1789: Bastille stormed
On 14 July 1789, militant Parisian workers storm and dismantle the
Bastille, a royal fortress in
Paris. Originally constructed in the 14th century, the Bastille was first used as a state prison in the 17th century. Although the average annual number of prisoners was only about 40, the Bastille came to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs. On the morning of 14 July 1789, when only seven prisoners were being held, a mob descended on the Bastille and demanded the arms and munitions stored there. When the prison governor refused, the people stormed the fortress and freed the prisoners. This dramatic action signalled the beginning of the
French Revolution, a three-year reign of terror and political turmoil in which King
Louis XVI was overthrown and roughly 1,000 people, including the king and his wife
Marie Antoinette, were sent to the
guillotine. The Bastille was demolished during the Revolution. Today, 14 July, Bastille Day, is celebrated as a national holiday in
France. 
2002
French President Jacques Chirac survives an assassination attempt during Bastille Day celebrations in
Paris. 2001
Northern
Irish politicians fail to resolve the deadlock in the peace process after six days of crisis talks in Staffordshire, England. The
Northern Ireland Assembly is eventually suspended in August.
1991
British troops begin to withdraw from the Kurdish areas of Iraq.1989
As French revellers celebrate the 200th anniversary of the storming of the
Bastille, trouble breaks out amongst the crowd in Paris as roughly 500 people are involved in a disturbance.
1971
The body of Michael Bassett is found in Cheshire with a suicide note claiming responsibility for the murder of three French tourists.1966
In Chicago, America Richard Speck murders eight student nurses. Speck was arrested and sentenced to life in prison.1965
The American spacecraft Mariner 4 flies past
Mars and takes photos of the Red planet.
1963
China and the
USSR publicly disagree about the future and direction of world
communism. 1958
Major-General Abdul Karim el Qasim stages a coup in
Iraq, overthrowing the monarchy and killing both the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister.
1933
The
Nazi party abolishes all other political parties in
Germany. 1864
The American Civil War: Confederate General
Nathan Bedford Forrest suffers his biggest defeat when Union General Andrew J. Smith routs his force in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1798
In America, Congress passes the Sedition Act designed to protect the country from alien citizens of enemy powers and to stop seditious attacks from weakening the government.1791
In England, a
riot takes place in Birmingham forcing Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the
French Revolution, out of the city.
1223
Louis VIII becomes King of
France. 1090
During the first Crusade,
Christian knights from Europe capture
Jerusalem after the end of a seven week siege.
