July 01

  • 1970 ‘For God’s sake, bring me a large Scotch’—Reginald Maudling, British Home Secretary, on his flight back to London after his first visit to Northern Ireland.
  • 1916 Battle of the Somme. In the first two days 5,500 men of the 36th (Ulster) Division were killed or wounded.
  • 1916 The Battle of the Somme began. Inthe bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army, 19,240 British soldiers were killed, including c.2,000 Irishmen.
  • 1867 Thomas Francis Meagher (44), Young Irelander, soldier and latterly acting governor of Montana Territory, mysteriously disappeared from a steamer on the Mississippi.
  • The British North America Act established Canada as a federal dominion.
  • 1690 Battle of the Boyne, the first major battle in the Williamite Wars (1689–91).