In the early hours of July 9, 1979, a powerful car bomb ripped through the quiet suburban calm of a Paris neighborhood, targeting two of the most prominent Nazi hunters of the postwar era. The blast destroyed a Renault vehicle parked outside the home…
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On July 8, 1497, a small Portuguese fleet led by Vasco da Gama set sail from the port of Lisbon, embarking on one of the most consequential voyages in world history. Commanding four ships under the patronage of King Manuel I, da Gama’s mission…
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On a quiet Saturday morning in Chillicothe, Missouri, July 7, 1928, a local bakery began selling loaves of bread that looked radically different from anything customers had seen before. Instead of the typical unsliced loaves wrapped in wax paper or cloth, these loaves were…
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On July 6, 371 BC, in a quiet plain near the Boeotian town of Leuctra, the military supremacy of Sparta—unquestioned for over a century—was dealt a stunning and irreversible blow. That day, the Theban army, under the innovative command of Epaminondas, shattered the myth…
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On July 5, 1775—less than three months after the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord—the Second Continental Congress adopted what would become its final formal gesture of conciliation with King George III: the Olive Branch Petition. Drafted by…
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On July 4, 1863, while the Union celebrated Independence Day, General Ulysses S. Grant accepted the surrender of Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg, Mississippi—concluding a grueling 47-day siege and securing one of the most decisive victories of the American Civil War.…
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On July 3, 1913, under the humid skies of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a remarkable scene unfolded on the rolling hills of Cemetery Ridge. Fifty years to the day after the Confederate Army’s fateful charge across the open fields toward Union lines—a climax known as Pickett’s…
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In the minds of many Americans, July 4th is the nation’s birthday—the date celebrated with fireworks, patriotic speeches, and parades across the country. Yet it was on July 2, 1776, that the Continental Congress formally broke ties with Great Britain by adopting the Lee…
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At 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916, whistles blew across the British trenches in northern France, marking the start of what would become the single bloodiest day in British military history. The First Day of the Battle of the Somme—a major Allied offensive against…
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On June 30, 1688, seven English noblemen—two earls, a viscount, a bishop, and three barons—sent a covert letter to William of Orange, inviting him to intervene militarily in England and promising their support in overthrowing King James II. Known to history as the “Immortal…
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