1401-Turko-Mongol ruler Tamerlane (Timur) destroys Baghdad, killing 20,000 1790-King Gustav III leads Swedish Naval forces to victory over the Russian Baltic fleet during the Second Battle of Svensksund, destroying or capturing one-third of the Russian ships and bringing an end to the Russo-Swedish War 1868-Louisiana and South Carolina are the last states to ratify the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing civil rights 1893-Surgeon Daniel Hale Williams performs the first successful open-heart surgery when he repairs the torn pericardium of knife wound patient James Cornish, without the use of penicillin or blood transfusion 1917-British battleship HMS Vanguard explodes at Scapa Flow due to an internal explosion caused by faulty cordite, killing 804 crew members 1971-National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger secretly visits the People’s Republic of China to negotiate a detente between the U.S. and China 2002-The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa. 2017-Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abad
#WEDNESDAY #July
