On July 31, 1790, the fledgling United States took a decisive step toward promoting innovation and industrial progress: it issued its first patent. The recipient was Samuel Hopkins of Philadelphia, who secured legal recognition for a novel process of making potash—an essential ingredient in…
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The history of the lunar rover, an extraordinary feat of engineering, began with its debut on the moon on July 31, 1971, during the Apollo 15 mission. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), also known simply as the lunar rover, was a crucial development for…
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On July 31, 1777, a 19-year-old French aristocrat, Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, received a commission, without pay, from the Continental Congress making him a major-general in the Continental Army. Lafayette had developed a great interest in the colonial…
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On the morning of July 30, 1864, Union forces launched a bold yet catastrophically mishandled attempt to break the Confederate lines outside Petersburg, Virginia—an effort that would become known as the Battle of the Crater. As part of the larger Petersburg Campaign, the battle…
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In the summer of 1676, Virginia’s tidewater region simmered with discontent. Economic hardship, political grievances, and ongoing frontier conflicts converged to ignite one of the most significant uprisings in colonial American history: Bacon’s Rebellion. The colony of Virginia in the 17th century was a…
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Only July 30, 1975, the famous, or infamous, leader of the Teamsters Union went to the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in suburban Detroit for dinner and was never seen again. “James Riddle Hoffa was one of America’s foremost labor organizers, known for his leadership…
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On July 29, 587 BC, after months of siege, the Neo-Babylonian Empire broke through the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple—marking the violent end of the Kingdom of Judah and the beginning of the Babylonian Exile. The conquest, led by King Nebuchadnezzar…
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On July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This pivotal moment in history marked the beginning of a new era in space exploration and science, laying the groundwork for…
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On July 29, 1948, the world that had been torn apart joined together again in the spirit of unity through sports in what has been called one of the most important Olympiads ever. Held in London, that year’s Olympics, known as the “Austerity Games,”…
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On July 28, 1794 (10 Thermidor, Year II in the insane French Revolution calendar), Maximilien Robespierre, the architect of the French Revolution’s most radical and blood-soaked phase, was executed by guillotine in Paris. Alongside him fell his loyal lieutenant Louis Antoine de Saint-Just and…
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