July 1, 1926 (Thursday)
- The two-day-old government of Canadian Prime Minister Arthur Meighen was defeated in Parliament by one vote, 96 to 95 [1] on a motion challenging the legality of Meighen's attempt to circumvent normal Parliamentary procedure by assembling a Cabinet consisting exclusively of acting ministers without portfolio. The votes against Meighen's government included 14 of his fellow Conservatives. Though the vote was not strictly a motion of no confidence, Meighen accepted the result as such and asked the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament and schedule a new election. [2]
- The Swedish Air Force (the Flygvapnet) was founded by a merger of the aviation units of Sweden's Army and Navy. [3]
- The largest chain of grocery stores in the western United States was created by merger of the 322 stores of the Safeway chain, and the 673 stores of the Skaggs Companies, all of which had been purchased by stockbroker Charles E. Merrill, with the 995 stores to be under the Safeway brand. [4]
- The world's longest suspension bridge up that time, the 9,650 feet (2,940 m) long Delaware River Bridge linking Philadelphia to Camden, New Jersey, was opened three days before the celebration of the sesquicentennial of United States independence. At 1:00 in the afternoon, "three little girls" cut red, white and blue cords at the Philadelphia entrance and thousands of pedestrians began crossing the Delaware River from both sides. [5] Pedestrian traffic closed at 7:00 and the motor vehicle traffic was allowed at midnight. [6] The bridge would be renamed for Benjamin Franklin in 1955. [7]
- The Dominion of Canada returned to the gold standard, and allowed Dominion notes to be redeemed for gold to back its currency, after having chosen to abandon the standard on August 22, 1914. After the Great Depression, Canada abandoned the gold standard again on October 31, 1931. [8]
- The town of Venice, Florida, was incorporated after Dr. Fred H. Albee, an orthopedic surgeon, had purchased 112 acres (45 ha) for development of the infrastructure and government buildings over a period of two years. [9]
- Born:
- Robert Fogel, American economist and laureate of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; in New York City (d. 2013) [10]
- Howard Sachs, American biochemist and pioneer in neuroendocrinology who discovered a means of biosynthesis of the hormone vasopressin; in Brooklyn (d.2011) [11]
- Carl Hahn, German auto executive who served as Chairman of Volkswagen AG from 1982 to 1998; in Chemnitz (d. 2023) [12]
- Hans Werner Henze, German composer for opera and theatre (including König Hirsch , Elegy for Young Lovers , Venus und Adonis ), and ballets, as well as 10 symphonies for orchestras; in Gütersloh, Westphalia (d. 2012)
- Died:
- Alexander del Mar, 89, the first Director of the Bureau of Statistics at the U.S. Treasury Department [13]
