Scott Allsop's Blog, page 214

10th July 1553: Lady Jane Grey becomes queen of England

On the 10th July 1553, Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen of England after her first cousin once removed, the 15-year-old King Edward VI, died of an unknown respiratory problem. However, the Privy Council proclaimed Edward’s older sister Mary as queen just nine days later and imprisoned Jane in the Tower of London. She was tried on charges of high treason, found guilty, and beheaded the following February. The Third Act of Succession was passed by Parliament in July 1543 and restored Henry’s...

9th July 1971: Henry Kissinger makes a secret diplomatic trip to China

Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon’s National Security Advisor, made a secret trip to China to meet with Premier Zhou Enlai. Even before Nixon became president in 1969 he had expressed a desire to improve American relations with China. The USA had been virtually isolated from China since the Communists came to power in 1949, and Nixon was keen to end these two decades of mutual hostility. While part of his motivation was to contain China’s potential nuclear threat, he also sought to use China to...

8th July 1932: Dow Jones falls to lowest point in the Great Depression

On the 8th July 1932, the Dow Jones Industrial Average – a key indicator of the value of America’s biggest companies – fell to its lowest point during the Great Depression that began with the Wall Street Crash. From its high of 381.17 on September 3rd 1929, the Dow plummeted by almost 90 per cent to 41.22. The last time it had closed that low was in June 1897. The spectacular collapse of the Dow reflected the issue at the heart of the Great Depression – the panic selling of US stocks that wip...

7th July 1911: North Pacific Fur Seal Convention signed for wildlife conservation

The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention, the first international treaty that dealt with wildlife conservation issues, was signed. Archaeological evidence indicates that seals have been hunted for their pelts, their flesh and their fat for over 4,000 years. By the end of the 19th century, however, industrialisation of hunting had brought a rapid decline in the seal population of the Bering Sea. The USA had purchased Alaska and the surrounding islands in 1867, leading the American government to c...

6th July 1957: Lennon and McCartney meet for the first time

On the 6th July 1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles met for the first time at the St. Peter's Church garden fête in Woolton, Liverpool. Lennon was playing guitar with his skiffle band, The Quarrymen, who were performing on a bill beneath the Liverpool police dogs display team and the Band of the Cheshire Yeomanry. McCartney arrived at the fair in the late afternoon, where the band had already begun playing. According to McCartney’s own recollection of the day they were halfway...

5th July 1946: The bikini swimsuit introduced four days after a Bikini Atoll atomic test

The bikini swimsuit was introduced for the first time, four days after an atomic test at the Bikini Atoll. Although there is evidence of bikini-like clothing being worn by ancient civilisations, the modern 2-piece swimsuit only appeared in the aftermath of the Second World War. While swimming costumes for women had gradually become less conservative through the first half of the twentieth century, wartime fabric rationing had forced designers to remove excess material which resulted in more f...

4th July 1950: Radio Free Europe broadcasts for the first time

On the 4th July 1950, Radio Free Europe – founded the previous year to transmit uncensored information to audiences behind the Iron Curtain – completed its first broadcast. Although the station was uncensored in the sense that it shared information that was suppressed within the Communist Bloc, it’s important to remember that it was still a propaganda tool founded and principally funded by the United States government. The task facing the journalists who worked for RFE was daunting. Since the...

3rd July 1940: British navy attacks the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir

British naval ships attacked the French Navy at Mers-el-Kébir in Algeria during the Second World War. On 22 June 1940 France and Nazi Germany signed the Second Armistice at Compiègne. This signalled the end of the Battle of France, and Britain was concerned that the significant naval force of the Marine Nationale would now pass to the pro-Nazi Vichy government. If these ships were used by the Axis powers, they would secure a significant advantage in the Battle of the Atlantic. Winston Churchi...

2nd July 1964: Civil Rights Act signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson

On the 2nd July 1964, American President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law at the White House. The Act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and is consequently viewed as a landmark piece of civil rights legislation. The 1964 Civil Rights Act originated in the Presidency of John F. Kennedy, who had shared the statistics of racial inequality with the American people, such as the fact that life expectancy for an African-American was...

1st July 1911: Start of the Second Moroccan Crisis as gunboat SMS Panther is sent to Agadir

The German gunboat SMS Panther was sent to the Moroccan port of Agadir, sparking the Second Moroccan Crisis. France had emerged from the First Moroccan Crisis of 1906 in a much stronger position than neighbouring Germany, whose Kaiser Wilhelm II sought to develop economic and commercial interests in the country. The two countries formalised their positions in an agreement two years later but, by 1911, the domestic situation in Morocco had declined. In early 1911 the Sultan, Abdelhafid, faced...