July 1 in Pop Culture History

1770 – Lexell’s Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history.

1819 – Johann Georg Tralles discovered the Great Comet of 1819 (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry by François Arago.

1874 – The Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, went on sale.

1881 – The world’s first international telephone call was made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.

1898 – The Battle of San Juan Hill was fought in Santiago de Cuba. (Spanish-American War)

1903 – The first Tour de France bicycle race began.

1908 – SOS was adopted as the international distress signal. Three dits, three dahs, and three dits – SOS is the only nine-element signal in Morse code.

1943 – Tokyo City merged with the Tokyo Prefecture area and was dissolved. Since this date, no city in Japan has the name “Tokyo” – that is, present-day Tokyo is not officially a city.

1963 – ZIP codes were introduced for US mail.

1965 – Maurice Masse, a farmer in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France, said he was ‘frozen’ by aliens while investigating the strange noises they were making.

#1 Hit July 1, 1967 – July 28, 1967: The Association – Windy

1971 – The Post Office Department (1792–1971) became the United States Postal Service

#1 Hit July 1, 1972 – July 7, 1972: Neil Diamond – Song Sung Blue

1972 – The first Gay Pride march in England took place.

1979 – Sony introduced the Walkman (in Japan).

1980 – O Canada officially became the national anthem of Canada.

1983 – Stroker Ace was released in theaters.

1984 – The PG-13 rating was introduced by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

1985 – A&E separated from sister channel Nickelodeon.

1985 – Nike-at-Nite began on Nickelodeon

#1 Hit July 1, 1989 – July 7, 1989: Milli Vanilli – Baby Don’t Forget My Number

1991 – Court TV, which later became truTV, began airing in the US.

1992 – A League of Their Own and Boomerang debuted in theaters.

1994 – The Shadow, I Love Trouble, Blown Away, a Baby’s Day Out, and Little Big League were released in theaters.

1998 – Armageddon was released in theaters.

2005 – Rebound was released in theaters.

#1 Hit July 1, 2006 – July 7, 2006: Taylor Hicks – Do I Make You Proud

2007 – Smoking in England was banned in all public indoor spaces.

2007 – The Concert for Diana was held at the new Wembley Stadium in London and broadcast in 140 countries, on which would have been her 46th birthday.

2009 – Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was released in theaters.

2010 – The Last Airbender was released in theaters.

2011 – Larry Crowne and Monte Carlo debuted in theaters.

2015 – Terminator: Genisys and Magic Mike XXL were released in theaters.

2016 – The Legend of Tarzan, The Purge: Election Year and The BFG debuted in theaters.