WORLD EVENTS ON 10 JULY

The most significant world events that took palce on 10 July are highlighted below:

1. International Town Criers Day:

This day is celebrated as International Town Criers Day in different part of the world. International Town Criers Day has been celebrated for more than 25 years, since its founding in 1997. Scott Fraser, who had been a town crier in Waterloo, Ontario, in the 1980s, established the day to draw attention and recognition to the importance of this role. Since then, the day has been celebrated every year on a Monday in early July, encouraging folks all over the world to show appreciation for this important part of folklorea and to demonstrate its historical importance and the important role the Criers played in the Monarchy Kingdom. Sometimes referred to as bellmen due to their ringing of a bell, town criers were thought to have arisen in Britain in medieval times, as early as the 11th century, when men were employed to call out proclamations on the authority of the king. Continuing on for several centuries, they were often seen in England and also in North America during the early days of the colonies in the 1700s.

In olden times, when few people were literate, and there was little access to printed media, town criers were a central part of urban living and played a very important role. Town criers were responsible for keeping the populace up to date with the latest news and events, and for disseminating news from the ruling classes to the wider populace. Ability to read, having a loud voice, and being able to draw the attention of a crowd were necessary qualification for those who aspired to take on the role of town crier in the past. Because they sometimes brought bad news, such as tax increases or unpopular new laws, the town criers were legally protected and any harm done to them was considered to be treason.

The world’s tallest town crier is located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England standing at 7 feet 2 inches tall. Martin Woods started as the town crier in 1984 and continued on in the role for more than 35 years.

The world record for the loudest town crier is held by Alan Myatt who is crier for the City of Gloucester, London’s Covent Garden and other places in England. His cry rings out at 112.8 decibels and was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records two times.

2. NASA launched Telstar 1, the World’s First Active Communications Satellite:

The Telestar 1 was succesfully launched on 10 July 1962 on a top of a Thor Delta Rocket was from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the U.S. as the first commercial payload in space. Telstar 1 was developed and operated jointly by NASA and AT&T. While it wasn't the first communications satellite ever launched, it was the first to amplify signals in space before sending them back to earth. This made it the first satellite to transmit TV signals between Europe and the United States,across the Atlantic Oceans, inagurating a new age in electronic communication. 

3. Aviator Howard Hughes started his around-the-world flight:

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) Hughes was an innovative American businessman, movie producer, aircraft inventor, mine owner and casino owner who became infamous in the final years of his life, when he lived as an eccentric recluse.

He gained fame as a record-setting pilot, flying around the world in 1938 in just over 91 hours. However, Hughes's most famous aviation endeavor was building the largest airplane ever made, the Spruce Goose, a giant, eight-engined, flying boat made of wood that flew only once, in 1947. On July 10, 1938 Hughes set another record by completing a flight around the world in just 91 hours (3 days, 19 hours), beating the previous record by more than four days. For this flight he did not fly a plane of his own design but a Lockheed Super Electra (a twin-engine plane with a four-man crew) fitted with all of the latest radio and navigational equipment. Hughes wanted the flight to be a triumph of technology, illustrating that safe, long-distance air travel was possible.

Hughes received many awards as an aviator, including the Harmon Trophy in 1936 and 1938, the Collier Trophy in 1938, the Octave Chanute Award in 1940, and a special Congressional Gold Medal in 1939 "… in recognition of the achievements of Howard Hughes in advancing the science of aviation and thus bringing great credit to his country throughout the world."

4. In support of the American Revolution, Louis XVI declared war on England in 1778.

5. U.S. troops took possession of Florida. The territory was sold by Spain in 1821.

6. 1866 - Edison P. Clark patented his indelible pencil in 1866. The term copy pencil is used to describe an "indelible" pencil that cannot be easily erased by rubbing out or washing off. Because of this quality copy pencil has been used for account writing and as a laundry marker. The pencil is essentially graphite but also contains a dye.

7.  Wyoming became the 44th state to join the United States in 1890.

8. On this day‘His Master’s Voice’, was registered with the U.S. Patent Office in 1900.The logo of the Victor Recording Company, and later, RCA Victor, shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone machine.

9. On this day in 1910 W.R. Brookins became the first to fly an airplane at an altitude of one mile.

10. On this day in 1973 Britain granted the Bahamas their independence after three centuries of British colonial rule. The cpital city of Bahamas is Nassau and the country has a fully self-governing member of the Commonwealth and a member of the United Nations, the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of American States.

The Bahamas is an archipelago of nearly 700 coral islands. Around 30 of the islands are inhabited. The Bahamas sits in the West Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres south-east of Florida in the United States and 80 kilometres north-east of Cuba.

11. On this day in 1991 Boris Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first elected president of the Russian Republic.

12. U.S. patent issued for three-point seatbelt:

The United States Patent Office issues the Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin a patent for his three-point automobile safety belt “for use in vehicles, especially road vehicles” on July 10, 1962.

13. On this day in 1553: Lady Jane Grey known as the "Nine-Day Queen is proclaimed Queen of England, following the death of Edward VI.

14. On this day in 2015: NASA's New Horizons spacecraft makes its closest approach to Pluto, providing the first detailed images and data about the dwarf planet.

15. On this day in 1925: The famous Scopes Monkey Trial concludes in Dayton, Tennessee, with John T. Scopes found guilty of teaching evolution in violation of state law.

16. Births On This Day,

 

a) July 10, 1980 Jessica Simpson American singer-songwriter, actress, fashion designer. She is known for her reality television show, Nick and Jessica: Newlyweds.

b) July 10, 1949 Sunil Gavaskar Indian cricketer:

Sunil Gavaskar was one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time, and certainly the most successful. His game was built around a near-perfect technique and enormous powers of concentration. It is hard to visualise a more beautiful defence: virtually unbreachable, it made his wicket among the hardest to earn. He played with equal felicity off both front and back feet, had excellent judgement of length and line, and was beautifully balanced. He had virtually every stroke in the book but traded flair for the solidity his side needed more. His record for the highest number of Test hundreds was overtaken by Sachin Tendulkar, but statistics alone don't reveal Gavaskar's true value to India. He earned respect for Indian cricket and he taught his team-mates the virtue of professionalism. The self-actualisation of Indian cricket began under him. Since retiring, Gavaskar has served as a television commentator, analyst and columnist, as well as taken on various responsibilities with the BCCI, and served as chairman of the ICC cricket committee. He stepped down - after some controversial comments - from the latter in order to continue as a media columnist and commentator.

c) July 10, 1871 Marcel Proust French writer:

Marcel Proust was a French writer who is widely regarded as one of the most influential novelists of the 20th century. He was born on July 10, 1871, in Auteuil, a suburb of Paris, France. Proust is best known for his seven-volume novel "In Search of Lost Time" (also known as "Remembrance of Things Past" or "À la recherche du temps perdu").

d) Nikola Tesla Day - July 10 (Day of Science, Technology & Innovation):

Nikola Tesla Day is a commemorative day held annually on July 10th to honour the life, achievements, and contributions of the renowned Nikola Tesla- one of the world greatest scientist and inventor, engineer, and physicist. This day celebrates Tesla's groundbreaking work in the field of electrical engineering and his significant impact on modern technology and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system.

Born on July 10, 1856, in modern-day Croatia, Tesla was a visionary whose ideas were often ahead of his time. He is best known for his work on alternating current (AC) electrical systems, which are used for transmitting electricity over long distances, and his inventions like the AC induction motor and transformer, which are widely used in modern power systems. Tesla also made significant contributions in areas such as wireless communication, radar, X-ray technology, robotics, and renewable energy, among others.

e) July 10, 1509 John Calvin, French theologian, pastor:

John Calvin (l. 1509-1564) was a French Reformer, pastor, and theologian considered among the greatest of the Protestant Reformation along with Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) and Huldrych Zwingli (l. 1484-1531). Calvin synthesized the differing views of Protestant sects with his own in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, regarded as one of the most important works of Protestant theology.

11. Deaths On This Day:

a) July 10, 2015 Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor:

Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) for which he earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination and international fame, Sharif became a star in Egyptian cinema.

Beginning in the 1960s, Sharif earned a reputation as one of the world's best known contract bridge players. In the 1970s and 1980s, he co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune. Sharif also wrote several books on bridge and has licensed his name to a bridge computer game, "Omar Sharif Bridge", which has been marketed since 1992.

As an actor, Sharif had made a comeback in 2003 playing the title role of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper in the French film Monsieur Ibrahim (2003). For his performance, he won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Actor César, France's equivalent of the Oscar, from the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012, Sharif died of a heart attack on July 10, 2015, in Cairo, Egypt.

b) July10, 1584 William the Silent, German son of William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg:

William the Silent (l. 1533-1584, also known as William of Orange) was the leader of the Dutch Revolt (the Eighty Years' War) in the Netherlands; first politically (between 1559-1568) then militarily (between 1568-1584). He is among the most prominent figures in Dutch history, regarded as the Father of the Fatherland, and in European history of the 16th century.