On This Day in History - July 15

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

July 15, 1971: Nixon announces visit to communist China

During a live television and radio broadcast, President Richard Nixon stuns the nation by announcing that he will visit communist China the following year. The statement marked a dramatic turning point in U.S.-China relations, as well as a major shift in American foreign policy.  

Nixon was not always so eager to reach out to China. Since the Communists came to power in China in 1949, Nixon had been one of the most vociferous critics of American efforts to establish diplomatic relations with the Chinese. His political reputation was built on being strongly anti-communist, and he was a major figure in the post-World War II Red Scare, during which the U.S. government launched massive investigations into possible communist subversion in America.  

By 1971, a number of factors pushed Nixon to reverse his stance on China. First and foremost was the Vietnam War. Two years after promising the American people "peace with honor," Nixon was as entrenched in Vietnam as ever. His national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, saw a way out: Since China's break with the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s, the Chinese were desperate for new allies and trade partners. Kissinger aimed to use the promise of closer relations and increased trade possibilities with China as a way to put increased pressure on North Vietnam--a Chinese ally--to reach an acceptable peace settlement. Also, more importantly in the long run, Kissinger thought the Chinese might become a powerful ally against the Soviet Union, America’s Cold War enemy. Kissinger called such foreign policy 'realpolitik,' or politics that favored dealing with other powerful nations in a practical manner rather than on the basis of political doctrine or ethics.  

Nixon undertook his historic "journey for peace" in 1972, beginning a long and gradual process of normalizing relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States. Though this move helped revive Nixon’s sagging popularity, and contributed to his win in the 1972 election, it did not produce the short-term results for which Kissinger had hoped. The Chinese seemed to have little influence on North Vietnam's negotiating stance, and the Vietnam War continued to drag on until U.S. withdrawal in 1973. Further, the budding U.S.-China alliance had no measurable impact on U.S.-Soviet relations. But, Nixon's visit did prove to be a watershed moment in American foreign policy--it paved the way for future U.S. presidents to apply the principle of realpolitik to their own international dealings.  


The First Crusaders captured and plundered Jerusalem. Poles and Lithuanians defeated Prussian knights in Tannenburg. During the French Revolution, the Electors set up a "Commune" to try and live without government, effectively. Napoleon met with his opponents to discuss peace terms and, two years later, he would be forced to surrender. Natal in present-day South Africa became an independent colony. Georgia became the last ex-Confederate state to be re-admitted into the Union. Buchenwald Concentration Camp opened. It was on this date that the first deployment to Auschwitz began. Algeria joined the Arab League. The New Jersey Americans became the New York Nets. Nixon wanted to normalize relations with China. Nets news again: Derrick Coleman was accused of rape in Detroit. American Taliban Johnny Walker pled guilty to supplying aid to the enemy, as well as to carrying explosives.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

1099 - First Crusaders capture, plunder Jerusalem.    

1205 - Pope Innocent III states Jews are doomed to perpetual servitudea and subjugation due to crucifixion of Jesus

1207 - John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton.

1240 - A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva.

1307 - Duke Henrik van Karinthi chosen king of Bohemia

1381 - John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, drawn and quartered in the presence of Richard II of England.

1410 - Battle of Tannenburg (in Prussia) -Teutonic Knights vs King Ladislas II of Poland. The Poles and Lithuanians defeated the Teutonic knights

1500 - Duke Albrecht of Saxon beats Friese rebellion

1500 - Baglione family massacre at the "Blood Wedding" of Astorre Baglione & Lavinia Colonna in Perugia

1501 - Explorer Pedro Cabral back in Lisbon

1524 - Emperor Karel I bans German national synode

1538 - Peace talks between Karel & King Francois I

1662 - King Charles II charters Royal Society in London

1741 - Alexei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.

1755 - French ambassador recalled from London

1779 - US troops under Gen A Wayne conquer Ft Stony Point, NY

1783 - First steamboat, Pyroscaphe, 1st run in France

1787 - Parliament of Paris banished to Troyes

1789 - The electors of Paris set up a "Commune" to live without the authority of the government. Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette, is named by acclamation colonel-general of the new National Guard of Paris. Key Figure of Medieval Rus Alexander NevskyKey Figure of Medieval Rus Alexander Nevsky

1795 - "Marseillaise" becomes French national anthem

1799 - The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign.

1806 - Lieutenant Zebulon Pike began his Southwestern expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine, near St. Louis, MO.  

1808 - French marshal Joachim Murat becomes king of Naples

1813 - Napoleon Bonaparte's representatives met with the Allies in Prague to discuss peace terms.  

1815 - Napoleon surrendered and is later exiled on St Helena

1815 - 1st flat horse race held on Nottingham Hill at Cheltenham, England (day and month TBC)

1823 - A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

1830 - 3 Indian tribes, Sioux, Sauk & Fox, signs a treaty giving the US most of Minnesota, Iowa andMissouri

1834 - Lord Napier of England arrived in Macao, China as the first chief superintendent of trade.  

1840 - England, Russia, Austria & Prussia signs Quadruple Alliance

1850 - John Wisden bowls all 10 South batsmen, North v South at Lord's

1856 - Natal formeds as a British colony separate from Cape Colony

1862 - CSS Arkansas vs USS Cardondelet & Queen of the West engage at Yazoo R

1863 - Pres Davis orders service duty for confederate army

1864 - Troop train loaded with Confederate prisoners collided with a coal train killing 65 & injuring 109 of 955 aboard

1867 - San Francisco Merchant's Exchange opens

1869 - Margarine was patented by Hippolye Méga-Mouriès for use by French Navy

1870 - Manitoba becomes 5th Canadian province & NW Territories created

1870 - Hudson's Bay & Northwest Territories transferred to Canada

1870 - Georgia became the last of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.  

1876 - George Washington Bradley of St. Louis pitched the first no-hitter in baseball in a 2-0 win over Hartford.  

1885 - In New York, the Niagara Reservation State Park opened.  

1888 - "Printers’ Ink" was first sold.  

1888 - Bandai volcano (Japan) erupts for first time in 1,000 years

1893 - Commodore Perry arrives in Japan

1895 - Ex-prime minister of Bulgaria, Stephen Stambulov, was murdered by Macedonian rebels.

1900 - President Steyn/General De Law escape Brandwater Basin

1901 - Over 74,000 Pittsburgh steel workers went on strike.  

1901 - NY Giant Christy Mathewson no-hits St Louis, 5-0

1902 - Ranjitsinhji scores 180 before lunch, for Sussex v Surrey

1904 - The first Buddhist temple in the U.S. was established in Los Angeles, CA.    

1906 - Republic museum opens Rembrandt hall in Amsterdam

1909 - Ty Cobb hits 2 inside-the-park HRs

1911 - 46" of rain (begining 7/14) falls in Baguio, Philippines

1912 - British National Health Insurance Act goes into effect

1914 - Mexican president Huerta flees with 2 million pesos to Europe

1916 - 22.22" (56.4 cm) of rain falls in Altapass NC (state record)

1916 - In Seattle, WA, Pacific Aero Products was incorporated by William Boeing. The company was later renamed Boeing Co.  

1918 - The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.    

1920 - Ruth ties his record of 29 HRs in a season

1922 - The first duck-billed platypus arrived in America, direct from Australia. It was publicly exhibited at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.

1923 - Italian parliament accepts new constitution

1926 - VPRO (Free thinking Protestant Radio Broadcast) forms

1927 - Massacre of July 15, 1927: 89 protesters are killed by the Austrian police in Vienna. 1929 - 1st airport hotel opens-Oakland Ca

1932 - President Hoover cuts own salary 15%

1933 - Wiley Post began first solo flight around world

1934 - Continental Airlines commences operations.

1936 - Dutch Second Chamber agree to temporarily increase defense budget

1937 - Buchenwald Concentration Camp opens

1937 - Japanese attack Marco Polo Bridge, invade China

1938 - Arthur Fagg completes 244 & 202 in the same cricket game for Kent

1939 - Clara Adams (NYC) is 1st woman to complete round world flight

1940 - First betatron placed in operation, Urbana, Il

1940 - Nazi occupiers seize library of IISG Amsterdam Pathologist and Nobel Laureate Howard FloreyPathologist and Nobel Laureate Howard Florey

1940 - The world's tallest man (8 feet, 11.1 inches), Robert Wadlow, died.

1941 - Florey and Heatley present freeze dried mold cultures (Penicillin)

1942 - First deportation camp at Westerbork, Jews sent to Auschwitz

1942 - Dutch Jews invoked for "Labor camps"

1942 - The first supply flight from India to China over the 'Hump' was carried to help China's war effort.

1944 - Greenwich Observatory damaged by WW II flying bomb

1946 - British North Borneo Co transfers rights to British crown

1948 - Alcoholic Anonymous founded in Britain

1948 - Pres Harry Truman nominated for another term (Phila)

1948 - John J. Pershing, whose leadership in World War I earned him the title General of the Armies of the United States, died in Washington, DC.

1949 - "Miss Liberty" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 308 performances

1949 - Czech tennis stars Jaroslav Drobny & Vladimir Cernik, defect to US

1949 - WBTV TV channel 3 in Charlotte, NC (CBS) begins broadcasting

1952 - First transatlantic helicopter flight begins

1954 - 110°F (43°C) at Balcony Falls, Virginia (state record)

1954 - First coml jet transport plane built in US tested (Boeing 707)

1954 - KOCO TV channel 5 in Oklahoma City, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting

1954 - WBOC TV channel 16 in Salisbury, MD (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting

1955 - WNDU TV channel 16 in South Bend, IN (NBC) begins broadcasting

1955 - Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others.

1956 - Iharos runs world record 10k (28:42.8)

1957 - Dutch Super Constellation crashes near New Guinea, 56 die

1957 - US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site

1958 - Pres Eisenhower sends US troops to Lebanon; they stay 3 months

1958 - Five thousand U.S. Marines landed in Beirut, Lebanon, to protect the pro-Western government. The troops withdrew October 25, 1958.  

1959 - The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.

1960 - Balt Orioles' Brooks Robinson goes 5 for 5 including the cycle

1961 - "Donnybrook!" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 68 performances

1961 - Spain accept equal rights for men & women

1962 - Algeria becomes member of Arab League

1962 - Netherland Indonesia accord over New-Guinea

1963 - KAIT TV channel 8 in Jonesboro, AR (ABC) begins broadcasting

1963 - Paul McCartney is fined £17 for speeding

1964 - Barry M Goldwater (Sen-R-Az) nominated for president by Republicans

1965 - Athanassiades Novas succeeds Papandreo as premier of Greece

1965 - The spacecraft Mariner IV sent back the first close-up pictures of the planet Mars.  

1967 - "Sweet Charity" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 608 performances

1967 - LA Wolves beat Wash Whips 6-5 in OT to be United Soccer Ass champs

1967 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1968 - Commercial air travel begins between US & USSR

1968 - France performs nuclear Test at Muruora Island

1968 - NJ Americans moved to Comack and become NY Nets (ABA)

1968 - Soap opera "One Life To Live" premieres

1968 - ABC-TV premiered "One Life to Live".  

1968 - Commercial air travel began between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., when the first plane, a Soviet Aeroflot jet, landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York.  

1969 - Cincinnati Red Lee May hits 4 HRs in a doubleheader

1969 - Rod Carew ties record with his 7th steal of home in a season

1970 - Denmark beats Italy 2-0 in 1st world female soccer championship

1971 - U.S. President Nixon announced he would visit the People's Republic of China to seek a "normalization of relations."  

1973 - Nolan Ryan (California Angels) became the first pitcher in two decades to win two no-hitters in a season, as the Angels defeated the Tigers, 6-0.

1973 - Paul Getty III kidnapped \

1973 - Ray Davies, announces retirement from Kinks then attempts suicide

1973 - Willie McCovey becomes 15th to hit 400 HRs

1974 - Military coup on Cyprus: archbishop/president Makarios flees

1975 - 46th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-3 at County Stadium, Milwaukee

1975 - All star MVP: Bill Madlock (Pittsburgh Pirates) & John Matlock (NY Mets)

1975 - Apollo 18 launched (will rendezvous with Soyuz)

1975 - The Russian Soyuz and the U.S. Apollo launched. The Apollo-Soyuz mission was the first international manned spaceflight.

1976 - 36-hr kidnap of 26 school children & their bus driver in Calif

1978 - 107th British Golf Open: Jack Nicklaus shoots a 281 at St Andrews

1979 - 34th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Jerilyn Britz

1979 - Morarji Desai resigns as premier of India

1980 - Johnny Bench hits his 314th HR as a catcher breaks Yogi Berra's record

1981 - Steven Ford, son of former President Gerald R. Ford, appeared in a seduction scene of "The Young and the Restless" on CBS-TV. Ford played the part of Andy.    

1982 - Body of Wendy Caulfield, first Green River victim, found near Seattle

1982 - Columbia flies to Kennedy Space Center via Dyess AFB, Texas

1982 - Senate confirms George Shultz as 60th sec of state by vote of 97-0

1983 - 8 killed, 54 wounded, by Armenian extremists bomb at Orly, France

1983 - Linda Ronstadt debuts as Mabel in "Pirates of Penzance"

1984 - 39th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Hollis Stacy

1984 - John Lennon releases "I'm Stepping Out"

1985 - Baseball players voted to strike on August 6th if no contract was reached with baseball owners. The strike turned out to be just a one-day interruption.

1986 - 57th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-2 at Astrodome, Houston

1986 - All star MVP: Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox)

1987 - Boy George barred from British TV show, he may be a bad influence

1987 - John Poindexter testifies at Iran-Contra hearings

1987 - Taiwan ended thirty-seven years of martial law.  

1991 - France performs nuclear Test at Muruora Island

1991 - US troops leave northern Iraq

1991 - Sandhi Ortiz-DelValle is 1st woman to officiate a men's pro basketball (USBL) game, game between New Haven Skyhawks & Phila Spirit 264th Pope John Paul II264th Pope John Paul II

1992 - Pope John Paul II hospitalized for 3 weeks to have tumor removed

1994 - Gyula Horn sworn in as premier of Hungary

1994 - Israel and Jordan agree to talks in Wash DC on July 25th

1994 - NJ Nets Derrek Coleman accused of rape in Detroit

1994 - Sonia O'Sullivan runs 3K (8:21.64)

1995 - Birmingham Barracudas 1st CFL home game (vs Hamilton)

1995 - Jews take Jerusalem

1995 - Northern Virginia begins using new area code 540

1996 - After 2,216 consecutive games at shortstop, Cal Ripkin goes to 3rd 1996 - MSNBC begins Microsoft internet-NBC TV

1996 - Prince Charles and Princess Di sign divorce papers

1996 - Southern Mexico hit with 6.5 earthquake

1996 - A Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport.

1999 - The inaugural game at the Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field was held in Seattle, Washington.

2002 - "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.

2002 - Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

2003 - AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.

2009 - A 7.9 Magnitude earthquake registers 160km west of Invercargill, New Zealand, creating a small tsunami.

2009 - "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was released in theaters in the U.S. It was the sixth movie in the series.

2010 - After 86 days of gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico and several previous attempts to contain the flow, BP caps its leaking oil well.

2012 - 39 pilgrims are killed in a bus crash in Parasi, Nepal

2012 - A Russian Soyuz rocket with an international team launches for a mission to the International Space Station



 


The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jul15.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory