In the U.S. state of Arizona, the Boundary Fire (pictured) burned out after 32 days, burning 17,788 acres (7,199 ha) of the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests.
Source3 July 1765
A Wednesday in history
Weekday
Wednesday
Season
Summer (N. Hemisphere)
Century
18th century
Records
347
2017
2013General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coalition to depose President Mohamed Morsi in a coup d'état in Cairo, suspending the Egyptian Constitution of 2012.
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1988The US Navy warship Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
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1979US president Jimmy Carter signed a presidential finding, authorizing covert operations to aid the mujahideen against the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
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1973British singer David Bowie retired his stage persona Ziggy Stardust in a surprise announcement on the last day of a 17-month tour.
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1970Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashed into the slopes of the Montseny Massif in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard.
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1970The Troubles: The British Army began the Falls Curfew in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which resulted in greater Irish republican resistance.
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1952SS United States (pictured) departed New York Harbor on her maiden voyage, on which completion she became the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic.
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1940Second World War: The Royal Navy attacked the French fleet at Mers El Kébir (pictured), fearing that the ships would fall into Axis hands after the French–German armistice.
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1938On the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Eternal Light Peace Memorial.
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1863Confederate forces were defeated by the Union Army on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg (pictured), a turning point in the American Civil War.
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1810Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811: A French frigate squadron under Guy-Victor Duperré defeated a convoy of three British East Indiamen near the Comoro Islands.
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1778American Revolutionary War: Loyalists and Iroquois killed over 300 Patriots at the Battle of Wyoming in Pennsylvania.
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1754French and Indian War: George Washington surrendered Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania, the only military surrender in his career.
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324Civil wars of the Tetrarchy: Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated his former colleague Licinius at the Battle of Adrianople.
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Photo archive
24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.
What was life like?
Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.
Sources & fact check
Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.