18 July - Launch of SLV 3 Rocket with Rohini Satellite in 1980

 

SLV-3 , India‘s first Satellite Launch Vehicle , successfully took off from Sriharikota Range (SHAR) in Andhra Pradesh on 18 July, 1980 and lofted 35 kg ROHINI Satellite in near earth orbit. India thus became the seventh member of the exclusive club of nations having their own satellite launch capability.

The main development work of SLV-3 was carried out at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre . SHAR Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was responsible for the launch complex, tracking and telemetry systems, apart from the rocket motors’ propellant processing and their static testing. ISRO Satellite Centre made the Rohini Satellite and the Satellite Application Centre developed the tracking system receiver, telemetry antenna and telecommand Transponder. Major national industries and the Indian institutions contributed to designing, analysis, testing and fabrication of vehicle hardware and heavy structures.

SLV-3 has a length of 22.6 metres and take-off weight of 17 tonnes, and uses four solid propellant stage motors. The first stage is controlled by secondary injection thrust vector and fintip control in sharing mode, the second stage by bi-propellant reaction control system and the third stage by mono-propellant system. The fourth stage along with satellite interface and satellite is spin-stabilised. This fourth stage assembly is protected from aerodynamic heating while in flight by semi-monocoque honeycomb heat-shield.

18 July - The first sound recording in 1877

The first sound recording, and the first of the human voice, that could be heard by contemporaries, was made by Thomas Edison (1847–1931). Although the chronology has frequently been presented in somewhat garbled form (often by Edison himself), the circumstances seem to have been established definitively in Randall Stross's 2007 biography of the inventor. Working late in the lab on 18 July 1877, comparing telephone diaphragms, Edison felt the vibrations as he spoke into one, and voiced his suggestion that, with a point on the diaphragm, it should be possible to make a recording while pulling something beneath it. With the assistance of John Kruesi and Charles Batchelor the experiment was rigged up there and then. Batchelor pulled a strip of wax paper through the device, while Edison spoke the standard phrase the lab used to test telephone diaphragms: "Mary had a little lamb." Playback was indistinct but audible, and by breakfast time the following morning they had achieved clear articulation from the waxed paper. The lab notebook for 18 July includes the brief entry:

Just tried experiment with a diaphragm having an embossing point & held against parafin paper moving rapidly the spkg vibrations are indented nicely & theres no doubt that I shall be able to store up & reproduce automatically at any future time the human voice perfectly

The entry written by Edison is also signed by Batchelor and James Adams, another assistant. It seems clear that Edison himself didn't immediately see the significance of what he had achieved, and it wasn't till 5 November 1877 that he set down on paper his conceptualisation of the tinfoil cylinder phonograph. The first actual working model was built by John Kruesi on 4 December 1877; the sentence "How do you get that?" is said to have been recorded and reproduced by that date. 

18 July - Nadia Elena Comăneci first perfect 10 in 1976

Nadia Elena Comăneci born November 12, 1961 is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. 

On 18 July 1976, Comăneci made history at the Montreal Olympics. During the team compulsory portion of the competition, she was awarded the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics for her routine on the uneven bars.

18 July - Gemini 10 launch in 1966

Gemini 10 was the eighth crewed Earth-orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini series, carrying astronauts John Young and Michael Collins. Its primary purpose was to conduct rendezvous and docking tests with the Agena target vehicle. The mission plan included a rendezvous with the Gemini 8 Agena target, two extravehicular activity (EVA) excursions, and the performance of 15 scientific, technological, and medical experiments. The scientific experiments were related to zodiacal light, synoptic terrain, and synoptic weather photography, micrometeorite collections,  UV astronomical camera, ion wake measurements, and meteoroid erosion.

For many years the spacecraft was the centerpiece of a space exhibition at Norsk Teknisk Museum, Oslo, Norway. It was returned on request in 2002.

The spacecraft is currently on display at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas.

17 July - USA National Tattoo Day

National Tattoo Day is observed on July 17 of every year. National Tattoo Day encourages everyone to get ink that they have been profoundly thinking about. The day also celebrates the skin art and the love for tattoos that still prevails in the society. A tattoo is a permanent design made in any part of the human body using ink, dyes or pigments. Tattoos can be decorative, symbolic and pictorial. The culture of tattooing had been seen as uncivilised in the west, and the late 20th century, many people had accepted the concept and are now growing trend among all kinds of people. Making permanent marks in the body has been a part of the culture for thousands of years. Tattoos add to your identity and indirectly acts as a sign of who you are, what you like, etc., The culture of tattooing vary with each place, and people all around the world popularly practised it. Some people see the tattoo as addiction. Tattoos are unique because each of them has its own story and memory, tattoos are not just ink but, it is something that can never be taken away from you. So, to mark the day get that tattoo you always wanted.

17 July - Start of The Spanish Civil War in 1936

The Spanish Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil Española) was a civil war in Spain fought from 1936 to 1939. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Second Spanish Republic, in alliance with anarchists, of the communist and syndicalist variety, fought against a revolt by the Nationalists, an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives and Catholics, led by a military group among whom General Francisco Franco soon achieved a preponderant role. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war had many facets and was variously viewed as class struggle, a war of religion, a struggle between dictatorship and republican democracy, between revolution and counterrevolution, and between fascism and communism.[10] It has been frequently called the "dress rehearsal" for World War II.[11] The Nationalists won the war, which ended in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.

Date : 17 July 1936 – 1 April 1939 (2 years, 8 months, 2 weeks and 1 day)
Location  : Spain
Result : Nationalist victory

17 July - Madras would be known as Chennai from 1996

On July 17th 1996, M. Karunanidhi, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu announced in the state assembly that the state capital of Madras would from then on be known as Chennai.

The name Madras was originally given to an area comprising of the present state of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring areas of North Kerala, Lakshadweep Islands, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha (then Orissa) and a few districts of Karnataka. This area was officially known as Presidency of Fort St. George and was an administrative subdivision of British India. It was, however, popularly known as the Madras Presidency.

16 July - Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen born in 1872

Roald Amundsen, became the first to successfully reach the South Pole.

Roald Amundsen, born on 16 July 1872, was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Amundsen began his career as a polar explorer as first mate on Adrien de Gerlache's Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899. From 1903 to 1906, he led the first expedition to successfully traverse the Northwest Passage on the sloop Gjøa. In 1909, Amundsen began planning for a South Pole expedition. He left Norway in June 1910 on the ship Fram and reached Antarctica in January 1911. His party established a camp at the Bay of Whales and a series of supply depots on the Barrier (now known as the Ross Ice Shelf) before setting out for the pole in October. The party of five, led by Amundsen, became the first to successfully reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911.

16 July - The Lifeline Express started in 1991

The Lifeline Express, or Jeevan Rekha Express, is a hospital train that runs in India that started running on 16 July 1991. It was a collaboration between the Impact India Foundation (IIF), Indian Railways (IR) and the Health Ministry. The train is funded by IIF, international charitable sources, Indian corporations and individuals. The train has made a health impact both in India, as well as around the world where it has inspired similar initiatives.

15 July - Kumaraswami Kamaraj birth anniversary

Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), was the founder and the president of the Indian National Congress (Organisation), widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms i.e. four years between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister of India after Nehru's death and Indira Gandhi after Shastri's death. Kamaraj was the 3rd Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) during 1954–1963 and a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha during 1952–1954[3] and 1969–1975. He was known for his simplicity and integrity. He played a major role in developing the infrastructure of the Madras state and worked to improve the quality of life of the needy and the disadvantaged.

He was involved in the Indian independence movement.As the president of the INC, he was instrumental in navigating the party after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru. As the chief minister of Madras, he was responsible for bringing free education to the disadvantaged and introduced the free Midday Meal Scheme while he himself did not complete schooling. He was awarded with India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976.