Welcome to Seattle, Special Olympians! After today’s opening ceremonies, thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities will compete in a variety of team and individual sports, including gymnastics, powerlifting, and even bocce ball. The games highlight the spirit of competition and ‘inclusion for all’ that lie at the heart of the Special Olympics mission. While you’re here, take a spin in the Great Wheel on Seattle’s waterfront to get a one-of-a-kind view of the Emerald City.
(1863) Largest battle of the American Civil War beginsGeneral Robert E. Lee arrays his Confederate forces at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to destroy General George Meade’s Union army. The three-day conflagration will result in both sides counting some 23,000 casualties each, a Union victory, and a calamitous retreat back to Virginia for Lee.The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war’s turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade’s Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, halting Lee’s invasion of the North.
Start date: Jul 01, 1863 End date: Jul 03, 1863
Overview map of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863 wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg4.12.j18
(1863) Largest battle of the American Civil War begins. Also on this day,
1898 | Teddy Roosevelt leads Rough Riders in Cuba
A future US president, Theodore Roosevelt, leads his ‘Rough Riders’ at the Battle of San Juan Hill, helping the Fifth Army Corps win a decisive victory over Spain in Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
1903 | Bicycle racers take their first spin across France
The first Tour de France bicycle race begins as 60 riders start the six-stage, 1,509-mile loop from Montgeron to Paris. Nineteen days later, spectators will cheer Maurice Garin as he rides into the Paris velodrome almost three hours ahead of the second-place finisher.
1916 | WWI’s Battle of the Somme begins with massive British loss
A huge offensive along the Western Front near France’s Somme River results in Britain’s heaviest single-day loss in history, with upwards of 60,000 dead or wounded. WWI’s Battle of the Somme will rage for 4 months, cause a million casualties, and see the British advance about 6 miles.
