This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened today!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 2nd July”.
1917: Greece declares war on Central Powers
Several weeks after King Constantine I abdicated his throne in Athens under pressure from the Allies, Greece declared war on the Central Powers, ending three years of neutrality by entering World War I alongside Britain, France, Russia and Italy.
1937: Amelia Earhart disappears
Lockheed aircraft carrying pioneer American aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Frederick Noonan went missing near Howland Island in the Pacific. The pair were attempting to fly around the world. They lost their bearings during the most challenging leg of the global journey: Lae, New Guinea, to Howland Island. It’s a tiny island 2,227 nautical miles away, in the center of the Pacific Ocean.
1964: President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House. In the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The 10 years that followed saw great strides for the African American civil rights movement, as non-violent demonstrations won thousands of supporters to the cause.
1992: Stephen Hawking breaks British bestselling records
Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking broke British publishing records with his book A Brief History of Time. It remained on the nonfiction bestseller list for three and a half years, selling more than 3 million copies in 22 languages. It explained the latest theories on the origins of the universe in language accessible to educated lay people.
1997: Men in Black premieres in theaters
The science fiction-comedy movie Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, opened in theaters around the United States. The film grossed more than $250 million in America alone and helped establish the former sitcom star Will Smith as one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men.
