The New Site
After an on-again, off-again gestation of about two years, we are starting to unveil the new design of our site. This has been a major overhaul as we fully embrace web technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets and Server Side Includes and switch from the ASP scripting language to PHP. (If this is all gobbledygook to you, don't worry, it just means that this happens to be a much more involved revision than may meet the eye. It also means that future revisions should be a "piece of cake" in comparison.) A large part of our site remains to be revised. However, we hope putting up the site half-finished will inspire us to get the work done sooner! Use the "Our Old Site" link to visit those parts of the site not yet revised (it will open in a new window - just close it to return).
New
Our financial pages that were featured in our almanac section now have a site all their own: rule72.ca In addition to the tools we have featured for some time, you'll find new information (and tools) about life insurance and retirement. Of course, the site is not quite finished, but we believe it to be fully functional. Please check it out.
July ... bring on the heat
Did you know ...
- The month of July is traditionally the hottest in the northern hemisphere (and the coldest in the southern hemisphere)
- It was named after Julius Caesar who was born on July 13
- Before January became the first month of the year, July was the fifth month and was called Quintilis.
- July starts on the same day of the week as April (and January in leap years)
July's Special Days
- July 1: Canada Day
- July 4: Independence Day in the United States of America
- July 7: Tanabata
- July 12: (Battle of the Boyne)Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland
- July 13: Birthday of Julius Caesar
- July 14: Bastille Day
- July 20: First man steps foot on the moon (1969)
- July 22: Foundation Day Cleveland
- July 25: Feast of St. James
- July 26: New York State joins the Union
- July 30: Foundation Day Baltimore
Special Events
- July 1, 1863 - American Civil War: the Battle of Gettysburg begins
- July 1, 1916 - First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 20,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded.
- July 2, 1578 - Martin Frobisher sights Baffin Island.
- July 2, 1808 - Simon Fraser reaches Pacific near New Westminster.
- July 3, 1608 - Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain.
- July 3, 1884 - Dow Jones published its 1st stock average
- July 4, 1817 - At Rome, New York, United States, construction on the Erie Canal begins
- July 4, 1886 - First scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia.
- July 5, 1814 - War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa - American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
- July 5, 1937 - Highest recorded temperature in Canada, at Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan: 45° C (113° F).
- July 6, 1942 - Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
- July 6, 1970 - Air Canada Flight 621 caught fire after landing at Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Ontario, all 108 passengers and crew are killed.
- July 7, 1915 - A Great Gorge and International Railway trolley with an extreme overload of 157 passengers crashed near Queenston, Ontario, killing 15.
- July 7, 1969 - In Canada, the Official Languages Act is adopted making the French language equal to the English language throughout the Federal government.
- July 8, 1874 - The Mounties begin their March West.
- July 8, 1947 - Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
- July 9, 1540 - Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
- July 9, 1868 - The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
- July 10, 1925 - Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins with John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a state law against it.
- July 10, 1962 - Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
- July 11, 1914 - Babe Ruth debuts in Major league baseball.
- July 11, 1955 - The phrase In God We Trust is added to all US currency.
- July 12, 1812 - War of 1812: The United States invades Canada at Windsor, Ontario.
- July 12, 1943 - World War II: Battle of Prokhorovka - German and Soviet forces engage in largest tank engagement of all time.
- July 13, 1923 - The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads "Hollywoodland " but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.
- July 13, 1985 - The Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Sydney and Moscow.
- July 14, 1965 - Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
- July 15, 1870 - Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory are transferred to Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company, and the province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories are established from these vast territories.
- July 15, 1954 - First flight of the Boeing 707, the first American jet passenger airliner.
- July 16, 1880 - Dr. Emily Howard Stowe becomes the first woman licenced to practice medicine in Canada.
- July 16, 1969 - Apollo program: Apollo 11 is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida and will become the first manned space mission to land on the moon.
- July 17, 1917 - King George V of the United Kingdom issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British royal family will bear the surname Windsor.
- July 17, 1955 - Disneyland televises its grand opening in Anaheim, California
- July 18, 64 - Great fire of Rome: A fire begins to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burns completely out of control while Emperor Nero reportedly plays his lyre and sings while watching the blaze from a safe distance.
- July 18, 1969 - After a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drives an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, dies.
- July 19, 1848 - Women's rights: The two day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York and the "Bloomers" are introduced at the feminist convention.
- July 19, 1879 - Doc Holliday kills for the first time after a man shoots up his New Mexico saloon.
- July 20, 1871 - British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.
- July 20, 1994 - Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's Fragment Q1 hits Jupiter.
- July 21, 1861 - American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run - At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins (Confederate victory).
- July 21, 1931 - CBS's New York City station begins broadcasting the first regular seven days a week television schedule in the U.S.
- July 22, 1793 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing north of Mexico.
- July 22, 1997 - The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.
- July 23, 1903 - Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
- July 23, 1984 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
- July 24, 1832 - Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by using Wyoming's South Pass.
- July 24, 1847 - After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City. Celebrations of this event include the Pioneer Day Utah state holiday and the Days of '47 Parade.
- July 25, 1758 - Seven Years' War: The island battery at Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia is silenced and all French warships are destroyed or taken.
- July 25, 1814 - War of 1812: Battle of Lundy's Lane - Reinforcements arrive near Niagara Falls for General Riall's British and Canadian forces and a bloody, all-night battle with Jacob Brown's Americans commences at 18.00; Americans retreat to Fort Erie.
- July 26, 1944 - The first German V-2 rocket hits Great Britain.
- July 26, 2005 - Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission - Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003.
- July 27, 1921 - Researchers at the University of Toronto led by biochemist Frederick Banting announce the discovery of the hormone insulin.
- July 27, 1949 - Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.
- July 28, 1945 - A US Army B-25 bomber accidentally crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 injuring 26.
- July 28, 2002 - Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, were rescued after 77 hours underground.
- July 29, 1793 - John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.
- July 29, 2005 - Astronomers announce their discovery of Eris (Eris is 27% larger than Pluto, has one moon, Dysnomia and circles the sun at three times the distance of Pluto. Both Pluto and Eris are now officially designated as "Dwarf Planets").
- July 30, 1733 - First Freemasons lodge opened in what will become the United States.
- July 30, 1954 - Elvis Presley makes his debut as a public performer.
- July 31, 1930 - The radio mystery program The Shadow is aired for the first time.
- July 31, 1964 - Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
July is ...
- National Cell Phone Courtesy Month
- National Recreation and Parks Month
- Purposeful Parenting Month
- Family Reunion Month
- Herbal & Prescription Awareness Month
- National Culinary Arts Month
- National Grilling Month
- National Make a Difference to Children Month
More Special Days
2009 Dates
- National Therapeutic Recreation Week July 6-12
- New York City Restaurant Week July 6-12
- Parents Day July 27
Sources include
Wikipedia - the free on-line encyclopedia
About.com
Epromos.com
Come back soon.
Fred
Friday, July 30, 2010

Memories of Washington, D.C.
Our picture of the day.
Almanac
Photos
Fred's Views
Recipes
Miscellaneous
Brand New!
Our financial pages from the almanac section now have a site all their own
Financial Tools
Our Christmas pages have been refurbished for the season. Check them out:
Christmas
Still on our Old Site
(These pages will open in a new window. To return to our new site, close the window.)
Entertainment
Computers
Education
Where have all the websites gone?
This site has incorporated the following sites: www.fodoweb.com; www.elmlane.com; www.pic365.com; www.fredoldfield.com; www.webquizzer.com; www.usingcomputers.com; www.erfora.com; www.ourrecipeweb.com and www.mychristmaspage.com.
The first four sites listed above still have a physical location separate from this site, but visitors are automatically referred to this new site. We do not intend to renew the last three sites listed above, so you should no longer use those URL's (addresses) as they will (do) no longer work.