Content by F T.Bear
Good morning! Rise and shine!
Today in history is a place for you early risers to exercise your brains as you wait for the day to begin. Please, by all means, bring your own bits of history to the comments section and add your memories of what YOU did on this day however many years ago.
The beauty of an early morning historical post is that the date can mean the event happened today “our time” or today “other side of the world” time.
From the life and death of Plato through to the latest most recent history as it happens, we intend on bringing you stimulating and educational historical knowledge.
July 7
1916: The New Zealand Labour Party is formed, it emerges as a result of a joint conference in Wellington of the United Federation of Labour, the Social Democratic Party, and local Labour Representatives Committee.
1924: “Tom Watson”, wins a bronze medal in the 100 meters, at the 1924 Paris Olympics, according to the story in “Chariots of Fire”. Tom Watson is based on Arthur Porritt, who refused permission for his name to used in the movie, out of modesty. Porritt would go on to serve as NZs 11th Governor General. He died in 1994 aged 93. In his last speech at Waitangi in 1972, he caused a stir when he stated that Maori-Pakeha relationships are being dealt with adequately through the biological process of intermarriage.
1930: The construction of the Hoover Dam begins. A total of 21,000 men would work on the dam, it would come in ahead of schedule and millions of dollars under budget. It was the largest dam of its type in the world and one of the largest man-made structures in the world at the time. It is 221.4m high, 379m long, 200m wide at the base, 14m wide at the crest, and is constructed with 2,480,000 cubic meters of concrete.
1456: A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy, 25 years after her death.
1928: Sliced bread is sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company, Missouri, using a machine invented by Otto Frederick Rohwedder. It was described as the greatest step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.