On July 8th 1951, Paris, the capital city of France, celebrated turning 2,000 years old. In fact, a few more candles would've technically been required on the birthday cake, as the City of Lights was most likely founded around 250 B.C. The history of Paris can be traced back to a Gallic tribe known as the … Continue reading July 8 1951 Paris celebrates 2,000th birthday
July 7 2005 Terrorists attack London transit system at rush hour
On July 7th 2005, bombs were detonated in three crowded London subways and one bus during the peak of the city's morning rush hour. The synchronised suicide bombings, which were thought to be the work of Al-Qaeda, killed 56 people including the bombers and injured another 700. It was the largest attack on Great Britain … Continue reading July 7 2005 Terrorists attack London transit system at rush hour
July 6 1971 Louis Armstrong dies
On July 6th 1971, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, died in New York City at the age of 69. A world-renowned jazz trumpeter and vocalist, he pioneered jazz improvisation and the style known as swing. Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4th 1901 in New Orleans, … Continue reading July 6 1971 Louis Armstrong dies
July 5 1946 Bikini introduced
On July 5th 1946, French designer Louis Reard unveiled a daring two-piece swimsuit at the Piscine Molitor, a popular swimming pool in Paris. Parisian showgirl Micheline Bernardini modeled the new fashion, which Reard dubbed "bikini," inspired by a news-making U.S. atomic test that took place off the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean earlier that … Continue reading July 5 1946 Bikini introduced
July 4 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
China Needs to Ease One-Child Policy, State Researchers Say Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ July 4, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment Chinese government researchers called on the nation to ease its one-child policy as soon as possible to cope with an aging population and labour shortage. One option is allowing all people to have a … Continue reading July 4 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
July 4 1927 Playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon born
On July 4th 1927, Neil Simon, the author of a long list of successful Broadway plays, was born in the Bronx section of New York City. Neil Simon was the second son of Irving Simon, a garment salesman, and his wife Mamie. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan during the Great Depression. His father … Continue reading July 4 1927 Playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon born
July 3 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
China, Vietnam: Hardened lines in the South China Sea Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ July 3, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment Tit-for-tat moves by China and Vietnam represent the latest indication that tensions could break into conflict over contested and potentially resource rich maritime areas in the South China Sea. Hanoi’s National Assembly late last … Continue reading July 3 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
July 3 1962 Tom Cruise born
On July 3rd 1962, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born in Syracuse, New York. After his breakout role in the 1983 film Risky Business, Cruise went on to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, appearing in a long list of critically acclaimed dramas and blockbuster action movies. Cruise is the son of Mary … Continue reading July 3 1962 Tom Cruise born
July 2 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Apple pays $60M to settle iPad case; Foxconn plans Brazil iPad factories Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ July 2, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment Apple has paid $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet … Continue reading July 2 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
July 2 1839 Mutiny on the Amistad slave ship
On July 2nd 1839, early in the morning, Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad rose up against their captors, killing two crewmembers and seizing control of the ship, which had been transporting them to a life of slavery on a sugar plantation at Puerto Principe, Cuba. In 1807, the U.S. Congress joined with Great Britain … Continue reading July 2 1839 Mutiny on the Amistad slave ship
July 1 1997 Hong Kong returned to China
On July 1st 1997, at midnight, Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherwise celebratory and peaceful. In 1839, Britain … Continue reading July 1 1997 Hong Kong returned to China
June 30 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Mongolia’s Coal Riches Causing Diplomatic Nightmare with Russia, China Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ June 30, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment Mongolia boasts huge deposits of coal, copper, gold, uranium and many other rare minerals, and is opening up its vast resources to the world; this has however led to many diplomatic problems for the … Continue reading June 30 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 30 1936 Gone with the Wind published
On June 30th 1936, Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, one of the best-selling novels of all time and the basis for a blockbuster 1939 movie, was published. In 1926, Mitchell was forced to quit her job as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal to recover from a series of physical injuries. With too much … Continue reading June 30 1936 Gone with the Wind published
June 29 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Qiao Shi’s book rouses demand for judicial independence in China Posted by chankaiyee2 ⋅ June 29, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment I hailed recent publication of Qiao Shi’s book “Qiao Shi on Democracy and Legal System” in my post “Chinese rule of law and democracy advocator Qiao Shi returns”. Qiao Shi, though retired, has been striving … Continue reading June 29 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 29 1974 Isabela Peron takes office as Argentine president
On June 29th 1974, with Argentine President Juan Peron on his deathbed, Isabela Martinez de Peron, his wife and vice president, was sworn in as the leader of the South American country. President Isabela Peron, a former dancer and Peron's third wife, was the Western Hemisphere's first female head of government. Two days later, Juan … Continue reading June 29 1974 Isabela Peron takes office as Argentine president
June 28 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Vietnam says China offshore oil auction ‘illegal’ Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ June 28, 2012 ⋅ 1 Comment Vietnam has denounced China‘s opening of offshore oil blocks to foreign companies in contested areas of the South China Sea as “illegal”, as territorial tensions grow between the communist neighbours. On Saturday, the China National Offshore Oil … Continue reading June 28 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 28 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated
On June 28th 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August. On June 28, 1919, … Continue reading June 28 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated
June 27 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Flaws in China’s economy mean tough times ahead Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ June 27, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment Shujie Yao says serious structural flaws in the Chinese economy mean the days of near-double-digit growth are over. The nation must now prepare for three years of hardship, which will be felt by the rest … Continue reading June 27 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 27 1985 Route 66 decertified
On June 27th 1985, after 59 years, the iconic Route 66 entered the realm of history, when the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials decertified the road and voted to remove all its highway signs. Measuring some 2,200 miles in its heyday, Route 66 stretched from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, passing … Continue reading June 27 1985 Route 66 decertified
June 26 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Rule of law in China a long way away Posted by chankaiyee2 ⋅ June 26, 2012 ⋅ 2 Comments In China, two well-known sayings make despotic officials very happy. One is “the heaven is high and the emperor, far away”; therefore even if the central government is good and has formulated good laws, regulations, rules, codes, … Continue reading June 26 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 26 1975 Sonny and Cher’s divorce becomes final
On June 26th 1975, after 13 years together as a couple and six years of marriage—the last three for the cameras—Sonny and Cher were legally divorced. With a string of pop hits in the mid-1960s that began with the career-defining "I Got You Babe" (1965), Sonny and Cher Bono established themselves as the most prominent … Continue reading June 26 1975 Sonny and Cher’s divorce becomes final
June 25 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Fatality after Philippine boat rammed by Chinese vessel near shoal Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ June 25, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment The Philippines said yesterday a Chinese vessel accidentally rammed a fishing boat north of a disputed South China Sea shoal, killing one and leaving four others missing. The fishing boat set out from … Continue reading June 25 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 25 1900 Lord Louis Mountbatten born
On June 25th 1900, Lord Louis Mountbatten, British admiral and second cousin to King George VI, was born in Windsor, England, the fourth child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and his wife, Princess Victoria, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. He entered the Royal Navy at age 13. Among his many assignments was that of aide-de-camp to … Continue reading June 25 1900 Lord Louis Mountbatten born
June 24 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
China and Hong Kong: one country, two systems. Posted by mauricioq19 ⋅ June 24, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment After being a British Colony for more than 150 years, Hong Kong was handed over to China by the United Kingdom in 1997, becoming one of the two Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China … Continue reading June 24 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 24 1997 US Air Force reports on Roswell
On June 24th 1997, U.S. Air Force officials released a 231-page report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier. Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, began to flourish in the 1940s, when developments in space travel and the dawn of the atomic age … Continue reading June 24 1997 US Air Force reports on Roswell
Craig Hill 