Maurice Garin wins the first Tour De France (1903)
On July 19, 1903 Maurice Garin won the inaugural Tour De France.
Garin – born in French-speaking, northwest Italy in 1871 – reportedly became a professional racer by impeding a race that had already started and defeating the actual competitors. His first recognized came in 1893; he traveled over 700 kilometers in 24 hours.
His other notable racing wins include Paris-Breast-Paris, 1901; Paris-Roubaix, 1897, 1898; and Bordeaux Paris, 1902 - all achieved for team ‘La Francaise’.
He won the Tour not only in 1903, but again in 1904; however, The French cycling union (UVF) stripped Garin, as well as Cesar Garin, Hippolyte Aucouturier, and Lucien Pothier of their stage wins in 1904.
Garin was then stripped of his title; it was awarded to Henri Cornet.
His 1903 win still stands.
Joe Walker flies X-15 to record altitude of 347,800 feet (1963)
Joseph A. Walker, American Astronaut and World War II veteran, flew to new heights on July 19, 1963.
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He flew a ‘North American X-15 for NASA 66 miles into space, exceeding the 62 mile threshold for outer space. On August 22, he topped that by going 67 miles – these flights are known as NASA Flight 90 and Flight 91.
Walker was killed just three years later when his aircraft collided with an XB-70 Valkyrie. He was 45 years old.
Federal court dismisses Valerie Plame's lawsuit (2007)
After being ousted by Robert Novak, Victoria Plame and Joseph Wilson, her husband, filed a civil lawsuit against several they believed to be at fault for revealing her identity as a covert CIA operative.
That lawsuit was dismissed by United States District Court of D.C. Judge John Bates on July 19, 2007.
Plame's story was chronicled in an earlier story, which you can find here.
Defendants in their claim included the Chiefs of Staff for both former President George Bush and his vice president, as well as Dick Cheney himself. Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and several "John Does" were also named.
The lawsuit was never revived on appeals.
President Donald Trump is nominated by the GOP (2016)
One year ago today, Donald Trump and Mike Pence were nominated to become presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively, of the GOP at the Republican National Convention.
President Trump then defeated the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
President Donald Trump won 306 electoral votes, despite losing the popular vote by popular vote by 2.8 million votes - the largest deficit for a winning candidate.
By electoral standards, it was the 10th closest presidential race in this nation's history, according to an article by fivethirtyeight.com, a data driven journalism site.
Trump has previously claimed voter fraud significantly affected the popular voting totals and has created a commission to address the issue, which you can read about here.
