On July 20, 2019, @shane0911 creates the "This Day In History" thread! On July 20, 1969, the national mission proposed by President Kennedy in May 1961 - "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth” - is seen to fruition: the lunar module (LEM) Eagle, with Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong and LEM pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin aboard, set down on the Sea of Tranquility on the moon. A computer navigation error nearly caused Eagle to set down in a rocky crater, and some smooth maneuvering by Armstrong redirected the LEM clear, setting it down with less than 50 seconds of fuel remaining. An hour later, first Armstrong and then Aldrin exit Eagle and spend a little over two hours walking the moon's surface, planting a U.S. flag, collecting rocks, completing a few basic experiments and speaking by radio to President Nixon from the Oval Office. On July 20, 2012, James Holmes sneaks in the back door of theater 9 of the Century 16 Multiplex in Aurora, CO, where a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises is about to begin. Holmes is wearing all black clothing and a gas mask, and witnesses would say they thought Holmes was in costume to celebrate the opening of the new Batman film, and didn't even become alarmed when Holmes started throwing gas canisters. But Holmes then produces guns and begins firing randomly into the audience. When he's done, 12 are dead—the youngest a 6-year-old girl—and at least 70 are injured. Holmes would surrender without a fight when police arrive; he's currently serving 12 consecutive life sentences. On July 20, 1881, Sioux leader Sitting Bull surrenders to the U.S. Army, which promised amnesty for his role in the 1876 massacre at Little Bighorn (Sitting Bull had not participated, but was considered a "spiritual leader" in inspiring others to fight). He would spend 2 years imprisoned at Fort Randall in the South Dakota territory, and then was relocated to Standing Rock reservation, where he lived until being killed in an insurrection in 1890.
On July 21, 1861, three Union divisions under General Irvin McDowell strike a smaller Confederate force near a stream called Bull Run, near Manassas, Virginia. The American Civil War is officially underway. Hundreds of civilians living in the area, some carrying picnic lunches, flock to the battlefield and are shocked at the spectacle of war. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard's outnumbered force is in danger of being routed - despite the inexperienced Union force's undisciplined maneuvering - when 9,000 troops under General Joseph Johnston arrive by rail to somewhat even the numbers. Beauregard's reinforced lines hold firm - anchored with great skill by a brigade of Virginia infantry under newly-promoted General Thomas Jackson (who's forces stood "like a stone wall"), and Confederate cavalry led by J.E.B Stuart execute a brilliant charge to capture the Union artillery. In the end, casualties are about even on both sides, but the Union lines are pushed back and the Lincoln Administration's vision of an easily-quelled insurrection are shattered. On July 21, 2011, space shuttle Atlantis touches down at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ending the 135th - and final - space shuttle mission. Over 30 years of operation, the combined fleet of five shuttles logged more than 500 million miles and carried more than 350 people into space. Space shuttle Discovery is the busiest of the five, logging 365 total days in space and more than 5,300 orbits of earth on 39 missions. Tragically, the two oldest shuttles of the fleet are lost during missions; Challenger is destroyed when the external fuel tank explodes moments after liftoff on its ninth mission, and the oldest shuttle, Columbia, breaks up during atmospheric re-entry on its 28th mission. Seven astronauts are lost with each shuttle. The estimated price tag for the entire space shuttle program, from development to retirement, was $209 billion. On July 21, 1865, noted gunman "Wild" Bill Hickok kills former Union soldier Dave Tutt in a showdown in the market square of Springfield, MO. At a distance of 75 yards, Hickok stood firm as Tutt fired one wild shot and dropped his opponent with a single shot. Despite what Hollywood would have us believe, the concept of a showdown between two men on a deserted street engaging in a "quick draw" to the death, while not unheard of, rarely happened. But many historians believe the showdown between Hickok and Tutt was the first in Old West history (Hickok was charged with manslaughter but acquitted). When residents of the Old West took law into their own hands, it was usually an argument that escalated into spontaneous gunfire, but often took the form of Hickok's death 11 years later; caught unawares, he was shot in the back while playing poker.
Now it gets challenging.....one year ago today, I posted my first event in this thread. I must not repeat myself, I must not repeat.... On July 22, 1933, American aviator Wiley Post becomes the first person to fly around the world solo. The flight covers 15,596 miles and takes 7 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes, beginning and ending at Floyd Bennett Field in New York. His Lockheed Vega, the Winnie Mae, is equipped with autopilot and a radio direction finder. On July 22, 2003, Private Jessica Lynch, U.S. Army, returns to America after spending two weeks in captivity in Iraq, receiving a hero's welcome. Lynch was severely injured and captured when her convoy took a wrong turn and was ambushed. Lynch would later reveal that the details of her courage under attack and rescue were greatly exaggerated by the Army. On the same day, Special Forces and units of the 101st Airborne Division, operating on a tip, attack a house near Tikrit, Iraq. A 3-hour firefight ensues before the troops take the house and find inside the bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussein, the adult sons of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and heir apparents to his regime. On July 22, 1793, Scottish explorer Alexander MacKenzie completes a continental crossing of North America, 12 years before Lewis and Clark. MacKenzie's crossing is through modern-day Canada.
Has an airport named after him about 3 miles from my house. They also have a really neat museum dedicated to Oklahoma flight pioneers and such. Its really cool.
I went to that bar in Houston where they filmed part of that movie about Apollo 13. Lots of cool stuff on the walls and a spacesuit hanging from the ceiling. And great hamburgers
On Sunday, July 23, 1967 at about 3:30 in the morning, the Detroit Police vice squad moves on a speakeasy in a poor neighborhood where a party for returning Vietnam War vets is being held. The raid quickly draws a crowd, and things turn ugly, with objects being thrown at police. Looting and arson ensues; by dawn, every police officer and fireman in the city has been called to duty. The rioting will last 5 days, with the Army and National Guard sent in to deal with the hottest spots. The death toll at riot's end is 43, with hundreds injured and nearly 1,400 buildings burned or ransacked. On July 23, 1984, Vanessa Williams, the first African-American Miss America, becomes the first Miss America to relinquish her crown, after Penthouse magazine announces it will publish nude photos of the 21-year old in an upcoming issue. Williams posed for the photos at age 19, and says she was told she would be photographed in silhouette and would not be recognizable. She also says the photos were sold to Penthouse without her knowledge, but as she had signed a release for the photo shoot, she can not block their publication. First runner-up Suzette Charles, also an African-American, finishes out the year as Miss America. On July 23, 1996 in Atlanta, the U.S. women's gymnastics team wins its first team gold medal in the program's history. The gold medal is clinched in dramatic fashion: 19-year old Kerri Strug, after spraining her ankle moments early on a bad landing on her first vault attempt, performs through the pain to score a 9.712 on her second vault to mathematically clinch the gold. On July 23, 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair, Syrian confectioner Ernest Hamwi is selling zalabis, a waffle-like pastry. One booth over, an ice cream vendor is doing brisk business in the summer heat; so brisk that he runs out of containers. Hamwi sees opportunity. He heats one of his pastries and rolls it in the shape of a cone. After a few seconds, it cools and hardens, the ice cream vendor puts in a couple of scoops, and the ice cream cone is born.
