The Shard (pictured) in London was inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 m (1,020 ft), but was surpassed by Moscow's Mercury City Tower four months later.
5 July 1160
A Tuesday in history
Weekday
Tuesday
Season
Summer (N. Hemisphere)
Century
12th century
Records
392
2012- 2009
A series of violent riots broke out in Ürümqi, the capital city of Xinjiang in China.
2009The Staffordshire Hoard, the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered, consisting of more than 1,500 items (examples pictured), was found near Hammerwich in Staffordshire.
2006The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting hours after North Korea reportedly tested at least seven ballistic missiles.
2004Indonesia held its first direct presidential elections, which resulted in the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as President of Indonesia after the second round on September 20.
- 1990
An explosion at a petrochemical plant in Channelview, Texas, United States, killed 17 people and injured 5 others.
1989United States National Security Council member Oliver North was given a suspended sentence, probation, and community service for his part in the Iran–Contra affair.
1973Juvénal Habyarimana (pictured) orchestrated a bloodless coup d'état of the Rwandan government and began a totalitarian dictatorship.
1969Two days after the death of their founder Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones performed at a free festival in Hyde Park, London, in front of more than a quarter of a million fans.
1954Elvis Presley recorded his first single, "That's All Right", at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
1950Korean War: In the first encounter between North Korean and American forces, an unprepared and undisciplined U.S. Army task force was routed at the Battle of Osan.
1946Named after Bikini Atoll, the site of the nuclear-weapons test Operation Crossroads in the Marshall Islands, the modern bikini was introduced at a fashion show in Paris.
1944Second World War: Canadian troops defeated the last German counterattacks against Carpiquet, Normandy, France.
1937The Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam, the canned precooked meat product that would eventually enter into pop culture, folklore, and urban legend.
1922Brazilian Army rebels took over Fort Copacabana and launched a rebellion in Rio de Janeiro against President Epitácio Pessoa and President-elect Artur Bernardes.
1841Thomas Cook, the founder of the British travel company Thomas Cook & Son, organised his first excursion, escorting about 500 people from Leicester to Loughborough.
1830Algiers surrendered to French invaders, ending the Regency of Algiers (coat of arms pictured).
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
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