Today in History
Historical Events
First successful human powered attempt to circumnavigate the world. Englishman Jason Lewis set out on the journey, also called Expedition 360 on July 12, 1994, from Greenwich, London. The over 46,000-mile expedition around the world took him 4,833 days, during which he used only human-powered modes of transportation including bicycles, roller blades, and a pedal powered boat.
First exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star discovered. Swiss astronomers Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor announced the discovered the exoplanet called 51 Pegasi B or Bellerophon. The Jupiter-like exoplanet orbits a star called 51 Pegasi, which has a magnitude of 5.49. 51 Pegasi B takes 4.23 Earth days to orbit around its star.
Assassination of Anwar Sadat. The third president of Egypt, Sadat was killed by members of the terrorist group Takfir Wal-Hajira during a parade held to commemorate the 8th anniversary of Operation Badr - a military operation where Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal and overran the Bar Lev Line in Israel. The military operation stated the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states. The assassination is thought to be a result of Sadat’s efforts to bring peace to the region which started with the Camp David Accords in 1978.
Coup in Thailand. Admiral Sangad Chaloryu staged a coup ousting the civilian government of Seni Pramoj.
Bosnian crisis. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declared the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which had been nominally under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The takeover raised tensions within the Balkan region in Europe and threatened to end in a war.
Famous Births
Born on this day

Mitchell Cole
1985
English footballer

Tony Dungy
1955
American football player, coach

Hafez al-Assad
1930
Syrian general, politician, 20th President of Syria

George Westinghouse
1846
American engineer, inventor

Isaac Brock
1769
English army officer
Famous Deaths
Died on this day

Bill O'Reilly
1992
Australian cricketer

Bette Davis
1989
American actress

Anwar Sadat
1981
Egyptian politician, 3rd President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate

Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1892
English poet

Thomas Wyatt
1542
English poet