July 17: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

American superhero movie “Ant-Man” by Marvel was released.

American swashbuckler film “The Mask of Zorro” was released in the United States.

Filming took around one year at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City, Mexico, and had a $95 million budget. The film grossed a total of $250 million after its release on this day. Due to its success, the film was followed by a sequel, The Legend of Zorro, released in 2005.

Bill Gates became the richest man in the world with a net worth of $12.9 billion.

The US National Minimum Drinking Age Act was signed into law, raising the age to 21.

Until the 1960s, most US states had a minimum drinking age of 21. When the voting age was reduced to 18, many states lowered the drinking age to 18 or 19. Studies soon showed a huge increase in drunk driving, so the drinking age was ultimately set nationally at 21.

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project completed the world’s first international space rendezvous.

Two days after a successful joint launch, the American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz Spacecraft made headlines when they met in space and successfully docked with each other in Earth's orbit. Within two hours of docking, the captains of each spacecraft met and exchanged the first international handshake in space. The meeting of the two spacecraft, which was widely televised, preceded two days of joint activities and experiments involving the former rivals. This monumental event is largely considered the final event in the Space Race.

John Lennon was given 60 days to leave the US.

Lennon faced deportation from the United States if he did not leave within the given time frame. As a "global" citizen, this was not the first time Lennon had outstayed his welcome in the US. Although his wife Yoko Ono was granted permanent residence, Lennon was not and faced being deported back to the UK if he did not comply with the immigration rules.

Mary Leakey discovered ancient skull remains in Tanzania, Africa.

Research revealed the fossils were more than 3.75 million years old and were of an extinct ape, which is now believed to be an ancestor of humans.

The Potsdam Conference began between the Soviet Union, UK & US.

The meetings after World War II were designed to discuss how to administer Germany.

The British Royal family changed their surname to Windsor.

The change was made by King George V, whose previous name was German Saxe-Coburg.

Willis Carrier invented the world’s first electronic air conditioner.

Carrier created the air conditioner to help cool down the rooms in which color printing presses were operated. However, high heat and humidity affected the quality of the images they printed. Carrier later developed several formulas that led to ever-increasing advances in air conditioning technology.

Water Music by George Frideric Handel premiered on the River Thames, London, at the request of King George I.

The English secret service discovered the Babington Plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I.

Anthony Babington was one of the plot's chief conspirators in killing Queen Elizabeth I and replacing her with her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. The plot's motive was to restore England to its previous religion, as Queen Elizabeth I was a protestant and Mary Queen of Scots was a Roman Catholic.

Henry IV was crowned King of Germany at Aachen Cathedral.

Twelve North African Christians, known as the Scillitan Martyrs, were executed for their religious beliefs.