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American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250thOn this day › July 23
What happened on July 23 in American history
July 23 is the 204th day of the year (the 205th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from July 23 spanning 1862 to 1999. Among them: in 1862, Lincoln brings "Old Brains" east to run the war from a desk; and in 1940, Welles refuses to recognize Moscow's grab of the Baltic states.
1862
Lincoln brings "Old Brains" east to run the war from a desk
Henry Halleck takes command of the Union Army after McClellan's Peninsula Campaign collapses short of Richmond.
1940Member story · 1776 Club
Welles refuses to recognize Moscow's grab of the Baltic states
The declaration rests on an eight-year-old doctrine and outlasts the Soviet Union itself by nothing at all.
1962
Jackie Robinson becomes first Black player elected to the Hall of Fame
Five years after his last game, the writers vote him in on the first ballot.
1967Member story · 1776 Club
A blind pig on 12th Street is raided; the city is burning by dawn
Eighty-five people were celebrating two soldiers home from Vietnam when the raid began.
1972Member story · 1776 Club
A Delta rocket lifts off from Vandenberg carrying a camera built to photograph the whole planet
Engineers built the scanner as a backup instrument; within months it became the mission's real workhorse.
1999
Collins becomes first woman to command a shuttle; Columbia loses an engine on the way up
A loose pin ruptures coolant tubes during ascent, but Columbia still reaches orbit to release the heaviest payload NASA had ever flown.
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