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
Quick Answer: 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…
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On This Day: July 7, 1985 — Boris Becker Wins Wimbledon
Quick Answer: 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….
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On This Day: July 6, 1994 — Forrest Gump Hits Theaters
Quick Answer: 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…
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On This Day: July 5, 1996 — Dolly the Sheep Is Born
Quick Answer: 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…
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On This Day: July 4, 1997 — Mars Pathfinder Lands on Mars
Quick Answer: 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…
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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
Quick Answer: 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…
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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.
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On This Day: June 30, 1986 — Madonna Drops True Blue
Quick Answer: Madonna True Blue arrived on June 30, 1986, her third studio album and the first record she co-wrote and co-produced top to bottom. It spawned five hit singles — “Live to Tell,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “True Blue,” “Open Your Heart,” and “La Isla Bonita” — hit number one in a record 28 countries,…
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On This Day: June 29, 1995 — Atlantis Docks with Mir
Quick Answer: On June 29, 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis completed the first Shuttle-Mir docking, latching onto Russia’s Mir space station 250 miles above Lake Baikal. It was the 100th U.S. crewed launch and the first joint U.S.-Russian flight since 1975. Commander Robert “Hoot” Gibson and Mir commander Vladimir Dezhurov shook hands through the hatch,…
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On This Day: June 28, 1997 — The Tyson Bite Fight
Quick Answer: The Tyson bite fight happened on June 28, 1997, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In the third round of his rematch with WBA heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield’s right ear, then bit the left ear seconds later. Referee Mills Lane disqualified Tyson,…
