On July 1, 1984, the Motion Picture Association of America, which oversees the voluntary rating system for movies, introduced its new rating of PG-13, indicating material that “may be inappropriate for children under 13 years old” and “may contain very strong language, nudity (non explicit), strong, mildly bloody violence or mild drug content.”
On July 2, 1992, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking broke British publishing records when his book A Brief History of Time held its place on the nonfiction bestseller list for three and a half years, selling more than 3 million copies in 22 languages.
On July 3, 1887, Clay Allison, an eccentric gunfighter and rancher who displayed odd tendencies even in his youth, was believed to have died in a freak wagon accident in Texas. When the Civil War began, Allison had joined the Confederate Army but later received a rare medical discharge for a condition doctors described as “partly epileptic and partly maniacal,” which may have been the result of an early head injury.
On July 4, 1965, more than two dozen LGBTQ activists demonstrated in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in one of America’s earliest gay rights protests. While the “Reminder” demonstration drew little mainstream media coverage at the time, it is now seen as an important predecessor to the broader gay liberation movement.
On July 5, 1950, near Sejong, South Korea, 19-year-old Private Kenneth Shadrick became the first American reported killed in the Korean War when he looked up to check his aim and was cut down by enemy machine gun fire.
On July 6, 1933, Major League Baseball’s first All-Star Game, dreamed up by a determined sports editor, debuted at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The event was designed to support the sport and improve its reputation during the bleakest days of the Great Depression.
On July 7, 2005, suicide bombs were detonated in three crowded London subways and one bus during the peak of the city’s rush hour. Thought to be the work of al-Qaida, the explosions killed 56 people, including the bombers, and injured another 700 in the largest attack on Great Britain since World War II.
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