Beginning Trip # 2, From Northwestern New Jersey to Skowhegan KOA, Canaan, Maine

Finally in Maine! My son, posing before a sign at the Welcome Center, welcoming us to Maine. 

My second trip in a little less than two weeks (closer, actually, to a week and a half) started after I drove from work to meet my son and my brother. 

Having taken care of pretty much all of the packing for the trip, all that remained was to meet, then go.

Indeed, it did not take long for us to get going, which was a better start than for the first trip, when it seemed all sorts of obstacles suddenly were in the way. 

Loading the car took maybe fifteen or so minutes, and after my son said his tearful goodbye to mommy, we were on our way!

Things were going fairly well early on, as we left northwestern New Jersey and entered New York, going immediately onto I-87 towards the Tappan Zee. We crossed, and it was cheaper than I expected it to be. Plus, there was less traffic than expected, which made it feel nice. A good start.

Before too long, we were in Connecticut, and now, everyone was talking about eating someplace.

Nobody there knew of any good places in the area, as the GPS had us crossing across Connecticut from southwest to northeast, more or less. Wanting to get some miles behind us, I drove for quite some time, until we reached, more or less, the New Haven area. That was when we stopped at some local town and ate at a Greek diner, for the first meal of the trip.

My brother and I switched driving responsibilities at that point, as he took over, heading towards the Hartford area. I eased the seat back and tried to take a nap, having not gotten any real quality sleep in quite some time.

I don't know how long I had been asleep, but I woke up with the familiar toothache that I had been experiencing now since before the first trip. Yes, it was familiar, but it was getting very annoying and extremely repetitive! And this toothache was particularly intense, spreading the pain until it became an outright headache, and one of a fairly pronounced level of intensity. 

Not remembering where I had packed the aspirin (I was running low anyway), we pulled over somewhere so that I could pick up some aspirin, in hopes of alleviating the pain. 

There was something a bit strange. Once I put the seat upright, and especially when I physically got out of the car, the pain largely diminished. I still bought some aspirin, and took a couple of pills. But by then, the pain was definitely on the way out, much to my own surprise. When I went back to the car, I eased the seat back a bit and, as soon as I did, the pain was back. 

Aha!

No sleeping for me the rest of the way. At least, not lying down in the car. I was a bit worried about later that night, trying to get some sleep. But that was a concern for later. We still had many hours before we would be reaching our first destination - Skowhegan KOA, in Canaan, Maine. 

We reached Massachussetts, and I was pleasantly surprised, because usually on trips through New England, Connecticut is pure hell. Since we were not going to be too close to Boston, I thought we were in good shape.

Wishful thinking, as it turned out. 

The traffic jam lasted quite a while. It was one of those long ones, where just when you think it has let up or eased, and you start moving again for a little while, it begins again. We were losing time. A lot of it.

Also, it was stressful. While we had been doing relatively well before, now I looked and saw that it was after 5pm, and we were still only in Massachussetts! I had thought, by now, that we would have at least reached Maine! 

Finally, the traffic eased, and we started moving. The state line to new Hampshire was getting close, and we all let out a sigh of relief once we crossed into New Hampshire. Massachussetts had been extremely annoying this time around, and the GPS was going crazy on this day, as well. Not exactly what I had in mind. 

That part of New Hampshire, the part where I-95 crosses it, is very short. It kind of reminds me of the part that crosses Delaware, where if you sneeze, you miss it. I always enjoyed New Hampshire on previous visits, but I was in a hurry to get to Maine. We all were.

Finally, we could see the bridge, and crossed it. Halfway across, we saw the Maine state line, and began joking around, suddenly very cheered. I remember being especially happy hearing my son laughing heartily. 

We pulled over at the Maine Welcome Center, and took some travel brochures, as well as a state map. It was also a good time to go to the bathroom and, once we got back to the car, a decent time for a snack or two, and drinks. 

But when we returned to the car, i also noticed something that pretty much sobered my mood up in a hurry: the GPS, which had been insisting we were only an hour and a half or so from our destination, was now reading that we still had three hours to go. Having been to Skowhegan before, I remembered it being pretty far, and knowing that daylight was going to run out before long, I began to want to get a move on.

We still had not eaten dinner, and we were getting hungry. But, again, I really wanted to get some miles behind us, so that we at least might have a chance to be in the area before daylight ran out. 

So, we reached the Augusta area, and since we were so close at some point, decided to take a brief excursion to see the city a little bit, and hopefully grab a bite to eat.

Augusta was much smaller than anyone really expected it to be (not that anyone thought it was going to be huge - this is Maine, after all!). It seemed that they had a decent downtown area, but everything looked closed.

But we found a place on the edge of town - I think it was called Red Barn. It looked cool, with an outdoor eating area that looked inviting. It even had a concert stage on it, presumably for local acts on certain nights for the locals to enjoy. It had a cool feel, and we decided that this was going to be the place. 

Indeed, it was enjoyable. I got a bit of seafood, to kind of get in the mood of the trip, which would be dominated, presumably, by the sea and little fishing villages and regions. So, I got lobster roll, and a seafood soup, which was excellent!

Then, we continued on, stopping at one point for an ice cream. We sat for a little while outside on a very pleasant evening, and I was just happy to be back in Maine. it always gives me a special feeling to be here, for some reason. And it was so quiet! A few cars would pass us, but very few, and they were driving in a very relaxed fashion, in no real hurry at all. The polar opposite of New Jersey, where people are racing everywhere, and the tension and stress are always so thick, you can cut it with a knife! 

But we had taken too many breaks. Although I had resigned myself to making the tent in the dark by that point, it seemed that we still actually had a chance to make it with a tiny bit of daylight left. But the GPS acted up again, and I had to guess at some point as to directions.

Apparently, I guessed wrong, and we were completely in the dark before long. We had called ahead telling them as much, and they had left instructions and all of that for us, so that was not a big problem. And, as it turned out, putting the tent up in the dark was really not all that difficult, either.

We were all tired, and just wanted to get some sleep. 

Unfortunately my brother's tent was not so easy to put up, and in the dark, barely able to read the instructions, and with a relatively cheap model tent to begin with, we gave up before too long. He would try to sleep in the tent and, as it turned out, would eventually spend the night in the car.

But our first day was done, and that was a huge, huge chunk of the driving to get out of the way. 

Now, being in Maine, in the peace and quiet, it actually felt like we were on a vacation, and it was nice!

I took this picture in the Main Welcome Center off of I-95, and just thought it was cool enough to post here!

On This Day in History - July 31 Lafayette, Jimmy Hoffa, and the "Final Solution"

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 31, 1975: Jimmy Hoffa disappears

On July 31, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa, one of the most influential American labor leaders of the 20th century, disappears in Detroit, Michigan, never to be heard from again. Though he is popularly believed to have been the victim of a Mafia hit, conclusive evidence was never found, and Hoffa's death remains shrouded in mystery to this day.

Born in 1913 to a poor coal miner in Brazil, Indiana, Jimmy Hoffa proved a natural leader in his youth. At the age of 20, he helped organize a labor strike in Detroit, and remained an advocate for downtrodden workers for the rest of his life. Hoffa's charisma and talents as a local organizer quickly got him noticed by the Teamsters and carried him upward through its ranks. Then a small but rapidly growing union, the Teamsters organized truckers across the country, and through the use of strikes, boycotts and some more powerful though less legal methods of protest, won contract demands on behalf of workers.

Hoffa became president of the Teamsters in 1957, when its former leader was imprisoned for bribery. As chief, Hoffa was lauded for his tireless work to expand the union, and for his unflagging devotion to even the organization's least powerful members. His caring and approachability were captured in one of the more well-known quotes attributed to him: "You got a problem? Call me. Just pick up the phone."

Hoffa's dedication to the worker and his electrifying public speeches made him wildly popular, both among his fellow workers and the politicians and businessmen with whom he negotiated. Yet, for all the battles he fought and won on behalf of American drivers, he also had a dark side. In Hoffa's time, many Teamster leaders partnered with the Mafia in racketeering, extortion and embezzlement. Hoffa himself had relationships with high-ranking mobsters, and was the target of several government investigations throughout the 1960s. In 1967, he was convicted of bribery and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

While in jail, Hoffa never ceded his office, and when Richard Nixon commuted his sentence in 1971, he was poised to make a comeback. Released on condition of not participating in union activities for 10 years, Hoffa was planning to fight the restriction in court when he disappeared on July 31, 1975, from the parking lot of a restaurant in Detroit, not far from where he got his start as a labor organizer. Several conspiracy theories have been floated about Hoffa’s disappearance and the location of his remains, but the truth remains unknown.

Another newsworthy even in history on this date concerned the Marquis de Lafayette, who took a position as major-general without pay, to assist the American rebels to achieve independence against the super power of that time, Great Britain:

July 31, 1777: Marquis de Lafayette becomes a major-general without pay

On this day in 1777, a 19-year-old French aristocrat, Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, accepts a commission as a major-general in the Continental Army—without pay.

During his service as the Continental Congress' secret envoy to France, Silas Deane had, on December 7, 1776, struck an agreement with French military expert, Baron Johann DeKalb, and his protege, the Marquis de Lafayette, to offer their military knowledge and experience to the American cause. However, Deane was replaced with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were unenthused by the proposal. Meanwhile, King Louis XVI feared angering Britain and prohibited Lafayette's departure. The British ambassador to the French court at Versailles demanded the seizure of Lafayette's ship, which resulted in Lafayette's arrest. Lafayette, though, managed to escape, set sail and elude two British ships dispatched to recapture him. Following his safe arrival in South Carolina, Lafayette traveled to Philadelphia, expecting to be made General George Washington's second-in-command. Although Lafayette's youth made Congress reluctant to promote him over more experienced colonial officers, the young Frenchman's willingness to volunteer his services without pay won their respect and Lafayette was commissioned as a major-general.

Lafayette served at Brandywine in 1777, as well as Barren Hill, Monmouth and Rhode Island in 1778. Following the formal treaty of alliance with Lafayette's native France in February 1778 and Britain's subsequent declaration of war, Lafayette asked to return to Paris and consult the king as to his future service. Washington was willing to spare Lafayette, who departed in January 1779. By March, Franklin reported from Paris that Lafayette had become an excellent advocate for the American cause at the French court. Following his six-month respite in France, Lafayette returned to aid the American war effort in Virginia, where he participated in the successful siege of Yorktown in 1781, before returning to France and the further service of his own country.

Here is something else that occurred on this day in history. Goering ordered Heydrich to get ready for the implementation of the "Final Solution":



July 31, 1941: Goering orders Heydrich to prepare for the Final Solution

On this day in 1941, Herman Goering, writing under instructions from Hitler, ordered Reinhard Heydrich, SS general and Heinrich Himmler's number-two man, "to submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question."

Goering recounted briefly the outline for that "final solution" that had been drawn up on January 24, 1939: "emigration and evacuation in the best possible way." This program of what would become mass, systematic extermination was to encompass "all the territories of Europe under German occupation."

Heydrich already had some experience with organizing such a plan, having reintroduced the cruel medieval concept of the ghetto in Warsaw after the German occupation of Poland. Jews were crammed into cramped walled areas of major cities and held as prisoners, as their property was confiscated and given to either local Germans or non-Jewish Polish peasants.

Behind this horrendous scheme, carried out month by month, country by country, was Hitler, whose "greatest weakness was found in the vast numbers of oppressed peoples who hated [him] and the immoral ways of his government." This assessment was Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's, given at a Kremlin meeting that same day, July 31, with American adviser to the president Harry Hopkins.

Oh, and a happy birthday to Ringo Starr, as well!

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

30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.

432 - St Sixtus III begins his reign as Catholic Pope

768 - [Philip] begins & ends his reign as Catholic Pope

781 - The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781).

1291 - Egyptian Mamelukken occupies Akko, crusaders driven out of Palestine

1423 - Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant - the French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.

1451 - Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.

1498 - Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad

1588 - English fleet beats Spanish Armada

1620 - Pilgrim Fathers depart (through England) to America

1653 - Fronde-leaders surrender in Bordeaux

1655 - Russo-Polish War (1654-1667): the Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.

1658 - Aurangzeb appoints himself Mongol emperor

1664 - Pierre Corneille's "Othon," premieres in Paris

1667 - Peace of Breda: 2nd English war-Suriname vs New-Netherlands ends

1703 - Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.

1718 - Battle at Cape Passaro: English fleet destroys Spanish

1737 - Prince Frederick of Wales escapes English court

1741 - Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.

Novelist Daniel DefoeNovelist Daniel Defoe 1751 - Fire in Stockholm destroys 1,000 houses

1771 - Paul Potters "Great ossendrift" sold for Ÿ9050 in Amsterdam

1777 - Marquis de Lafayette, 19, made major-general of Continental Army

1790 - 1st US patent granted, to Samuel Hopkins for a potash process

1792 - Cornerstone laid for 1st US government building: US Mint in Phila

1794 - All Jacobijnse clubs together in Haarlem

1809 - 1st practical US railroad track (wooden, for horse-drawn cars), Phila

1813 - British invade Plattsburgh NY

1849 - Benjamin Chambers patents breech loading cannon

1852 - Hottest July in Netherlands since at least 1783 (68.4°F (20.2°C) avg)

1855 - Hottest July in Stockholm since at least 1756 (21.4°C avg)

1856 - Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.

1861 - 9,300 mm rainfall in July in Cherrapunji, Assam: world record

1864 - Ulysses S. Grant is named General of Volunteers

1865 - The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia.

US President Ulysses S. GrantUS President Ulysses S. Grant 1874 - Patrick Francis Healy, SJ, inaugurated as pres of Georgetown U

1876 - US Coast Guard officers' training school established (New Bedford MA)

1893 - Henry Perky patents shredded wheat

1899 - Albert Trott hits Monty Noble over the Pavilion at Lord's

1900 - Boer Generals Prinsloo & Roux surrenders in Brandwater Basin

1901 - Abraham Kuyper becomes premier of Netherlands

1905 - Matumbi rebellion at Samanga German East Africa

1909 - Bill Burns has no-hitter broken up with 2 outs in 9th

1910 - Chic Cub King Cole no-hits St Louis, 4-0 in a 7 inning game

1910 - Clement van Maasdijk gives flying demonstration

1911 - Hungarian education is only taught in German

1912 - RBC soccer team forms in Roosendaal

1912 - US government prohibits movies & photos of prize fights (censorship)

1914 - German Emperor Wilhelm II threatens war, orders Russia to demobilize

1914 - Oil discovered in Lake of Maracaibo

1917 - 3rd battle of Ypres begins

1919 - Germany accepts Weimar Constitution

1922 - 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world's 1st water skis (Minn)

1922 - Italy's general strike against fascist violence

1923 - Belgian Chamber discusses bilinguality at Ghent University

1925 - Last allied occupying troops leave Ruhrgebied

1925 - Unemployment Insurance Act passed in England

1928 - 1st woman to win a track and field olympic gold medal, Halina Konopacka of Poland

1929 - Aristide Briand becomes premier of France

1930 - Lou Gehrig grand slams as Yanks beat Red Sox 14-13

1932 - 27th Davis Cup: France beats USA in Paris (3-2)

1932 - Cleveland Municipal Stadium opens-Phila A's beat Indians 1-0

1932 - George Washington quarter goes into circulation

1932 - German Election (NSDAP gets 37.3%)

1934 - 29th Davis Cup: Great Britain beats USA in Wimbledon (4-1)

1934 - St Louis Cards defeat Cin Reds 8-6 in 18 innings, pitchers Dizzy Dean & Tony Freitos go the distant

1935 - 3rd Dutch government of Colijn sworn in

1936 - Tokyo Japan is awarded the 1940 Olympics (later cancelled)

1937 - Politburo enables Operative Order 00447: execute 193,000 Russians

1938 - NY Yanks suspend Jake Powell, after he said on Chicago radio he'd "hit every colored person in Chicago over head with a club"

1938 - Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius in Persepolis.

1940 - 38 U boats sinks this month (196,000 ton)

1940 - Riech's commissar Seyss-Inquart bans homosexuals

1941 - U boats sink 21 allied ships this month: 94,000 ton

1942 - German SS gases 1,000 Jews in Minsk, Belorussia

1942 - U boats sank 96 allied ships this month: 476,000 ton

1943 - Transport nr 58 departs with French Jews to nazi Germany

1944 - Last deportation train out Mechelen departs to Auschwitz

1944 - Transport nr 77 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany

1944 - US troops occupy Sansapor New-Guinea

1945 - Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.

1948 - "Brigadoon" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 581 performances

1948 - Pres Harry Truman dedicates Idlewild Field (Kennedy Airport), NY

1949 - Lightning strikes a baseball field in Fla, kills SS & 3rd baseman

1951 - Japan Airlines is established.

1953 - Dept of Health, Education & Welfare created

1954 - Mil Braves' Joe Adcock sets record of 18 total bases (4 hrs, 1 double)

1954 - First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.

1955 - Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Battle Creek Golf Open

1955 - KRNT (now KCCI) TV channel 8 in Des Moines, IA (CBS) 1st broadcast

1955 - WHIS (now WVVA) TV channel 6 in Bluefield, WV (NBC) 1st broadcast

1956 - Laker takes 10-53 in Australia's 2nd innings, 19-90 for match

1958 - Anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet

1959 - 1st exhibit of bongos at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo opens

1960 - Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state

1960 - KSOO (now KSFY) TV channel 13 in Sioux Falls, SD (NBC) 1st broadcast

1960 - Patty Berg wins LPGA American Women's Golf Open

1961 - 31st All Star Baseball Game: 1-1 tie ends by rain at Fenway, Boston

1961 - Israel welcomes its 1,000,000th immigrant

1962 - Federation of Malaysia forms

1962 - Statham is Test crickets' leading wkt-taker (229), beating Lindwall

1963 - Arturo Illia elected president of Argentina

1963 - Cleve ties record of 4 consecutive HRS (Held, Ramos, Francona, Brown)

1963 - Indians' Woodie Held, Pedro Ramos, Tito Francona, & Larry Brown hit consecutive home runs in one inning (vs California Angels)

1964 - Al Parker glides 644 miles without any motor

1964 - Rolling Stone concert in Ireland halts after 12 minutes due to riot

1964 - US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on Moon

1965 - Cigarette Ads banned on British TV

1966 - Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark

1967 - Rolling Stone Mick Jagger & Keith Richards end 1 month jail sentence

1968 - Beatles close Apple Boutique, giving clothes away for free

1969 - KWIH TV channel 44 in Winona, MN (IND) begins broadcasting

1969 - Mariner 6 flies past Mars

1969 - National Guard mobilizes in racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, La

1970 - 37th NFL Chicago All Star Game: Kansas City 24, All Stars 3 (69,940)

1970 - Chet Huntley retires from NBC, ends "Huntley-Brinkley Report"

1970 - Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.

1971 - Apollo 15 astronauts take 6½ hour electric car ride on Moon

1971 - Deventer Soccer team Go Ahead Eagles forms

1972 - Dick Allen is 7th to hit 2 inside-the-park homers in a game

Rocker/Beatle John LennonRocker/Beatle John Lennon 1972 - Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic VP candidate

1973 - ABA Virginia Squires trade Julius Erving to NY Nets

1973 - Delta Airlines DC-9 crashes in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, killing all but one of 89 aboard. Lone survivor dies 6 months later

1973 - Frank Hayes scores 106 on Test Cricket debut v WI as England lose

1976 - Seychelles Independence (Independence day)

1976 - Waldemar Cierpinski runs Olympic marathon (2:09:55.0)

1977 - Debbie Austin wins LPGA Pocono Northeast Golf Classic

1977 - E Henry Knoche, ends term as deputy director of CIA

1977 - John F Blake promoted from acting to deputy director of CIA

1978 - Gunman shoots his way into Iraqi Embassy in Paris

1978 - NY Yanks now 7½ out of 1st, picked up 7 games in previous 2 weeks

1978 - Pete Rose ties NL record hitting streak at 44

1979 - "But Never Jam Today" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 7 performances

1980 - John Phillips of Mamas & Papas is arrested on drug charges

1980 - Rangers snap Orioles pitcher Steve Stone's 14-game winning streak

1980 - Soyuz 37 crew returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 36

1980 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1981 - 42 day old, 2nd major league baseball strike ends

1981 - Arnette Hubbard installed as 1st woman president of Natl Bar Association

1982 - 46 kids & 7 adults die as 2 buses & several cars collide in France

1982 - Car/bus collision near Beaune, France, 53 die

1982 - Finland, Italy, Germany, Austria & France form American European Football Federation (AEFF)

1982 - USSR performs nuclear Test

1983 - 38th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Jan Stephenson

1983 - B Robinson, J Marichal, G Kell, & W Alston inducted into Hall of Fame

1983 - Dutch July avg temp is 20.1°C; warmest July since 1852

1984 - Leeza Gibbon's 1st appearance on Entertainment Tonight

1984 - US men's gymnastics team won team gold medal at LA Summer Olympics

1984 - Venz commandos terminate hijacking of an aircraft, 2 killed

1987 - "Living Daylights" premieres in US

1987 - Battle between Iranian pilgrims & Saudi-Arabian troops, 402 killed

1987 - Eddie Murray hits his 300th HR

1987 - Guns & Roses song "Appetite for Destruction" is released

1987 - Oriole Eddie Murray hits his 299th & 300th career home runs

1987 - Rockwell International awarded contract to build a 5th shuttle

1987 - A rare, class F-4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage.

1988 - Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Greater Washington Golf Open

1988 - Jose Canseco is 1st to hit 30 HRs in 1st 3 years

1988 - Last Playboy club closes (Lansing Michigan)

1988 - Miami Dolphins beat SF 49ers 27-21 in London

1988 - Willie Stargell became 200th man inducted in Baseball's Hall of Fame

1988 - 32 people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Malaysia.

1989 - Twins trade AL Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola to Mets

1990 - Bosnia-Hercegovina declares independence

1990 - Nolan Ryan becomes 20th major league pitcher to win 300 games

1991 - Russia & US sign long range nuclear weapons reduction pact

1991 - Senate votes to allow women to fly combat aircraft

1991 - The Medininkai Massacre in Lithuania. Soviet OMON attacks Lithuanian customs post in Medininkai, killing 7 officers and severely wounding one other.

1992 - Jeff Rouse swims world record/OR 100m backstroke (53.86 sec)

1992 - Kieren John Perkins swims world record/OR 1500m free style (14:43.4)

1992 - Tamas Darnyi swims world record/Olympics 200m backstroke (1:59.36)

1992 - Thai Airbus crashes into mountain at Kathmandu, 113 die

1992 - Yang Wenyi swims world record/OR 50m freestyle (24.79 sec)

1993 - A's trade Rickey Henderson to Blue Jays

1993 - Allman Bros guitarist Dickey Betts arrested for shoving 2 cops

1993 - Inkatha-arm forces killed 49 ANC-followers in Johannesburg

1993 - Prince Ronald "Ronnie" Mutebi crowned king of Uganda

1994 - 102.7°F (39.3°C) in Pleschen, East-Germany

1994 - 28th Curtis Cup: Draw, 9-9

1994 - Arcen Limburg averages 71.6°F (22.0°C) in July: record

1994 - Helen Alfredss wins LPGA Ping Welch's Golf Championship

1994 - Neth averages 21.4°C; their warmest July since 1783

1994 - Phil Rizzuto (Yanks) & Steve Carlton (Phils) enter the Hall of Fame

1994 - Sergei Bubka ploe vaults his 35th world record (6.14 m)

1994 - Stockholms avgs 21.5°C; their warmest July since 1855

1994 - UN votes 12-0 (2 abstentions) to authorize use of force against Haiti

1997 - A's trade Mark McGwire to St Louis Cards

1999 - Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector - NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon's surface.

2006 - Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother Raúl Castro. This leads to a celebration in Little Havana (La Pequeña Habana in Spanish), Miami, Florida, where many Cuban Americans participated.

2007 - Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.

2012 - Two car bombs kill 21 people in Baghdad, Iraq

2012 - A second power grid failure in two days leaves 670 million people in India without power

1498 - Christopher Columbus, on his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, arrived at the island of Trinidad.   1790 - The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins for his process for making potash and pearl ashes. The substance was used in fertilizer.   1792 - The cornerstone of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, PA, was laid. It was the first building to be used only as a U.S. government building.   1919 - Germany's Weimar Constitution was adopted.   1928 - MGM’s Leo the lion roared for the first time. He introduced MGM’s first talking picture, "White Shadows on the South Seas."   1932 - Enzo Ferrari retired from racing. In 1950 he launched a series of cars under his name.   1945 - Pierre Laval of France surrendered to Americans in Austria.   1948 - U.S. President Truman helped dedicate New York International Airport (later John F. Kennedy International Airport) at Idlewild Field.   1955 - Marilyn Bell of Toronto, Canada, at age 17, became the youngest person to swim the English Channel.   1959 - The Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) was founded. The group is known for being an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization.   1961 - The first tie in All-Star Game major league baseball history was recorded when it was stopped in the 9th inning due to rain at Boston's Fenway Park.   1964 - The American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon's surface.   1971 - Men rode in a vehicle on the moon for the first time in a lunar rover vehicle (LRV).   1981 - The seven-week baseball players’ strike came to an end when the players and owners agreed on the issue of free agent compensation.  1982 - Yugoslavia imposed a six-month freeze on prices.   1989 - A pro-Iranian group in Lebanon released a videotape reportedly showing the hanged body of American hostage William R. Higgins.   1991 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.   1995 - The Walt Disney Company agreed to acquire Capital Cities/ABC in a $19 billion deal.  Disney movies, music and books   1999 - The spacecraft Lunar Prospect crashed into the moon. It was a mission to detect frozen water on the moon's surface. The craft had been launched on January 6, 1998.   2007 - The iTunes Music Store reached 2 million feature length films sold.



1498 Columbus arrived at the island of Trinidad. 1777 The Marquis de Lafayette became a major-general in the American Continental Army. 1790 The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for a process of making fertilizer. 1875 Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, died in Tennessee. 1954 Mount Godwin-Austen (K2), the world's second-highest peak, was climbed for the first time, by an Italian team led by Ardito Desio. 1964 The U.S. space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the Moon’s surface.

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/jul31.htm

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

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

On This Day in History - July 30 First Legislative Assembly in America

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

Jul 30, 1619: First legislative assembly in America

In Jamestown, Virginia, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World--the House of Burgesses--convenes in the choir of the town's church.  

Earlier that year, the London Company, which had established the Jamestown settlement 12 years before, directed Virginia Governor Sir George Yeardley to summon a "General Assembly" elected by the settlers, with every free adult male voting. Twenty-two representatives from the 11 Jamestown boroughs were chosen, and Master John Pory was appointed the assembly's speaker. On July 30, the House of Burgesses (an English word for "citizens") convened for the first time. Its first law, which, like all of its laws, would have to be approved by the London Company, required tobacco to be sold for at least three shillings per pound. Other laws passed during its first six-day session included prohibitions against gambling, drunkenness, and idleness, and a measure that made Sabbath observance mandatory.  

The creation of the House of Burgesses, along with other progressive measures, made Sir George Yeardley exceptionally popular among the colonists, and he served two terms as Virginia governor.

















July 30, 1943: Hitler gets news of Italy's imminent defection

On this day in 1943, Adolf Hitler learns that Axis ally Italy is buying time before negotiating surrender terms with the Allies in light of Mussolini's fall from power.  

Hitler had feared that such a turn of events was possible, if not probable. Hitler had come to Italy on July 19 to lecture Il Duce on his failed military leadership—evidence that he knew, even if he was not admitting, that both Mussolini and Italy were about to collapse, leaving the Italian peninsula open to Allied occupation. Despite a half-hearted reassurance from Mussolini that Italy would continue to battle on, Hitler nevertheless began preparing for the prospect of Italy's surrender to the Allies.  

When Mussolini was ousted from power and arrested by his own police six days later. Hitler gathered Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Rommel, and the commander in chief of the German navy, Karl Doenitz, at his headquarters to reveal the plans of action he had already been formulating. Among them: (1) Operation Oak, in which Mussolini would be rescued from captivity; (2) the occupation of Rome by German forces and the reinstallation of Mussolini and his fascist government; (3) Operation Black, the German occupation of all Italy; and (4) Operation Axis, the destruction of the Italian fleet (in order to prevent it from being commandeered for Allied use).  

Hitler's advisers urged caution, especially since it would require recalling troops from the Eastern front. The Allies had not made a move on Rome yet, and although Mussolini was under arrest, the Italian government had not formally surrendered. Germany had received assurances from Mussolini's successor, General Badoglio, that Italy would continue to fight at Germany's side. Then on July 30, Hitler read a message from his security police chief in Zagreb that an Italian general had confided to a Croat general that Italy's assurances of loyalty to Germany were "designed merely to gain time for the conclusion of negotiations with the enemy."



Here's a bit on healthcare history in the United States:

July 30, 1965: Johnson signs Medicare into law

On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare, a health insurance program for elderly Americans, into law. At the bill-signing ceremony, which took place at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, former President Harry S. Truman was enrolled as Medicare's first beneficiary and received the first Medicare card. Johnson wanted to recognize Truman, who, in 1945, had become the first president to propose national health insurance, an initiative that was opposed at the time by Congress.  

The Medicare program, providing hospital and medical insurance for Americans age 65 or older, was signed into law as an amendment to the Social Security Act of 1935. Some 19 million people enrolled in Medicare when it went into effect in 1966. In 1972, eligibility for the program was extended to Americans under 65 with certain disabilities and people of all ages with permanent kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplant. In December 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), which added outpatient prescription drug benefits to Medicare.  

Medicare is funded entirely by the federal government and paid for in part through payroll taxes. Medicare is currently a source of controversy due to the enormous strain it puts on the federal budget. Throughout its history, the program also has been plagued by fraud--committed by patients, doctors and hospitals--that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars.  

Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to certain low-income people, was also signed into law by President Johnson on July 30, 1965, as an amendment to the Social Security Act.  

In 1977, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) was created to administer Medicare and work with state governments to administer Medicaid. HCFA, which was later renamed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is part of the Department of Health and Human Services and is headquartered in Baltimore.


Here's a bit more of some new to have happened on this date in history - England won their first (and so far only) World Cup:

July 30, 1966: England wins World Cup

In the first televised World Cup soccer match, host-nation England beats Germany 4 to 2 to win the tournament final at Wembley Stadium. In overtime play, England's Geoff Hurst scored his second of three match goals to give Britain a 3 to 2 lead. In the dying seconds of overtime play, he scored his third goal, making the score 4 to 2 and handing England the Jules Rimet Trophy for the first time in the World Cup's 36-year history. English star Bobby Charlton was marked on the field by German Franz Beckenbauer, an emerging talent who held the English midfielder to no goals. Hurst's second goal later stirred considerable controversy when film footage suggested that it failed to cross the goal line after bouncing off the crossbar.

On this day in history, a fleet of Spanish ships carrying gold and silver disappeared off the coast of Florida. The city of Baltimore was founded in Maryland. 500 men in Marseilles, France sang "La Marseillaise", which would become France's now long standing national anthem, for the first time, during the days of the French Revolution. Slaves rebelled and took over the Amistad. Despite official American neutrality at the time during the so-called "Great War (World War I), German saboteurs blew up a plant on Black Tom Island, in New Jersey. Uruguay defeated Argentina to win the first ever World Cup title. Hitler found out that Italy would soon be joining in the war effort against Nazi Germany. The first ever AFL (American Football League, which would become the American Football Conference once the league merged with the NFL) was played between the Boston Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act, which established Medicare and Medicaid, and which would become effective the following year. The Beatles "Yesterday....& Today" album went #1, and stayed there for over a month! England won the World Cup. George Harrison released "Bangladesh". The US House of Representatives voted to impeach Richard Nixon. Vanuatu gained it's independence. Chile amended it's constitution, not long after the bloody days of the Pinochet dictatorship. And in Mexico in 2003, the last of the old-style Volkswagon Beetles went off the assembly line.


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

579 - Benedict I ends his reign as Catholic Pope

657 - St Vitalian begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Eugene I

1178 - Frederick I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor, crowned King of Burgundy

1419 - Anti-Catholic Hussites, followers of executed reformer Jan Hus, storm the Prague town hall and throw the judge, mayor and several city council members (either 7 or 13) out the windows. They all either died in the fall or were killed by the crowd outside.

1502 - Christopher Columbus landed at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage.      

1537 - Resistant of Bomy: French/Dutch cease fire

1601 - Spanish garrison of Rhine birch surrenders to Earl Mauritius

1618 - Prince Maurits' troops pull into Utrecht

1619 - The first representative assembly in America convened in Jamestown, VA. (House of Burgesses)   

1626 - Earthquake hits Naples; 10,000 die

1629 - An earthquake in Naples, Italy kills 10,000 people.

1646 - English parliament sets king Charles I Newcastle Propositions

1650 - Prince Willem II occupies Amsterdam

1653 - Johan de Witt sworn in as pension advisor of Holland

1655 - Dutch troops occupy Fort Assahudi Seram

1678 - English troops land in Flanders

1715 - Spanish gold and silver fleet disappears off St Lucie, Florida

1729 - The city of Baltimore was founded in Maryland.   

1733 - The first Freemasons lodge opened in what would later become the United States in Boston.   

1739 - Caspar Wistar begins glass manufacturing in Allowaystown, NJ

King of England King Charles IKing of England King Charles I 1756 - Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly-built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers.

1775 - Capt Cook with Resolution returns to England

1792 - 500 Marseillaisian men sing France's national anthem for the first time

1809 - British armed force of 39,000 lands in Walcheren

1811 - Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed by the Spanish in Chihuahua, Mexico.

1822 - James Varick becomes 1st bishop of Afr Meth Episcopal Zion Church

1824 - Gioacchino Rossini becomes manager of Theatre Italian, Paris

1825 - Malden Island is discovered.

1826 - Java prince Dipo Negoro surprise attacks Dutch colony, 82 killed

1836 - First English newspaper published in Hawaii

1839 - Slave rebels, take over slaver Amistad

1844 - First US yacht club organized, NY Yacht Club

1863 - Pres Lincoln issues "eye-for-eye" order to shoot a rebel prisoner for every black prisoner shot

1863 - Indian Wars: Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, promising to stop harassing the emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah.

1864 - Battle of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania - burned by Union forces under McCausland

1864 - Battle of the Crater: Gen Burnsides fails on attack of Petersburg

1865 - Pope Pius IX visits Suriname

1866 - New Orleans's Democratic government orders police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150.

1870 - Staten Island ferry "Westfield" burns, killing 100

1872 - Mahlon Loomis patents wireless telegraphy

1874 - 1st baseball teams to play outside US, Boston-Phila in British Isles

1878 - German anti-Semitism begins during the Reichstag election

1878 - Russian assault on Plevna Turkey, 7,300 Russian casualties

1889 - Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Naval Treaty" (BG)

1898 - Will Kellogg invents Corn Flakes

1898 - "Scientific America" carried the first magazine automobile ad. The ad was for the Winton Motor Car Company of Cleveland, OH.

1902 - Anti-Jewish rioters attack funeral procession of Rabbi Joseph (NYC)

1905 - Dutch Covenant of Worker's union, NVV, forms

1908 - Around the World Automobile Race ends in Paris

1909 - John A Heyder becomes president of baseball's National League

1909 - Wright Brothers deliver 1st military plane to the army

1913 - Conclusion of 2nd Balkan War

1914 - Austrian-Hungary & Russia proclaim general mobilization

1914 - French troops withdraw 10 km from German border

1914 - John French appointed British supreme commander

1916 - German saboteurs blow up a munitions plant on Black Tom Island, NJ

1916 - Black Tom Island explosion in Jersey City, NJ.

1917 - Board of Commissioners of Cleveland Metroparks has its 1st meeting

1923 - New Zealand claims Ross Dependency

1926 - Albanian boundaries deduced

1928 - George Eastman shows 1st color motion pictures (US)

1930 - First broadcast of "Death Valley Days" on NBC-radio

1930 - Uruguay beats Argentina 4-2 for soccer's first World Cup in Montevideo

1932 - 10th modern Olympic games opens in Los Angeles

1932 - Walt Disney's "Flowers and Trees" premiered. It was the first Academy Award winning cartoon and first cartoon short to use Technicolor.  Disney movies, music and books   

1933 - 28th Davis Cup: Great Britain beats France in Paris (3-2)

1935 - 1st Penguin book is published, starting the paperback revolution

1937 - Phillies Dolph Camilli, plays 1st base & registers no put outs

1937 - The American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) was organized as a part of the American Federation of Labor.   

1938 - Gen Metaxas names himself premier of Greece

1939 - Belgium Sylvere Maes wins 33rd Tour de France

1941 - German occupiers forbid SDAP, VDB, ARP, RKSP, CHU and SGP in Netherlands

1942 - FDR signs bill creating women's Navy auxiliary agency (WAVES)

1942 - German SS kills 25,000 Jews in Minsk, Belorussia

1942 - German occupiers set night curfew on Jews in Netherlands

1942 - The WAVES were created by legislation signed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The members of the Women's Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service were a part of the U.S. Navy. 

1943 - Last Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney movie released (Girl Crazy)

1943 - US 45th Infantry division occupies San Stefano

1944 - Heavy battles at Tessy-sur-Vire and Villebaudon Normandy

1944 - US 30th division reaches suburbs of St-Lo Normandy

1945 - Philippines Sea: US cruiser Indianapolis torpedoed/sinks, 880 die

1945 - The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The ship had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. Only 316 out of 1,196 men aboard survived the attack.   

1946 - First rocket attains 100 mi (167 km) altitude, White Sands, NM

1947 - Cin Reds 16 game win streak ends, losing to NY Giants 5-4

1948 - Emile Zatopek runs Olympic record (10K - 29:59.6)

1948 - Professional wrestling premieres on prime-time network TV (DuMont)

1949 - British warship HMS Amethyst escape down Yangtze River, having been refused a safe passage by Chinese Communists after 3-month standoff

1951 - Ty Cobb testifies before the Emanuel Celler committee, denying that the reserve clause makes peons of baseball players

1952 - Ford Frick sets waiver rule to bar inter-league deals until all clubs in same league get right to bid

1953 - Rikidōzan holds a ceremony announcing the establishment of the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance.

1954 - Bob Kennedy hits the 1st grand slam for the new Baltimore Orioles

1954 - Elvis Presley joins Memphis Federation of Musicians, Local 71

Singer & Cultural Icon Elvis PresleySinger & Cultural Icon Elvis Presley 

1955 - Louison Bobet wins his 3rd Tour de France

1956 - US motto "In God We Trust" authorized

1956 - The phrase "In God We Trust" was adopted as the U.S. national motto.   

1959 - In his major league debut, SF Giant Willie McCovey goes 4-for-4

1960 - First AFL preseason game Boston Patriots defeat Bills in Buffalo (28-7)

1962 - 33rd All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 9-4 at Wrigley Field, Chicago

1962 - All star MVP: Leon Wagner (LA Angels)

1963 - British spy Kim Philby found in Moscow

1964 - US naval fire on Hon Ngu/Hon Mo, North Vietnam

1965 - Charles Ives' "From the Steeples & the Mountains," premieres

1965 - Duke Ellington's "Golden Brown & the Green Apple," premieres

1965 - LBJ signs Medicare bill, which goes into effect in 1966

1965 - Milwaukee manager Bobby Bragan says his pitchers threw 75 to 80 spitballs in a 9-2 loss to the Giants

1965 - U.S. President Johnson signed into law Social Security Act that established Medicare and Medicaid. It went into effect the following year.   

1966 - Beatles' "Yesterday... & Today," album goes #1 and stays #1 for 5 weeks

1966 - England beats West Germany 4-2 for soccer's 8th World Cup in London

1966 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Supertest Ladies Golf Open

1966 - US airplanes bombs demilitarized zone in Vietnam

1967 - Clifford Ann Creed/Margie Masters wins Yankee Ladies' Team Golf Champ

1967 - Race riot in Milwaukee (4 killed)

1968 - Beatles' Apple Boutique closes, entire inventory is given away

1968 - Wash Senator Ron Hansen makes 1st unassisted triple-play in 41 years

1968 - Ron Hansen (Washington Senators) made the first unassisted triple play in the major leagues in 41 years.     

1969 - Astros Denis Menke & Jim Wynn hit grandslams in 9th inn vs Mets

1969 - Barbra Streisand opens for Liberace at International Hotel, Las Vegas

1969 - KAEC TV channel 19 in Lufkin, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting

1969 - Mariner 6 passes Venus on 3410 km (74 photos)

1970 - -Aug 5] Hurricane Celia, kills 31 in Cuba, Florida & Texas

1970 - 30,000 attend Powder Ridge Rock Festival, Middlefield Ct

1971 - 38th NFL Chicago All Star Game: Baltimore 24, All Stars 17 (52,289)

1971 - George Harrison releases "Bangladesh"

1971 - Japanese Boeing 727 collides with an F-86 fighter killing 162

1971 - US Apollo 15 (Scott & Irwin) lands on Mare Imbrium on the Moon

1972 - "Ain't Supposed to Die Death" closes at Barrymore NYC after 325 perfs

Singer & Actress Barbra StreisandSinger & Actress Barbra Streisand 1972 - Jan Ferraris wins LPGA Lady Pepsi Golf Open

1973 - Texas Rangers Jim Bibby no-hits 1st-place Oakland, 6-0

1974 - House Judiciary Committee votes on 3rd & last charge of "high crimes & misdemeanors" to impeach President Nixon in the Watergate cover-up

1974 - The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Nixon for blocking the Watergate investigation and for abuse of power, voted on 3rd & last charge of "high crimes & misdemeanors" to impeach President Nixon in the Watergate cover-up   

1975 - Simon Gray's "Otherwise Engaged," premieres in London

1975 - Teamsters Pres Jimmy Hoffa disappears in suburban Detroit

1976 - Giulio Andreotti sworn in as premier of Italy

1976 - Japanese beat Russian for Olympic gold in woman's volleyball

1978 - Expos crush Braves, 19-0, collecting 28 hits & NL-record-tying 8 HRs

1978 - Pat Bradley wins LPGA Hoosier Golf Classic

1980 - Houston Astro pitcher J R Richard suffers a stroke

1980 - Vanuatu (New Hebrides) gains independence from Britain and France

1981 - Belgian Senate accept laws against racism

1981 - Simon Gray's "Quartermaine's Terms," premieres in London

1982 - Atlanta Braves remove Chief Noc-A-Homa to make room for more seats

1982 - USSR performs underground nuclear Test

1983 - Official speed record for a piston-driven aircraft, 832 kph, Calif

1983 - Weight lifter Sergei Didyk of USSR jerks a record 261 kg

1984 - Alvenus tanker at Cameron La, spills 2.8 million gallons of oil

1984 - Holly Roffey (11 days) gets heart transplant

1984 - Soap Opera "Santa Barbara" premieres on NBC TV

1985 - Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-I mission

1985 - Valerie Lowrance, of Texas, 18, crowned America's Junior Miss

1987 - Indian troops arrived in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, to disarm the Tamil Tigers and enforce a peace pact. 

1988 - Cin Red pitcher John Franco sets a record of 13 saves in 1 month

1988 - Harry Drake shoots arrow record 1873m

1988 - John Franco saves record 13th game of July

1988 - Jordanian King Hussein renounces sovereignity over West Bank to PLO

1988 - King Hussein dissolves Jordan's House of Representatives

1988 - Ronald J Dossenbach begins world record ride, pedaling across Canada from Vancouver BC, to Halifax, NS (13 days, 15 hr, 4 min)

1989 - Chile amends its constitution

1989 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Atlantic City Golf Classic

1990 - 5 Bank of Credit & Commerce members found guilty of money

1990 - Graham Gooch scores 123 v India to follow up 1st innings 333

1990 - Soldiers opens fire on worshippers in Monrovian church, 200-600 die

1990 - George Steinbrenner is forced by Commissioner Fay Vincent to resign as prinicipal partner of NY Yankees

1990 - The first Saturn automobile rolls off the assembly line.

1990 - In Spring Hill, TN, the first Saturn automobile rolled off the assembly line.   

1991 - MTV announces it will split into 3 channels in 1993

1991 - Red Sox Carlos Quintana is 11th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (3rd)

1992 - Lin Li swims female world record/OR 200m medley (2:11.65)

1994 - Record 103.8°F (39.9°C) in Preschen Lausitz Germany

1995 - Becky Iverson wins LPGA Friendly's Golf Classic

1995 - Dominic Cork takes hat-trick in England Test Cricket win v WI

1995 - Lara completes 5th Test Cricket century, 145 at Old Trafford

1995 - Richie Ashburn and Mike Schmidt enter basaeball's Hall of Fame

1996 - Tommy Lasoda retires as LA Dodger manager

1997 - Terrorist double suicide bombing in Jerusalem, kills 14

1997 - Eighteen lives are lost in the Thredbo Landslide in New South Wales, Australia.

1998 - A group of Ohio machine-shop workers (who call themselves the Lucky 13) won the $295.7 million Powerball jackpot. It was the largest-ever American lottery.   

2000 - Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were married.   

2001 - Lance Armstrong became the first American to win three consecutive Tours de France.   

2002 - The accounting law referred to as "The Sarbanes Oxley Act" is signed into law by President George W. Bush.

2003 - In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagon Beetle rolled off an assembly line.

2006 - World's longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.

2009 - A bomb explodes in Palma Nova, Mallorca, killing 2 police officers. Basque separatist group ETA is believed to be responsible.

2012 - Train fire kills 32 and injures 27 people in Andhra Pradesh, India

2012 - Indian power grid failure leaves over 300 million without power

  

1619 The first legislative assembly in English North America convened in Jamestown, Va. 1729 The U.S. city of Baltimore was founded. 1932 The tenth modern Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles. 1945 The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sank within 15 minutes. It was one of the greatest naval losses of World War II, resulting in the deaths of nearly 900 men. 1956 The phrase "In God We Trust" was adopted as the U.S. national motto. 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare Bill into law. 1975 Former Teamsters union president James Hoffa was reported missing. Many suspect he was murdered, though his remains have never been found. 1980 The Republic of Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides, gained its independence from France and Britain. 2002 Lisa Leslie became the first woman to dunk in a professional basketball game. 2012 620 million people were without power in India, the worst power outage in world history.

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/jul30.htm

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

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

The South

Okay, I think it's time to wrap up the trip to the South that we took, which ended now on this day a month ago!

I have an entire trip up north, to New England, the Maritimes, and the Gaspesie (the fishing peninsula at the southeastern extremity of Quebec province) to begin posting about now.

Still, the memories from that trip to the South (the first trip to the "real" South that I have ever taken) will last, and should remain mostly pleasant.

Here are some more pictures from that trip, some of which may already have been published, and others which probably were not yet so published. I will look through my pictures, to see which one have been published, and which ones remain on either camera.

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures!