This Day In European History
5th July
Events987: Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty.
1494: The Battle of Fornovo: a French army including the king breaks through an Italian force blocking their retreat.
1641: The Star Chamber court is abolished in Britain.
1841: Britain's Thomas Cook starts the first Travel Agency.
1865: The world's first speed limit for cars is introduced, in Britain (2mph in town, 4mph in country).
1943: The Battle of Kursk between Russia and Germany, the world's largest tank battle and arguably the key event of World War Two, begins.
1996: Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult's cell, is born in Scotland.
Births
1755: Sarah Siddons, English actress.
1853: Cecil Rhodes, British Imperialist.
1872: Édouard Herriot, French prime minister.
1889: Jean Cocteau, French author and artist.
Deaths
1833: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor.
1894: Austen Layard, English archaeologist.
