This Day in History - July 7th

1941: United States occupies Iceland

The neutral United States moves closer to war with Germany when U.S. forces land on Iceland to take over its garrisoning from the British. With Iceland and its nearby sea routes under U.S. protection, the British Royal Navy was freer to defend its embattled Mediterranean positions. The occupation of Iceland came less than a month after President Franklin D. Roosevelt froze all German and Italian assets in the United States and expelled the countries’ diplomats in response to the German torpedoing of an American destroyer. Much of the North Atlantic was now in the American sphere, and U.S. warships patrolled the area for German submarines, notifying London of all enemy activity. The U.S. officially entered the Second World War after Japan attacked its Pearl Harbour naval base in Hawaii in December 1941.

Also On This Day

2005

52 people are killed as four British born suicide bombers linked to al-Qaeda detonate their bombs in a co-ordinated attack on London’s transport network.

2001

Ethnic tensions reach boiling point as white and Asian gangs fight running battles in Bradford, England.

1998

Four days of rioting begin in Nigeria following the death of Chief Moshood Abiola, a popular opposition politician.

1994

North Yemeni forces capture Aden to bring an end to the two-month civil war.

1991

U.S. President Ronald Reagan nominates Sandra Day O’Conner to be the first woman to sit in the Supreme Court. Her nomination is ratified in September.

1985

German tennis player Boris Becker, an unseeded 17 year old, becomes the youngest player to win the men's singles championship at Wimbledon.

1978

The Solomon Islands gains independence from Britain.

1976

For the first time in history, women are enrolled into the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

1969

A coroner’s inquest into the death of former Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones records a verdict of death by misadventure. Jones had drowned after taking a cocktail of drink and drugs.

1969

The Vietnam War: The first battalion of American troops is withdrawn from Vietnam.

1917

The First World War: The British Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps is established.

1917

In Russia, Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov resigns as leader of the Provisional Government.

1898

U.S. President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing the Republic of Hawaii.

1865

Despite questionable evidence, Mary Surratt is executed for her alleged role as a conspirator in Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

1807

Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France sign the Treaty of Tilsit, which ends the war between the two countries.