| (1606) The Union Jack unites the flags of England and Scotland
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By royal decree of England’s King James I, the English St. George’s Cross, and Scotland’s St. Andrew’s Cross, are brought together in one design to symbolize the new unity of their two nations. . |
| (1861) America’s Civil War begins at Fort Sumter
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| In the opening salvo of the Civil War, Confederate forces fire upon the Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Bay. General P.G.T. Beauregard’s shore batteries bombard Major Anderson’s federal troops.. |
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| (1961) Soviets triumph with first manned space flight
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To the dismay of many in the West, a Soviet cosmonaut becomes humankind’s first space traveller. Yuri Gagarin, taking his Vostok spacecraft on a single orbit of Earth, spends 108 minutes on his mission. . |
| (1980) Cancer survivor Terry Fox begins cross-country run
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| Having lost a leg to bone cancer three years earlier, Canadian athlete Terry Fox begins a journey dubbed the Marathon of Hope to raise money for his charity. The Terry Fox Run will become the biggest single-day charitable event in history to benefit cancer research.. |
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