Major Events
- 1858 Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace's papers on evolution to the Linnean Society renders audience awestruck and silent [1]
- 1863 Battle of Gettysburg begins in Pennsylvania, Union forces halt Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia
- 1867 The Dominion of Canada is formed, comprising the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, with John A. Macdonald serving as the first Prime Minister
- 1916 First day of the Battle of the Somme in World War I: The British Army suffers its worst day, losing 19,240 men
- 1997 United Kingdom returns Hong Kong and the New Territories to the People's Republic of China
- More July 1 Events
Jul 1 in Film & TV
- 1941 Bulova Watch Co pays $9 for 1st ever network TV commercial
Jul 1 in Music
- 1967 The Beatles' album "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" goes #1 in the United States, stays there for 15 weeks
Jul 1 in Sport
- 1998 NBA commences a player lockout after no agreement with players about salary issues - lasts 204 days with the season shortened by 50 games
Did You Know?
"SOS" (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal becomes the worldwide standard for help
Christian II
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Comte de Rochambeau
Amy Johnson
Estée Lauder
Diana Spencer
Charles Laughton
William Wyler
Olivia de Havilland
Dan Aykroyd
Pamela Anderson
Liv Tyler
Debbie Harry
Missy Elliott
Carl Lewis
Fun Fact About July 1
1st of 4 fatal Jersey Shore shark attacks occur at Beach Haven when Charles Vansant (25) bled to death, challenging previous scientific belief that sharks never hurt humans, and sparking popular fear over sharks which persists today
Famous Weddings
- 1900 Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand (36) weds countess Sophie Chotek (32) in Reichstadt, Bohemia
- 1902 British admiral John Jellicoe (42) weds Gwendoline Cayzer at Holy Trinity in London
- 1916 Dwight Eisenhower marries Mary `Mamie' Geneva Doud in Denver, Colorado
Famous Divorces
- 2011 "Medium" actress Patricia Arquette (40) divorces actor Thomas Jane (39) due to irreconcilable differences after 5 years of marriage
- 2011 Actor Ryan Reynolds (34) and actress Scarlett Johansson (26) divorce due to irreconcilable differences after two years of marriage
- 2011 Ann Serano Lopez divorces actor and talk show host George Lopez (49) due to irreconcilable differences
More July 1 Weddings
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Quimby
Alice Mary Robertson
Juan Perón
Michael Landon
Marlon BrandoArticles, Photos and Quiz
1st US Olympic Games
Poster promoting the 1904 Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis
July 1, 1904
Five Miles of Mud Costs a Million Casualties
The Battle of the Somme, which began on this day, left one man dead every five seconds. It was one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history.
July 1, 1916
Battle of the Somme
A large mine placed by a British tunneling unit explodes under German positions on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. At the time it was one of the largest explosions ever and one of the loudest man-made noises.
July 1, 1916
