It happened one 29 July

1588 : Invincible Armada defeated


On July 29, 1588 at the Battle of Gravelines, near the French coast, the Spanish Armada called the Invincible Armada was defeated by the British fleet led by Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake.
The Spanish wanted to conquer England and had built a fleet which they considered as invincible : 130 ships, 8000 sailors, 20,000 soldiers.
They left Spain much later than expected because of an attack on their supply by Drake in order to gain time for the British to be ready. They were also delayed by storms.
During the Battle, due to a longer range of their guns, the English were able to attack first. Their ships were also faster and more maneuverable. After an attack with ships on fire which disorganized the Spanish fleet, the British destroyed much of the enemy ships and chased them until Scotland.
The Spanish Armada lost half its ships and 15,000 men.
England won its place as a world power.

1945 : Sinking of the USS Indianapolis


On July 29, 1945, the cruiser USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine. 883 seamen were killed, some in the sinking and the other drowned or eaten by sharks during the long wait for rescue (84 hours).

1958 : NASA is created


On July 29, 1958, the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was created by U.S. Congress in response to the sending of a satellite into space by the Soviets, Sputnik 1. The goal was to launch the U.S. space race.

1981 : Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana


On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, a young schoolteacher, at St Paul's Cathedral in London. One billion people in 74 countries witnessed the event on TV. The couple separated in 1992.

Quote of the day : 29 July

Lady Diana, Princesse de Galles
I'd like to be a queen in people's hearts but I don't see myself being queen of this country.

Birthdays : 29 July

Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (1805)
Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist dictator (1883)
William Powell, American actor (1892)
Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (1898)
Eyvind Johnson, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize in Literature (1900)
Clara Bow, American actress (1905)
Dag Hammarskjöld, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel peace Prize Laureate (1905)
Thelma Todd, American actress (1906)
Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer (1925)
Robert Fuller , American actor (1933)
Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor (1955)
Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor (1959)
Alexandra Paul, American actress (1963)
Stephen Dorff, American actor (1973)
Josh Radnor, American actor (1974)
Karim Essediri, Tunisian footballer (1979)
Fernando González, Chilean tennis player (1980)
Fernando Alonso, Spanish Formula One racing driver (1981)
Allison Mack, American actress (1982)

They left us one 29 July

Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (1813)
Robert Schumann, German composer (1856)
Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (1890)
Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1913)
Erich Kästner, German writer (1974)
David Niven, English actor (1983)
Raymond Massey, Canadian actor (1983)
Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (1983)
Dorothy Hodgkin, English chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (1994)
Michel Serrault, French actor (2007)

Tip of the Day : 29 July

Home made mint syrup


For one liter of syrup, you need a large bunch of mint, 650g of sugar, 1l of water, a few drops of green food coloring.
Remove leaves from stalks of mint, washed and placed in an airtight container of one liter.
Pour boiling water to fill the container.
Once the mixture is warm, you may close the container.
After 24 hours, pour the mixture into a pan. Made balls with sheets and pressed to extract all the juice.
Bring to boil then add sugar and cook over low heat 30 minutes, skimming regularly.
Then set the pan off the heat and let it cool down.
Then pour the syrup into a bottle with a funnel in which you have put a coffee filter. Add the green food coloring at the time of this filtering.
Close the bottle, and keep refrigerated.

* Warning

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