The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars. The Viking 1 lander was part of NASA’s ambitious Viking program, which marked the first successful…
19 July 1545
The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the…
18 July 1870
The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility. The dogma of papal infallibility is a central but often misunderstood tenet of Roman Catholic…
17 July 1048
Damasus II is elected pope, and dies 23 days later. Pope Damasus II, originally named Poppo of Brixen, was elected to the papacy in 1048…
16 July 1969
The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission is launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA. Apollo 11 was the first successful manned mission to land on…
15 July 1815
Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon. Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to the British aboard the HMS Bellerophon on July 15, 1815, following his defeat at the…
14 July 1960
Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her study of chimpanzees in the wild. Jane Goodall is a renowned…
13 July 1878
Treaty of Berlin: The European powers redraw the map of the Balkans. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania become completely independent of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty…
12 July 1776
Captain James Cook begins his third voyage. Captain James Cook’s third voyage (1776–1779) was primarily aimed at discovering the elusive Northwest Passage, a potential sea…
11 July 1848
Waterloo railway station in London opens. Waterloo Station, officially known as London Waterloo, has a rich and layered history that dates back to the mid-19th…