Born on this day
Tuesday, July 24, 1725. : John Newton, former English slave trader who wrote ‘Amazing Grace’, is born.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
John Newton was the self-proclaimed wretch who once was lost but then was found, saved by God’s amazing grace. Newton was born in London on 24 July 1725. His father was commander of a merchant ship, and young John followed in his footsteps. After his father died, Newton joined the crew on the H.M.S. Hartwich, but deserted after he found the living conditions deplorable. He was recaptured, flogged and demoted from midshipman to common seaman.
After this, Newton spent some time on a slave-trader’s ship, learning the trade, and eventually commanding his own trade in slavery. His conversion occurred during a violent storm at sea on 10 May 1748. From then on, he was a changed man, ultimately leaving his sea-going days behind him, and studying to become a minister. He was ordained by the Bishop of Lincoln and given the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire. “Amazing Grace” was written whilst he was at Olney, most probably between 1760 and 1770.
Born on this day
Saturday, July 24, 1897. : Female aviator, Amelia Earhart, is born.
Amelia Mary Earhart was born on 24 July 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, USA. She was the first woman to achieve the feat of flying across the Atlantic. Her first trip across the Atlantic in a Fokker F7 Friendship took 20 hours and 40 minutes. She then flew solo across the Atlantic in 1932. On 11 January 1935 Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to California. She had departed Wheeler Field in Honolulu, Hawaii, and after a journey of over 3,800km in 18 hours, she arrived at Oakland Airport in Oakland, California.
In 1937, together with her navigator Fred Noonan, she attempted a round-the-world flight in a Lockheed Electra. Approximately five weeks after she set off, her plane disappeared, last heard about 100 miles off Howland Island in the Pacific. Speculation has been rife over the years regarding what happened to Amelia Earhart. The usual conspiracy theories and alien abduction theories have abounded, but no evidence has ever been found to substantiate them, and the circumstances surrounding Earhart’s disappearance remain a mystery.
Australian Explorers
Thursday, July 24, 1862. : John McDouall Stuart and his men stand on the northern coast of Australia after his final, successful crossing of the continent.
John McDouall Stuart was a Scottish-born explorer who came to South Australia at the age of 23, where he was initially employed by explorer Charles Sturt in the Survey Department of the young colony. Stuart learnt a great deal about exploration when he accompanied Sturt on an expedition into central Australia in 1844. Despite both Sturt and Stuart being affected by scurvy, this expedition fired Stuart’s ambition to be the first to cross the continent from south to north.
Stuart led numerous expeditions into central Australia, with five being his determined attempts to reach the north coast. Although he was initially unsuccessful in breaking past central Australia, he and his men were the first to see the centre of the continent. He finally succeeded on his fifth attempt, an expedition which was financed by the South Australian Government, leaving Adelaide on 8 January 1862. Stuart and his men stood at the water’s edge at Chambers Bay on the northern coast on 24 July 1862.
World History
Friday, July 24, 1936. : The Speaking Clock is introduced in England.
The Speaking Clock is a service whereby consumers can call a given number in order to find out the time. Originally a live human voice, the service was first introduced in Paris in February 1933.
The Speaking Clock was introduced in England on 24 July 1936. It is officially known as Timeline, and nicknamed TIM. The nickname came about as the service was initially accessed by dialling the letters TIM (846) on a dial telephone in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The first announcer was London telephonist Ethel Cain, also known as Jane, who won a competition to find the right voice. The Speaking Clock updates every ten seconds, when a voice announces “At the third stroke, the time from BT will be (hour) (minute) and (second) seconds”, except for times exactly on the hour or minute, when the word “precisely” is used.
World History
Thursday, July 24, 1969. : Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, following the successful moon-walk.
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin successfully completed the first moon-walk on July 20 (July 21 Australian time). After some 21 hours of collecting samples, performing experiments and leaving behind the legacy of the American flag and a plaque, they returned to the “Eagle” landing module. After launching from the moon’s surface, it took them six hours to dock with the command module, the Columbia, piloted by fellow astronaut Michael Collins, who had remained in orbit.
Three days later, on 24 July 1969, the Apollo 11 re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, deployed gigantic parachutes to slow their descent, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. They underwent decontamination procedures where they splashed down, and were then transported by helicopters to the U.S.S. Hornet. After this, they were quarantined in a sealed van for several weeks to ensure they were free of “lunar germs”. When they entered the quarantine trailer, they were greeted with the sign: PLEASE DON’T FEED THE ANIMALS.
World History
Tuesday, July 24, 1973. : The United States Supreme Court orders President Nixon to hand over tape recordings pertaining to the Watergate affair.
The Watergate scandal was an American political scandal and constitutional crisis that led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon. It began with a burglary at the Watergate Apartment complex. On 17 June 1972, five men were caught searching through confidential papers and bugging the office of President Nixon’s political opponents, the Democratic National Committee. One of the men, James McCord, was officially employed as Chief of Security at the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP), indicating that the burglary was linked to US President Nixon’s re-election campaign.
On 17 May 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities began televised proceedings on the escalating Watergate scandal. On 24 July 1973, it was revealed that Nixon had secretly taped all conversations in the Oval Office. With this information available, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered President Richard Nixon to surrender the tape recordings. After prevaricating for three months, Nixon finally produced the tapes.
The break-in, resultant cover-up by Nixon and his aides, and the subsequent investigation ultimately led to the resignation of the President on 9 August 1974, forestalling his impeachment by the Senate. When President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon a month later, this prevented any criminal charges from being filed against the former president.