-marketed retail home computers.^[5]

The TRS-80 has a full-stroke QWERTY keyboard, the Zilog Z80 processor, 4 KB dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) standard memory, small size and desk area, floating-point Level I BASIC language interpreter in read-only memory (ROM), 64-character per line video monitor, and a starting price of US$600^[1] (equivalent to US$2,700 in 2021). A cassette tape drive for program storage was included in the original package.

While the software environment was stable, the cassette load/save process combined with keyboard bounce issues and a troublesome Expansion Interface contributed to the Model I's reputation as not well-suited to serious use. It lacked support for lowercase characters, which also hampered business adoption.

An extensive line of upgrades and add-on hardware peripherals for the TRS-80 was developed and marketed by Tandy/Radio Shack. The basic system can be expanded with up to 48 KB of RAM (in 16 KB increments), and up to four floppy disk drives and/or hard disk drives. Tandy/Radio Shack provided full-service support including upgrade, repair, and training services in their thousands of stores worldwide.

By 1979, the TRS-80 had the largest selection of software in the microcomputer market.^[6] Until 1982, the TRS-80 was the best-selling PC line, outselling the Apple II series by a factor of five according to one analysis.^[4]

In mid-1980, the broadly compatible TRS-80 Model III was released. The Model I was discontinued shortly thereafter, primarily due to stricter Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on radio-frequency interference to nearby electronic devices.^[7][8] In April 1983, the Model III was succeeded by the compatible TRS-80 Model 4.

Following the original Model I and its compatible descendants, the TRS-80 name became a generic brand used on other unrelated computer lines sold by Tandy, including the TRS-80 Model II, TRS-80 Model 2000, TRS-80 Model 100, TRS-80 Color Computer, and TRS-80 Pocket Computer.

1. ^ ^{a b} Forster, Winnie (2005). The encyclopedia of consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972–2005. Gameplan. p. 17. ISBN 3-00-015359-4.
2. ^ Advertisement:Radio Shack. Computerworld. October 15, 1979. How we sold over 100,000 TRS-80 Model I Systems
3. ^ "Table 2: United States (1978-1982)". Computers and People. Berkeley Enterprises. 33–36: 19. 1984. TRS-80 (all models) 2,400,000
4. ^ ^{a b} McCracken, Harry (August 3, 2012). "Please Don't Call It Trash-80: A 35th Anniversary Salute to Radio Shack's TRS-80". Time.
5. ^ Mooallem, Jon (April 19, 2010). "The Lost Tribes of RadioShack: Tinkerers Search for New Spiritual Home". Wired. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
6. ^ Welch, David and Theresa (2007). Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution. Ferndale, Michigan: The Seeker Books. ISBN 978-0-9793468-0-4.
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference newsletter_8101 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ "Radio Shack TRS-80 Micro Computer System". oldcomputer.org. Retrieved May 6, 2010.

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4 August 2020 – At least 220 people are killed and over 5,000 are wounded when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate explodes in Beirut, Lebanon.

2020 Beirut explosion

Ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut, Lebanon

"Beirut explosion" redirects here. For the 1983 explosions, see 1983 Beirut barracks bombings.

On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years after having been confiscated by the Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus. The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse. As of 2022, the exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

The blast was so powerful that it physically shook the whole country of Lebanon. It was felt in Turkey, Syria, Palestine, and Israel, as well as parts of Europe, and was heard in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 mi) away. It was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3,^[2] and is considered one of the most powerful accidental artificial non-nuclear explosions in history.

The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the disaster. In its aftermath, protests erupted across Lebanon against the government for their failure to prevent the disaster, joining a larger series of protests which have been taking place across the country since 2019. On 10 August 2020, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the Lebanese cabinet resigned.

On 31 July 2022, part of Beirut's silos collapsed following a weeks-long fire stemming from summer heat upon the abandoned and rotting inventory of grain.^[3]

1. ^ Al-Hajj, Samar; Dhaini, Hassan R.; Mondello, Stefania; Kaafarani, Haytham; Kobeissy, Firas; DePalma, Ralph G. (4 June 2021). "Beirut Ammonium Nitrate Blast: Analysis, Review, and Recommendations". Frontiers in Public Health. 9: 657996. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.657996. ISSN 2296-2565. PMC 8212863. PMID 34150702.
2. ^ "M 3.3 Explosion – 1 km ENE of Beirut, Lebanon". earthquake.usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
3. ^ "Beirut silo collapses, reviving trauma ahead of blast anniversary". Reuters. Retrieved 31 July 2022.

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5 August 1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England, carrying would-be settlers, on its first attempt to reach North America; it is forced to dock in Dartmouth when its companion ship, the Speedwell, springs a leak.

Mayflower

17th-century ship of American colonists

For other ships, see List of ships named Mayflower. For other uses, see Mayflower (disambiguation).

Mayflower was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, Mayflower, with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reached America, dropping anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on November 21 [O.S. November 11], 1620.

Differing from their contemporaries, the Puritans (who sought to reform and purify the Church of England), the Pilgrims chose to separate themselves from the Church of England because they believed it was beyond redemption due to its Roman Catholic past and the church's resistance to reform, which forced them to pray in private. Starting in 1608, a group of English families left England for the Netherlands, where they could worship freely. By 1620, the community determined to cross the Atlantic for America, which they considered a "new Promised Land", where they would establish Plymouth Colony.^[2]: 44

The Pilgrims had originally hoped to reach America by early October using two ships, but delays and complications meant they could use only one, Mayflower. Arriving in November, they had to survive unprepared through a harsh winter. As a result, only half of the original Pilgrims survived the first winter at Plymouth. If not for the help of local indigenous peoples to teach them food gathering and other survival skills, all of the colonists might have perished. The following year, those 53 who survived,^[3] celebrated the colony's first fall harvest along with 90 Wampanoag Native American people,^[4] an occasion declared in centuries later the first American Thanksgiving.^[5] Before disembarking the Mayflower, the Pilgrims wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that established a rudimentary government, in which each member would contribute to the safety and welfare of the planned settlement. As one of the earliest colonial vessels, the ship has become a cultural icon in the history of the United States.^[6]

1. ^ Angier, Bradford (July 29, 2008). Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants. Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811742801 – via Google Books.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fraser was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ "Primary Sources for 'The First Thanksgiving' at Plymouth" (PDF). Pilgrim Hall Museum. Retrieved November 26, 2009. The 53 Pilgrims at the First Thanksgiving
4. ^ Winslow, Edward (1622), Mourt's Relation (PDF), p. 133, retrieved November 20, 2013, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoyt, with some ninetie men, whom for three dayes we entertained and feasted
5. ^ Weinstein, Allen, and Rubel, David. The Story of America, Agincourt Press Production, (2002) pp. 60–61
6. ^ "The Mayflower and the Birth of America", Sky History

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6 August 1661 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic

Treaty of The Hague (1661)

1661 treaty between the Netherlands and Portugal

The Treaty of The Hague (also known as the Treaty of Den Haag) was signed on 6 August 1661^[1] between representatives of the Dutch Empire and the Portuguese Empire. Based on the terms of the treaty, the Dutch Republic recognized Portuguese imperial sovereignty over New Holland (Dutch Brazil) in exchange for an indemnity of 4 million reis, conversion from 2 million Caroli Guilders, over the span of 16 years.^[2]

1. ^ Jan H. Verzijl (31 December 1972). International Law in Historical Perspective. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 493. ISBN 90-286-0022-1.
2. ^ Facsimile of the treaty:Articulen van vrede en Confoederarie, Gheslooten Tusschen den Doorluchtighsten Comingh van Portugael ter eenre, ende de Hoogh Mogende Heeren Staten General ...;

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7 August 1743 – The Treaty of Åbo ended the 1741–1743 Russo-Swedish War

Treaty of Åbo

1743 peace treaty ending the Russo-Swedish War of 1741-43

The Treaty of Åbo or the Treaty of Turku was a peace treaty signed between the Russian Empire and Sweden in Åbo (Finnish: Turku) on 18 August [O.S. 7 August] 1743 in the end of the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743.

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8 August 2010 – China Floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.

2010 Gansu mudslide

Mudslide in China

Coordinates: 33°47′N 104°22′E / 33.783°N 104.367°E / 33.783; 104.367

The 2010 Gansu mudslide was a deadly mudslide in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China that occurred at midnight on 8 August 2010. The floods were triggered after decades of clear cut logging practices had reduced the ability of the watershed to absorb heavy rainfall.^[2][3]

It was the most deadly individual disaster of the 2010 China floods. The mudslides killed more than 1,471 people as of 21 August 2010^[update], while 1,243 others have been rescued and 294 remain missing.^{[1][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} The missing were presumed dead as officials ordered locals to stop searching for survivors or bodies to prevent the spread of disease.^[11] Over 1,700 people evacuated have been living in schools.^[5]

1. ^ ^{a b} Deng, Shasha (2 September 2010). "Death toll from NW China mudslides rises to 1,471; 294 still missing". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
2. ^ "At least 127 dead, 1,300 missing in northwest China mudslides". Xinhua News Agency. 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
3. ^ "1,100 Missing in China As Asian Flood Misery Rises". NPR. 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
4. ^ Wang, Guanqun (21 August 2010). "Death toll from NW China mudslides rises to 1,434". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
5. ^ ^{a b} Wire Staff, the CNN (20 August 2010). "Mudslide death toll in northwestern China rises to 1,407". Cable News Network. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
6. ^ "Life in mudslide-hit town goes on". Xinhua News Agency. 19 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
7. ^ "China declares day of mourning for flood victims". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 August 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
8. ^ Wang, Peng (14 August 2010). "Death toll from China mudslide rises to 1,156; 588 still missing". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
9. ^ "Death toll climbs to 1,117 in China mudslides". CNN. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
10. ^ Cite error: The named reference xinhua 16 august was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
11. ^ Xing, Guangli (22 August 2010). "Death toll from NW China mudslides rises to 1,435 as authorities ban further searching for the dead". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2010.

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9 August 1892 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.

Telegraphy

Long distance transmission of text

This article is about telegraphy generally. For telegraphy over conducting wires, see Electrical telegraph. For the ship's telegraph, see Engine order telegraph.

"Telegraph" and "Telegram" redirect here. For other uses, see The Telegraph (disambiguation), Telegraph (disambiguation), and Telegram (disambiguation).

Replica of Claude Chappe's optical telegraph on the Litermont near Nalbach, Germany

Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pigeon post is not. Ancient signalling systems, although sometimes quite extensive and sophisticated as in China, were generally not capable of transmitting arbitrary text messages. Possible messages were fixed and predetermined and such systems are thus not true telegraphs.

The earliest true telegraph put into widespread use was the optical telegraph of Claude Chappe, invented in the late 18th century. The system was used extensively in France, and European nations occupied by France, during the Napoleonic era. The electric telegraph started to replace the optical telegraph in the mid-19th century. It was first taken up in Britain in the form of the Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph, initially used mostly as an aid to railway signalling. This was quickly followed by a different system developed in the United States by Samuel Morse. The electric telegraph was slower to develop in France due to the established optical telegraph system, but an electrical telegraph was put into use with a code compatible with the Chappe optical telegraph. The Morse system was adopted as the international standard in 1865, using a modified Morse code developed in Germany in 1848.^[1]

The heliograph is a telegraph system using reflected sunlight for signalling. It was mainly used in areas where the electrical telegraph had not been established and generally used the same code. The most extensive heliograph network established was in Arizona and New Mexico during the Apache Wars. The heliograph was standard military equipment as late as World War II. Wireless telegraphy developed in the early 20th century became important for maritime use, and was a competitor to electrical telegraphy using submarine telegraph cables in international communications.

Telegrams became a popular means of sending messages once telegraph prices had fallen sufficiently. Traffic became high enough to spur the development of automated systems—teleprinters and punched tape transmission. These systems led to new telegraph codes, starting with the Baudot code. However, telegrams were never able to compete with the letter post on price, and competition from the telephone, which removed their speed advantage, drove the telegraph into decline from 1920 onwards. The few remaining telegraph applications were largely taken over by alternatives on the internet towards the end of the 20th century.

1. ^ "History and technology of Morse Code".

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10 August 2003 – The Okinawa Urban Monorail is opened in Naha, Okinawa.

Okinawa Urban Monorail

Public transit line serving the cities of Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

Okinawa Urban Monorail train, 2012

The Okinawa Urban Monorail (沖縄都市モノレール, Okinawa Toshi Monorēru), also known as Yui Rail (ゆいレール, Yui Rēru), is a monorail line serving the cities of Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc. (沖縄都市モノレール株式会社, Okinawa Toshi Monorēru Kabushiki-gaisha), it opened on August 10, 2003, and is the only public rail system in Okinawa Prefecture. Yui Rail is the first rail line on Okinawa since World War II. As Okinawa is the island of Japan lying farthest to the south and west that has an active rail line, Akamine Station and Naha Airport Station, the southernmost and westernmost rail stations in Japan respectively, lie on this line. It uses the OKICA as its contactless smart card, and integrates with Suica and other major Japanese IC cards (such as ICOCA or SUGOCA) from 10 March 2020.^[3][4]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yui-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ "about Barrier-free", yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
3. ^ [1] okinawatimes. 24 May 2019.
4. ^ "令和2年3月10日より「Suica」およびSuicaと相互利用する交通系ICカードの利用が始まりました".

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11 August 1315 – The Great Famine of Europe becomes so dire that even the king of England has difficulties buying bread for himself and his entourage

Great Famine of 1315–1317

Famine of medieval Europe

From the Apocalypse in a Biblia Pauperum illuminated at Erfurt around the time of the Great Famine. Death sits astride a manticore whose long tail ends in a ball of flame (Hell). Famine points to her hungry mouth.

The Great Famine of 1315–1317 (occasionally dated 1315–1322) was the first of a series of large-scale crises that struck Europe early in the 14th century. Most of Europe (extending east to Russia and south to Italy) was affected.^[1] The famine caused many deaths over an extended number of years and marked a clear end to the period of growth and prosperity from the 11th to the 13th centuries.^[2]

The Great Famine started with bad weather in spring 1315. Crop failures lasted through 1316 until the summer harvest in 1317, and Europe did not fully recover until 1322. Crop failures were not the only problem; cattle disease caused sheep and cattle numbers to fall as much as 80%. The period was marked by extreme levels of crime, disease, mass death, and even cannibalism and infanticide. The crisis had consequences for the Church, state, European society, and for future calamities to follow in the 14th century.

1. ^ Lucas, Henry S. (October 1930). "The great European Famine of 1315, 1316, 1317". Speculum. 5 (4): 343–377. doi:10.2307/2848143. JSTOR 2848143. S2CID 161705685.
2. ^ W. Mark Ormrod (2008). "England: Edward II and Edward III". In Michael Jones (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 273.

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12 August 1981 – The IBM Personal Computer is released.

IBM Personal Computer

Personal computer model released in 1981

"IBM PC" redirects here. For general IBM-like PCs, see IBM PC compatible.

Not to be confused with the separate IBM PC Series released from 1994 to 2000.

The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers directed by Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida.

The machine was based on open architecture and third-party peripherals. Over time, expansion cards and software technology increased to support it.

The PC had a substantial influence on the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world. The only significant competition it faced from a non-compatible platform throughout the 1980s was from the Apple Macintosh product line. The majority of modern personal computers are distant descendants of the IBM PC.

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13 August 1905 – Norwegians vote to end the union with Sweden.

1905 Norwegian union dissolution referendum

1905 vote in the Kingdom of Norway on ending its personal union with Sweden

A referendum on dissolving the union with Sweden was held in Norway on 13 August 1905.^[1] Dissolving the union, which had been in place since 1814, was approved by almost 100% of voters, with just 184 voting against the proposal out of over 371,000 votes cast.^[2]

1. ^ Henriksen, Petter, ed. (2007). "unionsoppløsningen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
2. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1446 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7

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