Cape Verde Independence Day from Portugal - Effective date of the Agreement Between Portugal and Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) signed on 18 December 1974.
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What Happened in July?
Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, proclaims its independence from France, following the 1974 Comorian independence referendum. The day is celebrated annually as Comoros National day. Cpmoros is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean; its capital and largest city is Moroni. The Comoros is the only country of the Arab League which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere.
Former labor leader and Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa disappears under mysterious circumstances in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was declared "presumed dead on July 30, 1982. His disappearance remains one of the most mysterious disappearances of the 20th century. More
The United States celebrates its bicentennial anniversary on July 4, 1976, with a day of parades, concerts, and fireworks.
Romanian gymnast Nadia Elena Comăneci becomes the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games. Her great achievement took place at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal where she received six more perfect 10s for other events and ended winning three gold medals becoming the youngest all-around gold medalist and one of the world's best-known gymnasts in the history of Olympic gymnastics. More
Viking 1 Lands on Mars' on the western slope of Chryse Planitia (the Plains of Gold). Viking 1 found a place in history when it became the first U.S. mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of Mars and return images of the surface. More
A 7.8 earthquake razes the Chinese city of Tangshan located about 68 miles east of Beijing. The official death toll, reported was 242,000 persons, but it may have been twice as high. At least 700,000 more people were injured and the property damage was extensive. More
The Solomon Islands become an independent nation on July 7, 1978, after gaining self-governance from the United Kingdom two years earlier in 1976. The country is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, to the northeast of Australia with a population of 800,000 people.
The first successful birth of a child conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) takes place. Louise Brown was born in Oldham, northwest England. Her birth marked a significant milestone in reproductive medicine, offering hope to couples struggling with infertility. The procedure was developed by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards, and Jean Purdy.
Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the development of in vitro fertilization; Steptoe and Purdy were not eligible for consideration because the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously. Louise parents, Lesley and John Brown knew the procedure was experimental but the doctors did not tell them that no case had yet resulted in a baby, prompting questions of informed consent. More
Robert Geoffrey Edwards photo by unknown - Original publication: unknownImmediate source: http://www.computescotland.com/robert-edwards-wins-nobel-for-medicine-3700.php, Fair use,
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Skylab, America's first space station reenters Earth's atmosphere, to a premature and uncontrolled descent on July 11, 1979, with debris falling over the Indian Ocean and parts of Western Australia. The station's orbit had deteriorated due to increased solar activity; While no injuries were reported, the event captured global attention and highlighted the challenges of managing space debris. The space station was launched in May 14,1973.
Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati Independence Day from the United Kingdom. Kiribati is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census and more than half live on South Tarawa. The state comprises 32 atolls and Banaba, a remote raised coral island.
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu. achieves independence under Prime Minister Walter Lin from the United Kingdom and France (The British-French Condominium) The day is celebrated as its National Day. Vanuatu is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean.
The archipelago, comprised of about 80 islands, is of volcanic origin and it is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji. Vanuatu's 2023 population was estimated to be 336,000 people.
Pan Am Flight 759, a Boeing 727 flight from Miami to San Diego, with stops in New Orleans and Las Vegas. crashed in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner after being forced down shortly after takeoff due to wind shear which the pilots were not informed about prior to takeoff. All 145 on board, as well as 8 people on the ground, were killed. More
Movie actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, are killed in a tragic accident on the set of "Twilight Zone: The Movie" The accident occurred when a helicopter crashed on the set during filming of the "Time Out" segment due to rotor failure believed to be caused by film pyrotechnics. Legal battles and set procedure reviews following the accident led to safety reforms in the film industry, and had a lasting impact on the filmmakers involved. More
Mass shooting in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego, California - A heavily armed James Oliver Huberty enters the San Ysidro McDonald's restaurant killing twenty one people and injuring 19 others. The tragic and violent event lasted 77 minutes. The massacre ended when a police marksman sent a shot through Huberty’s chest and killed him. More
French secret service agents planted two bombs and sank the Greenpeace Flagship The Rainbow Warrior on July 10, 1985. One crew member was killed. More
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Live Aid, a dual-venue benefit concert is held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia to raise awareness and money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
Over 70 performances were featured, including Queen, U2, David Bowie, Elton John, The event was broadcasted to a global audience estimated at 1.5 billion viewers. It is estimated that the concerts raised over $100 million for famine relief in Ethiopia. It also inspired similar benefit concerts and projects, such as USA for Africa's "We Are the World".
Squelle, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Iran Air Flight 655, a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas was shot down on July 3, 1988 by two surface-to-air missiles fired by USS Vincennes, a United States Navy warship, shortly after the flight departed its stopover location. All 290 people on board, including 66 children, were killed.
The missiles hit the Iran Air Airbus A300, while it was flying its usual route over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The US claimed the ship's radar misidentified the plane as a fighter aircraft. Subsequent US Navy investigations of the incident showed the Iranian airliner was in an approved commercial airway and was identifying itself on air traffic control frequencies as a civilian flight. In 1996, the United States paid US$61.8 million in compensation to the families of victims as part of a settlement with Iran. More
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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. A landmark civil rights legislation which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in various areas, including employment, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. The ADA ensures that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. it covers five main areas: employment, state and local government services, public accommodations (like restaurants and stores), telecommunications, and transportation. More
Trinidad coup attempt - More than 100 members of the Islamist radical group, Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, stormed Trinidad and Tobago parliament and a TV station holding all inside hostage, including the prime minister ANR Robinson for several days as violence and looting erupted in the capital. A state of emergency was imposed but when the rebellion was over much of Port of Spain had been burned and destroyed. Twenty-four people died, including an MP, Leo Des Vignes - and many more were injured. More