July 7 Birthday
On July 7, 2005, four suicide bombers detonated explosives on three London Underground trains and a bus during morning rush hour. Fifty-two people were killed and 784 were injured. The bombers were British citizens. The attack occurred the day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics. It was the deadliest attack on London since World War II. The investigation found that the bombers had been radicalized in Britain, not trained abroad. The attacks exposed the failure of Britain's counterterrorism strategy, which had focused on international networks rather than homegrown extremism. Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court on July 7, 1981, by Ronald Reagan. She was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. She was the first woman on the Court. She served until 2006, when she retired to care for her husband, who had Alzheimer's. O'Connor was often the swing vote in 5-4 decisions. She wrote the opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) that preserved the core of Roe v. Wade while allowing some restrictions. People born on July 7 fall under the zodiac sign of Cancer. The birthstone is Ruby and the birth flower is Larkspur. Historical events on July 7 include 1930: Construction of Hoover Dam begins, 1981: Sandra Day O'Connor nominated as first woman on Supreme Court, 2005: London bombings — 52 killed in coordinated suicide attacks on transit system. Famous people born on July 7 include Marc Chagall (1887), Ringo Starr (1940), Michelle Kwan (1980).