1789 – Storming of the Bastille in Paris. This event escalated the widespread discontent into the French Revolution. Bastille Day is still celebrated annually in France.

1798 – The Sedition Act of 1798 became law in the United States which made it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.  It was later deemed unconstitutional.

1865 – The first ascent of the Matterhorn was completed by Edward Whymper and his party, four of whom died on the descent.

1874 – The Chicago Fire of 1874 burned down 47 acres of the city, destroyed 812 buildings, killed 20, and resulted in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago’s city council.

1881 – American outlaw Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the Maxwell House at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

1911 – Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright brothers, was greeted by President Taft after he landed his aeroplane on the South Lawn of the White House, having flown from Boston.

1933 – In a decree called the Gleichschaltung, Hitler abolished all German political parties except the Nazis.

1933 – Nazi eugenics program began with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring which required the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffered from alleged genetic disorders.

1965 – Mariner 4 flyby of Mars took the first close-up photos of another planet. The photographs took approximately six hours to be transmitted back to Earth.

1969 – “Easy Rider”, directed by Dennis Hopper, starring himself, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson, was released.

1969 – The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills were officially withdrawn from circulation.

1973 – Phil Everly stormed off stage and declared an end to the Everly Brothers.

1974 – Ted Bundy victims Janice Ott and Denise Naslund disappeared at Lake Sammamish, Washington.

1986 – Motley Crue’s Vince Neil began a 30 day sentence for vehicular homicide.

1987 – Greyhound Bus company bought Trailways Bus company for $80 million.

2008 – “The Dark Knight” directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, premiered in New York. 

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