On this day:
- Thread starter Singlemalt
- Start date
too larry
Well-Known Member
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
On July 7, 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men would work ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures in the world.
Although the dam would take only five years to build, its construction was nearly 30 years in the making. Arthur Powell Davis, an engineer from the Bureau of Reclamation, originally had his vision for the Hoover Dam back in 1902, and his engineering report on the topic became the guiding document when plans were finally made to begin the dam in 1922.
Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States and a committed conservationist, played a crucial role in making Davis’ vision a reality. As secretary of commerce in 1921, Hoover devoted himself to the erection of a high dam in Boulder Canyon. The dam would provide essential flood control, which would prevent damage to downstream farming communities that suffered each year when snow from the Rocky Mountains melted and joined the Colorado River. Further, the dam would allow the expansion of irrigated farming in the desert, and would provide a dependable supply of water for Los Angeles and other southern California communities.
Even with Hoover’s exuberant backing and a regional consensus around the need to build the dam, Congressional approval and individual state cooperation were slow in coming. For many years, water rights had been a source of contention among the western states that had claims on the Colorado River. To address this issue, Hoover negotiated the Colorado River Compact, which broke the river basin into two regions with the water divided between them. Hoover then had to introduce and re-introduce the bill to build the dam several times over the next few years before the House and Senate finally approved the bill in 1928.
In 1929, Hoover, now president, signed the Colorado River Compact into law, claiming it was “the most extensive action ever taken by a group of states under the provisions of the Constitution permitting compacts between states.”
Once preparations were made, the Hoover Dam’s construction sprinted forward: The contractors finished their work two years ahead of schedule and millions of dollars under budget. Today, the Hoover Dam generates enough energy each year to serve over a million people, and stands, in Hoover Dam artist Oskar Hansen’s words, as “a monument to collective genius exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal.”
Photos: Hoover Dam construction
Construction of the Hoover Dam began July 7, 1930. Construction took five years — it was completed two years ahead of schedule and millions under budget.
tucson.com
injinji
Well-Known Member
7-11-95
The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide[7] (Bosnian: Masakr u Srebrenici; Genocid u Srebrenici), was the July 1995 genocide[8] of more than 8,000[1][9] Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War.[10]
The killings were perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of Ratko Mladić. The Scorpions, a paramilitary unit from Serbia, who had been part of the Serbian Interior Ministry until 1991, also participated in the massacre.[6][11] In April 1993 the United Nations (UN) had declared the besieged enclave of Srebrenica—in the Drina Valley of northeastern Bosnia—a "safe area" under UN protection. However, the UN failed to both demilitarize the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) within Srebrenica and force the withdrawal of the VRS surrounding Srebrenica.[12] UNPROFOR's 370[13] Dutchbat soldiers in Srebrenica did not prevent the town's capture by the VRS—nor the subsequent massacre.[14][15][16][17]
en.wikipedia.org
The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide[7] (Bosnian: Masakr u Srebrenici; Genocid u Srebrenici), was the July 1995 genocide[8] of more than 8,000[1][9] Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War.[10]
The killings were perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of Ratko Mladić. The Scorpions, a paramilitary unit from Serbia, who had been part of the Serbian Interior Ministry until 1991, also participated in the massacre.[6][11] In April 1993 the United Nations (UN) had declared the besieged enclave of Srebrenica—in the Drina Valley of northeastern Bosnia—a "safe area" under UN protection. However, the UN failed to both demilitarize the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) within Srebrenica and force the withdrawal of the VRS surrounding Srebrenica.[12] UNPROFOR's 370[13] Dutchbat soldiers in Srebrenica did not prevent the town's capture by the VRS—nor the subsequent massacre.[14][15][16][17]
Srebrenica massacre - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
injinji
Well-Known Member
7-11-1804
The Burr–Hamilton duel was a duel fought at Weehawken, New Jersey, between Vice President Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, the former Secretary of the Treasury. It occurred early in the morning of July 11, 1804[1] and was the culmination of a long and bitter rivalry between the two men. Burr shot Hamilton, while Hamilton's shot broke a tree branch directly above Burr's head. Hamilton was carried to the home of William Bayard Jr. where he died the next day.
en.wikipedia.org
The Burr–Hamilton duel was a duel fought at Weehawken, New Jersey, between Vice President Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, the former Secretary of the Treasury. It occurred early in the morning of July 11, 1804[1] and was the culmination of a long and bitter rivalry between the two men. Burr shot Hamilton, while Hamilton's shot broke a tree branch directly above Burr's head. Hamilton was carried to the home of William Bayard Jr. where he died the next day.
Burr–Hamilton duel - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Milovan1
Well-Known Member
I still have the original LP I bought back in the day, cover, inside the fold and LP are in absolute mint condition.
I put it in a semi thick plastic sleeve made for LP'S when I bought it back then. Did the same with Motley Crue's LP
Shout At The Devil, Theater Of Pain and many other LP's as well. Just thought I'd mention it.
too larry
Well-Known Member
1585
A group of 108 English colonists, led by Sir Richard Grenville, reaches Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
(this was the first try that just failed. Not the more famous lost colony that came two years later)
Lane's colony was troubled by a lack of supplies and poor relations with the local Native Americans. While awaiting a delayed resupply mission by Richard Grenville, Lane decided to abandon the colony and return to England with Francis Drake in 1586. Grenville arrived two weeks later and left a small detachment to protect Raleigh's claim. In 1587 Raleigh sent White on an expedition to establish the Cittie of Raleigh in Chesapeake Bay. However, during a stop to check in on Grenville's men, the flagship's pilot Simon Fernandes insisted that White's colonists remain on Roanoke.
en.wikipedia.org
A group of 108 English colonists, led by Sir Richard Grenville, reaches Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
(this was the first try that just failed. Not the more famous lost colony that came two years later)
Lane's colony was troubled by a lack of supplies and poor relations with the local Native Americans. While awaiting a delayed resupply mission by Richard Grenville, Lane decided to abandon the colony and return to England with Francis Drake in 1586. Grenville arrived two weeks later and left a small detachment to protect Raleigh's claim. In 1587 Raleigh sent White on an expedition to establish the Cittie of Raleigh in Chesapeake Bay. However, during a stop to check in on Grenville's men, the flagship's pilot Simon Fernandes insisted that White's colonists remain on Roanoke.
Roanoke Colony - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
"I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."
Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, Director of Los Alamos July 16, 1945
Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, Director of Los Alamos July 16, 1945
cannabineer
Ursus marijanus
Seventy-five years to the minute: at 5:29am on 1945 July 16 in New Mexico (Mountain time, so 4:29 am Pacific time) “we have entered the Atomic Age.”
This memorial marks the test site. It has been bulldozed to prevent collectors from mining the radioactive glass that formed at ground zero.
After the successful test of the spherical-compression (implosion) plutonium bomb, a weaponized twin was delivered to Tinian Island, where on August 09 it became the second of two nuclear weapons used in war.
This memorial marks the test site. It has been bulldozed to prevent collectors from mining the radioactive glass that formed at ground zero.
After the successful test of the spherical-compression (implosion) plutonium bomb, a weaponized twin was delivered to Tinian Island, where on August 09 it became the second of two nuclear weapons used in war.
cannabineer
Ursus marijanus
I posted this at 4:29am local, lousy time stamp
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
An ammunition ship explodes while being loaded in Port Chicago, California, killing 332 people on July 17, 1944. The United States’ World War II military campaign in the Pacific was in full swing at the time. Poor procedures and lack of training led to the disaster.
Port Chicago, about 30 miles north of San Francisco, was developed into a munitions facility when the Naval Ammunition Depot at Mare Island, California, could not fully supply the war effort. By the summer of 1944, expansion of the Port Chicago facility allowed for loading two ships at once around the clock. The Navy units assigned to the dangerous loading operations were generally segregated African-American units. For the most part, these men had not been trained in handling munitions. Additionally, safety standards were forgotten in the rush to keep up frenetic loading schedules.
On the evening of July 17, the SS Quinault Victory and SS E.A. Bryan, two merchant ships, were being loaded. The holds were being packed with 4,600 tons of explosives–bombs, depth charges and ammunition. Another 400 tons of explosives were nearby on rail cars. Approximately 320 workers were on or near the pier when, at 10:18 p.m., a series of massive explosions over several seconds destroyed everything and everyone in the vicinity. The blasts were felt as far away as Nevada and the resulting damage extended as far as San Francisco. Every building in Port Chicago was damaged and people were literally knocked off their feet. Smoke and fire extended nearly two miles into the air. The pilot of a plane flying at 9,000 feet in the area claimed that metal chunks from the explosion flew past him.
Nearly two-thirds of the people killed at Port Chicago were African-American enlisted men in the Navy—15 percent of all African-Americans killed during World War II. The surviving men in these units, who helped put out the fires and saw the horrors firsthand, were quickly reassigned to Mare Island. Less than a month later, when ordered to load more munitions, but still having received no training, 258 African-American sailors refused to carry out the orders. Two hundred and eight of them were then sentenced to bad conduct discharges and pay forfeiture. The remaining 50 men were put on trial for general court martial. They were sentenced to between eight and 15 years of hard labor, though two years later all were given clemency. A 1994 review of the trials revealed race played a large factor in the harsh sentences. In December 1999, President Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, one of only three of the 50 convicted sailors known to be alive at the time.
The Port Chicago disaster eventually led to the implementation of far safer procedures for loading ammunition. In addition, greater emphasis was put on proper training in explosives handling and the munitions themselves were altered for greater safety. There is now a national memorial to the victims at the site
Congressional Record
www.congress.gov
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
On the evening of July 18, 1969, while most Americans were home watching television reports on the progress of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, Kennedy and his cousin Joe Gargan were hosting a cookout and party at a rented cottage on Chappaquiddick Island, an affluent island near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The party was planned as a reunion for Kopechne and five other women, all veterans of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign. Bobby Kennedy was Ted Kennedy’s older brother, and following Bobby’s assassination in June 1968 Ted took up his family’s political torch. In 1969, Ted Kennedy was elected majority whip in the U.S. Senate, and he seemed an early front-runner for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination.
Just after 11 p.m., Kennedy left the party with Kopechne, by his account to drive to the ferry slip where they would catch a boat back to their respective lodgings in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard. While driving down the main roadway, Kennedy took a sharp turn onto the unpaved Dike Road, drove for a short distance, and then missed the ramp to a narrow wooden bridge and drove into Poucha Pond. Kennedy, a married man, claimed the Dike Road excursion was a wrong turn. However, both he and Kopechne had previously driven down the same road, which led to a secluded ocean beach just beyond the bridge. In addition, Kopechne had left both her purse and room key at the party.
Kennedy escaped the car and then dove down in an attempt to retrieve Kopechne from the sunken Oldsmobile. Failing, he stumbled back to the cottage, where he enlisted Gargan and another friend in a second attempt to save Kopechne. The three men were unsuccessful; her body was not recovered. The trio then went to the ferry slip, where Kennedy dove into the water and swam back to Edgartown, about a mile away. He returned to his room at the Shiretown Inn, changed his clothes, and at 2:25 a.m. stepped out of his room when he spotted the innkeeper, Russell Peachey. He told Peachey that he been awakened by noise next door and asked what time it was. He then returned to his room.
Was Kennedy trying to establish an alibi? In Leo Damore’s Senatorial Privilege–the Chappaquiddick Cover-up (198
, the author recounts an interview with Joe Gargan in which Gargan claimed that Kennedy had plotted to make Kopechne the driver and sole occupant of the automobile. Whatever Kennedy’s intentions, on the morning of July 19 he went back to Chappaquiddick Island and then returned to Edgartown. At 9:45 a.m., 10 hours after driving off Dike Road bridge, Kennedy reported the accident to Edgartown Police Chief Dominick Arena and admitted that he was the driver.On July 25, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, received a two-month suspended sentence, and had his license suspended for a year. That evening, in a televised statement, he called the delayed reporting of the accident “indefensible” but vehemently denied that he been involved in any improprieties with Kopechne. He also asked his constituents to help him decide whether to continue his political career. Receiving a positive response, he resumed his senatorial duties at the end of a month.
There is speculation that he used his considerable influence to avoid more serious charges that could have resulted from the episode. Although the incident on Chappaquiddick Island helped to derail his presidential hopes, Kennedy continued to serve as a U.S. senator of Massachusetts into the 21st century. He died in 2009."
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
"Tuskegee, Alabama, became the focal point for the training of African-American military pilots during World War II. The first class began training on July 19, 1941. Tuskegee Institute received a contract from the military and provided primary flight training while the army built a separate, segregated base, Tuskegee Army Air Field (also referred to as the Advanced Flying School) for advanced training. Support personnel were trained at Chanute Field in Illinois."
The first class, included student officer Capt. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr
(At the time of Davis's retirement, he held the rank of lieutenant general, but on December 9, 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded him a fourth star, raising him to the rank of full general. After retirement, he headed the federal sky marshal program, and in 1971 was named Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Environment, Safety, and Consumer Affairs), began training on July 19, 1941. Awarded both the Air Force and Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters; bb).
"Rigorous training in subjects such as meteorology, navigation, and instruments was provided in ground school. Successful cadets then transferred to the segregated Tuskegee Army Air Field to complete Army Air Corps pilot training. The Air Corps oversaw training at Tuskegee Institute, providing aircraft, textbooks, flying clothes, parachutes, and mechanic suits while Tuskegee Institute provided full facilities for the aircraft and personnel. Lt. Col. Noel F. Parrish, base commander from 1942-46, worked to lessen the impact of segregation on the cadets.
The first class of five African-American aviation cadets earned their silver wings to become the nation's first black military pilots in March 1942. Between 1941 and 1945, Tuskegee trained over 1,000 black aviators for the war effort.
In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946. 450 were deployed overseas, and 150 lost their lives in accidents or combat. The toll included 66 pilots killed in action or accidents, 84 killed in training and non-combat missions and 32 captured as prisoners of war. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments:"
Missions:
- 1378 combat missions, 1067 for the Twelfth Air Force; 311 for the Fifteenth Air Force
- 179 bomber escort missions, with a good record of protection, losing only 25 bombers
- 112 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground and 148 damaged
- 950 rail cars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed (over 600 rail cars)
- One destroyer put out of action. The ship concerned had been classified as a destroyer (Giuseppe Missori) by the Italian Navy, before being reclassified by the Germans as a torpedo boat,TA 22. It was attacked on 25 June 1944. The German Navy decommissioned it on 8 November 1944, and finally scuttled it on 5 February 1945.
- 40 boats and barges destroyed
- Three Distinguished Unit Citations
- 99th Pursuit Squadron: 30 May–11 June 1943 for actions over Sicily
- 99th Fighter Squadron: 12–14 May 1944: for successful air strikes against Monte Cassino, Italy
- 332d Fighter Group (and its 99th, 100th, 301st, and 302nd Fighter Squadrons): 24 March 1945: for a bomber escort mission to Berlin, during which it shot down 3 enemy jets.
- At least one Silver Star
- 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses to 95 Airmen; Captain William A. Campbell was awarded two.
- 14 Bronze Stars
- 744 Air Medals
- 8 Purple Hearts
Tuskegee Airmen
Last edited:
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed”
Neil Armstrong, Tranquility Base, Mare Tranquillitatis, Moon, July 20, 1969, 20:17:58 UTC
"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."
Neil Armstrong, Tranquility Base, Mare Tranquillitatis, Moon, July 21, 1969, 02:56 UTC
