On the morning of July 31, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa, one of the most influential American labor leaders of the 20th century, was officially reported missing after he failed to return home the previous night.
Though he is popularly believed to have been the victim of a Mafia hit, conclusive evidence was never found and Hoffa’s fate remains a mystery.
Several conspiracy theories have been floated about Hoffa’s disappearance and the location of his remains, but the truth remains unknown.
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American actor,
producer, businessman, retired bodybuilder, and former
politician who served as the 38th governor of California
from 2003 to 2011. Arnold is 74 today.
In 1942, Miller volunteered to join the U.S. military to entertain troops during World War II, ending up with the U.S. Army Air Forces. On December 15, 1944, while flying to Paris, Miller’s aircraft disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson (left) signed into law the Social Security Act that established Medicare and Medicaid. It went into effect the following year.
Wrecked warehouses and scattered debris after the explosion.
The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City, New Jersey, was an act of sabotage by German agents to destroy American-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. This incident, which happened prior to American entry into the war, is also notable for causing damage to the Statue of Liberty.
The Lehigh Valley pier after the blast.
The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on this day in 1945. The ship had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. Only 316 out of 1,196 men aboard survived the attack.
The USS Indianapolis in San Diego Harbor prior to the attack.
Ford at age 25.
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947)
Founder of Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford, developed the assembly- line process for mass production. One of his first cars was the Model T (below).
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is 70 years old today.
Bodybuilder, actor, and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger served as the governor of California from 2003 to 2011. His best known films include Conan the Barbarian (1982) Predator (1987), TheTerminator series (beginning in 1984), and Total Recall (1990). He decided to pursue a career as a bodybuilder at age fourteen, despite demonstrating ability in football. He became the youngest person to win the Mr. Universe contest when he was 20.
