What Happened on July 5

Music Desk

1954 — Presley’s First Single Cut at Sun

A 19-year-old truck driver records 'That's All Right' at Sun Studio on July 5, released in 1954.

MEMPHIS, July 5 — Elvis Presley, a 19-year-old truck driver from Tupelo, Miss., today recorded his first commercial single, "That's All Right," at Sun Records' small studio on Union Avenue here.

The session, one of several at Sun Studio that will contribute to the young singer's debut album, was supervised by Sam Phillips, the label's founder and a man known for his keen ear for new sounds.

Phillips has long declared he was searching for a white performer with the Negro feel for rhythm and blues. Whether Presley is that man remains to be heard, but the record, released in 1954, marks the start of what could be a notable singles discography.

The song itself, an up-tempo treatment of a tune long familiar in the country field, finds Presley's voice full of youthful swagger. The backing is spare, a guitar and bass, but the effect is electric.

Local musicians who drifted through the studio during the afternoon said they had never heard anything quite like it.

• Elvis Presley recorded 'That's All Right' at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 5, 1954.
• The recording session on July 5, 1954, was one of several Sun Studio sessions that contributed to Presley's debut album.
• RCA Victor purchased Presley's contract from Sun Records head Sam Phillips for $40,000 on November 21, 1955.
• Presley's first commercial single, 'That's All Right', was released in 1954, marking the start of his singles discography.

Pop Scene

1969 — Stones Pay Tribute to Jones Before 250,000 in Hyde Park

Free festival draws vast crowd, with butterflies and Shelley verse; Taylor makes debut.

LONDON, July 5 — The Rolling Stones, their founder and original leader Brian Jones dead only two days, today played a free festival in Hyde Park before more than a quarter of a million fans, a tribute that mixed mourning with celebration.

Mick Jagger, the band's lead singer, read two stanzas of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Adonaïs" from a calf-bound book and released several hundred cabbage white butterflies as part of the tribute.

Mick Taylor, announced as the new guitarist on June 13, made his live debut with the band at the concert.

• The Rolling Stones performed a free concert in Hyde Park on July 5, 1969, as a tribute to Brian Jones, who died two days earlier.
• Mick Taylor made his live debut with the Rolling Stones at the Hyde Park concert, having been announced as the new guitarist on June 13, 1969.
• Mick Jagger read two stanzas of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem 'Adonaïs' from a calf-bound book and released several hundred cabbage white butterflies during the tribute.
• The concert drew an estimated audience between 250,000 and 500,000 spectators, with 7,000 people already gathered by the morning of July 5.
• The band rehearsed at the Beatles' studio on Savile Row and planned a 14-song set, many played for the first time before a public audience.

Commercial Chronicle

1841 — Cook’s Railway Excursion Starts a New Trade

A single rail excursion creates the travel agent trade.

The business of taking pleasure trips by rail was born today, and with it a new trade: the travel agent. The ticket clerk at Leicester Campbell Street Railway Station handled 485 one-shilling fares before the 10:00 a.m. departure. Cook organized the trip while walking 15 miles to Leicester last month, according to the Midland Counties Railway.

• Thomas Cook took 485 members of the Leicester Temperance Society on a rail excursion from Leicester to Loughborough on July 5, 1841.
• He charged each passenger one shilling to cover the cost of hiring a train from the Midland Counties Railway.
• The idea for the excursion came to Cook while walking 15 miles from his home to Leicester in June 1841.
• The excursion began at Leicester Campbell Street Railway Station and ended in Loughborough for a temperance meeting.
• On the 150th anniversary of the excursion, a statue of Cook by James Butler was unveiled outside Leicester Railway Station.

Heritage Desk

2009 — Largest Anglo-Saxon Gold Hoard Found

A hoard of gold was unearthed in a Staffordshire field on July 5, 2009.

In the long twilight of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, when Mercia was rising to power, a hoard of gold was buried in a Staffordshire field, and there it lay for thirteen centuries. On July 5, 2009, Terry Herbert, a member of the Bloxwich Research and Metal Detecting Club, found it near Hammerwich.

• The hoard consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments, totalling 5.1 kg of gold and 1.4 kg of silver.
• It was discovered on 5 July 2009 by Terry Herbert, a member of the Bloxwich Research and Metal Detecting Club, in a field near Hammerwich, Staffordshire.
• The hoard was purchased jointly by Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery for £3.285 million under the Treasure Act 1996.
• The hoard is described by historian Cat Jarman as 'possibly the finest collection of early medieval artefacts ever discovered'.
• It contains 86 sword pommels, the largest ever discovery of pommels in a single context, with many different types.

Food Markets

1937 — Hormel Unveils Spam, New Canned Meat

Precooked pork product joins chili in firm's line.

AUSTIN, Minn., July 5 — George A. Hormel & Co. today introduced Spam, a canned precooked meat product that the company hopes will win a place on American tables. The new item follows Hormel Chili, brought out last year, as the firm's latest entry in the competitive grocery field. Spam is packed in tins and requires no refrigeration until opened. Company officials say the product offers housewives a quick and economical meat course. The name, short and memorable, is expected to aid sales in stores across the nation.

• Spam was introduced by Hormel Foods in 1937.
• Hormel Chili was introduced in 1936, followed by Spam in 1937.

Election Desk

2004 — Indonesia Votes in First Direct Presidential Election

Five pairs compete; runoff likely as no candidate nears majority.

JAKARTA, July 5 — Indonesians went to the polls today in the nation's first direct presidential election, a landmark shift from the era when the People's Consultative Assembly chose the president. Five candidate pairs are on the ballot, including incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri and former security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. To win outright, a pair must take over 50% of the national vote and at least 20% in more than half of Indonesia's provinces. Otherwise, a runoff will be held in September. Each pair was nominated by a party or coalition holding at least 5% of the vote or 3% of DPR seats.

• The first round of Indonesia's first direct presidential election was held on July 5, 2004.
• Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono defeated incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri in the September 20 runoff with 60.62% of valid ballots.
• Yudhoyono was inaugurated as the sixth president of Indonesia on October 20, 2004.
• Prior to a 2002 constitutional amendment, the president and vice president had been elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
• A candidate pair must receive over 50% of the national vote and at least 20% in more than half of Indonesia's provinces to win outright.

Property

2012 — The Shard Opens as Europe's Tallest Building

Qatar's PM inaugurates 95-storey London tower with Prince Andrew present.

LONDON, July 5 — The Shard, a 95-storey tower designed by Renzo Piano, was inaugurated today as the tallest building in Europe. Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani officiated, with Prince Andrew in attendance. Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 ft) tall, the glass-clad structure on the south bank of the Thames replaces the 24-storey Southwark Towers office block built in 1975. Its 66-metre, 500-tonne spire was winched into place during topping out on March 30. Sellar Property holds 5% and the State of Qatar 95%.

• The Shard was inaugurated on 5 July 2012 by Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, with Prince Andrew attending.
• Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 ft) tall, The Shard became the tallest building in Western Europe upon its opening.
• Designed by Renzo Piano, the 95-storey Shard replaced the 24-storey Southwark Towers office block built in 1975.
• The Shard's 66-metre, 500-tonne spire was winched into place during its topping out on 30 March 2012.
• The Shard is jointly owned by Sellar Property (5%) and the State of Qatar (95%).

Paris Fashions

1946 — Paris Debuts Bikini, 'Atom Bomb of Fashion'

Four-day-old swimsuit from Bikini Atoll inspires scanty two-piece.

PARIS, July 5 — At the Piscine Molitor, a public pool here, a new two-piece swimsuit made its debut today, and the crowd needed no prompting to gasp. French engineer Louis Réard introduced the bikini, named for Bikini Atoll, where the first postwar nuclear test took place four days ago. To model the suit, Réard hired Micheline Bernardini, an 18-year-old dancer from the Casino de Paris. The outfit consists of string briefs cut from 30 square inches of cloth printed like a newspaper. Fashion writer Diana Vreeland has called it the 'atom bomb of fashion.'

• French engineer Louis Réard introduced the bikini on July 5, 1946, at Piscine Molitor, a public pool in Paris.
• Réard hired 18-year-old nude dancer Micheline Bernardini from the Casino de Paris to model the bikini.
• The bikini featured string briefs made of 30 square inches of cloth with newspaper-type print.
• Bernardini received 50,000 fan letters after modeling the bikini, many from men.
• Fashion writer Diana Vreeland described the bikini as the 'atom bomb of fashion'.

Foreign Affairs

1830 — Algiers Falls to French Arms; Regency at an End

French troops entered the city at twelve o'clock this day, ending the Regency of Algiers after a landing of 34,000 men on the 14th of June.

ALGIERS, July 5 — The ancient Regency of Algiers is no more. French troops entered the city at twelve o'clock this day, and the banner of the Dey has been struck. The surrender brings to a close the rule of Hussein Dey, whose forces were swiftly broken after the French landing of 34,000 men at Sidi Ferruch on the 14th of June. The conquest, achieved in less than a month, marks the beginning of French dominion over this African shore. The city's fall extinguishes a power that for centuries held the Mediterranean in awe. The French standard now waves over the Casbah. The terms of capitulation were signed at the Dey's palace, with Hussein Dey permitted to depart with his family and personal effects. European consuls reported the city quiet under French patrols, though long-standing fears of a general massacre proved unfounded. The capture of Algiers will likely disrupt the Barbary corsairs, who have preyed on Mediterranean shipping for generations. French military authorities now face the task of administering a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants accustomed to Ottoman rule.

• French troops entered Algiers on July 5, 1830 at 12:00.
• The invasion ended the centuries-old Regency of Algiers and began the colonial period of French Algeria.
• The French invasion force of 34,000 soldiers landed at Sidi Ferruch on June 14, 1830.
• The French quickly defeated the troops of Hussein Dey, the Deylikal ruler.