1900: Boxer Rebellion begins
In response to foreign encroachment in
China, Chinese nationalists launch the so-called
Boxer Rebellion in Peking. Calling themselves I Ho Ch'uan, or the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, the nationalists occupied Peking, killed several foreign officials, and besieged the diplomatic quarter of the city. The British called the nationalists Boxers because of their martial-arts fighting style. The siege continued until August 14, when an international force featuring British, Russian, American,
Japanese, French, and
German troops fought their way into Peking and ended the
Boxer Rebellion. In the aftermath, a peace treaty was forced on China's ruling government, making China effectively a subject nation of the foreign powers.
1996
English cricket umpire Harold 'Dickie' Bird receives a standing
ovation by players and spectators at Lords when he takes the field to officiate in his final Test Match.
1987
Rugby Union's first World Cup is won by
New Zealand - beating France 29-9 in the final in Auckland.
1977
Opening of the 8,000 mile oil pipeline across Alaska.1969
A
referendum in Rhodesia backs Premier Ian Smith's proposal for the country to declare itself a republic.
1963
Russia and America agree to install a telephone 'hot-line' between Moscow and Washington - completed on August 30th.1960
American Floyd Patterson becomes the first boxer to regain the world heavyweight championship - knocking out Sweden's Ingemar Johansson in New York.1949
American tennis player 'Gorgeous' Gussie Moran causes a sensation at the Wimbledon Championships by wearing lace-trimmed pants under a short skirt.1942
World War II:
German troops in North Africa captured the coastal town of
Tobruk. 1923
Mexican revolutionary leader
Pancho Villa is assassinated on his farm.
1900
The assassinaion of the German Ambassador in Beijing, Baron von Ketteler, begins the siege of the foreign legations in the city by the Chinese group known as Boxers (righteous, harmonious fists). The
Boxer Rebellion lasts until the middle of August, 1900.
1863
In America, West Virginia is admitted to
the Union as the 35th state.
1837
On the death of
William IV, his niece Victoria becomes Queen of England.
1819
Paddle-wheel steamship Savannah becomes the first steamship to cross the Atlantic - arriving in Liverpool, England after departing Savannah, Georgia USA 27 and a half days earlier.1792
A crowd of at least 20,000 storm the Tuilieries in
Paris in an attempt to negotiate constitutional and social reforms with king
Louis XVI. 1789
In
France, the formation of the National Assembly to oppose the domination of the French
aristocracy. 1756
In
India, the night of the infamous 'Black Hole of Calcutta' where more than 140 British soldiers and civilians are placed in a small prison cell - 18 feet by 14 feet - by the Nawab of
Bengal. The following morning only 23 emerge alive.
1950
US singer Lionel Ritchie.1942
American musician Brian Wilson born in California - founder member of the 1960s group The Beach Boys.1934
US
actor Martin Landau.
1924
American film actor Audie Murphy.1909
Hollywood film actor Errol Flynn is born in Hobart, Tasmania.1866
English archaeologist and Egyptologist Lord Carnarvon - sponsor of the expedition to find the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.1819
German composer Jacques Offenbach - Jakob Eberst - born in Cologne. Works include the light operetta
Orpheus In The Underworld and the grand opera, the Tales of Hoffman.
1947
American gangster Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel shot dead in Beverley Hills, California.1923
Mexican revolutionary leader
Pancho Villa is assassinated on his farm.
1837
King William IV of England. Succeeded to the throne by his niece, Victoria.1836
French revolutionary leader Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes - a key member of the 1799 coup in France which brought
Napoleon Bonaparte to power.
1597
Dutch explorer
Willem Barents dies in the Arctic when his ship becomes trapped in ice.
