July 12

George Eastman was born on the 12th in 1854. He would change the world of photography not with a camera, but with a roll film to use in the thing. With one of the first cameras that he marketed, he used the slogan “You push the button, we do the rest.” The cameras used roll film and came with a roll capable of taking 100 pictures. All a customer would have to do was to take the pictures and then return them to Eastman, who would develop and print the pictures. The cost for the processing was $10 and when your pictures were returned to you, you would also receive a new 100-exposure roll of film. Which meant the cost of the film had to be what, maybe a quarter?

July 11

Babe Ruth made his entrance to Major League Baseball on the 11th in 1914, playing for the Boston Red Sox. The team won the game but Ruth did not get a single hit, although the guy pinch hitting for him scored the winning run.

July 10

The Battle of Britain waged from July 10 to August 31 in 1940, was principally an air battle. The Royal Air Force waged war against incredible odds as it fought for its life. In this battle, pilots from all of its dominions assisted Britain. Pilots from the United States also served in the Royal Air Force during this battle. Among the Americans to fly for the RAF was V. C. “Shorty” Keogh. Keogh was attached to 609 Squadron of the RAF. He acquired his nickname by virtue of the fact that he was so short that he had to place cushions on the seat of his Hawker Hurricane in order to see out the front of the plane’s cockpit.

July 9

Edmund Burke died on the 9th in 1797. He was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher probably best known for the quote "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing". The unfortunate truth, however, is that nowhere in Burke’s work or the records of his speeches does that line appear. He was however, a source of good quotes though not always ones with an optimistic view of the world in which he lived. Consider this: "But the age of chivalry is gone. - That of sophisters, economists, and calculators, has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished for ever." Yikes! He had been born on January 12, 1729.

July 8

July seems to be a month just chock full of holidays. For instance, the 4th is celebrated in the United States as Independence Day. On the 8th, Skagway, Alaska celebrates Soapy Smith’s wake. Soapy Smith was a well liked (He would have to be, wouldn’t he?) con man who was shot to death in 1898. His last words were “My God, don’t shoot!” Ireland celebrates the Battle of the Boyne on the 12th and, of course, the 14th is France’s Bastille Day, which George Plimpton for some reason used to celebrate with a lavish fireworks display in East Hampton, New York.

July 7

On the 7th in 1865, Mary Surratt became the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government. She was hanged after her conviction for her role in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the attempted assassination of Vice-president Andrew Johnson[i] and Secretary of State William H. Seward[ii]. What could a shy, retiring widow, the mother of a son[iii] who disappeared and left her alone have done to warrant a necktie party? Actually, not much at all. She just owned the boarding house where the plans for the assassinations were drawn up and provided the guns and supplies that John Wilkes Booth would need as he fled Washington after shooting Abe, that’s all.
[i] Booth gave George Atzerodt the task of killing Andrew Johnson. George would get drunk and wander off, leaving Johnson untouched.
[ii] One of Booth’s accomplices was Lewis Powell, who was formerly one of John Mosby's Rangers. Powell attempted to kill Seward while Booth reserved Lincoln for himself.
[iii] John Surratt was a courier for the South’s Secret Service. He had gone to Canada to get intelligence from the Confederacy’s Secret Service office there.

July 6

Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann was born on the 6th in 1887. She was a professional swimmer from Sydney, Australia. Apparently, she took her profession quite seriously. Many credit her with the introduction of synchronized swimming. In 1907, she performed the first water ballet at the New York Hippodrome Theater, located at 43rd Street and the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) in New York City.