TODAY IN HISTORY

70

Roman general (later Emperor) Titus storms the Antonia Fortress on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, leading to street fighting with Jewish revolutionaries known as the Zealots.

1842

Sydney is incorporated as a city as the Legislative Council passes an Act that opens the way to local government.

1871

A meeting of the Football Association in London decides to set up the Challenge Cup Competition, known as the FA Cup.

1881

Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull, a fugitive since the Battle of the Little Big Horn, surrenders to US troops.

1904

The P&O liner Australia, sailing from Adelaide to Melbourne, runs aground off Port Phillip and is destroyed. Passengers and crew are all saved.

1943

HMAS Hobart is torpedoed off San Cristobal, Solomon Islands, by a Japanese submarine. With 13 crew dead, the vessel steams on.

1944

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg explodes a bomb near Adolf Hitler at his headquarters. It injures the Nazi dictator but kills four others.

1969

US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon as he steps from a landing module.

1995

News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch announces that Fox Studios will set up at Sydney Showground.

2015

The US and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations, which had been severed since 1961.

2018

Former sports star OJ Simpson is granted parole after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence for a robbery.

Born this week:

JULY 20

KIM CARNES

American singer born in 1945. She is best known for hits such as Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer, a duet with Kenny Rogers, and Bette Davis Eyes. Dubbed the “female Rod Stewart” for her husky voice, she still writes, records and performs.

JULY 23

BERT NEWTON

Australian entertainer born in 1938. He started in radio before moving to television variety shows forming partnerships with Graham Kennedy and Don Lane. The multiple Logie winner has also appeared in stage shows.

JULY 26

HELEN MIRREN

English actor born Helen Mirinoff in 1945. She played Cleopatra on stage at 20, which launched her career. She is also famous for roles such as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, which won her an Academy Award.