Executive Order 9981
On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, calling for the end of racial discrimination in the US armed forces.
Military
First Flight Across the English Channel
On July 25, 1909, Louis Blériot became the first person to fly across the English Channel. Born in Cambrai, France, on July 1, 1872, Blériot was the first of five children. At the age of 10, he attended the Institute of Notre Dame in Cambrai, where he often won prizes for his engineering drawings.
Birth of Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was born on July 22, 1898, in Lawnton, Pennsylvania. There’s been some confusion over the years though, as members of his family suggest he was born one month later, on August 22.
U.S. Troops Clear Saipan
On July 9, 1944, American troops claimed victory after a three-week battle on Saipan. Throughout 1944, American troops continued to advance on two fronts in the Pacific Theatre. While MacArthur fought his way across New Guinea toward the Philippines, Admiral Nimitz’s amphibious forces leapfrogged from island to island toward Japan.
Happy Birthday, Ferdinand von Zeppelin!
Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin was born on July 8, 1838, in Konstanz, Grand Duchy of Baden (present-day Baden-Württemberg), Germany.
Battle of Osan
On July 5, 1950, US forces had their first fight of the Korean War at the Battle of Osan.
Birth of George Washington Goethals
US Army general and civil engineer George Washington Goethals was born on June 29, 1858, in Brooklyn, New York.
Birth of Chesty Puller
Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller was born on June 26, 1898, in West Point, Virginia.
GI Bill
On June 22, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, also known as the GI Bill, into law.