THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
prepared by
The Curatorial Staff
at
The Old State Capitol


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JULY 1

Louisiana History

1912 - Act 39 authorizes the official state flag for Louisiana.

1937 - President Roosevelt appoints Jefferson Caffery of Lafayette, ambassador to Brazil.

1948 - The International Trade Mart opens in New Orleans.

1965 - Rep. Theodore Ashton Thompson, 49, is killed when struck by an automobile in North Carolina after being stopped for speeding while returning to Louisiana from Washington, D.C. for the July 4 holiday.

American History

1656 - The first Quakers arrive in Boston and are arrested.

World History

1200 - In China, sunglasses are invented.

1517 - The first burning of Protestants at the stake in the Netherlands occurs.

1798 - Napoleon reaches Alexandria, Egypt.

JULY 2

Louisiana History

1952 - Construction begins on the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation Hospital in Jefferson Parish.

American History

1865 - Charles Booth founds the Salvation Army.

1881 - President Garfield is shot by Charles J. Guiteau.

1937 - Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappear over the Atlantic Ocean.

World History

1916 - Lenin says that imperialism is caused by capitalism.

1687 - King James II disbands the English Parliament.

JULY 3

Louisiana History

1854 - An article in the New Orleans Bee criticized city administrators for a decision to reduce funding for New Orleans' schools.

American History

1852 - Congress authorizes the second US mint in San Francisco.

1853 - Commodore Matthew Perry reaches Japan.

1863 - The Battle of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, begins.

World History

1886 - In Germany, Karl Benz drives the first automobile.

1947 - The Soviet Union does not partake in the Marshall Plan.

JULY 4

Louisiana History

1900 - Louis Armstrong (jazz trumpeter, singer and band leader) is born in Jane Alley, New Orleans.

American History

1796 - The first independence day celebration is held.

1884 - The Statue of Liberty is presented to the United States in Paris.

World History

1708 - Swedish King Karel XII defeats the Russians.

1817 - Construction on the Erie Canal begins.

1946 - The Philippines gains its independence from the United States.

JULY 5

Louisiana History

1795 - Antonio de Ulloa (Spanish Colonial Governor 1766-1768) dies in Cadiz, Spain.

1852 - Delegates assemble to draft a new state constitution.

American History

1865 - The Secret Service begins operating under the Treasury Department.

1937 - Joe DiMaggio hits his first grand slammer.

World History

1830 - France invades Algeria, beginning a forty year conquest.

JULY 6

Louisiana History

1817 - The City of Baton Rouge is chartered by a legislative act

1971- Louis Armstrong (jazz trumpeter, singer, and band leader) dies in Corona, Queens, New York.

1979 - T. Harry Williams (academic) dies.

American History

1669 - LaSalle leaves Montreal to explore the Ohio River.

World History

1885 - Louis Pasteur successfully tests the first anti-rabies vaccine.

1923 - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) forms.

JULY 7

Louisiana History

1895 - Jean Fournet (educator, politician and jurist) is born in St. Martinville, Louisiana.

American History

1898 - The United States annexes Hawaii.

1958 - President Eisenhower signs a bill approving Alaskan statehood.

World History

1456 - Though she had already been executed, Joan of Arc is acquitted.

1801 - Touissant L'Overture declares Haitian independence.

JULY 8

Louisiana History

1779 - The Spanish king enters the war against England and authorizes his subjects in Louisiana to begin operations against the English.

American History

1835 - The Liberty Bell cracks (again).

1870 - Congress authorizes the registering of trademarks.

1896 - William Jennings Bryant delivers his "cross of gold" speech at the Democratic Convention.

1969 - The US military withdrawal from Vietnam begins.

World History

1997 - NATO invited Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to join.

JULY 9

Louisiana History

1706 - Iberville dies of yellow fever at Havana, where his duties in the war against England had taken him.

1763 - The Jesuits are expelled from Louisiana, and their property, amounting to some 900,000 livres, is confiscated and sold.

1850 - President Zachary Taylor dies.

1863 - Port Hudson surrenders.

1868 - The legislature ratifies the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

1916 - Southern University moves to Baton Rouge from New Orleans.

World History

1940 - The RAF begins bombing Germany.

JULY 10

Louisiana History

1820 -James Dunwoody DeBow (editor, economist, and statistician) is born in Charleston, South Carolina.

1890 - Legislation is passed to create Troy Parish from Catahoula Parish, but the parish never came into being.

American History

1919 - President Wilson personally delivers the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate.

1950 - "Your Hit Parade" premiers on NBC (later ABC).

1985 - The Coca Cola Company announces that it will resume selling the old formula.

World History

1923 - All non-fascist parties are dissolved in Italy.

JULY 11

Louisiana History

1906 - State Museum is created by Act 169.

1928 - Legislation is passed providing for free textbooks.

American History

1905 - Black intellectuals and activists organize the Niagara Movement.

1955 - Congress authorizes all U.S. currency to state "In God We Trust."

World History

1975 - Chinese archaeologists discover a 3 acre burial site with over 6,000 clay figures of Chinese warriors dating from 221 B.C.

JULY 12

Louisiana History

1900 - The magnolia is adopted as the official state flower

1894 - Legislation is passed making it illegal to engage in lottery activities.

American History

1630 - New Amsterdam's governor buys Gull Island from the Indians for cargo and renames it Oyster Island (later Ellis Island).

World History

1191 - King Richard the Lionheart and the Crusaders defeat the Saracens at Palestine.

1543 - King Henry VIII weds Catherine Parr, his sixth and final wife.

JULY 13

Louisiana History

1868 - Henry Clay Warmoth succeeds Joshua Baker as governor.

1868 - Oscar Dunn, a former slave, is installed as Lt. Governor.

1914 - Peter Youree (banker and businessman) dies in Shreveport, Louisiana.

World History

1837 - Queen Victoria becomes the first British monarch to reside in Buckingham Palace.

1917 - A vision of the Virgin Mary appears to children of Fatima, Portugal.

1949 - Pope Pius XII excommunicates communist catholics.

JULY 14

Louisiana History

1977 - "You Are My Sunshine" is approved as the official state song.

American History

1977 - North Korea shoots down a US helicopter, killing three people.

World History

1789 - Bastille Day- The French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille.

1933 - Germany begins mandatory sterilization for those with hereditary illnesses.

1987 - Taiwan ends thirty-seven years of martial law.

JULY 15

Louisiana History

1897 - Sam Jones (Governor 1940-1944) is born near Merryville, Louisiana.

American History

1870 - Georgia become the last Confederate state to be readmitted into the United States.

1958 - US troops are deployed to Lebanon.

1971 - Nixon announces that he will visit People's Republic of China.

World History

1099 - The Crusaders capture and plunder Jerusalem.

1815 - Napoleon is captured and exiled to St. Helena.

JULY 16

Louisiana History

1891 - Leander Perez (attorney, politician and segregationist) is born at Star Plantation, Plaquemines Parish.

1928 - David Treen (Governor 1980-1984) is born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1932 - Louisiana votes to repeal the 18th Amendment

American History

1964 - The Republican convention selects Barry Goldwater as their presidential candidate.

World History

1099 - The Crusaders herd the Jews of Jerusalem into a synod and set in on fire.

1429 - Joan of Arc leads the French into the Battle of Orleans.

1994 - Spanish fishing boats sink a French boat over fishing rights.

JULY 17

Louisiana History

1795 - Don Luis de Penalver y Cardenas, the first bishop of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans. St. Louis Cathedral was his seat.

American History

1821 - Spain cedes Florida to the United States.

World History

1788 - The Russian fleet destroys the Swedish.

1929 - The USSR ends diplomatic relations with China.

1936 - A military uprising under General Franco begins the Spanish Civil War.

JULY 18

Louisiana History

1799 - Manuel Gayoso de Lemos (Spanish Colonial Governor 1797-1799) dies in New Orleans.

American History

1947 - President Truman signs the Presidential Succession Act.

World History

1870 - The doctrine of Pontifical Infallibility is proclaimed.

1925 - Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.

1977 - Vietnam becomes a member of the United Nations.

JULY 19

Louisiana History

1543 - DeSoto's expedition, under the command of Luis de Moscoso, reaches the Gulf of Mexico. They were the first group of white men to descend the Mississippi to its mouth.

1917 - The legislature passes a resolution approving the Congressional vote declaring war on Germany.

American History

1867 - Congress passes the Third Reconstruction Act over President Johnson's veto.

1956 - The US refuses to lend money to Egypt for the building of the Aswan Dam.

World History

2781 B.C. - The Egyptian calendar begins.

JULY 20

Louisiana History

1878 - George F. Shepley (Military Governor 1862-1864) dies in Portland, Maine.

American History

1881- Sioux Chief Sitting Bull surrenders to federal troops.

World History

1810 - Columbia declares its independence from Spain.

1933 - Vatican state secretary, Pacelli (Pius XII) signs a pact with Hitler.

1944 - The United States invades Japanese-occupied Guam during WWII.

JULY 21

Louisiana History

1793 - Luis de Unzaga y Amezaga (Spanish Colonial Governor 1770-1777) dies in Malaga, Spain.

1934 - U.B. Phillips, author of Life and Labor in the Old South, dies, having spent much of his life in New Orleans.

American History

1925 - The Scopes Monkey Trial ends- John Scopes is found guilty of teaching Darwinism.

World History

1542 - Pope Paul III begins the inquisition against Protestants.

1798 - Napoleon Bonaparte wins the Battle of the Pyramids in Egypt.

JULY 22

Louisiana History

1965 - Governor John McKeithen appoints a 40 member biracial committee in wake of the civil rights disturbances in Bogalusa.

American History

1775 - George Washington takes command of American troops.

1975 - The House of Representatives votes to restore citizenship to Robert E. Lee.

World History

1917 - Alexander Kerenski becomes the Prime Minister of Russia.

1952 - Poland adopts a communist-imposed constitution.

JULY 23

Louisiana History

1746 - Bernardo de Galvez (Spanish Colonial Governor 1777-1785) is born in Macharaviaya, Spain.

1864 - A new constitution is adopted by vote of those who had taken the Federal oath of allegiance. Although it abolishes slavery in the state, it limits the suffrage to white males over 21 with a proviso that it could be extended, presumably to blacks, at the discretion of the legislature.

1879 - A new constitution is adopted that neutralized the black vote, corrects the deficiencies of the 1868 constitution, and mandates that the capital be moved to Baton Rouge.

American History

1935 - An airplane crashes into the Empire State Building.

1973 - President Nixon refuses to release the Watergate tapes.

World History

1840 - The British Parliament passes the Union Act, united Upper and Lower Canada.

JULY 24

Louisiana History

1704 - The Pelican arrives from France with soldiers, workers, and 23 girls sent out to marry colonists.

1804 - The Gazette, an English newspaper, begins publication in New Orleans.

1900 - A race riot breaks out in New Orleans- two police officers are killed.

American History

1952 - President Truman settles a 53 day steel strike.

World History

1534 - Jacques Cartier land in Canada, claiming it for France.

1948 - The Soviets blockade Berlin from the west.

JULY 25

Louisiana History

1805 - Aaron Burr arrives on his trip to organize his ill-defined "Western Conspiracy" against Mexico.

American History

1729 - North Carolina becomes a royal colony.

1952 - Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing United States commonwealth.

World History

1261 - Byzantine Emperor Michael VII recaptures Constantinople.

1994 - Israel and Jordan end a 46 year state of war in Washington, D.C.

JULY 26

Louisiana History

1871 - John Slidell (businessman, attorney, and politician) dies in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England.

American History

1835 - The first sugar cane plantation is started in Hawaii.

1941 - The United States imposes an oil-embargo against Japan.

World History

1267 - The Inquisition forms in Rome under Pope Clement IV.

1788 - Sydney, Australia is settled by British colonists.

JULY 27

Louisiana History

1958 - General Claire Chennault (military aviator) dies in New Orleans.

1972 - Allen Ellender (attorney, farmer, and U.S. Senator) dies.

American History

1837 - A US mint opens in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1940 - Bugs Bunny debuts in "Wild Hare."

World History

1830 - Revolution breaks out in Paris, in opposition to the laws of King Charles X.

JULY 28

Louisiana History

1965 - Superintendent of Education Bill Dodd announces that the Department of Education has ended the fiscal year with a surplus of $822,825.

American History

1868 - The 14th Amendment is ratified, granting citizenship to ex-slaves.

World History

1540 - King Henry VIII marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

1588 - The Spanish Armada sails to overthrow England's Queen Elizabeth.

1821 - Peru declares its independence from Spain.

JULY 29

Louisiana History

1747 - Francois-Louis Hector, Baron de Carondelet et Noyelles (French Colonial Governor 1791-1797) is born in Cambray, France.

1785 - Le Bon Papa arrives in New Orleans with Acadian refugees.

1801 - Admiral David Farragut (sailor) is born in Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, Tennessee.

American History

1958 - President Eisenhower signs the NASA and Space Act of 1958.

World History

1920 - Mexican rebel Pancho Villa surrenders

JULY 3O

Louisiana History

1866 - A serious race riot takes place in New Orleans as a result of a meeting by radicals in the Mechanics Institute for the purpose of revising the constitution to ensure black suffrage.

American History

1619 - The House of Burgesses forms in Virginia, the first elective governing body in the United States.

1839 - Slaves overtake the ship Amistad.

1898 - Will Kellogg invents Corn Flakes.

World History

1988 - King Hussein of Jordan renounces sovereignty over the West Bank to the PLO.

JULY 31

Louisiana History

1852 - A constitutional convention approves changes in the state organic law, which reduces the residence requirements for office-holders, makes all the judicial offices elective, and provides for the annual meetings of the state legislature.

1913 - Willie Rainach (businessman and politician) is born in Kentwood, Louisiana.

American History

1792 - The cornerstone for the first US governmental building is laid for the US mint in Philadelphia.

1953 - The Department of Health, Education and Welfare is created.

World History

1498 - Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Trinidad.

SOURCES:

"Daily Almanac" by Michael J. Maggio
The Louisiana Governors ed. Joseph G. Dawson III
A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography ed. Glenn R. Conrad
Louisiana Almanac: 1997-98 Edition