Scott Allsop's Blog, page 31

6th July 1892: The Homestead Strike sees Pinkerton agents fight striking steelworkers

Dozens were killed or injured when Pinkerton agents working on behalf of the Carnegie Steel Company fought striking steelworkers in Homestead, ...

5th July 1937: SPAM, the canned cooked pork, first introduced by Hormel Foods Corporation @SPAMbrand

The United States continues to be the world’s largest consumer of Spam, with the luncheon meat being a particularly big seller in ...

4th July 1918: Mehmed VI ascends to the throne as the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire

By the time Mehmed VI became sultan following the death of his half-brother, the empire was on the brink of collapse due to a combination of military losses, economic hardship, and nationalist movements at ...

3rd July 1979: President Jimmy Carter authorises $500,000 to aid the mujahideen in Afghanistan

By the time Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan in 1989, it had become one of the CIA’s longest and most expensive covert ...

2nd July 1900: LZ 1, the first rigid Zeppelin airship, makes its maiden flight over Lake Constance in Germany

The LZ 1 featured a rigid aluminium frame covered with a fabric skin, within which was a series of 17 individual gas cells made from rubberized ...

1st July 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg begins, resulting in a decisive Union victory

Approximately 23,000 Union soldiers and 28,000 Confederates were killed, wounded, or captured in just three ...

30th June 1859: Charles Blondin became the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope

With the aid of a 26 foot long balancing pole, he crossed the gorge in a stunt taking just 23 ...

29th June 1971: Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 11 disaster, resulting in its cosmonauts becoming the only humans to ever die in space

Subsequent investigations revealed that a cabin vent valve had accidentally opened and depressurised the capsule when the service module was jettisoned at an altitude of 168 km, causing the crew to fall unconscious and suffer cardiac arrest in less than a ...

28th June 1969: The Stonewall Riots begin when New York City police raid the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village

Rioting continued for another five nights and acted as a catalyst for LGBT political ...

27th June 1898: Joshua Slocum completes the first solo circumnavigation of the globe

Slocum completed the first solo circumnavigation on June 27, 1898, after covering approximately 46,000 miles in an old Massachusetts oyster boat named ...