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SCMP Reporter

In Hong Kong

1966: British financier Charles Clore, reported to be one of the world's richest men, was suing his GBP6-a-week Hong Kong housemaid for breach of contract. He claimed that under an agreement with an employment agency, he paid the air fare for Shui Wai-lin, but she had now given her notice. He wanted his money back for the air fare.

1969: The Apollo 11 moon explorer splashed down in the Pacific Ocean about 1.50am Hong Kong time, ending its eight-day odyssey to the surface of the moon and back. Radio Hong Kong broadcasted the final episode of The Archers radio serial. The BBC decided to discontinue overseas distribution because of the high cost of transcribing the programme.

1972: D E Brooks, Ted Thomas and Michael Kaye, three high-ranking officials of Radio Hong Kong, resigned from the station, reportedly because of 'disgust and desperation' with the news administration.

Around the world

1567: Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate and James VI became King of Scotland at the age of one.

1701: Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded a trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later became the city of Detroit in the United States.

1704: Gibraltar was captured from Spain for the British by Admiral Sir George Rooke.

1712: The French defeated the Allied British-Dutch forces at Denain, France, in the War of the Spanish Succession.

1799: Napoleon gained his last victory during his occupation of Egypt, defeating the Turks at the Battle of Aboukir.

1824: The results of the world's first public opinion poll were published in Delaware, on voting intentions for the next US presidential election.

1883: Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel (in 1875), drowned while attempting to swim the rapids above Niagara Falls.

1943: In World War II, Operation Gomorrah, the concentrated bombing of Hamburg by the Allies, began.

1967: President Charles de Gaulle, visiting Montreal, made a speech which ended: 'Vive le Quebec libre.' He was promptly rebuked by Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson and forced to cut short his visit.

1974: The US Supreme Court ordered President Richard Nixon to surrender 64 White House tape recordings to the Washington District Court conducting the Watergate proceedings.

1981: Floods killed more than 700 people in Sichuan province in China; 1.5 million were left homeless.

1993: Russia's central bank announced a drastic reform of the monetary system, saying all banknotes issued up to the end of 1992 would be withdrawn from circulation.

1996: In Sri Lanka, 57 people were killed and more than 500 injured when a bomb ripped through a commuter train in a Colombo suburb.

1997: Charles Taylor was declared Liberia's new president following elections on July 19.

2000: The Hezbollah Mujahedeen, a pro-Pakistan Kashmir militant group, unilaterally declared a three-month ceasefire and said it was prepared to talk to the Indian Government.



Today in history