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-- New Jersey History Timeline - July
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On July 6 of 1939
The first air mail delivery takes place when the US Postal Service placed an autogiro aircraft into use which flew mail between the Central Airport at Camden, to the roof of the main Philadelphia, post office. |
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On July 7 of 1930
An explosion at the fireworks factory owned by Frank Cimino in Neptune Township kills four, including Cimino's nine-year-old daughter, his 11-month-old son, his 72-year-old father and a two-month-old baby girl.
An explosion at the fireworks factory owned by Frank Cimino in Neptune Township kills four, including Cimino's nine-year-old daughter, his 11-month-old son, his 72-year-old father and a two-month-old baby girl.
On July 8 of 1970
After three days of disorders and rioting in Asbury Park, Governor William Cahill visits the city to meet with city officials and citizen activists, tours riot damage in the city and then requests that President Nixon declare Asbury Park a disaster area.
After three days of disorders and rioting in Asbury Park, Governor William Cahill visits the city to meet with city officials and citizen activists, tours riot damage in the city and then requests that President Nixon declare Asbury Park a disaster area.
On July 9 of 1892
A 500-pound shell fired from the United States ordnance testing range at Sandy Hook accidentally hits and sinks the schooner Henry R. Tilton. Established in 1874, the range tested weaponry until 1919, when the testing was relocated to Aberdeen, Maryland.
On July 10 of 1926
Lightning strikes a storehouse of the Naval Powder Depot at the Picatinny Arsenal, igniting an explosion that over three days results in additional explosions, including at a storehouse with 1.6 million pounds of dynamite, killing 19 people and causing millions in damages. Congress approved nearly $3 million to rebuild the arsenal in the mid-1930s and another $15 million by 1945. Today, Picatinny has more than 800 buildings, including 64 laboratories, situated on nearly 6,500 acres.
On July 11 of 1804
Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken. After Hamilton is taken across the Hudson, he dies the next day.
On July 12 of 1967
Racial unrest in Newark sparked by the arrest and beating by police of a taxi driver results in disorders, looting and riots through July 17 in which 26 people are killed and more than 700 are injured. Governor Richard Hughes declares a state of emergency, dispatches State Police and mobilizes the National Guard to patrol the streets. The riots cause about $10 million in damages, leaving entire blocks in ruins.
On July 13 of 1960
Democratic National Convention nominates John F. Kennedy as party's presidential candidate on the first ballot of voting. Kennedy's nomination is secured as the New Jersey delegation, which had been pledged to the favorite-son candidacy of Governor Robert B. Meyner, is unable to be recognized in order to change its vote from Meyner to Kennedy.
Democratic National Convention nominates John F. Kennedy as party's presidential candidate on the first ballot of voting. Kennedy's nomination is secured as the New Jersey delegation, which had been pledged to the favorite-son candidacy of Governor Robert B. Meyner, is unable to be recognized in order to change its vote from Meyner to Kennedy.
On July 14 of 1777
General Washington stays overnight at the Hendrick Van Allen house in Oakland in Bergen County. At the time, Washington was moving his troops from Morristown to New York.
On July 15 of 1806
Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, Jr, who was born in what is now Bedminster Township in Somerset County in 1779, leads a military party sent out by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the south and west of the recent Louisiana Purchase contemporaneous with that of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Pike’s expedition was the first official American effort to explore the western Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains in present-day Colorado, and Pike’s written report described an attempt to climb a mountain which later would be named after him as Pike’s Peak. After being promoted to brigadier general, Pike was killed by the British in action in Canada during the War of 1812.
Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, Jr, who was born in what is now Bedminster Township in Somerset County in 1779, leads a military party sent out by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the south and west of the recent Louisiana Purchase contemporaneous with that of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Pike’s expedition was the first official American effort to explore the western Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains in present-day Colorado, and Pike’s written report described an attempt to climb a mountain which later would be named after him as Pike’s Peak. After being promoted to brigadier general, Pike was killed by the British in action in Canada during the War of 1812.
On July 16 of 1790
President George Washington signs the Residence Act of 1790 establishing the District of Columbia as the capital of the United States. The Act ended previous efforts by Trenton, where Congress had met from November 1 to December 24, 1784, to be designated as the national capital, with the state legislature offering land and funds for the construction of federal buildings.
President George Washington signs the Residence Act of 1790 establishing the District of Columbia as the capital of the United States. The Act ended previous efforts by Trenton, where Congress had met from November 1 to December 24, 1784, to be designated as the national capital, with the state legislature offering land and funds for the construction of federal buildings.
On July 17 of 1967
Rioting in Newark and Plainfield which began on July 12 subsides, but not before a black man was shot and killed by Newark police while allegedly looting a store, the 26th killing during the course of the disorders. In Plainfield, a police officer was killed when he attempted to disperse a crowd, and over 100 were arrested for looting and rioting during the disturbance.
Rioting in Newark and Plainfield which began on July 12 subsides, but not before a black man was shot and killed by Newark police while allegedly looting a store, the 26th killing during the course of the disorders. In Plainfield, a police officer was killed when he attempted to disperse a crowd, and over 100 were arrested for looting and rioting during the disturbance.
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On July 18 of 1877 Thomas Edison recorded the human voice for the first time at his laboratory in Menlo Park (now Edison Township). He shouted “Haloo" into a mouthpiece and played back a moving tape. |
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On July 19 of 2020 Roy Den Hollander, a 72-year-old self-described men's rights activist and attorney disguised as a FedEx delivery man, appears at the North Brunswick home of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, whom he had appeared before in litigation, and shoots and wounds her husband and kills her 20-year-old son. On the next day, Hollander is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in upstate New York and is identified as the primary suspect in a prior murder in California of another men's rights attorney. |
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On July 20 of 1835
Over two thousand textile workers from twenty mills in Paterson go on strike demanding a reduction in work hours from thirteen and a half to eleven hours a day. The mill owners refused to negotiate but did reduce hours to twelve hours a day on weekdays and nine hours on Saturdays. The workers, many of whom were children from Irish-American families, returned to work, but the strike leaders were blacklisted by employers.
Over two thousand textile workers from twenty mills in Paterson go on strike demanding a reduction in work hours from thirteen and a half to eleven hours a day. The mill owners refused to negotiate but did reduce hours to twelve hours a day on weekdays and nine hours on Saturdays. The workers, many of whom were children from Irish-American families, returned to work, but the strike leaders were blacklisted by employers.
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On July 21 of 1969 NASA Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to step onto the lunar surface in what he describes as "one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind." Nineteen minutes later, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin joins him and they plant the US flag on the moon. Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge and graduated from Montclair High School. |
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On July 22 of 2011
In one of the hottest days in New Jersey history, the temperature in Newark peaked at 108 degrees—the hottest day ever in the city; and records also were set of 105 in Trenton and 104 in Atlantic City.
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On July 23 of 1984 Vanessa Williams, the first African American Miss America, resigns under pressure due to disclosure of nude photos of her taken years earlier. The Miss America Pageant names Suzette Charles as her successor. In 2016, the Pageant invited her back as a judge of the competition and formally apologized for how she had been treated, |
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On July 24 of 1997
William Joseph Brennan Jr., former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990 and Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1951 to 1956, dies at the age of 91 in Arlington, Virginia. A native of Newark, Brennan was the seventh longest-serving justice in Supreme Court history, known as a leader of the Court's progressive wing.
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On July 25 of 1946 At Club 500 in Atlantic City, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team. |
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On July 26 of 1860
A tornado with winds estimated up to 200 miles per hour strikes areas of Camden. It destroys several homes and buildings and lifts a large factory building near the Cooper River from its foundation. Three people are killed and four injured.
A tornado with winds estimated up to 200 miles per hour strikes areas of Camden. It destroys several homes and buildings and lifts a large factory building near the Cooper River from its foundation. Three people are killed and four injured.
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On July 27 of 1974 The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee chaired by Congressman Peter Rodino of Essex County votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon. |
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On July 28 of 1861
The first New Jersey officer to die in the Civil War, Ensign Henry K. Zehner of the Third New Jersey Militia Regiment, dies of what is described as “general debility” at Washington, DC. His body was returned to New Jersey for burial at Mercer Cemetery in Trenton.
The first New Jersey officer to die in the Civil War, Ensign Henry K. Zehner of the Third New Jersey Militia Regiment, dies of what is described as “general debility” at Washington, DC. His body was returned to New Jersey for burial at Mercer Cemetery in Trenton.
On July 28 of 1913
The Paterson Silk Strike ends after five months which saw at its peak 20,000 workers leave their jobs at the silk mills. The strike fails to acheive its major demands for higher wages and improved working conditions. During the course of the strike, approximately 1,850 strikers were arrested, including Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) leaders Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.
On July 29 of 2020
In his update on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Murphy states that recent increases in cases have been traced to a series of prohibited indoor house parties, including ones in Middletown; on Long Beach Island; and in Jackson which involved an estimated 700 people. The Governor also reports that the newer cases include a relatively high number of teens aged 14 to 19.
On July 30 of 1916
Explosions at munitions loading docks on the Jersey City waterfront kill at least five people and cause extensive damage to warehouses, piers, railroad cars and barges. The blasts, later called the 'Black Tom' explosion, are soon linked to sabotage by German agents seeking to disrupt US shipments of ammunition to European nations fighting the Germans.
