Monday, July 28, 2014

On This Date in History - July 28 "The Great War" - World War I Begins

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 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia


On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War.  

Threatened by Serbian ambition in the tumultuous Balkans region of Europe, Austria-Hungary determined that the proper response to the assassinations was to prepare for a possible military invasion of Serbia. After securing the unconditional support of its powerful ally, Germany, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with a rigid ultimatum on July 23, 1914, demanding, among other things, that all anti-Austrian propaganda within Serbia be suppressed, and that Austria-Hungary be allowed to conduct its own investigation into the archduke's killing. Though Serbia effectively accepted all of Austria's demands except for one, the Austrian government broke diplomatic relations with the other country on July 25 and went ahead with military preparedness measures. Meanwhile, alerted to the impending crisis, Russia—Serbia's own mighty supporter in the Balkans—began its own initial steps towards military mobilization against Austria.  

In the days following the Austrian break in relations with Serbia, the rest of Europe, including Russia's allies, Britain and France, looked on with trepidation, fearing the imminent outbreak of a Balkans conflict that, if entered into by Russia, threatened to explode into a general European war. The British Foreign Office lobbied its counterparts in Berlin, Paris and Rome with the idea of an international convention aimed at moderating the conflict; the German government, however, was set against this notion, and advised Vienna to go ahead with its plans.  

On July 28, 1914, after a decision reached conclusively the day before in response to pressure from Germany for quick action—apart from Kaiser Wilhelm II, who by some accounts still saw the possibility of a peaceful diplomatic resolution to the conflict, but was outmaneuvered by the more hawkish military and governmental leadership of Germany—Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. In response, Russia formally ordered mobilization in the four military districts facing Galicia, its common front with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That night, Austrian artillery divisions initiated a brief, ineffectual bombardment of Belgrade across the Danube River.  

"My darling one and beautiful, everything tends towards catastrophe and collapse," British naval official Winston Churchill wrote to his wife at midnight on July 29. He was proven right over the next several days. On August 1, after its demands for Russia to halt mobilization met with defiance, Germany declared war on Russia. Russia's ally, France, ordered its own general mobilization that same day, and on August 3, France and Germany declared war on each other. The German army's planned invasion of neutral Belgium, announced on August 4, prompted Britain to declare war on Germany. Thus, in the summer of 1914, the major powers in the Western world—with the exception of the United States and Italy, both of which declared their neutrality, at least for the time being—flung themselves headlong into the First World War.



This is also the anniversary of a horrific firestorm in Hamburg:
July 28, 1943: Hamburg suffers a firestorm  

On this day in 1943, the worst British bombing raid on Hamburg so far virtually sets the city on fire, killing 42,000 German civilians.  

On July 24, British bombers launched Operation Gomorrah, repeated bombing raids against Hamburg and its industrial and munitions plants. Sortie after sortie dropped fire from the sky, as thousands of tons of incendiary bombs destroyed tens of thousands of lives, buildings, and acreage. But the night of the 28th saw destruction unique in more than three years of bomb attacks: In just 43 minutes, 2,326 tons of bombs were dropped, creating a firestorm (a word that entered English parlance for the first time as a result of these events). Low humidity, a lack of fire-fighting resources (exhausted from battling blazes caused by the previous nights' raids), and hurricane-level winds at the core of the storm literally fanned the flames, scorching eight square miles of Hamburg.  

One British flight lieutenant recalled seeing "not many fires but one... I have never seen a fire like that before and was never to see its like again." Despite the terrible loss of civilian life, there strange and awful irony: The horrific bombing runs affected Hitler's war machine only marginally. It did more to wound the morale of the German people and its army officers than it did to the production of munitions, which was back running full speed within a matter of weeks.



This also marks the anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson announcing that he was going to send more troops into Vietnam:

July 28, 1965: Johnson announces more troops to Vietnam

President Lyndon B. Johnson announces that he has ordered an increase in U.S. military forces in Vietnam, from the present 75,000 to 125,000. Johnson also said that he would order additional increases if necessary. He pointed out that to fill the increase in military manpower needs, the monthly draft calls would be raised from 17,000 to 35,000. At the same time, Johnson reaffirmed U.S. readiness to seek a negotiated end to the war, and appealed to the United Nations and any of its member states to help further this goal. There was an immediate reaction throughout the world to this latest escalation, with communist leaders attacking Johnson for his decision to send more troops to Vietnam. Most members of Congress were reported to favor Johnson's decision, while most U.S. state governors, convening for their annual conference, also supported a resolution backing Johnson. This decision to send more troops was regarded as a major turning point, as it effectively guaranteed U.S. military leaders a blank check to pursue the war.


This also marks the anniversary of the passage of the 14th Amendment:

July 28, 1868: 14th Amendment adopted

Following its ratification by the necessary three-quarters of U.S. states, the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing to African Americans citizenship and all its privileges, is officially adopted into the U.S. Constitution.
Two years after the Civil War, the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the South into five military districts, where new state governments, based on universal manhood suffrage, were to be established. Thus began the period known as Radical Reconstruction, which saw the 14th Amendment, which had been passed by Congress in 1866, ratified in July 1868. The amendment resolved pre-Civil War questions of African American citizenship by stating that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States...are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside." The amendment then reaffirmed the privileges and rights of all citizens, and granted all these citizens the "equal protection of the laws."
In the decades after its adoption, the equal protection clause was cited by a number of African American activists who argued that racial segregation denied them the equal protection of law. However, in 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that states could constitutionally provide segregated facilities for African Americans, so long as they were equal to those afforded white persons. The Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which announced federal toleration of the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine, was eventually used to justify segregating all public facilities, including railroad cars, restaurants, hospitals, and schools. However, "colored" facilities were never equal to their white counterparts, and African Americans suffered through decades of debilitating discrimination in the South and elsewhere. In 1954, Plessy v. Ferguson was finally struck down by the Supreme Court in its ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

World War I began on this date, 99 years ago today! At the time, that was the biggest war in human history, but on that particular date, there were celebrations on the streets from all of the major participants. Everyone expected a quick and decisive victory in their own favor. But they were in for a rude awakening, as the war quickly became a stalemate, with millions of men living under hellish conditions in the trenches on either side of the "No Man's Land" that separated the warring sides. That was surely the biggest event that occurred on this day in history, but it was far from being the only significant event. Sir Thomas Harriot introduced the potato to Britain and Europe, from the Americas. They would arguably become bigger in Europe than in the Americas, being cheap and easy to grow. Robespierre was put to death during the same "Reign of Terror" that he himself had been such a large part of during the French Revolution. Peru declared independence from Spain. The first aerial photograph was taken from a balloon. In India, the first use of fingerprints as an identifying marker fell on this date. The 14th Amendment was ratified. Miami, Florida, was incorporated. Nazis liquidated 10,000 Jews in Minsk.  Mussolini resigned. Hamburg, Germany, was devastated by a firebomb. Lyndon Johnson ordered more troops into Vietnam. Two pitchers happened to have the very rare distinction of pitching a perfect game within three years of one another on this date.

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

388 - Battle at Aquileja: Emperor Theodosius beats emperor Magnus Maximis
754 - Pope Stephen II, [III] makes Pippin de Korte, King of France
1148 - Crusaders attack Damascus
1402 - Battle at Ancyra/Angora/Ankara: Timur Lenk beats sultan Bajezid I
1434 - Navigator Gil Eanes leaves Cape Bojador for Lisbon
1540 - King Henry VIII of England's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed and Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
1579 - Cardinal Granvelle returns to Madrid
1586 - Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe on return to Britain
1588 - Spanish Armada sails to overthrow England's Queen Elizabeth I
1609 - Admiral George Somers settles in Bermuda
1635 - Spanish marshal Piccolomini conquerors Schenkenschans
1696 - De Croissy succeeds Le Plectia as French minister of Finance
1708 - Monarch Amengkurat II [Sunan Mas] of Mataram gives himself up to VOC
1717 - Prussian king Frederik Willem I gives compulsory education to 5-12 yrs
1741 - Capt Bering discovers Mount St Elias, Alaska
1742 - Prussia & Austria sign peace treaty
1750 - The great baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach died.
1794 - Robespierre, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine. 22 others labelled terrorists executed to thunderous cheers
1808 - Mahmud II succeeds Mustafa IV as sultan of Turkey
1821 - Peru declares independence from Spain (National Day)
1849 - Memmon is 1st clipper to reach SF, 120 days out of NY
1851 - Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph
1858 - 1st use of fingerprints as a means of identification is made by Sir William James Herschel of the Indian Civil Service in India
1858 - Nadar takes 1st airborne photo (in a balloon)
1858 - William Herschel of the Indian Civil Service in India
1862 - Confederate forces defeated at More's Hill, Mo
1864 - 2nd day of battle at Deep Bottom Run Virginia
1864 - Battle of Atlanta: GA (Ezra Church) - second sortie US700 CS4642
1865 - The American Dental Association proposed its first code of ethics.
1866 - The metric system was legalized by the U.S. Congress for the standardization of weights and measures throughout the United States.
1868 - The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the citizenship of African Americans and guaranteed due process of law, was ratified.
1882 - Opera "Parsifal" is produced (Beirut)
1883 - Shocks triggered by volcano Epomeo (Isle of Ischia, Italy) destroyed 1,200 houses at Casamicciola killing 2,000
1886 - English Salisbury government forms
1896 - City of Miami incorporated
1898 - Spanish troops in Ponce, Puerto Rico, surrender
1898 - Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Retired Colourman"(BG)
1900 - Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut
1906 - Yankees turn triple-play, beat Cleveland 6-4
1911 - 96°F (35.6°C) in De Bilt Netherlands
1913 - 12th Davis Cup: USA beats British Isles in Wimbledon (3-2)
1914 - Foxtrot 1st danced at New Amsterdam Roof Garden (NYC, by Harry Fox)
1914 - Minister of Navy W Churchill routes British fleet to Scapa Flow
1914 - World War I officially began when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
1915 - 10,000 blacks march on 5th Ave (NYC) protesting lynchings
1915 - US forces invade Haiti, stays until 1924
1917 - Silent Parade in NYC to protest murders of blacks in race riots
1919 - Vrije Vakbewegings Internationale (VVI) forms in Amsterdam
1926 - US & Panamanian pact about safeguard of Panama Canal
1928 - 9th Olympic Games open in Amsterdam
1929 - Chicago Cardinals become 1st NFL team to train out of state (Mich)
1930 - 114°F (46°C), Greensburg, Kentucky (state record)
1931 - Congress makes "Star-Spangled Banner" our 2nd national anthem
1931 - White Sox score 11 in 8th to beat Yankees 14-12
1932 - Battle between unemployed war veterans & federal troops, 4 die
1932 - American President Herbert Hoover ordered Douglas MacArthur to evict "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans who had gathered in Washington, DC. They were demanding money they were not scheduled to receive until 1945.
1933 - 1st singing telegram delivered (to Rudy Vallee), NYC
1933 - NFL divides into (2) 5 team divisions
1933 - Spain recognizes the USSR
1934 - 118°F (48°C), Orofino, Idaho (state record)
1935 - Belgium's Romain Maes, wins Tour de France
1937 - Eddie Paynter scores 322 for Lancashire against Sussex
1937 - Richard Moore scores 316 for Hampshire against Warwickshire
1938 - 34,000-ton Cunard-White Star liner Mauretania launched at Birkenhead
1938 - Bradman scores 202 Aust v Somerset, 225 mins, 32 fours
1939 - 5th Dutch government of Colijn falls
1940 - Radio Orange, London begins
1940 - Yankee Charlie Keller hits 3 HRs to beat White Sox 10-9
1941 - Plans for the Pentagon were approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
1942 - L.A. Thatcher received a patent for a coin-operated mailbox. The device stamped envelopes when money was inserted.
1942 - Nazis liquidate 10,000 Jews in Minsk Belorussia Ghetto
1942 - Zionists partisans ZOB forms in Poland
1943 - Italian Facist dictator Benito Mussolini resigns
1943 - Pres FDR announces end of coffee rationing in US
1943 - World War II: Operation Gomorrah: The British bomb Hamburg causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
1944 - Hitler routes 4 division of South France to Normandy
1944 - US 8th Army corp occupies Coutances France
1945 - Japanese premier Suzuki disregards US ultimatum to surrender
1945 - US Army B-25 crashes into 79th floor of Empire State Bldg, 14 die
1945 - US Senate ratifies UN charter 89-2
1945 - A U.S. Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York City's Empire State Building. 14 people were killed and 26 were injured.
1947 - Iuliu Maniu's Boer party becomes forbidden in Romania
1948 - I G Farben chemical plant explodes in Ludwigshafen, Germany, 182 die
1948 - The Metropolitan Police Flying Squad foils a bullion robbery in the "Battle of London Airport".
1951 - "Kiss Me, Kate" closes at New Century Theater NYC after 1077 perfs
1951 - Walt Disney's "Alice In Wonderland" released
1951 - The Walt Disney film "Alice in Wonderland" was released.
1952 - Rogers Hornsby replaces Luke Sewell, as Cincinnati Reds manager
1954 - Ernest Blochs 4th string quartet, premieres
1955 - The Union Mundial pro Interlingua is founded at the first Interlingua congress in Tours, France.
1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis makes his 1st TV appearance (Steve Allen Show)
1957 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Wolverine Golf Open
1957 - White Sox' James Landis struck out 5 times in a game
1957 - Heavy rain and a mudslide in Isahaya, western Kyūshū, Japan, kill 992.
1959 - Great-Britain starts using postal codes
1959 - Hawaii's 1st US election sends 1st Asian-Americans to Congress
1960 - Republican National convention selects Richard Nixon as candidate
1962 - 19 die in a train crash in Steelton Pa
1962 - Mariner I launched to Mars falls into Atlantic Ocean
1963 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Wolverine Golf Open
1964 - England all out 611 in reply to Australia's 8-656 Match a draw
1964 - Ranger 7 launched toward the Moon; sent back 4308 TV pictures
1965 - U.S. President Johnson announced he was increasing the number of American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
1967 - Pirate Radio Station 390 (Radio Invicta) (England) closes down
1971 - 16 time gold glover Brook Robinson commits 3 errors in 6th inning
1971 - Dutch ends censorship of "Blue Movie"
1972 - 39th NFL Chicago All Star Game: Dallas 20, All Stars 7 (54,162)
1973 - France performs nuclear Test at Muruora Island
1973 - Jane Blalock/Sandra Palmer wins Lady Angelo's 4-Ball Golf Tournament
1973 - Skylab 3's astronauts (Bean, Garriott & Lousma) launched
1973 - Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett were married.
1974 - 69 die when packed bus strikes heavy truck (Belem, Brazil)
1974 - Carole Jo Skala wins LPGA Wheeling Ladies Golf Classic
1976 - 242,000 die in Tientsin-Tangshan (China) 8.2 earthquake
1976 - 8.2 & 7.4 earthquake devastate Tangsha, China (240-750,000 die)
1976 - Eldon Joersz & Geo Morgan set world air speed record of 3,530 kph
1976 - White Sox John Odom (5 inn) & Francisco Barrios (4 inn) no-hits A's
1977 - 1st oil through the TransAlaska Pipeline System reach Valdez, Alaska
1977 - Roy Wilkins turn over NAACP leadership to Benjamin L Hooks
1977 - Test Cricket debut of Ian Botham v Aust Trent Bridge, 5-74 1st innings
1978 - 600,000 attend Watkins Glen Summer Jam in NY
1978 - At Old Timer's Game it's announced Martin will again manage Yankees
1978 - Price of gold tops $200-an-oz level for 1st time
1978 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1979 - Dave Kingman becomes 6th to have a 2nd 3 HR game
1979 - France performs nuclear Test
1980 - Peru adopts constitution, Fernando Belaúnde Terry becomes president
1982 - San Francisco, CA, became the first city in the U.S. to ban handguns.
1983 - AL Pres Lee MacPhail threw out umpire's decision & allows
1983 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1983 - George Brett's 2 run HR against Yanks on July 24 (pine tar game)
1983 - NASA launches Telstar-3A
1984 - 23rd modern Olympic games opens in Los Angeles
1985 - 13th du Maurier Golf Classic: Pat Bradley
1985 - Alan Garcia sworn in as president of Peru
1985 - L Brock, Slaughter, A Vaughan, & H Wilhelm inducted into Hall of Fame
1986 - Bomb attack in East Beirut, 25 killed
1986 - NASA releases transcript from doomed Challenger, pilot Michael Smith could be heard saying, "Uh-oh!" as spacecraft disintegrated
1987 - 42nd US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Laura Davies
1987 - Angel Cordero Jr becomes 4th jockey to win 6,000 races
1988 - IBM announces price hike on older models
1988 - Israeli diplomats arrive in Moscow for 1st visit in 21 years
1988 - Jordan cancels $1.3 billion development plan in West Bank
1988 - Winnie Mandella's home in Soweto, South Africa destroyed by arson
1988 - Yanks' Tommy John makes 3 errors on 1 play yet beats Brewers 16-3
1989 - Braves Dale Murphy, hits 2 3-run HRs in an inning, 14th man to hit 2 HRs in an inning. Also ties record of 6 RBIs in an inning
1989 - Cards' Vince Coleman is caught stealing ends record streak at 50
1989 - NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleve, announce new high-temperature superconductors able to operate at 33 to 37 Gigahertz
1990 - Alberto Fujimoro installed as president of Peru
1990 - Blackout hits Chicago
1991 - "Gypsy" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 105 performances
1991 - 12th US Seniors Golf Open: Jack Nicklaus
1991 - 29th Tennis Fed Cup: Spain beats USA in Nottingham England (2-1)
1991 - Buffalo Bills beat Philadelphia Eagles, 17-13 in American Bowl in Wembley
1991 - Dennis Martinez (Montreal Expos) pitched the 13th perfect game in major league baseball history.
1991 - Juli Inkster wins LPGA Bay State Golf Classic
1991 - Miguel Indurain of Spain wins Tour de France bicycle race
1992 - Ground breaking of Fla Marlins 7,500 seat spring training stadium
1993 - Mariner Ken Griffey Jr is 3rd to hit HRs in 8 straight games
1994 - Baseball players decide to strike on Aug 12, 1994
1994 - Last steel beam is placed on Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
1994 - Kenny Rogers (Texas Rangers) pitched the 14th perfect game in major league baseball history.
1995 - Art Modell's rep begins secrets talks to move team to Baltimore
1996 - NY Yankee Darryl Strawberry hits his 300th HR
1996 - Vicki Fergon wins LPGA Micelob Light Heartland Golf Classic
1996 - Kennewick Man, the remains of a prehistoric man, is discovered near Kennewick, Washington.
1997 - NY Ranger center Mark Messier signs with Vancouver for $20M for 3 yrs
1997 - Peter Graf, father of Steffi, enters German jail for tax evasion
1997 - Guatemala becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1998 - Bell Atlantic and GTE announced $52 billion deal that created the second-largest phone company.
1998 - Serbian military forces seized the Kosovo town of Malisevo.
1998 - Monica Lewinsky received blanket immunity from prosecution to testify before a grand jury about her relationship with U.S. President Clinton.
2000 - Kathie Lee Gifford made her final appearance as co-host of the ABC talk show "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."
2002 - Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
2005 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army call an end to their thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
2005 - A tornado touches down in a residential area in south Birmingham, England, causing £4,000,000 worth of damages and injuring 39 people.
2006 - Researchers announced that two ancient reptiles had been found off Australia. The Umoonasaurus and Opallionectes were the first of their kind to be found in the period soon after the Jurassic era.
2008 - The historic Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier burns down for a second time in 80 years.
2012 - Ye Shiwen of China sets world record in the women's 400m individual medley in 4:28.43
2012 - 18 people are killed and 11 injured in ethnic clashes in Ethiopia
2061 - 31st recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet




Music History for July 28:

1750 - Johann Sebastian Bach died after an unsuccessful eye operation.

1893 - Composer Rued Immanuel Langgaard was born.

1933 - The first singing telegram was sent. It was given to Rudy Vallee on his 32nd birthday.

1939 - Judy Garland recorded "Over the Rainbow."

1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis made his television debut on "The Steve Allen Show."

1970 - The movie "Ned Kelly" opened in which Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) made his acting debut.
Rolling Stones Apparel and Gear

1973 - Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band" was released.

1973 - A rock festival took place in Watkins Glen, NY. About 600-thousand people watched the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers and The Band perform.

1979 - The World Series of Rock was held at Cleveland Stadium, with Journey, Ted Nugent and Thin Lizzy.

1987 - The Beatles sued Nike and Capitol Records over the use of their song "Revolution" in shoe commercials.
Today in Beatles History - Beatles apparel and gear

1993 - The 10,000 Maniacs played their last show with lead singer Natalie Merchant. Merchant left the group to pursue a solo career.

1995 - Michael Jackson's video "You Are Not Alone" was premiered.
Today in Michael Jackson History - Michael Jackson Apparel - Michael Jackson MP3s, DVDs and CDs

1995 - Jimi Hendrix' father James Al Hendrix won back the rights to his son's name, likeness, image and music after a number of companies had profited from them over the years.
Jimi Hendrix apparel and gear

1998 - It was announced that Toad The Wet Sprocket was disbanding.

1998 - Mary J. Blige's first album, "What's the 411?", was released.

2000 - A U.S. federal appeals court granted a last minute stay of an injunction that ordered Napster, Inc., to shut down. The order to stop operations came on July 26, 2000.

2001 - The Eagles played the first concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.










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/jul28.htm

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

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory


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