All posts by b nice

Semper Doctrina—we are always improving and adapting.

On This Day – July 10

1985 Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, sinks

The ship was in harbor in New Zealand when it was bombed and sunk, killing Fernando Pereira, a photographer who was aboard the ship. It was found out later that French government operatives were responsible for the incident.
1967 New Zealand adopts new currency

The New Zealand pound was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. The denominations of the new currency followed a decimal system.
1962 Telstar, the world’s first communication satellite is launched in space

The satellite, made by a collaboration between organizations in the U.S., the U.K., and France, transmitted the first live television images in the world.
1940 Battle of Britain

The German air force or Luftwaffe launched an air campaign against England. It was one of the first battles during the Second World War fought entirely between air forces and it ended a few months later with a British victory.
1913 Death Valley, U.S experiences the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth

Measurements showed that the temperature had reached a whopping 134°F or 57°C!

2011 South Sudan becomes the youngest country in the world

The North East African country, formally known as Republic of South Sudan peacefully seceded from Sudan after an independence referendum was passed. Since independence, however, the country has been wrecked with widespread ethnic violence and human rights violations.
1981 Donkey Kong is released by Nintendo

Nintendo’s famous character Mario debuted as Jumpman in this popular arcade game.
1962 Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup Cans make their debut

The Soup Cans were first displayed at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, California, and were instrumental in popularizing Pop Art in the United States.
1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami

A megatsunami, a tsunami whose waves are higher than a normal tsunami, hit Lituya Bay in Alaska, United States, resulting in a wave that was recorded to be 1,720 feet or 516 meters high. This is the highest wave recorded in history.
1877 The first Wimbledon Championship is held

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London hosted the first Wimbledon championship, which was not only the first tennis championship held in England but was also a precursor to grand slam tournaments. 22 men competed in the championship and Spencer Gore became the first person to win the Wimbledon tournament.

2011 Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched for the last time

It was also the last flight of NASA’s 30-year long and successful Space Shuttle program. STS-135, as this final mission was called, was the program’s 135th flight.
1994 Kim Jong-il takes office as the Supreme Leader of North Korea

Popularly known as “Dear Leader” in his country, Kim Jong-il took North Korea’s highest office after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung. He ruled the country with an iron fist until his death in 2011, when his son, Kim Jong-un took his place. Kim Jong-il’s tenure was marred by widespread human rights violations and severe famine in the country.
1889 Wall Street Journal published for the first time

Three financial reporters named Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser created The Wall Street Journal to supersede a previous periodical called the Customers’ Afternoon Letter.
1777 Vermont abolishes slavery

Vermont adopted its constitution that abolished slavery, becoming the first region in the now United States to abolish slavery. The constitution was adopted after Vermont declared independence from the British empire.
1497 Vasco da Gama sets off on a voyage to India from Lisbon with 4 ships

A year later, he reached the city of Calicut in southern India and became the first European to set foot in India by way of the sea.