On this day: Federer equals Borg | Boeing Dreamliner

Events, birthdays and anniversaries for 8 July
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Jul 2013, 01:00 BST
On this day in 2007 Boeing unveiled its first 787 Dreamliner. The aeroplanes first flight took place two years later. Picture: GettyOn this day in 2007 Boeing unveiled its first 787 Dreamliner. The aeroplanes first flight took place two years later. Picture: Getty
On this day in 2007 Boeing unveiled its first 787 Dreamliner. The aeroplanes first flight took place two years later. Picture: Getty

8 JULY

1296: Abdication of King John Balliol at Montrose.

1792: France declared war on Prussia.

1833: Turkey and Russia signed Treaty of Hunkar Iskelesi, a defensive alliance under which Sultan agreed to close Dardanelles Straits to all but Russian warships.

1858: British proclaimed peace in India.

1884: The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children was founded.

1918: National Savings stamps went on sale in Britain.

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1920: Britain annexed East African Protectorate as Kenya Colony.

1940: Norway government moved to London after 62 days of fighting Nazi invaders in Second World War.

1950: US General Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea.

1965: Ronald Biggs, one of the Great Train robbers, scaled the wall of Wandsworth Prison with a rope ladder and landed on a furniture van outside. He had served 15 months of his sentence. He settled in Brazil but returned to Britain and gave himself up in 2001.

1967: Air and ground fighting broke out between Israel and Egypt along Suez Canal.

1969: Bishops and priests of Church of England defeated proposal for reunification with Methodist Church.

1987: Defiant political prisoners marched out of South Korea prisons and demanded release of all other government opponents.

1992: Mike Gatting and 15 other English cricketers suspended for five years for touring South Africa had their bans lifted.

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1996: Martina Hingis became the youngest Wimbledon champion at the age of 15 years and 282 days when she and Helen Sukova won the women’s doubles.

2007: Boeing unveiled its first 787 in a roll-out ceremony at its Everett assembly factory.

2007: Roger Federer of Switzerland equalled Björn Borg’s Wimbledon record when he won his fifth successive singles title.

2010: Former Labour Party deputy leader John Prescott was introduced to the House of Lords as Baron Prescott of Kingston-upon-Hull.

2011: The space shuttle Atlantis launched from Florida on a 12-day mission, marking the beginning of the end for the space shuttle era.

BIRTHDAYS

Kevin Bacon, actor, 55; Beck (born Beck Hansen), pop musician, 43; Sophia Bush, actress, 31; Bill Crudup, actor, 45; Sourav Ganguly, cricketer, 41; Anjelica Huston, actress, 62; Robbie Keane, Irish footballer, 33; Sarah Kennedy MBE, television presenter, 63; Dame Ellen MacArthur, round-the-world record-breaking sailor, 37; Pauline Quirke, actress, 54; Russell Taylor MBE, cartoonist, 53; Milo Ventimiglia, actor, 36; Brian Walden, MP 1964-74 and broadcaster, 81.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1836 Joseph Chamberlain, Liberal statesman; 1838 Count Zeppelin, German airship pioneer; 1839 John D Rockefeller, philanthropist; 1851 Sir Arthur Evans, archaeologist who excavated Knossos; 1908 Nelson Rockefeller, American vice-president.

Deaths: 1721 Elihu Yale, American patron of university named after him; 1822 Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet; 1822 Sir Henry Raeburn, portrait painter, King’s Limner; 1855 Sir William Parry, Arctic explorer; 1967 Vivien Leigh, actress; 2011 Betty Ford, former US first lady; 2012 Ernest Borgnine, actor.

Related topics:Roger FedererRussia