What Happened on July 14

City Intelligence

1789 — Bastille Falls to the People of Paris

After four hours of combat and 94 deaths, the insurgents enter the fortress — the governor and several of the garrison are slain after surrendering — the prison yields but seven inmates.

PARIS, July 14 — In the annals of this capital, few days have borne so great a weight as this, when the ancient fortress of the Bastille, long the emblem of royal authority, was taken by the people of Paris. After four hours of desperate fighting, in which 94 persons lost their lives, the insurgents forced their way within the walls. The governor, Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay, and several of the garrison, having surrendered, were slain by the enraged multitude. Within the prison were found but seven inmates, a meagre company for so formidable a citadel.

• The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789.
• After four hours of fighting and 94 deaths, the insurgents entered the Bastille.
• Governor Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay and several garrison members were killed after surrendering.
• The prison contained only seven inmates at the time of its storming.

Alpine Intelligence

1865 — Whymper's Triumph and Tragedy on the Matterhorn

Whymper reaches the summit at 1:40 p.m., but Hadow's slip on the descent kills four, and an inquiry clears the survivors of cutting the rope.

ZERMATT, July 14 — Edward Whymper, the English mountaineer, has achieved the first ascent of the Matterhorn, but the triumph is shadowed by a catastrophe that has cost the lives of four of his companions. Whymper, with Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, the guide Michel Croz, and the two Taugwalder guides, stood upon the summit at 1:40 p.m., finding no foot traces, and descried the rival Jean-Antoine Carrel 200 meters below on the Italian side. The descent, however, proved fatal: Hadow slipped, dragging Douglas, Hudson, and Croz down the north face to their deaths. Whymper and the Taugwalders, surviving, were acquitted after an inquiry found no evidence they cut the rope to save themselves. The Matterhorn, 4,478 meters above sea level, was the last great Alpine peak, and its conquest closes the golden age of alpinism. Relics of the expedition are preserved at the Zermatt Matterhorn Museum, and the disaster has since been portrayed in several films. The Italian rival Carrel, the story of the Matterhorn now belongs to the English. The bodies of the fallen have not yet been recovered from the glacier.

• Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides made the first ascent on 14 July 1865.
• Four climbers—Douglas, Hudson, Hadow, and Croz—were killed on the descent when Hadow slipped and pulled the others down the north face.
• Whymper and the Taugwalder guides were acquitted after an inquiry found no evidence they cut the rope to save themselves.
• Whymper and Croz reached the summit at 1:40 p.m., finding no foot traces, and saw rival Jean-Antoine Carrel 200 meters below on the Italian side.
• The Matterhorn, 4,478 meters above sea level, was the last great Alpine peak climbed, marking the end of the golden age of alpinism.

Western Despatches

1881 — Billy the Kid Slain by Sheriff Garrett

The outlaw, aged 21, is shot and killed in Fort Sumner — he had escaped from jail on April 28, killing two deputies, and was under sentence of death for the murder of Sheriff Brady.

FORT SUMNER, New Mexico, July 14 — William H. Bonney, known throughout the territories as Billy the Kid, was shot and killed last night by Sheriff Pat Garrett. The desperado, aged 21, had been a fugitive since his escape from jail on April 28, during which he slew two sheriff's deputies. He was under sentence of death for the murder of Sheriff William J. Brady, having been convicted in May. Garrett, who had tracked him to a friend’s house, fired the fatal shot in the dark without warning.

• Sheriff Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid in Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881.
• Billy the Kid, aged 21, had escaped from jail on April 28, 1881, killing two sheriff's deputies.
• Garrett wrote a biography of Billy the Kid, published in 1882, to correct 'thousand false statements' in newspapers.
• Billy the Kid was convicted of murdering Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady and sentenced to hang in May 1881.
• The Las Vegas Gazette and The Sun in New York City carried stories about Billy the Kid's crimes in December 1880.

Peruvian Explorations

1902 — Lizarraga Discovers Inca City of Machu Picchu

The Peruvian explorer, with three companions, finds stone walls after hours of trekking through undergrowth — he inscribes his name on the Temple of the Three Windows.

CUSCO, July 14 — Agustín Lizárraga, a Peruvian explorer and farmer, leading an expedition from the hacienda Collpani, has discovered the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. Accompanied by Enrique Palma, Toribio Recharte, and Gabino Sánchez, Lizárraga, after hours of walking through undergrowth, came upon stone walls and inscribed "A. Lizárraga 1902" with charcoal on a stone of the Temple of the Three Windows.

• Agustín Lizárraga led an expedition to Machu Picchu on 14 July 1902, accompanied by workers from the hacienda Collpani.
• Lizárraga, with Enrique Palma, Toribio Recharte, and Gabino Sánchez, discovered stone walls after hours of walking through undergrowth.
• He inscribed "A. Lizárraga 1902" with charcoal on a stone of the Temple of the Three Windows.
• American explorer Hiram Bingham later discovered Lizárraga's inscription in 1911 and ordered its removal for preservation.
• In 2002, former Mayor of Cusco Daniel Estrada sought official recognition of Lizárraga and others as discoverers of Machu Picchu.

National Security Desk

2003 — CIA Officer's Identity Revealed by Columnist

Washington columnist Robert Novak names a covert CIA officer in print — the leak draws scrutiny from the Justice Department and threatens a diplomatic row over Iraq intelligence.

WASHINGTON, July 14 — In a column published this morning, syndicated Washington Post columnist Robert Novak revealed the identity of Valerie Plame as a covert CIA officer, three days after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, publicly challenged the administration's Iraq intelligence claims. Novak wrote that Plame's employment was disclosed to him by administration officials, whom he described as 'two senior administration officials' — information that has since prompted the Justice Department to open an inquiry into the leak.

Plame's status as a CIA operative was classified from January 2002 through July 2003, according to a statement from Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who was later appointed to investigate the disclosure. The leak, Fitzgerald said, was part of a plan to discredit Wilson, who had traveled to Niger in 2002 to investigate reports that Iraq sought uranium there; he found no evidence to support them.

Novak's column named Plame, saying she 'is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction,' and noted that Wilson's wife had suggested him for the Niger trip. The disclosure has ignited a political firestorm, with Democrats accusing the White House of retaliating against a critic, and Republicans pointing to Wilson's own admissions that his wife recommended him.

State Department official Richard Armitage, White House political adviser Karl Rove, and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, have all been identified in news reports as sources for Novak's column.

• On July 14, 2003, Washington Post columnist Robert Novak revealed Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative.
• Novak obtained the information from State Department official Richard Armitage, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby.
• Scooter Libby, Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of lying to investigators about the leak.
• President George W. Bush commuted Libby's sentence; President Donald Trump later pardoned him in 2018.
• Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald affirmed that Plame's CIA association was classified from January 2002 through July 2003.

Venice Chronicle

1902 — Venice's Ancient Campanile Falls; Cat Sole Victim

The great bell tower of St Mark's crashes down at nine in the morning, destroying the Loggetta and a corner of the Marciana Library — the communal council votes to rebuild it as before.

VENICE, July 14 — The heart of Venice was struck silent this morning when the venerable Campanile of St Mark's, which had stood for a thousand years as the city's watchtower and bell tower, collapsed into a heap of rubble at 9:53 o'clock. The disaster, which sent a cloud of dust over the Piazza, demolished the Loggetta del Sansovino at its base and shattered a corner of the Marciana Library. Miraculously, the only loss of life was the custodian's cat; the square had been nearly empty, and the few persons nearby fled in time.

• At 9:53 AM on July 14, 1902, the entire St Mark's Campanile collapsed in Venice.
• The sole fatality from the collapse was the custodian's cat.
• The collapse completely demolished the loggetta and destroyed a corner of the Marciana Library.
• That evening, Venice's communal council voted unanimously to rebuild the tower exactly as it had been.
• The council approved an initial 500,000 lire for the reconstruction; the province added 200,000 lire on July 22.

From the Western Front

1916 — South Africans Storm Delville Wood in Somme Offensive

On the 15th, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade, in its first Western Front action, captures the wood east of Longueval during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, which began on the 14th.

ON THE SOMME, July 14 — The great British offensive on the Somme, now in its second fortnight, has entered a new and bloody phase with the assault on Delville Wood, a dense tangle of beech and hornbeam east of the village of Longueval. There, on the morning of the 15th, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade, making its first appearance on the Western Front, carried the wood after a fierce engagement. The attack was part of the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, which opened on the 14th and has pressed the German line back toward the woods that crown the ridge.

• The Battle of Delville Wood lasted from 15 July to 3 September 1916.
• The 1st South African Infantry Brigade made its Western Front début and captured Delville Wood on 15 July.
• The South Africans held the wood until 19 July, suffering casualties similar to those of many British brigades on 1 July.
• Delville Wood was a thick tangle of beech and hornbeam trees east of Longueval.
• The attack was part of the Battle of Bazentin Ridge (14–17 July), a British offensive on the Somme.

City Intelligence

1874 — Chicago Fire: 812 Buildings Lost, 20 Lives, $3,845,000 Damage

The flames, fanned by a hot prairie wind, sweep over 47 acres south of the Loop — the city resolves to reform its fire laws.

CHICAGO, July 14 — The fire that broke out at 4:29 this afternoon in a two-story frame building at No. 449 South Clark Street has, within a few hours, laid waste to 47 acres just south of the Loop, destroying 812 structures and taking 20 lives. The total loss is placed at $3,845,000, of which $2,200,000 was covered by insurance. The heat was oppressive, with the thermometer above 90 degrees.

• The fire killed 20 people and destroyed 812 structures over 47 acres just south of the Loop.
• The fire originated at 4:29 p.m. on July 14, 1874, in a two-story frame building at 449 South Clark Street.
• Losses from the fire amounted to $3,845,000, with insurance coverage of $2,200,000.
• The National Board of Underwriters demanded reforms, leading to a temporary cancellation of all fire insurance in Chicago in October 1874.
• The fire displaced Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland and middle-class African-American families to other Chicago neighborhoods.

Royal Court

1223 — Prince Louis Ascends Throne, Vows Crusade Against Heretics

Son of Philip Augustus crowned at Reims — Pope's letter urges action — Truce with England refused

REIMS, July 14 — A reign of three years, no more, is the lot of Louis VIII, who this day holds the French crown, the first of that name to rule. Crowned on the sixth of August, 1223, in the cathedral at Reims, the new king has already received a letter from Pope Honorius III, entreating him to move against the Albigensians.

• Louis VIII was crowned king on 6 August 1223 in Reims cathedral.
• On 1 November 1223, Louis issued an ordinance prohibiting officials from recording debts owed to Jews.
• Louis refused to renew the truce with England on 5 May 1224 and attacked Angevin possessions.
• Amalric of Montfort traded his claim on the county of Toulouse to Louis for the position of constable.
• In 1223, Louis received a letter from Pope Honorius III entreating him to move against the Albigensians.

Far East Desk

1950 — Reds Attack 24th Division HQ at Taejon

North Koreans strike American command post — First unit in field bears brunt of assault

TAEJON, July 14 — North Korean troops attacked the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division here today, pressing their drive against the first unit to respond at the outbreak of the Korean War. The assault on the command post marked a grave new phase in the battle for this key city. The 24th has borne the enemy’s heaviest blows since the conflict began. The command post assault came as Chinese-speaking broadcasters warned of a fresh enemy push along the Kum River line. Fighting raged through the afternoon, with division officers said to have fallen back to secondary positions, leaving Taejon’s defense in doubt.

• North Korean troops attacked the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in present-day Daejeon, South Korea.
• The 24th Infantry Division was the first division to respond at the outbreak of the Korean War.
• For the first 18 months of the Korean War, the 24th Infantry Division suffered over 10,000 casualties.
• Daejeon is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million.