1756 – The Seven Years’ War begins when Great Britain declares war on France. It turned into a global war with all the major players at the time being involved.
1910 – The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley. It is visible from Earth every 75 to 76 years.
2005 A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons: Nix and Hydra. It has four moons with the largest being Charon.
Birthdays
1909 – Fred Perry was born in Stockport, UK. He became a tennis player and won 10 major tournaments and was the world number 1 for four years.
1920 – Pope John Paul II was born as Karol Józef Wojtyła in the Republic of Poland. He became Pope in 1978 and remained so until his death in 2005.
1958 – Toyah Wilcox was born in Birmingham, UK. She became a singer and actress, she has had 313 Top 40 singles and has appeared in over forty plays.
1951 – The Peak District becomes the UK’s first National Park. The Peak district lies mainly in northern Derbyshire and is visited by over 10 million people each year.
1970 – The ill fated Apollo 13 returns to Earth, the mission experienced an oxygen canister eruption, loss of heat, depletion of water and problems with the carbon dioxide removal systems. All crew members returned safely.
1986 – The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Year War between the Netherlands and the Isle of Scilly, which is just off the English coast ended. It is the longest war without a shot being fired and minimum casualties.
Birthdays
1940 – John McCririck was born in Surrey, UK. He became a racehorse pundit and is also well known for his dress sense and his opinions. He has also appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2005 and then again in the Ultimate Big Brother in 2010.
1954 – Rowdy Roddy Piper was born as Rodderick George Tombs in Saskatchewan, Canada. He became a wrestler, although from Canada he focused on his Scottish heritage for his character in the ring. He is semi-retired and signed to WWE. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
1959 – Sean Bean was born in Sheffield, UK. He became an actor and is well known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings. He has played many roles and also appeared in TV adverts.
837 – Halley’s Comet and Earth experienced their closest approach to one another. The separating distance equalled 0.0342 AU (Astronomical Unit) equivalent to 3.2 million miles.
1815 - The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The explosion could be heard in Sumatra, more than 2,000 KM away. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth’s climate for the next two years, creating a volcanic winter, and 1816 became known as the ‘The Year without Summer’.
1912 - The Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England for her first and only voyage. She was built in Ireland by Harland and Wolff and was part of the White Star Line. He passengers were some of the wealthiest people in the world and held over 1000 immigrants.
Birthdays
1837 - Joseph Pulitzer was born in the Kingdom of Hungary. He became a newspaper publisher, he published the St. Louis Dispatch and the New York World, he is also famed for the posthumously establishing the Pulitzer Prize.
1932 - Omar Sharif was born as Michael Demitri Shalhoub in Egypt. He became an actor and has starred in many films including Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.
1979 - Sophie Ellis Bexter was born in London. She became a singer and song writer and her music is a mix of mainstream pop and electro 80’s. Her albums have reached number 2 in the UK charts.
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