Browsing: July 26

A Brief History On July 26, 2016, engineer André Borschberg and psychiatrist and balloonist Bertrand Piccard, both from Switzerland, made history with their solar powered airplane, Solar Impulse, when they completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a solar powered fixed wing aircraft. Digging Deeper Solar Impulse was the second plane of that name, sometimes called Solar Impulse 2. A single seat monoplane with four electric motors each powering a propeller fed by electricity from photovoltaic cells on the wings, the plane is capable of cruising at 56 mph, slowing to 37 mph at night, with a max speed…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on July 26th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On July 26, 1739, George Clinton was born in a place then called Little Britain, Province of New York, British America. On July 26, 1767, Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, and one-time mistress of King George II of England, died. On July 26, 1861, Major General George McClellan was appointed the commander of the Army of the Potomac, a move President Lincoln…

A Brief History On July 26, 2005, Mumbai, India, received an incredible 39.17 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.  Mumbai is the most populous city in what is now the most populous country in the world, with 12.5 million inhabitants.  Obviously, such an enormous amount of rain created massive flooding, and sadly about 1,100 people died in the floods. Digging Deeper To put this enormous amount of rain in perspective, Cleveland, Ohio, a typical US city, has a record 24 hour rainfall of just 4.59 inches on September 7, 1996.  The contiguous states US record for a single…

A Brief History On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which ordered the desegregation of the US military, a move many Americans thought was long overdue. Digging Deeper At times presidents cannot or will not wait for congress to act on a subject and they take it into their own hands by issuing an “Executive Order.” Franklin Roosevelt holds the record for the most executive orders with a whopping 3522.  Second place is Woodrow Wilson with 1803 and Teddy Roosevelt is the only other president with over a thousand at 1081. Question for students (and subscribers) to…

A Brief History On July 26, 1739, George Clinton was born in a place then called Little Britain, Province of New York, British America.  Not to be confused with the funky 20th and 21st Century American musician famous for “Atomic Dog” and other hits, this George Clinton went on to become one of our “Founding Fathers” and served not only as a military officer, but also as the 4th Vice President of the United States. Digging Deeper Before serving both as a privateer and militia officer during the French and Indian War, this George Clinton was appointed as Clerk of…