Today is July 31. On this date in:
1715
A fleet of Spanish ships carrying gold, silver and jewelry sank during a hurricane off the east Florida coast; of some 2,500 crew members, more than 1,000 died.
1777
During the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army.
Our history:Thousands welcomed war hero Lafayette in 1825
1954
Pakistan’s K2 was conquered as two members of an Italian expedition, Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, reached the summit.
1957
The Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations to detect Soviet bombers approaching North America, went into operation.
1961
IBM introduced its first Selectric typewriter with its distinctive “typeball.”
1964
The American space probe Ranger 7 reached the moon, transmitting pictures back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface.
1970
“The Huntley-Brinkley Report” came to an end after nearly 14 years as co-anchor Chet Huntley signed off; the broadcast was renamed “NBC Nightly News.”
1971
Apollo 15 crew members David Scott and James Irwin became the first astronauts to use a lunar rover on the surface of the moon.
1972
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the ticket with George McGovern following disclosures that Eagleton had once undergone psychiatric treatment.
1991
1992
The former Soviet republic of Georgia was admitted to the United Nations as its 179th member.
1992
Thai Airways Flight 311, an Airbus A310, crashed while approaching Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal; all 113 people aboard died.
2002
A bomb exploded inside a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, killing nine people, including five Americans.
2008
Scientists reported the Phoenix spacecraft had confirmed the presence of frozen water in Martian soil.
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