Opinion - The Korea Times

FRIDAY, July 18, 2025

1334-Bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by artist Giotto di Bondone 1925-Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf, original title was the catchy "Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice" 1936-Spanish Civil War: General Francisco Franco issues manifesto and leads an uprising in the Spanish army stationed in Morocco 2012-Kim Jong-un is officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea and given the rank of Marshal in the Korean People's Army 2013-Detroit, Michigan, files for bankruptcy, becoming the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy ever at $18.5 billion 2023-Wildfire season in British Columbia becomes the most destructive on record, burning 14,100 square kilometers of land, with 390 fires still alight (surpassing 2018 record)

Jul 17, 2025

THURSDAY, July 17, 2025

180-Six residents of Carthage, North Africa, are executed for being Christian, the earliest recorded instance of Christianity in the region 1203-The Siege of Constantinople begins during the Fourth Crusade, as Roman Catholic Crusaders, aboard a Venetian fleet, attack the city 1762-Empress Catherine II becomes Tsarina of Russia following the murder of Tsar Peter III 1918-The Romanov royal family and several of their retainers are executed by a Bolshevik firing squad in the basement of Ipatiev House, in Yekaterinburg, Siberia 1936-Spanish generals Francisco Franco and Emilio Mola lead a right-wing uprising, starting the Spanish Civil War 1945-Leaders Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill hold their first post World War II meeting at the Potsdam Conference 2014-Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shot down over Eastern Ukraine by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board

Jul 16, 2025

WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2025

622-Islamic Era begins: Muhammad and his followers begin migration from Mecca to Medina (Hijra) 1054-The Great Schism between Western and Eastern churches begins when Roman Cardinal Humbert issues a bull of excommunication against Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, on the altar of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople 1517-Copy of Martin Luther's 95 theses, the publication of which began the Protestant Reformation in EuropeThe Protestant Reformation 1519-Public debate between Martin Luther and theologian Johann Eck at Pleissenburg Castle in Liepzig, during which Luther denies the divine right of the Pope 1809-La Paz, Bolivia declares its independence from the Spanish Crown and forms the Junta Tuitiva led by Pedro Domingo Murillo, the first independent government in Spanish America 1894-Treaty of Aoki-Kimberley signed between Japan and England 1940-Adolf Hitler orders preparations for the invasion of Britain (Operation Sealion) 1945-First test detonation of an atomic bomb, Trinity Site, Alamogordo, New Mexico as part of the U.S. Manhattan Project 1982-Moon Sun-myung sentenced to 18 months

Jul 15, 2025

TUESDAY, July 15, 2025

1099-City of Jerusalem is captured and plundered by Christian forces during the First Crusade 1381-John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, drawn and quartered in the presence of Richard II of England 1410-Battle of Grunwald (First Battle of Tannenburg, Battle of Žalgiris), one of Medieval Europe's largest battles during Poland-Lithuanian Teutonic War. Polish King Władysław Jagiełło and Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas defeat Teutonic Ulrich von Jungingen 1799-The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign 1955-18 Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by 34 more laureates

Jul 14, 2025

MONDAY, July 14, 2025

1789-Bastille Day - the French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille Prison in Paris. Now celebrated as France's national day. 1798-U.S. Sedition Act prohibits "any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government 1850-First public demonstration of ice made via refrigeration, by Florida physician John Gorrie 1933-All non-Nazi political parties are banned in Germany 1941-6,000 Lithuanian Jews are exterminated at Viszalsyan Camp by German Einsatzgruppen SS with the assistance of local collaborators 1992-386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz, starting the open source operating system revolution. Linus Torvalds releases Linux soon afterwards.

Jul 13, 2025

FRIDAY, July 11, 2025

1405-Chinese fleet commander Zheng He sets sail to the Spice Islands on his first major expedition, leading 208 vessels, including 62 treasure ships with 27,800 sailors 1533-Pope Clement VII excommunicates England's King Henry VIII 1818-English poet John Keats writes "In the Cottage Where Burns is Born", "Lines Written in the Highlands", and "Gadfly" 1877-Kate Edger becomes New Zealand’s first woman graduate and first woman in the British Empire to earn a Bachelor of Arts 1897-Salomon August Andrée and crew leaves Spitsbergen in northern Norway by balloon headed for the North Pole 1944-Franklin Roosevelt announces that he will run for a fourth term as President of the United States 1995-More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys are massacred by Bosnian Serbs after they overrun the U.N, "safe haven" of Srebrenica on directive of Radovan Karadžić 2014-The U.N. Security Council calls for a special meeting to discuss the current Israel–Palestinian conflict; Israel continue attacks on Gaza

Jul 10, 2025

THURSDAY, July 10, 2025

1932-Depression low point of Dow Jones Industrial Average, 41.22{-MARKER-} 1940-Battle of Britain begins as Nazi forces attack shipping convoys in the English Channel 1957-First Pugwash Conference, the "Thinkers Lodge" held on nuclear disarmament at Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, founded by Joseph Rotblat and hosted by Cyrus Eaton 1979-Voyager 2 takes 1st ever photo of Jupiter's satellite Adrastea (J14) 1985-French foreign intelligence agents blow up the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbor, New Zealand, to prevent it interfering with French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira is killed. 1991-Boris Yeltsin sworn in as the first elected President of the Russian Federation 2012-Roadside car bomb kills 14 civilians in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province 2012-The American Episcopal Church becomes the first to approve a rite for blessing gay marriages

Jul 9, 2025

WEDNESDAY, July 9, 2025

1401-Turko-Mongol ruler Tamerlane (Timur) destroys Baghdad, killing 20,000 1790-King Gustav III leads Swedish Naval forces to victory over the Russian Baltic fleet during the Second Battle of Svensksund, destroying or capturing one-third of the Russian ships and bringing an end to the Russo-Swedish War 1868-Louisiana and South Carolina are the last states to ratify the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing civil rights 1893-Surgeon Daniel Hale Williams performs the first successful open-heart surgery when he repairs the torn pericardium of knife wound patient James Cornish, without the use of penicillin or blood transfusion 1917-British battleship HMS Vanguard explodes at Scapa Flow due to an internal explosion caused by faulty cordite, killing 804 crew members 1971-National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger secretly visits the People's Republic of China to negotiate a detente between the U.S. and China 2002-The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa. 2017-Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abad

Jul 8, 2025

TUESDAY, July 8, 2025

1099-First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on 1497-Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama departs on his first voyage, will become the 1st European to reach India by sea 1777-Independent Vermont introduces a new constitution, prohibiting slavery 1800-Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gives the first cowpox vaccination in the United States to his son to prevent smallpox 1853-Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails his frigate Susquehanna into Tokyo Bay, opening Japan to Western influence and trade 1948-500th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated in Moscow 1949-South Africa's Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act commences, prohibiting marriage or a sexual relationship between White people and people of other races

Jul 7, 2025

MONDAY, July 7, 2025

1520-Hernán Cortés and the Tlaxcalans defeat a numerically superior Aztec force in the Battle of Otumba in Mexico 1807-French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte and Russian Tsar Alexander I meet on a raft in the middle of the Neman River and sign the first Treaty of Tilsit 1937-Japanese and Chinese troops clash at the Marco Polo Bridge, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War 1947-Alleged and disputed Roswell UFO incident 1950-Korean War: U.N. Security Council establishes the United Nations Command to combat North Korean forces 2005-Coordinated terrorist bomb blasts strike London's public transport system during the morning rush hour, killing 52 and injuring 700

Jul 6, 2025

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