Wild Bill Hickok Wins the First Western Showdown
Standing in the dusty town square of Springfield, Missouri, on July 21, 1865, Wild Bill Hickok fired a single shot, killing Davis Tutt in what’s considered America’s first Western showdown.
This Day in History
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First International Special Olympics
On July 20, 1968, Eunice Kennedy Shriver held the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago, Illinois.
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OLYMPHILEX ’96
On July 19, 1996, the OLYMPHILEX stamp show opened in Atlanta, Georgia. The 1996 Olympic Games marked an important anniversary – 100 years since the start of the modern Olympic Games.
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Death of Horatio Alger
On July 18, 1899, “rags to riches” author Horatio Alger died. He’s best known for his story Ragged Dick, about a boot shiner who rose to middle-class success.
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Disneyland Opens to Massive Crowd
On July 17, 1955, Walt Disney realized one of his long-time dreams when he opened his Disneyland amusement park in Anaheim, California. For decades, it was the most-visited park in the world.
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Spanish Found First Mission in California
On July 16, 1769, Franciscan friar Junipero Serra founded California’s first Catholic mission. This marked the beginning of the Spanish mission system in California, which would go on to shape the culture, history, and landscape of the region for centuries.
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Birth of Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606, in Leiden, the Dutch Republic (present-day Netherlands).
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George Washington Carver National Monument Established
On July 14, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt committed $30,000 toward a monument to botanist and inventor George Washington Carver.
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First of the Roanoke Voyages
On July 13, 1584, the first of three Roanoke voyages arrived in present-day North Carolina. These were attempts to establish the first permanent English settlement in North America. While the settlement saw the first English child born in America, all of the settlers disappeared and their fate is still unknown today.
