115 years ago today
Hiram Bingham III Rediscovers Machu Picchu
On July 24, 1911, Yale professor and explorer Hiram Bingham III was led up the forested slopes of a Peruvian mountain by a local farmer and suddenly found himself gazing at one of the most extraordinary sights in the Americas — an elaborate Inca citadel perched between two mountain peaks at 2,430 metres above sea level, unknown to the outside world for nearly four centuries. Machu Picchu had been built in the mid-15th century, likely as a royal estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti, and abandoned roughly a hundred years later — perhaps during the Spanish conquest. Bingham's expedition brought the site to global attention, and it was eventually designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
Simón Bolívar
Venezuelan revolutionary and liberator of South America
Simón Bolívar led the independence movements that freed Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spanish rule, earning the title "El Libertador." His dream of a united South American republic ultimately failed, and he died in 1830, disillusioned and in exile from the nations he had liberated.
Alexandre Dumas
French novelist and playwright
Alexandre Dumas wrote two of the most popular adventure novels in world literature — The Three Musketeers (1844) and The Count of Monte Cristo (1844–1845). His swashbuckling heroes and intricate plots have never gone out of fashion; his works have been adapted for film and television more than 200 times.
Amelia Earhart
American aviation pioneer
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, and she set numerous other aviation records throughout her career. She disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, becoming one of history's most enduring mysteries.
Robert Graves
English poet and novelist
Robert Graves was one of the finest English poets of the twentieth century and the author of Goodbye to All That, a searingly honest WWI memoir, as well as the historical novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God. He lived most of his adult life on the Spanish island of Majorca.
Jennifer Lopez
American actress, singer, and dancer
Jennifer Lopez became one of the highest-paid Latin entertainers in Hollywood history, moving seamlessly between acting roles in Selena and Out of Sight and a pop music career that produced the landmark track "If You Had My Love." She is widely credited with popularising Latina identity in mainstream American entertainment.
Jacques Cartier Claims Canada for France
French explorer Jacques Cartier planted a ten-metre cross on the Gaspé Peninsula bearing the arms of France and the words "Vive le Roy de France," claiming the territory for the French crown. The act marked the beginning of France's colonial presence in North America.
Detroit Founded by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac
French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac established Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit on the strait between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, founding what would become the city of Detroit. The Cadillac automobile brand was later named in his honour.
Brigham Young Leads Mormon Pioneers into Salt Lake Valley
Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley, declaring it the new home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gazing over the valley, Young reportedly said "This is the right place." The migration established the foundation of what would become Utah.
SS Eastland Capsizes in Chicago River, Killing 844
The passenger steamer SS Eastland capsized while docked in the Chicago River, killing 844 people — the deadliest single-ship maritime disaster in American history. The victims were mostly Western Electric employees and their families on their way to a company picnic.
Treaty of Lausanne Establishes Modern Turkey's Borders
The Treaty of Lausanne was signed in Switzerland, replacing the abortive Treaty of Sèvres and establishing the internationally recognised borders of the modern Republic of Turkey. It also formalised one of history's largest compulsory population exchanges, moving over 1.5 million Greeks and 500,000 Muslims between Greece and Turkey.
Operation Gomorrah: Hamburg Firestorm
The Royal Air Force began Operation Gomorrah, a sustained bombing campaign against Hamburg that created the first man-made firestorm in history. Over the following week, the attacks killed an estimated 37,000 civilians and destroyed half the city.
Nixon and Khrushchev Hold the Kitchen Debate
US Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in a famous impromptu debate about capitalism and communism in front of a model American kitchen at the American National Exhibition in Moscow — a vivid snapshot of Cold War ideological rivalry.
Apollo 11 Splashes Down Safely in the Pacific
The Apollo 11 Command Module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, returning Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins safely to Earth after humanity's first lunar landing. The crew was quarantined for three weeks as a precaution against possible lunar contamination.
Supreme Court Orders Nixon to Surrender Watergate Tapes
The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in United States v. Nixon that President Nixon must surrender the Watergate tape recordings to the special prosecutor. The decision proved fatal to his presidency; he resigned sixteen days later.
Santiago de Compostela Train Disaster Kills 78
A high-speed train derailed on a curve near Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, killing 78 people and injuring 144. The driver, travelling at more than twice the permitted speed, was later convicted of gross negligence.
Boris Johnson Becomes Prime Minister
Boris Johnson was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following Theresa May's resignation over Brexit. Johnson had championed the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum and promised to deliver Brexit "do or die" by October 31, 2019.
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8th President of the United States
Martin Van Buren, the first president born as an American citizen and the architect of the modern Democratic Party, died at Lindenwald in Kinderhook, New York, at 80. His presidency was consumed by the financial Panic of 1837, and he lost his re-election bid.
Peter Sellers
English actor and comedian
Peter Sellers, one of the great comic actors of the twentieth century, died of a heart attack in London at 54. His Inspector Clouseau, Dr. Strangelove (and two other roles in that same film), and Chauncey Gardiner in Being There represent three of cinema's most indelible comic creations.
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Japanese author
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, author of "Rashōmon" and "In a Grove" — the stories that inspired Kurosawa's 1950 film — died by suicide at 35. He is considered the "father of the Japanese short story," and Japan's most prestigious literary prize bears his name.
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Polish-American Yiddish novelist, Nobel laureate
Isaac Bashevis Singer, who wrote entirely in Yiddish about the vanished Jewish world of Eastern Europe, died in Surfside, Florida, at 87. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978 — the first Yiddish-language writer to receive it.
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