TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS SATURDAY, JULY 22, 2017

On this day in history:

1376 - The legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin leading rats out of town is said to have occurred on this date.

1587 - A second English colony was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina. The colony vanished under mysterious circumstances. 1812 - English troops under the Duke of Wellington defeated the French at the Battle of Salamanca in Spain.

1900 - Frederick Lane becomes the first Australian swimmer to win Gold at the modern Olympics. [

1943 - American forces led by General George S Patton captured Palermo, Sicily. 1941 - Plans for the Pentagon were presented to the House Subcommittee on Appropriations.

1976 – Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during the Second World War. 1983 - Martial law in Poland is officially revoked.

1992 - Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradition to the United States.

1998 - Iran tested medium-range missile, capable of reaching Israel or Saudi Arabia.

2003 - In northern Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s sons Odai and Qusai died after a gunfight with US forces.

2003 - In Paris, France, a fire broke out near the top of the Eiffel Tower. About 4000 visitors were evacuated and no injuries were reported. 2005 – Jean Charles de Menezes is killed by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 London bombings.

2009 - The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurred over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean.

2011 - Norway is the victim of twin terror attacks, the first being a bomb blast which targeted government buildings in central Oslo, the second being a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya. 2013 - A series of earthquakes in Dingxi, China, kills at least 89 people and injures more than 500 others.