July 2 - World UFO Day

Do you believe?

There are two days set aside to celebrate World UFO Day - June 24th, and July 2nd. June 24th marks the date that aviator Kenneth Arnold reportedly saw an unidentified flying object. July 2nd was chosen to commemorate the supposed UFO crash in the 1947 Roswell UFO Incident.

The purpose of World UFO Day is to raise awareness of the "undoubted existence of UFOs", and to encourage governments to declassify any files they have on UFO sightings.

World UFO Day is celebrated in Africa, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States.

Many celebrate this event with group sky-watching, recalling tales of past sightings. How will you celebrate?

Today is also I Forgot Day, and Made in the USA Day.

Here are some interesting things that happened on this day in history:

- In fear of assassination, Li Shimin ambushed and killed his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Incident at Xuanwu Gate in 626. On September 4, Shimin's father abdicated in his favour, and Shimin became Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor of China.
- Thomas Savery patented the first steam engine in 1698.
- Simon Fraser reached the Pacific in 1808, after descending the river that now bears his name.

- Prime Minister Sir Charles Tupper, the last survivor of the original Fathers of Confederation, was born at Amherst, Nova Scotia in 1821.

- An alligator reportedly fell from the sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, South Carolina in 1843, possibly victim of a powerful waterspout.
- Benjamin Lane patented a gas mask with a breathing apparatus in 1850.
- At a revivalist meeting at Whitechapel, London, England in 1865, William Booth formed the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army came to Canada in 1882.
- Big Bear surrendered at Fort Carlton in 1885. Though always counseling peace, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

- Thurgood Marshall, leader of the legal battle against segregated schools, and the 1st black member of the US Supreme Court, was born in 1908. Following his death on January 24th, 1993, his obituary appeared in the NY Times. 
- The Meighen government was defeated in a non-confidence motion in 1926.
- British parliament accepted female suffrage in 1928.
- Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.

- Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" in 1956.
- Award winning poet Evelyn Lau, the youngest poet ever to receive a Governor General's award nomination, was born in Vancouver in 1971.
- Ralph Steinhauer was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta in 1974, the first Native to hold vice-regal office in Canada.
- The Susan B. Anthony dollar was issued in 1979, the 1st US coin to honour a woman.
- The Commission of Inquiry into the Somalia Affair, involving the Canadian Armed Forces, released its final report in 1997, citing poor leadership and a military cover-up.
- Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon in 2002.
- In 2003, the International Olympic Committee announced that Vancouver and Whistler would host the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

A note to our regular followers - this daily blog will change to a weekly-ish blog over the summer, as I (Corrie) will be switching my focus to the Summer Reading Club. Other staff members will attempt to keep the blog going, though it will not be on a daily basis. 

Thank you for your continued support!