Following are some of the major events to have occurred on July 1:
1916 – British and French forces launched the Somme Offensive in World War One.
1917 – 50th anniversary of Confederation of Canada.
1942 – Sevastopol in Crimea fell to German forces after an eight-month siege.
1946 – The United States tested an atomic bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
1974 – Juan Peron, Argentine president and founder of the Peronist movement, died.
1997 – Robert Mitchum, U.S. movie star in films including “Cape Fear”, “Ryan’s Daughter” and “Night of the Hunter”, died. He was 79.
1999 – Germany’s parliament held its last session in Bonn before moving to Berlin.
1999 – Scotland opened its first parliament in nearly 300 years.
1999 – Joshua Nkomo died aged 83. He was Zimbabwe’s veteran vice-president and a stalwart of its liberation struggle.
2000 – The longest cable-stayed bridge in the world was opened. The Oresund Bridge links Sweden and Denmark.
2004 – An Iraqi tribunal charged Saddam Hussein and 11 of his senior associates with crimes against humanity.
