Person report

★31 Jul 1917
First World War: The Battle of Passchendaele began near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium, with the Allied Powers aiming to force German troops to withdraw from the Channel Ports.

★01 Jul 1927
The Singapore Improvement Trust was founded to oversee the construction of public housing in Singapore, where more than three quarters of residents live.

★16 Mar 1935
Conscription was re-introduced in Germany by the Nazi regime, and the German military was renamed the Wehrmacht.

★05 Jun 1941
Second Sino-Japanese War: During one sortie in a five-year bombing campaign on Chongqing, 4,000 people died of asphyxiation when the tunnel they were hiding in became blocked.

★05 Apr 1955
Aware that he was slowing down both physically and mentally in his old age, Winston Churchill retired as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

★27 Apr 1967
The Expo 67 world's fair opened in Montreal, with 62 nations participating and more than 50 million visitors ultimately attending.

★01 Apr 1969
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities, entered service with the Royal Air Force.

★23 Jul 1974
Following the collapse of the Greek military junta, the Metapolitefsi period began as the country transitioned to a democratic government.

★21 Dec 1988
The world's largest aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, made its first flight.

★20 Aug 1989
The final stage of the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Australia, was completed, becoming the world's longest and fastest guided busway with buses travelling a total of 12 km.

Historical data by Wikipedia Contributors CC BY-SA 3.0.