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.
Source5 July 1853
A Tuesday in history
Weekday
Tuesday
Season
Summer (N. Hemisphere)
Century
19th century
Records
392
2012
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.
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2006The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting hours after North Korea reportedly tested at least seven ballistic missiles.
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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.
Source- 1990
An explosion at a petrochemical plant in Channelview, Texas, United States, killed 17 people and injured 5 others.
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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.
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1973Juvénal Habyarimana (pictured) orchestrated a bloodless coup d'état of the Rwandan government and began a totalitarian dictatorship.
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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.
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1954Elvis Presley recorded his first single, "That's All Right", at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
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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.
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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.
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1944Second World War: Canadian troops defeated the last German counterattacks against Carpiquet, Normandy, France.
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1937The Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam, the canned precooked meat product that would eventually enter into pop culture, folklore, and urban legend.
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1922Brazilian Army rebels took over Fort Copacabana and launched a rebellion in Rio de Janeiro against President Epitácio Pessoa and President-elect Artur Bernardes.
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1841Thomas Cook, the founder of the British travel company Thomas Cook & Son, organised his first excursion, escorting about 500 people from Leicester to Loughborough.
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1830Algiers surrendered to French invaders, ending the Regency of Algiers (coat of arms pictured).
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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.