What happened on this day in history? We round up the events, births and deaths that happened this week…
Featured anniversary | 3 July 1863
Lee’s gamble fails at Gettysburg
On 3 July 1863, the little town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania trembled beneath the hammer-blows of battle. For two days the Confederate commander, Robert E Lee, had urged his huge army to smash through the ranks of their Union adversaries, hoping to drive towards Philadelphia and force the northern states to abandon the American Civil War. So far, however, the Union forces had held out, despite a casualty list running into the tens of thousands.
Why we should remember
Historians consider key anniversaries and why they should be remembered
Why we should remember… Direct Action Day
Why we should remember… The battle of the Bogside
Why we should remember… Rosalind Franklin’s pioneering scientific career
Why we should remember… The plot to assassinate Hitler and install a new German government
Why we should remember The Roswell Incident
Why we should remember The launch of the swimsuit that scandalised the world
Why we should remember… When Spanish conquistadors were forced to flee the Aztec capital
Why we should remember… The 1969 raid on the Stonewall Inn
Why we should remember… Richard Nixon's war on drugs
Why we should remember… Charles Babbage's Difference Engine
Why we should remember… How Chanel No 5 revolutionised the beauty business
