| In July 1586, some of the Virginia colonists returned to England and disembarked at Plymouth smoking tobacco from pipes, which caused a sensation. William Camden, a contemporary witness, reports that "These men who were thus brought back were the first that I know of that brought into England that Indian plant which they call Tabacca and Nicotia, or Tobacco" Tobacco in the Elizabethan age was known as "sotweed." |  |
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| It was founded (1694) as a commercial bank by William Paterson with a capital of £1.2 million, which was advanced to the government in return for banking privileges, including the right to issue notes up to the amount of its capital. |
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| Benjamin Church (August 24, 1734 1776) was the first Surgeon General of the Continental Army July 27, 1775 - October 17, 1775. Church's loyalty to the American Revolution fell under suspicion, and he was forced from office in public disgrace, convicted of communicating with the enemy.In July 1775, Church had sent a cipher letter addressed to Major Cane, a British officer in Boston. The letter was intercepted and was sent to Washington in September. It was decoded and found to contain an account of the American forces before Boston, but contained no disclosures of great importance. It contained, however, a declaration of Church's devotion to the Crown and asked for directions for continuing the correspondence. |
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| In 1836, construction on the Charlotte Mint began, with it opening for business on July 27, 1837. Only raw gold was processed and refined until March 28, 1838, when the first $5 gold half eagle was struck in Charlotte. Later that year the $2 1/2 quarter eagles were minted, and a small gold dollar began production in 1849. All gold coinage coming from this mint has a "C" mint mark to distinguish it from other sister mints now in operation. Over $5 million in gold coins were issued by the Charlotte Mint. |
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| In 1866, Cyrus W. Field finally succeeded, after two failures, in laying the first underwater telegraph cable 1,686 miles long across the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe. Massachusetts merchant and financier Cyrus W. Field first proposed laying a 2,000-mile copper cable along the ocean bottom from Newfoundland to Ireland in 1854, but the first three attempts ended in broken cables and failure. Field's persistence finally paid off in July 1866, when Great Eastern, the largest ship then afloat, successfully laid the cable along the level, sandy bottom of the North Atlantic. |
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| On July 27, he set a new duration record, flying for one hour and 12 minutes with Lieutenant Frank Lahm on board. This exceeded one of the Army’s requirements—remaining aloft for one hour with a passenger on board. Orville flew the speed trial on July 30 with Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois on board. He had averaged 42.583 miles per hour (68.5 kilometers per hour)—surpassing the Army’s 40 mile per hour (64.4 kilometer-per-hour) requirement and breaking yet another record. The Wrights qualified for a $5,000 bonus by flying two miles per hour (3.2 kilometers per hour) over the necessary speed. The first military flyer would cost the U.S. Army $30,000. |
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| In 1918, "Socony 200", the first concrete barge, was launched into Flushing Bay, N.Y. The hull was constructed of concrete with steel-reinforcement by Fougner Concrete Shipbuilding Company. The Socony name is the acronym of the Standard Oil Company of New York, the owner. The barge, designed to carry oil, was 98 feet long, 31 feet wide and 91ž2 feet deep. Increased structural weight as a disadvantage of concrete as a construction material is offset by the saving in cost of construction. |
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| In 1921, insulin was isolated at Toronto University by Canadians Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best. It proved an effective treatment for diabetes. While Banting had an established a surgical practise in London, Ontario, he conceived a technique which might permit isolation of the anti-diabetic component of the pancreas. By the time the summer had ended, he and Charles Best had isolated insulin. |
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| Benny Goodman discovered Peggy Lee’s vocalizing in the Buttery Room at a time when he was looking for a replacement for Helen Forrest. Miss Lee joined Goodman’s band in July, 1941, when the band was at the height of its popularity, and for over two years she toured the United States with the most famous swing outfit of the day, playing hotel engagements, college proms, theater dates, and radio programs. Much of her present success Miss Lee credits to her apprenticeship with the big bands. In July, 1942, Peggy Lee recorded her first smash hit, "Why Don’t You Do Right?" It sold over 1,000,000 copies and made her famous. |
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| The Gloster Meteor Mk. I made its first flight on 15th May, 1941. It had a maximum speed of 415 mph (667 km) and had a range of 1,340 miles (2,156 km). It was 41 ft 3 in (12.58 m) long with a wingspan of 43 ft (13.11 m) and armed with four 20 mm cannons. The Gloster Meteor Mk. I saw action for the first time on 27th July, 1944 against the V1 Flying Bomb. The Gloster Meteor Mk. III first appeared in January 1945 and took part in missions over Nazi Germany. However, by this time the Luftwaffe had been virtually destroyed and it never met the leading German fighters in combat. |
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| Berra led the American League in games caught and chances accepted eight times, and led the league in double plays six times. He is one of only four catchers to ever field 1.000 in a season (1958), and between July 28, 1957, and May 10, 1959, Berra set major league records by catching in 148 consecutive games and accepting 950 chances without making an error. Yogi was a master at calling pitches and handling a pitching staff. He caught two no-hitters by Allie Reynolds in 1951 and Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. |
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| In 1949, the British De Havilland Comet, the world's first jet-propelled airliner, made its maiden flight in England. Before the time of the Comet today's speed and comfort standards did not exist. Commercial transport used piston engines and most planes were akin to WW2 aircraft. Flying was made difficult by the bad weather of low cruising levels; the cruising speed was reduced making long trips a tough and exhausting matter. The development of jet-engines in WW2 led to a new milestone in commercial air transport. |
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| The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 and ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953 (though no permanent peace treaty has ever been signed). In North Korea it is formally called the "Fatherland Liberation War." In the United States, the conflict at the time was sometimes officially called a police action, or the Korean Conflict, under the aegis of the United Nations rather than a war. Because of the prominence of World War II and the Vietnam War in American popular memory, the Korean War is sometimes known as "The Forgotten War." |
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| By late 1956 it was rumoured that Presley would be drafted into the US Army and, as if to compensate for that irksome eventuality, RCA, Twentieth Century Fox and the Colonel stepped up the work-rate and release schedules. Incredibly, three major films were completed in the next two-and-a-half years. “Loving You” boasted a quasi-autobiographical script with Presley playing a truck driver who becomes a pop star. The title track became the b-side of "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" which reigned at number 1 for seven weeks. |
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| The Beach Boys were currently enjoying their first Top Ten national hit, and the group backed the duo at their shows. Wilson had been experiencing difficulty in finishing a song called "Surf City," and gave it to Berry to finish for Jan & Dean. Cut in early 1963 with Wilson also singing on it, "Surf City," released in March of that year, became Jan & Dean's first number one single. The single also heralded a major change in their sound as they jumped head first into surf music. For the next few years, the duo's sound was rooted in a surf-guitar sound acquired from guitarist Dick Dale by way of the Beach Boys and increasingly bold use of harmony singing. |
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| In 1966, Masekela began recording for MCA's hip pop subsidiary, UNI Records, where he and business partner, producer Stewart Levine, released such signature Masekela performances as “The Emancipation Of Hugh Masekela” (1966), the wondrous African collection “Africa '68” and, of course, Masekela's biggest hit ever, 1968's "Grazing In The Grass," from "The Promise Of A Future.” |  |
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| Walter Blum won back-to-back American riding championships in 1963 and 1964. In his distinguished 22-year jockey career, he rode 4,382 winners. His 1,704 mounts in 1963 (including 360 firsts) were the second highest ever ridden in a single season. In 1974, his 4,000th winning mount made Blum only the sixth U.S. jockey ever to achieve that level. |
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| The House Judiciary Committee adopts the first Article of Impeachment by a vote of 27-11, with 6 Republicans voting with the Democrats. The Article charges Nixon with obstruction of the investigation of the Watergate break-in. More articles to follow. |
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| Denver wrote this for his then-wife Ann Martell after the near break up of their marriage. He wrote it in 10 minutes while on a ski lift. |  |
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| Pete Rose collects his 3,053rd career single off Steve Carlton in the 7th inning of Montreal's 61 win over Philadelphia, passing Ty Cobb as baseball's all-time singles king. |  |
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| "Everytime You Go Away" was written and originally recorded by Hall And Oates in 1980. Young's version became a hit 5 years later. It was the biggeest hit for Young. He contributed to Band Aid in 1984, and had hits with covers of R&B classics "Oh Girl" and "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted." |  |
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| The Tandy 1000 was a line of more or less IBM PC compatible home computer systems produced by the Tandy Corporation. The machine was geared toward home use and a modest budget, and it copied the IBM PCjr's 16-color graphics (PCjr's graphics were an extension of CGA video) and 3-voice sound, but didn't use the PCjr cartridge ports. As the Tandy 1000 outlasted the PCjr by many years these graphics and sound standards became known as "Tandy-compatible" or "TGA," and many software packages of the era listed their adherence to Tandy standards on the package. |
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| Atlanta's Dale Murphy hits two home runs in the 6th inning of a 101 rout of San Francisco, becoming the first Brave to accomplish the feat since Robert Lowe in 1894. Murphy also drives in six runs in the inning to tie another ML record, as the Braves score all ten runs of their runs in the outburst. |  |
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| Prior to going national in 1953, TV Guide existed as a regional publication. Today, these editions are called "pre-nationals". The initial TV Guide national edition was dated April 39, 1953. The cover featured a photo of Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV , the highly anticipated infant son of I Love Lucy. |
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| "(Everything I Do) I Do it for You" is one of the most successful singles of all time. It was #1 for 16 weeks in the UK (from 13th July to 26th October 1991) and 7 weeks in the US. The single sold over 3 million copies in the US, partly because many people wanted this song but did not want to buy the album. A longer version was used as the B-side to Adam's next single, "Can't Stop This Thing We Started." |  |
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1586 Sir Walter Raleigh brings first
tobacco to England from Virginia
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1694 Bank of England is chartered
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1775 Benjamin Church began his service as the
first Surgeon General of the Continental Army
More ...
1837 US Mint opens in Charlotte, NC
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1866 Atlantic telegraph cable successfully laid
(1,686 miles long)
More ...
1909 Orville Wright tests first US Army airplane,
flying 1hr 12min
More ...
1918 Socony 200, first concrete barge in US, launched
to carry oil, NY
More ...
1921 Canadian scientists Frederick Banting and
Charles Best isolated insulin
More ...
1942 Peggy Lee recorded her first hit record --
"Why Don’t You Do Right"
More ...
1944 First British jet fighter used in combat
(Gloster Meteor)
More ...
1947 Yogi Berra starts record 148 game errorless
streak
More ...
1949 Havilland Comet 40-passenger airliner makes
maiden flight
More ...
1953 Armistice signed ending Korean War
More ...
1957 "Teddy Bear" by Elvis Presley topped
the charts
More ...
1963 "Surf City" by Jan & Dean topped
the charts
More ...
1968 "Grazing in the Grass" by Hugh
Masekela topped the charts
More ...
1973 Walter Blum becomes 6th jockey to ride 4,000
winners
More ...
1974 The House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend
President Richard Nixon's impeachment
More ...
1974 “Annie's Song" by John Denver topped
the charts
More ...
1984 Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb’s record for
most singles in a career
More ...
1985 "Everytime You Go Away" by Paul
Young topped the charts
More ...
1988 Radio Shack announces the Tandy 1000 SL computer
More ...
1989 Atlanta Brave Dale Murphy is 10th to get
6 RBIs in an inning (6th)
More ...
1991 TV Guide publishes it's 2000th edition
More ...
1991 "(Everything I Do) I Do it for You"
by Bryan Adams topped the charts
More ...