On This Day: July 12, 1984 — Geraldine Ferraro Makes History
On July 12, 1984, Walter Mondale named Geraldine Ferraro his running mate, making her the first woman on a major-party national ticket.
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On This Day: July 11, 1991 — The Eclipse of the Century
On July 11, 1991, a total solar eclipse swept from Hawaii across Mexico and Central America into Brazil, turning midday into darkness for as long as 6 minutes and 53 seconds. It was the longest total eclipse in more than a century and the most photographed in history — an estimated 800 million people watched….
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On This Day: July 10, 1999 — Brandi Chastain’s Iconic Goal
On July 10, 1999, the United States beat China 5–4 on penalties to win the 1999 Women’s World Cup final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. After 120 scoreless minutes, Brandi Chastain buried the deciding spot kick, tore off her jersey, and dropped to her knees — a photograph that landed on the covers…
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On This Day: July 9, 1982 — Michael Fagan Breaks Into the Queen’s Bedroom
On July 9, 1982, Michael Fagan climbed into Buckingham Palace and walked into Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom. Here’s the full story of the break-in that shocked Britain.
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On This Day: July 8, 1990 — West Germany Wins the World Cup
The 1990 World Cup Final was played on July 8, 1990, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where West Germany beat Argentina 1–0. Andreas Brehme scored the only goal from an 85th-minute penalty, handing West Germany its third world title and settling the score from the 1986 final Argentina had won. Diego Maradona spent the…
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On This Day: July 7, 1985 — Boris Becker Wins Wimbledon
On July 7, 1985, a 17-year-old, unseeded, red-haired German named Boris Becker beat Kevin Curren 6–3, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4 to win Wimbledon. He became the youngest men’s champion in the tournament’s history, the first unseeded player to win it, and the first German to lift the trophy — all in the same afternoon. Two weeks…
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On This Day: July 6, 1994 — Forrest Gump Hits Theaters
Forrest Gump premiered in U.S. theaters on July 6, 1994, opening in 1,332 screens before expanding to a $24.4 million debut weekend. Robert Zemeckis’s film about a slow-talking Alabama runner went on to earn $678 million worldwide, land 13 Academy Award nominations, and win six Oscars — including a second straight Best Actor for Tom…
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On This Day: July 5, 1996 — Dolly the Sheep Is Born
Dolly the sheep was born on July 5, 1996, at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland — the first mammal ever cloned from an adult body cell. A team led by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell grew her from a single udder cell of a six-year-old ewe, proving a mature cell could be reset to…
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On This Day: July 4, 1997 — Mars Pathfinder Lands on Mars
The Mars Pathfinder landing happened on July 4, 1997, when NASA bounced a lander onto the plains of Ares Vallis using a cocoon of giant airbags. The next day it released Sojourner, a microwave-sized six-wheeled rover — the first wheeled machine ever to drive on another planet. Built on a shoestring budget of about $265…
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On This Day: July 3, 1985 — Back to the Future Hits Theaters
On July 3, 1985, Back to the Future opened and became the biggest film of the year. The firing that nearly killed it, the DeLorean, and the story behind the classic.
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On This Day: July 2, 1982 — Lawn Chair Larry’s Wild Flight
On July 2, 1982, a 33-year-old truck driver named Larry Walters — soon nicknamed Lawn Chair Larry — tied 42 helium weather balloons to an aluminum patio chair and floated 16,000 feet over Los Angeles. He carried a pellet gun, a CB radio, sandwiches and a six-pack, drifted into the flight path of Long Beach…
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On This Day: July 1, 1984 — The PG-13 Rating Is Born
On July 1, 1984, the MPAA created the PG-13 rating after Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom pushed the old PG too far.
