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This Year in History

Our Selections From July

December 29, 2015
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All year, we've been highlighting historical news events—and Foreign Affairs articles about those events—as part of our "This Day in History" series. Here are our collected selections for July.

Click here to see all months.

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July 1, 1997: Hong Kong Returns to China

China resumes control over Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 2, 1964: LBJ Signs Civil Rights Act

The landmark piece of legislation outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 3, 2013: Mohamed Morsi is Ousted

General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi soon takes power in Egypt. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 4, 1776: Independence Day

The United States adopts the Declaration of Independence. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 5, 1950: Battle of Osan

The United States fights North Korean forces for the first time during the Korean War. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 6, 1967: Nigerian Civil War Begins

The war over the secession of Biafra from Nigeria lasts until January 5, 1970. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 7, 1987: Oliver North Testifies at the Iran-Contra Hearing

Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North tells Congress that he had "never carried out a single act, not one." Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 8, 1994: Kim Il Sung Dies

Kim Il Sung, who had been North Korea's leader since 1948, dies at age 82. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 9, 2011: South Sudan Gains Independence

South Sudan becomes the world's newest nation after a referendum on independence in January. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 10, 1991: Boris Yeltsin Takes Oath of Office

Boris Yeltsin was the first elected president of the Russian Federation. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 11, 2006: Mumbai Bombings

A series of bomb blasts on a railway in Mumbai kill over 200 and injure 700. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 12, 2006: Israel–Hezbollah War

The 34-day military conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli army begins. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 13, 1977: The Ogaden War Begins

Somalia invades Ethiopia, triggering a war over the disputed Ogaden region. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 14, 1789: The Storming of Bastille

The French revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille fortress and prison, which had come to represent the oppression of the Bourbon monarchs. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 15, 1975: End of the Space Race

The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project was the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission. Its successful nine-day flight signaled the end of the Space Race. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 16, 1956: First Detonation of a Nuclear Weapon

The first plutonium-based test nuclear weapon is detonated in New Mexico by the U.S. army as part of the Manhattan Project. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 17, 1988: ICC Established

The UN General Assembly adopts the Rome Statute, which establishes the International Criminal Court. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 18, 1925: Mein Kampf Is Published

Adolf Hitler publishes his personal manifesto. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 19, 1940: The Battle of Cape Spada

A clash between Allied navy patrols and two Italian cruisers that takes pace in the Aegean. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 20, 1969: First Man on the Moon

American astronaut Neil Armstrong takes his first lunar steps. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 21, 1995: Third Taiwan Strait Crisis

China begins conducting missile tests in an area north of Taiwan. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 22, 1964: King David Hotel Bombing

The Irgun, a Jewish paramilitary organization, bombs the King David Hotel, which was the headquarters of the British Mandatory authorities. The blast kills 91 people. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 23, 1952: The Egyptian Revolution

Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrow King Farouk I. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 24, 1959: The Kitchen Debate

During a televised visit to the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Vice President Richard M. Nixon fell into a debate about communism versus capitalism with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev while in an exhibit of a model kitchen. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.  

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July 25, 1943: Benito Mussolini Forced Out of Office

The Italian Grand Council replaces him with Pietro Badoglio. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 26, 1947: President Truman Signs the National Security Act

It creates the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive.

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July 27, 1974: Nixon Impeachment Begins

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee undertakes its first vote to impeach U.S. President Richard Nixon. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 28, 1914: The Great War Begins

Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, marking the start of World War I. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 29, 1914: First Transcontinental Phone Call

AT&T President Theodore Vail made a successful test call from San Francisco to New York. But for marketing purposes, the "first" call took place on January 25, 1915. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 30, 2008: Ex-Serb Leader Extradited to the Hague

Former Bosnian Serb politician Radovan Karadzic is handed over to the war crimes tribunal to face charges that include genocide. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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July 31, 2007: UN Approves Peacekeeping Force for Darfur

The U.N. Security Council unanimously agrees to send a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region. Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 

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