All About July

As we are fully into summer and the hottest month of the year, there is much more for all of us to know about the history of July. There are many fun facts to know about July, where it came from, and much more.

It’s incredible to learn of the many historical events that took place during the month of July, even much more than we would expect here in the United States with the celebration of July 4th. Some of the most common international and historical fun facts about the month of July include the following:

1. July was named after the famous Roman general Julius Caesar by the Roman senate, because it was Caesar’s birth month.
2. Alexander the Great was another military genius born in July. The estimate of his birth date is somewhere around July 20, 356 B.C. Other famous people born in July include Frida Kahlo, Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, and Nelson Mandela.
3. While July is the hottest month of the year in the US, it is the coldest in the southern hemisphere. Equally, the hottest month of the year in the southern hemisphere is January.
4. The “dog days of summer” in early July were historically observed in Ancient Roman and Greek astrology as being connected with bad luck, mad dog attacks, unexpected thunderstorms, heat, and drought. This name came from their connection to the star Sirius, part of the Canis Major (Greater Dog) star system.
5. The first rabies vaccine was first administered on July 6, 1885 by French microbiologist Louis Pasteur to a 9-year-old named Joseph Meister who had been bitten by a rabid dog. And it worked!
6. On July 5, 1946, the world’s first bikini was unveiled in the famous Piscine Molitor swimming pool in Paris. While not the first two-piece bathing suit, the bikini definitely used the least amount of fabric.
7. International holidays other than Independence Day include World UFO Day, Stay out of the Sun Day, National Fried Chicken Day, and International Tiger Day. Also, July is known as National Watermelon Month, National Hot Dog Month, and National Ice Cream Month. Definitely a month for food!
8. Different dates in relation to WWII exist in July as well. On July 12, 1943, German and Russian forces fought the largest tank battle in history, with 900 tanks on either side and leaving only 300 German tanks in the end. Also, on July 16, 1945, in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the first atomic bomb was detonated. The bomb was called “Fat Boy,” with a fat explosion leaving a mushroom cloud 41,000 feet high!
9. The Anglo-Saxons had multiple names for the month of July, including Maed-monath and Hey-monath. Respectively, these translated into “the flowering of meadows” and “hay month.”
10. On July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot was the first man to fly from one country to another successfully from the coast of France and landing near Dover, England.
11. Also, for the space race, various key events occurred in July. Apollo 11, the first crewed mission to the moon, launched on July 16, 1969. Four days later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong made history by taking the first step on the moon while declaring, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!”
12. July has two zodiac signs and two birth flowers. The sign Cancer runs to July 22 second and the sign Leo starts on July 23. Cancers are said to be loyal friends with great emotional depth, and Leos are said to be very proud people who display great leadership.

With all of this, it seems that July is a hard month to miss. So much has happened throughout history, and we have so much to experience during July. We have the ability to properly grow our crops “knee-high by the fourth of July” if they were planted at the right time. We also have access to some of the greatest fun during this first full summer month of the year!