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1974 : President Isabel Peron, Juan Peron's third wife, was the Western Hemisphere's first female head of government after becoming President when her husband died. Argentina was suffering from serious economic and political strife and she was unable to form a government and the countries problems continued to worsen. After a military coup in 1976 she was imprisoned for five years on a charge of abuse of power and upon her release in 1981 settled in Madrid.
1956 : Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 bill into law. The National Interstate and Defense Highways Act was for the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways over a 20-year period and was the largest public works project ever undertaken. For each highway created 90 percent of construction costs were paid by the Federal budget and 10% from the local state.
1925 : The picturesque Santa Barbara was rocked by an earthquake causing heavy loss of life when the dam burst and water mains burst causing some of areas of the city to be flattened . The quake was felt as far away as San Francisco and Los Angeles with many millions of dollars worth of damage across California, The earthquake was also felt in other states including Montana with more damage.
1936 : 3 millions job program launched as part of the relief and public works program the WPA average wage has been set at $25.00 per month, this was a major part of the bills passed in the 1930s to help the country during the Great Depression.
1936 : Following the severe drought in the Midwest with a continuing lack of rain in the corn belt many fear soaring food prices.
1941 : German divisions make major advances on Leningrad, Moscow, and Kiev due to the surprise attack and the use of the Luftwaffe.
1943 : Following problems between Manhattan Project physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves, the military leader in charge of the project. President Roosevelt sent a letter to Oppenheimer congratulating him on the progress of the project and asking for his understanding for the conditions he and his fellow scientists were working under due to the strict security required on a project of this importance and magnitude.
1947 : Buying a new car from a main new car dealer can mean months or even years to wait but if you go to your local used car dealer you can find the latest 1947 models brand new but at a price of between $500 and $1000 more than the list price, they go direct to the factories and buy them then transport around the country.
1964 : New Zealand shows support for Americas involvement in Vietnam by sending 24 engineers.
1966 : The US steps up it's use of bombers and for the first time bombs major North Vietnamese population centers of Hanoi and Haiphong.
1986 : Richard Branson on the 72 ft powerboat Virgin Challenger II smashes the world record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic beating the previous record-holder, the SS United States, which has held the title since 1952. Although Virgin Challenger II broke the record, the Hales' trustees refused to award the Blue Riband trophy because the boat did not have a commercial maritime purpose and had stopped to refuel. More about Virgin Challenger
1989 : With the worsening of relations between the USA and China during the Cold War Years and following the massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a package of sanctions against the People's Republic of China focused on economic and trade relations with China.
1995 : The US shuttle Atlantis delivered a relief crew of two cosmonauts to the Russian Mir space station, creating a new era of space co-operation between the two former Cold War rivals.
1995 : The Sampoong department store in Seoul, South Korea, collapses due to a combination of poor design and poor construction killing more than 500 people.
2001 : A memorial in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales, is to be built in London's Hyde Park, the memorial will be built on the banks of the Serpentine - the 40-acre artificial lake in the royal park.
Celebrating Birthday Today
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Born: June 29th, 1900, Lyon, France
Died: July 31st, 1944, over the Mediterranean coast of France
Known For : Originally a commerical pilot that flew from Africa from France, he also did flights in South America. He flew for the French Air Force at the beginning of the Second World War, and evacuated to the United States and Canada on France's capitulation to Nazi Germany. It was in America that he wrote his best known work: The Little Prince. His novels included Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars (both of which were written in the Thirties). He joined the Free French air force and took part in reconnaisance missions for the Allies. His plane disappeared in southern France and he was never seen again (a German pilot has since claimed the kill).
2003 : As the row over statements made by the British Prime Minister in the run up to Iraq Invasion telling the British People that "Saddam could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes of the order being launched" continues government ministers are coming under increasing pressure from the British Press including the BBC to tell the truth.
The Government Foreign Affairs Committee's report will vindicate the government which leaves the question of:
Did the government mislead the British Public?
orAre the British intelligence services so inept that the reports they provided were completely wrong as no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq?
2006 : The US Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law.
2006 : The United States House of Representatives voted in favor of ending the ban on offshore oil drilling in the country. The bill that was approved would end the ban which began in 1981 and had been renewed each year since. Coastal states were expected to oppose the end of the ban because of fears that an oil spill could threaten their tourist industry, among other reasons. Despite the progress this signaled towards ending the ban, energy companies and others in favor of offshore drilling would face many more hurdles dealing with state governments and other federal agencies.
2007 : The first Apple iPhones went on sale in stores for the first time as people lined up and waited outside shops for days. The long anticipated phone featured a touch-screen with no keyboard, wi-fi access, a camera, and the ability to browse the web. Apple stated that they hoped they would take hold a significant portion of the mobile phone market with the immensely popular iPhone.
2008 : Following the withdrawal from the presidential elections of the opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai for Movement for Democratic Change. Mr Mugabe is sworn in for a new five-year term as Zimbabwe's president.
2009 : Bernard Madoff, the man behind one of the largest investment fraud crimes in history, was sentenced to one hundred and fifty years in prison for stealing sixty-five billion dollars from investors. The judge had sentenced Madoff to the maximum time for all eleven charges against him, while the defense had asked for only twelve years in jail. After the sentence was announced the courtroom audience applauded and cheered.
2011 : French president Nicolas Sarkozy stated that two French journalists who had been kidnapped in Afghanistan were released after eighteen months. Herve Ghesquiere, Stephane Taponier, and their interpreter, Reza Din were freed and taken to a French base in Afghanistan. The journalists were kidnapped by Taliban insurgents along with two other Afghan citizens and were said to be in good condition upon their release.
2012 : Actress Doris Singleton died at the age of ninety-two. Singleton appeared in ten episodes of I Love Lucy at the height of the show's popularity and also had roles in My Three Sons and several other television series.
2013 : An appeals court in San Francisco, California lifted the ban on gay marriage soon after a Supreme Court ruling. Within hours of the ruling, gay marriages resumed in the city hall for the first time since November of 2008.