On This Day in History — July 1

Highlights of July 1

• 2008 — Rioting erupted in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, over allegations of fraud surrounding the recent legislative election. Read more
• 2002 — Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and DHL Flight 611 collided in mid-air over Überlingen, Germany, killing all 71 people aboard both aircraft. Read more
• 1999 — Legislative powers in Scotland were first devolved from the Scottish Office in London to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Read more
• 1983 — A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet crashed into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea, killing all 23 people on board. Read more
• 1979 — Sony introduced the Walkman, a portable audio player that changed listening habits by offering users the ability to play one's own choice of music. Read more
• 1970 — The Belfast Banking Company, which issued banknotes in Northern Ireland, merged with its rival Northern Bank. Read more
• 1960 — Ghana became a republic, with Kwame Nkrumah as its first president. Read more
• 1959 — B. Anthony Stewart is credited with the first image on the cover of National Geographic featuring the 49-star flag of the United States after Alaska's admission to the Union as a U.S. state. Read more
• 1948 — The first flight departed New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, then known as New York International Airport. Read more
• 1940 — Second World War: The Grand Quartier Général of the French Army was disbanded, following the French surrender. Read more
• 1935 — The first Grant Park Music Festival was held in Chicago's Grant Park. Read more
• 1927 — The Singapore Improvement Trust was founded to oversee the construction of public housing in Singapore, where more than three quarters of residents live. Read more
• 1922 — Seven of the sixteen American railroad labor organizations staged a nationwide strike (striking workers pictured) that lasted two months. Read more
• 1921 — Yan Ruisheng (advertisement pictured), the first full-length Chinese film, is released in Shanghai. Read more
• 1916 — First World War: The first day of the Battle of Albert, the opening phase of the Battle of the Somme, became the bloodiest day in the British Army's history, with 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 deaths. Read more
• 1874 — The Remington No. 1, the first commercially successful typewriter, went on sale. Read more
• 1862 — American Civil War: Confederate general Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed and ultimately unsuccessful assaults on the nearly impregnable Union position on Malvern Hill in Henrico County, Virginia. Read more
• 1849 — Belgium introduced its first series of postage stamps, known as epaulettes (example pictured). Read more
• 1841 — Thomas Lempriere and James Clark Ross carved a sandstone marker on Tasmania's Isle of the Dead, one of the oldest benchmarks for measuring sea level rise. Read more
• 1782 — American Revolutionary War: Five American privateer vessels raided the British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (depicted). Read more
• 1690 — Williamite forces defeated the Jacobites at the Battle of the Boyne near Drogheda, marking a turning point in the Williamite War in Ireland. Read more
• 1643 — The Westminster Assembly of Divines first assembled to restructure the Church of England. Read more
• 1523 — Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos were burnt at the stake in Brussels (pictured), becoming the first Lutherans executed by the Council of Brabant. Read more
• 692 — Berhtwald was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Read more

Events

• 2024 — At the centennial ceremony of the Dominion of Newfoundland National War Memorial, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission allows an unprecedented second Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment soldier is entombed in the memorial at this ceremony. Read more
• 2020 — The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement replaces NAFTA. Read more
• 2013 — Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union. Read more
• 2008 — Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections. Read more
• 2007 — Smoking bans in the United Kingdom culminate in a prohibition on smoking in all public indoor spaces in England. Read more
• 2006 — The Qinghai–Tibet railway first operates in China. Read more
• 2004 — Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC. Read more
• 2003 — Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong. Read more
• 2002 — The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Read more
• 2002 — Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154, and DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757, collide in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board both planes. Read more
• 1999 — The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers are officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. In Wales, the powers of the Welsh Secretary are transferred to the National Assembly. Read more
• 1997 — China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Charles, Prince of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Read more
• 1997 — Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-94, a re-flight of the prematurely-ended STS-83 mission with the same crew. Read more
• 1991 — Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague. Read more
• 1991 — The Finnish operator Radiolinja is launched as the world's first GSM network. Read more
• 1990 — German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany. Read more
• 1987 — The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world's first all-sports radio station. Read more
• 1984 — The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA. Read more
• 1983 — A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board. Read more
• 1983 — The Ministry of State Security is established as China's principal intelligence agency Read more
• 1980 — "O Canada" officially becomes the national anthem of Canada. Read more
• 1979 — Sony introduces the Walkman. Read more
• 1978 — The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government. Read more
• 1976 — Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira. Read more
• 1972 — The first Gay pride march in England takes place. Read more
• 1968 — The United States Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program is officially established. Read more
• 1968 — The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries. Read more
• 1968 — Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States. Read more
• 1967 — Merger Treaty: The European Community is formally created out of a merger between the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission. Read more
• 1966 — The first color television transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto. Read more
• 1966 — The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (first known as the 2nd Artillery Corps) is founded. Read more
• 1963 — ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail. Read more
• 1963 — The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent. Read more
• 1962 — Independence of Rwanda and Burundi. Read more
• 1960 — The Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) gains its independence from Italy. Concurrently, it unites as scheduled with the five-day-old State of Somaliland (the former British Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Read more
• 1960 — Ghana becomes a republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceases to be its head of state. Read more
• 1959 — Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the US, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. Read more
• 1958 — The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave. Read more
• 1958 — Flooding of Canada's Saint Lawrence Seaway begins. Read more
• 1957 — The International Geophysical Year begins. Read more
• 1949 — The merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin royal family. Read more
• 1948 — Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurates Pakistan's central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan. Read more
• 1947 — The Philippine Air Force is established. Read more
• 1946 — Crossroads Able is the first postwar nuclear weapon test. Read more
• 1943 — The City of Tokyo and the Prefecture of Tokyo are both replaced by the Tokyo Metropolis. Read more
• 1942 — World War II: start of the First Battle of El Alamein. Read more
• 1942 — The Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished. Read more
• 1935 — In Regina, Saskatchewan, police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambush strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek. Read more
• 1932 — Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, is formed. Read more
• 1931 — United Airlines begins service (as Boeing Air Transport). Read more
• 1931 — Wiley Post and Harold Gatty become the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engined monoplane aircraft (a Lockheed Vega). Read more
• 1924 — The National War Memorial for the Dominion of Newfoundland is inaugurated by Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig in St. John's, Newfoundland. The date commemorates the first day of the Battle of the Somme, where at Beaumont-Hamel, 86 percent of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out. Read more
• 1923 — The Parliament of Canada suspends all Chinese immigration. Read more
• 1922 — The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States. Read more
• 1921 — The Chinese Communist Party is founded by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, with the help of the Far Eastern Bureau of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks), who seized power in Russia after the 1917 October Revolution, and the Far Eastern Secretariat of the Communist International. Read more
• 1917 — World War I: Russia launches the "Kerensky offensive" against Austria-Hungary to capture Galicia, its final offensive of the war. Read more
• 1917 — Chinese General Zhang Xun seizes control of Beijing and restores the monarchy, installing Puyi, last emperor of the Qing dynasty, to the throne. The restoration is reversed just shy of two weeks later, when Republican troops regain control of the capital. Read more
• 1916 — World War I: First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded. Read more
• 1915 — World War I: Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Deutsches Heer's Fliegertruppe army air service achieves the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker. Read more
• 1911 — Germany dispatches the gunboat SMS Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis. Read more

Born on July 1

• 2004 — Daniela Avanzini, American singer and dancer Read more
• 2004 — Alejandro Garnacho, Spanish-Argentine footballer Read more
• 2003 — Tate McRae, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer Read more
• 2003 — Storm Reid, American actress Read more
• 2001 — Chosen Jacobs, American actor and singer Read more
• 2001 — Theo, South Korean singer-songwriter Read more
• 2000 — Lalu Muhammad Zohri, Indonesian sprinter Read more
• 1998 — Chloe Bailey, American singer-songwriter and actress Read more
• 1998 — Susan Bandecchi, Swiss tennis player Read more
• 1998 — Aleksandra Golovkina, Lithuanian figure skater Read more
• 1996 — Adelina Sotnikova, Russian figure skater Read more
• 1995 — Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Belgian footballer Read more
• 1995 — Savvy Shields, Miss America 2017 Read more
• 1995 — Taeyong, South Korea rapper Read more
• 1994 — Chloé Paquet, French tennis player Read more
• 1992 — Aaron Sanchez, American baseball player Read more
• 1991 — Lucas Vázquez, Spanish footballer Read more
• 1991 — Michael Wacha, American baseball player Read more
• 1989 — Kent Bazemore, American basketball player Read more
• 1989 — Hannah Murray, English actress Read more
• 1989 — Daniel Ricciardo, Australian race car driver Read more
• 1988 — Dedé, Brazilian footballer Read more
• 1988 — Aleksander Lesun, Russian modern pentathlete Read more
• 1987 — Michael Schrader, German decathlete Read more
• 1986 — Charlie Blackmon, American baseball player Read more
• 1986 — Andrew Lee, Australian footballer Read more
• 1986 — Julian Prochnow, German footballer Read more
• 1985 — Chris Perez, American baseball player Read more
• 1985 — Léa Seydoux, French actor Read more
• 1984 — Donald Thomas, Bahamian high jumper Read more
• 1983 — Leeteuk, South Korean singer and entertainer Read more
• 1982 — Justin Huber, Australian baseball player Read more
• 1982 — Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player Read more
• 1982 — Adrian Ward, American football player Read more
• 1982 — Fedi Nuril, Indonesian actor, model, and musician Read more
• 1982 — Hilarie Burton, American actress Read more
• 1981 — Carlo Del Fava, South African-Italian rugby player Read more
• 1981 — Tadhg Kennelly, Irish-Australian footballer Read more
• 1980 — Nelson Cruz, Dominican-American baseball player Read more
• 1979 — Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial artist and actor Read more

Died on July 1

• 2025 — Alex Delvecchio, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1931) Read more
• 2025 — Jimmy Swaggart, American pastor and television host (born 1935) Read more
• 2024 — Ismail Kadare, Albanian novelist (born 1936) Read more
• 2024 — Robert Towne, American screenwriter (born 1934) Read more
• 2023 — Dilano van 't Hoff, Dutch race car driver (born 2004) Read more
• 2021 — Louis Andriessen, Dutch composer (born 1939) Read more
• 2019 — Bogusław Schaeffer, Polish composer (born 1929) Read more
• 2016 — Robin Hardy, English author and film director (born 1929) Read more
• 2015 — Val Doonican, Irish singer and television host (born 1927) Read more
• 2015 — Czesław Olech, Polish mathematician and academic (born 1931) Read more
• 2015 — Nicholas Winton, English lieutenant and humanitarian (born 1909) Read more
• 2014 — Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer and politician (born 1938) Read more
• 2014 — Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founder of The Farm (born 1935) Read more
• 2014 — Bob Jones, English lawyer and politician (born 1955) Read more
• 2014 — Anatoly Kornukov, Ukrainian-Russian general (born 1942) Read more
• 2014 — Walter Dean Myers, American author and poet (born 1937) Read more
• 2013 — Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (born 1926) Read more
• 2013 — Charles Foley, American game designer, co-creator of Twister (born 1930) Read more
• 2013 — William H. Gray, American minister and politician (born 1941) Read more
• 2012 — Peter E. Gillquist, American priest and author (born 1938) Read more
• 2012 — Ossie Hibbert, Jamaican-American keyboard player and producer (born 1950) Read more
• 2012 — Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (born 1926) Read more
• 2012 — Alan G. Poindexter, American captain, pilot and astronaut (born 1961) Read more
• 2012 — Jack Richardson, American author and playwright (born 1934) Read more
• 2010 — Don Coryell, American football player and coach (born 1924) Read more
• 2010 — Arnold Friberg, American painter and illustrator (born 1913) Read more
• 2010 — Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (born 1929) Read more
• 2009 — Karl Malden, American actor (born 1912) Read more
• 2009 — Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (born 1917) Read more
• 2009 — Mollie Sugden, English actress (born 1922) Read more
• 2008 — Mel Galley, English guitarist (born 1948) Read more
• 2006 — Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japanese politician, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1937) Read more
• 2006 — Robert Lepikson, Estonian race car driver and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (born 1952) Read more
• 2006 — Fred Trueman, English cricketer and sportscaster (born 1931) Read more
• 2005 — Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (Four Tops) (born 1936) Read more
• 2005 — Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1923) Read more
• 2005 — Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (born 1951) Read more
• 2004 — Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (born 1931) Read more
• 2004 — Marlon Brando, American actor and director (born 1924) Read more
• 2004 — Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (born 1909) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Aaron (Catholic Church and Syriac Christianity); Christian feast day: Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati; Christian feast day: Junípero Serra; Christian feast day: Julius and Aaron; Christian feast day: Leontius of Autun; Christian feast day: Oliver Plunkett; Christian feast day: Servanus; Christian feast day: Veep; Christian feast day: July 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Christian feast day: Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (removed from official Roman Catholic calendar since 1969); Armed Forces Day (Singapore); Bobby Bonilla Day (United States); Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day (Canada); Children's Day (Pakistan); Chinese Communist Party Founding Day (China); Day of Officials and Civil Servants (Hungary); Doctors' Day (India); Emancipation Day (Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius); Engineer's Day (Bahrain, Mexico); Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Hong Kong, China); Independence Day (Burundi), celebrates the independence of Burundi from Belgium in 1962.; Independence Day (Rwanda); Independence Day (Somalia); International Tartan Day; July Morning (Bulgaria); Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) (Suriname); Madeira Day (Madeira, Portugal); Moving Day (Quebec) (Canada); Newfoundland and Labrador Memorial Day; Republic Day (Ghana); RONPhos Handover Day (Nauru); Sir Seretse Khama Day (Botswana); Territory Day (British Virgin Islands); Territory Day (Northern Territory, Australia); The first day of Van Mahotsav, celebrated until July 7. (India)

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