On July 15, 1988, Die Hard, an action film starring Bruce Willis as wisecracking New York City cop John McClane, opened in theaters
across the U.S.  A huge box-office hit, the film established Willis
as a movie star and spawned three sequels. Die Hard also became Hollywood shorthand for describing the plot of other actions films,
as in “Speed is Die Hard on a bus.”

Walter Bruce Willis turned 67 in March.

On March 30, 2022, Willis’s family announced that
he was retiring as he had been diagnosed with
aphasia, a disorder caused by damage to the area
of the brain that controls language expression and
comprehension.

On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower (left) became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since
1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered
using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the
White House. Eisenhower suggested the idea to the Secret
Service, which approved of the new mode of transportation,
seeing it as safer and more efficient than the traditional
limousine motorcade.

 
The Bell H-13J helicopter pictured on Presidents Day,2018.

On July 11, 1914, in his major league debut, George Herman
“Babe” Ruth pitches seven strong innings to lead the Boston
Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians (now known as the Cleveland Guardians), 4-3.

Communications satellite Telstar 1 was launched atop a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the
first television pictures, telephone calls, and telegraph images,
and provided the first live transatlantic television feed. Telstar 2
launched May 7, 1963. Telstar 1 and 2, though no longer
functional ,still orbit the Earth today.

On July 7, 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the
next five years, a total of 21,000 men would work ceaselessly to
produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one
of the largest manmade structures in the world.