Here are 50 newsworthy anniversaries coming up in July 2015 for you to write about (and make money from). The anniversaries are listed 6 months in advance to give you enough time for research and writing.
We have painstakingly cross-checked every entry, but you are advised to check all facts again as part of your research. Please let us know of any errors you find.
The listing below is a small sample of the entries for July from The Date-A-Base Book 2015. There are 342 anniversaries for July in the book, which covers the whole of 2015 from January to December and features more than 4,000 anniversaries in total.
Just one published article should cover the cost of your copy of the book many times over.
If you need to work further ahead, The Date-A-Base Book 2016 is also available.
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600 years ago (4 Jul 1415)
Pope Gregory XII was forced to resign in order to end the Western Schism – a split in the Catholic Church in which several men claimed to be the true pope. He was succeeded by Pope Martin V in Nov 1417.
400 years ago (Jul 1615)
Lake Huron, the second-largest of the Great Lakes of North America, was first discovered by Europeans.
200 years ago (15 Jul 1815)
Horse racing began at Cheltenham, England when the first organised Flat race was held there. (The racecourse opened on its present site in 1831.)
150 years ago (5 Jul 1865)
The Salvation Army was founded in London (as the Christian Mission) by William and Catherine Booth.
150 years ago (5 Jul 1865)
The U.S. Secret Service began operating as a division of the Department of the Treasury, tasked with the prevention of counterfeiting.
150 years ago (14 Jul 1865)
The first successful ascent of the Matterhorn, by a team led by British mountaineer Edward Whymper. (4 members were killed on the descent.)
150 years ago (21 Jul 1865)
The first quick-draw shootout of the American Old West. Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt in the town square of Springfield, Missouri.
80 years ago (July 1935)
Yangtze River flood, China. More than 140,000 people were killed.
80 years ago (3 Jul 1935)
Death of André Citroën, French engineer and industrialist. Founder of the Citroën car company. Introduced Henry Ford’s mass production systems to Europe.
80 years ago (16 Jul 1935)
The world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, USA.
80 years ago (17 Jul 1935)
Death of George William Russell, (‘AE’), Irish nationalist, poet, artist and mystic.
80 years ago (30 Jul 1935)
The first 10 Penguin paperbacks were published in the UK.
75 years ago (1 Jul 1940)
World War II: the Vichy Government was established in France.
75 years ago (1 Jul 1940)
World War II: Jersey was occupied by German forces. (Alderney was occupied on 2nd, and Sark on 4th. Guernsey had already been occupied on 30th June. The Channel Islands remained under German occupation until 9th May 1945.)
75 years ago (1 Jul 1940)
Death of Ben Turpin, cross-eyed American comic and silent film actor.
75 years ago (10 Jul – 31 Oct 1940)
World War II – the Battle of Britain. British victory.
75 years ago (15 Jul 1940)
Death of Robert Wadlow, American giant. The world’s tallest man, almost nine feet tall and still growing at the time of his death, aged 22.
75 years ago (19 Jul 1940)
The British Army’s Intelligence Corps was founded.
75 years ago (20 Jul 1940)
Billboard magazine published the first ‘Music Popularity Chart’, which listed the top 10 singles sold in the USA that week. The first #1 song was I’ll Never Smile Again by Tommy Dorsey.
75 years ago (27 Jul 1940)
Bugs Bunny made his first appearance, in the Warner Bros. cartoon A Wild Hare.
70 years ago (16 Jul 1945)
The USA detonated the world’s first nuclear weapon, at the Trinity Site, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
60 years ago (9 Jul 1955)
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto was released by Bertrand Russell in London. It called on world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to conflicts and highlighted the dangers of nuclear weapons.
60 years ago (9 Jul 1955)
The song Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets reached #1 on the Billboard chart in the USA. (It remained #1 for 8 weeks. Although not the first rock and roll song, it is considered the song that brought rock and roll into the mainstream.)
60 years ago (11 Jul 1955)
The U.S. Air Force Academy officially opened and the first cadets were sworn in. (The Academy was initially housed in temporary quarters at Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colorado. The permanent site at Colorado Springs was completed in August 1958.)
60 years ago (13 Jul 1955)
Death of Ruth Ellis, British convicted murderer. The last woman to be executed in the UK.
60 years ago (17 Jul 1955)
The first Disneyland theme park opened, in Anaheim, California, USA.
50 years ago (8 Jul 1965)
British Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs escaped from Wandsworth Prison in London. (He lived in Brazil until 2001 when he returned to the UK and was re-imprisoned. Released July 2009. Died December 2013.)
50 years ago (14 – 15 Jul 1965)
NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft flew past Mars and sent back the first close-up photos of another planet.
50 years ago (26 Jul 1965)
The Maldives gained its independence from the UK.
50 years ago (29 Jul 1965)
The Beatles’ film Help! was released in the UK. (USA: première: 9th and 11th August; released 25th August.)
50 years ago (30 Jul 1965)
The Social Security Act of 1965 came into effect in the USA, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
40 years ago (30 Jul 1975)
American trade union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared outside a restaurant in Detroit. He was never seen again. (Declared dead July 1982.)
30 years ago (3 Jul 1985)
The film Back to the Future was released in the USA. (UK: 4th December.)
30 years ago (10 Jul 1985)
The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sunk in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand by French intelligence agents in order to prevent it from interfering with a planned nuclear test. One person was killed – Portuguese-Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira.
30 years ago (13 Jul 1985)
Live Aid. Two simultaneous concerts in London and Philadelphia, plus other venues including Sydney and Moscow, raised millions of pounds for famine victims in Africa.
25 years ago (1 Jul 1990)
East Germany and West Germany merged their economies, with East Germany accepting the Deutsche Mark as its currency. (Full reunification took place on 3rd October.)
25 years ago (10 Jul 1990)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation was founded, with the aim of preserving personal freedom online.
25 years ago (15 Jul 1990)
Death of Margaret Lockwood, British stage, film and television actress. One of the most popular stars of the 1940s (The Lady Vanishes, The Man in Grey, Love Story, Wicked Lady and more).
25 years ago (16 Jul 1990)
Luzon earthquake, Philippines. Over 1,500 people were killed.
25 years ago (21 Jul 1990)
The Wall rock concert was held in East Berlin, East Germany to celebrate the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. More than 150,000 people attended.
20 years ago (11 Jul 1995)
Srebrenica Massacre. The Bosnian Serb Army seized control of Srebrenica and massacred 8,000 men and boys.
20 years ago (16 Jul 1995)
Amazon.com opened its website to the public.
20 years ago (18 Jul 1995)
The Soufriere Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat began to erupt. Over the space of several years it devastated the island, destroyed the capital and forced most of the population to flee.
10 years ago (1 Jul 2005)
Death of Luther Vandross, award-winning American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and producer.
10 years ago (2 Jul 2005)
Live 8. Ten concerts were held simultaneously around the world in an effort to persuade G8 leaders to fight poverty in Africa. (On 7th July G8 leaders pledged to double the amount of aid to poor nations to $50 billion per year by 2010 – half of this money would go to Africa.)
10 years ago (4 – 13 Jul 2005)
Hurricane Dennis caused massive damage in Cuba, Haiti, Florida and other parts of the Caribbean. At least 89 people were killed.
10 years ago (6 Jul 2005)
Death of Ed McBain (pen name of Evan Hunter, original name Salvatore Lombino), best-selling American crime novelist and screenwriter. Best known for his 87th Precinct series of police procedurals.
10 years ago (7 Jul 2005)
7th July London bombings – a coordinated series of 4 suicide bomb attacks on London’s transport system during the morning rush hour. 56 people were killed, including the 4 bombers, and more than 700 were injured. It was the worst-ever terrorist attack on Britain, and the country’s first attack by suicide bombers. (Four bombers attempted to carry out a second attack on 21st July, but only the detonators exploded and the bombs failed to go off. 1 person was injured. A fifth bomber dumped his bomb without attempting to set it off.)
10 years ago (17 Jul 2005)
Death of Sir Edward Heath, British Prime Minister (1970–74).
10 years ago (28 Jul 2005)
The IRA ended its 30-year armed campaign in Northern Ireland and ordered all units to dump their weapons. Its leadership stated that they would continue their campaign exclusively through peaceful means.
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