In a landmark moment for civil rights in the United States, President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law on July 25, 1990, heralding a new era of legal protection and inclusion for millions of Americans with physical…
Read MoreOn July 25, 1976, during its thirty-sixth orbit around the red planet, NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft snapped a black-and-white photograph that would ignite decades of speculation, myth-making, and scientific debate. The image—catalogued as frame 035A72—showed a portion of the Martian surface in the region…
Read MoreOn July 24, 1304, Stirling Castle—the last major Scottish stronghold resisting English occupation—surrendered to the forces of King Edward I after a prolonged siege. The fall of the fortress marked a significant moment in the Wars of Scottish Independence, not merely for its military…
Read MoreOn July 23, 1967, in the heart of Detroit’s predominantly African American inner city, a police raid on an unlicensed after-hours bar ignited one of the most violent and destructive civil disturbances in American history. Known as the Detroit Riots or the 12th Street…
Read MoreOn July 22, 1833, the British House of Commons passed the Slavery Abolition Act, marking a historic turning point in the British Empire’s long entanglement with slavery. Though imperfect and cautious in scope, the Act initiated the gradual dismantling of an institution that had…
Read MoreOn July 21, 1865, the dusty market square of Springfield, Missouri, became the unlikely stage for a deadly and historic confrontation. In a moment that would echo across dime novels, silent films, and American folklore, James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok faced off against Davis…
Read MoreBy the summer of 70 AD, the city of Jerusalem—once the spiritual and political heart of the Jewish people—was under siege by the legions of Rome. Titus, the ambitious son of Emperor Vespasian, commanded the assault. After months of grueling encirclement, starvation, and attrition,…
Read MoreOn July 19, 1848, a modest Wesleyan chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, became the unlikely cradle of a social revolution. Over two humid summer days, nearly 300 women and men gathered to launch what would become the organized women’s rights movement in the…
Read MoreOn July 18, 2013, the city of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, marking the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The filing was submitted by Kevyn Orr, the city’s state-appointed emergency manager, to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of…
Read MoreIn the midst of the First World War—a conflict that had engulfed the globe and pitted empires against each other—King George V of the United Kingdom took a decisive step to distance the British monarchy from its German roots. On July 17, 1917, he…
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