Today in history
1586 - Sir Walter Raleigh brings the first lot of tobacco to England from Virginia.
1563 - French army regains Le Havre, France, where English garrison is stricken with plague; soldiers returning to England introduce the plague.
1689 - General Mackay leads troops loyal to William of Orange to subdue the Scottish Jacobites under Dundee. The royal troops are routed at the subsequent Battle of Killiecrankie and more than 2000 are killed.
1830 - July Revolution starts in Paris in reaction to restrictive policies of Charles X, who is forced from the throne after three days of fighting.
1866 - The first successful transatlantic telegraph cable between England and the United States is completed.
1921 - Canadians Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin for the first time. It proves an effective treatment for diabetes.
1940 - Bugs Bunny makes his film debut in the Warner Bros release called A Wild Hare.
1949 - The British De Havilland Comet, the first jet-propelled airliner, makes its maiden flight.
1953 - An armistice is signed at Panmunjom, after three years of negotiations. This agreement, in practice, ends the Korean War.
1954 - Britain and Egypt agree on terms to end 72 years of British control of the Suez Canal.
1974 - The House Judiciary Committee votes 27-11 to recommend US President Richard Nixon’s impeachment on an obstruction of justice charge in the Watergate case.
1981 - On Coronation Street, Ken Barlow marries Deirdre Langton, a national event in Britain, with massive viewer numbers
1990 - Belarus declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
2003 - American cyclist Lance Armstrong wins the 100th Tour de France, the most prestigious race in cycling, for the fifth year in a row. He later admits use of performanceenhancing drugs.
2003 - Bob Hope, the British-born US comedy legend, dies aged 100.
2012 - London opens its Olympics, with the ceremony featuring a stunt double for Queen Elizabeth II parachuting into the stadium.
2014 - One of Liberia’s most highprofile doctors dies of Ebola, highlighting the risks facing health workers trying to combat an outbreak in West Africa. Today’s Birthdays: Alexandre Dumas II, French author (1824-1895); Geoffrey De Havilland, English aircraft designer (1882-1965); Allan Border, Australian cricketer (1955-); Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player (1973-); Alex Rodriguez, US baseball player (1975-); Jonathan Rhys-meyers, Irish actor (1977-).