July 4th - 10th
“This was not a good week to be a king, or ruler, six died, one was captured, one got divorced, one lost a battle, and another lost an entire nation...”
On 4th July…
America declares independence from Britain
1776 - The United States of America proclaimed independence from Britain with the Declaration of Independence. Every year on this day Americans around the world celebrate American Independence Day or ‘the Fourth of July’ as it is commonly called. It would take another seven years (1783) for the United States of America to be formally independent of Britain.
On 5th July…
An animal is successfully cloned
1996 - The world’s first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep was born in Scotland at the Roslin Institute, part of Edinburgh University. She was cloned using cells taken from another sheep.
The tallest building in the UK is opened
2012 - The tallest building in Europe at the time was formally opened in London. The Shard stands at 309.6m tall and is 95 storeys high and is still the tallest building in the UK. Did you know that there are 36 lifts in the Shard? Some of them travel at up to 6m per second.
On 6th July…
Richard I becomes King of England
1189 - Richard the Lionheart became King Richard I of England when his father, Henry II, died.
1249 - King Alexander II of Scotland died. He was the only Scottish monarch to take a military force down to England’s southern coast when he marched to join a rebellion against King John of England.
1535 - Sir Thomas More was executed at the Tower of London for refusing to accept Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church of England.
King Edward VI dies
1553 - King Edward VI of England died at the age of 15. He left the throne to his cousin Lady Jane Grey after declaring his half-sisters to be illegitimate. Jane Grey was never crowned queen because just nine days later Edward’s older sister Mary claimed the throne with popular consent.
King James II victorious at Sedgemoor
1685 - The Battle of Sedgemoor took place where King James II defeated the Duke of Monmouth (the illegitimate son of King Charles II) who was trying to overthrow his uncle the king and take the English throne for himself.
On 7th July…
King Edward I dies
1307 - King Edward I of England died whilst on his way to fight Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland,
1928 - Sliced bread was sold for the first time in Missouri, America.
On 8th July…
King Edgar the Peaceful dies
975 - King Edgar of England died. Edgar was born in 943 and became King of Mercia and Northumbria at the age of 14, Two years later he became king of Wessex and therefore King of all England. His reign was very peaceful which explains his nickname, Edgar the Peaceful.
1497 - The Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama departed on his first voyage. Sailing from Lisbon, he become the first European to reach India by sea.
On 9th July…
Anne of Cleves divorced by Henry VIII
1540 - Henry VIII divorced his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. Anne did not make any fuss about the divorce and remained friends with Henry who gave her a large yearly allowance and properties to live in, including Hever Castle in Kent.
1877 - The first Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships were held. No women were allowed to enter the tournament until 1884. The first men’s singles title was won by Spencer Gore.
1937 - The English artist David Hockney was born in Bradford. He is considered to be one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century.
On 10th July…
138 - Hadrian, the Roman Emperor died. He ordered the construction of Hadrian’s Wall to keep out the invading northern barbarian tribes of Caledonia (Scotland). The wall is 73 miles and spans across the width of England from Bowness on Solway in the west to Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east.
King Henry VI captured at Northampton
1460 - Richard of York defeated and captured King Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton in the Wars of the Roses. Richard tried to claim the throne but eventually settled on the right to succeed the throne when Henry died. This meant that Henry’s son, Edward would have no claim to the throne upon his father’s death.
1645 - Royalist forces were defeated by Oliver Cromwell’s parliamentarian New Model Army led by Sir Thomas Fairfax at the Battle of Langport in the English civil war.
1940 - The Battle of Britain began in World War II when the Germans commenced a long series of bombing raids lasting three and half months against Britain beginning with air attacks on British ships and ports. The Battle of Britain was fought in the air.