#Middlebury
On July 20, 1865, Pierre Lallement, a Frenchman, arrives in the United States carrying the plans and components for the first modern bicycle. Although he built and patented the first bicycle, Lallement received no recognition and failed to acquire enough funds to open a factory. He sold the rights to the patent in 1868 and moved back to France.- On July 23, 1888, Raymond Chandler, creator of detective Philip Marlowe, is born in Chicago. During the Depression, Chandler began writing to support himself. He published “The Big Sleep” in 1939, followed by “Farewell My Lovely” and “The Long Goodbye.”
- On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launch their invasion of the island of Puerto Rico. With only seven deaths, U.S. troops under Gen. Nelson Miles were able to secure the island by mid-August.
- On July 24, 1911, American archeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru. Machu Picchu is believed to have been a summer retreat for Inca leaders.
- On July 22, 1934, outside Chicago’s Biograph Theatre, notorious criminal John Dillinger – America’s “Public Enemy No. 1” – is killed by federal agents. In a year-long bank-robbing spree, Dillinger and his associates robbed 11 banks for more than $300,000, broke jail and narrowly escaped capture multiple times, and killed seven police officers and three federal agents.
- On July 26, 1943, Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger is born in Dartford, Kent, England. Michael Philip Jagger attended the London School of Economics but left without graduating in order to pursue a career in music.
- On July 21, 1973, “Soul Makossa” is the first disco record to make the Top 40. It is now best remembered as the source of the rhythmic chant that appears in Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” in 1982.
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