On this day in history - July 1

What Happened On This Day – July 1

• 2002 The International Criminal Court (ICC) is established

  It is the first international judicial body that has the power to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It was created by the Rome Statute, an international treaty that was signed in the Italian city of Rome in 1998.

• 1991 The Warsaw Pact, a defense treaty between 8 communist countries, is formally disbanded in Prague

  The pact was founded in 1955, during the height of the Cold War, as a way to counterbalance the power of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Western Europe.

• 1979 The Walkman makes its appearance in stores for the first time

  The portable audio cassette player was made by Sony and went on sale in Japan.

• 1908 SOS is adopted as the International Distress Signal

  The 2nd International Radiotelegraphic Convention, which was signed in December 1906, made the Morse code distress signal (· · · – – – · · ·), the standard international maritime distress signal. Even though it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System in 1999, SOS is universally seen as a distress call and is often mistakenly thought to be an abbreviation of Save Our Souls or Save Our Ship.

• 1903 The Tour de France Bicycle Race is flagged off for the first time

  The now annual multi-leg bike race lasted for 20 days with a course that stretched about 1,500 miles. The race was first created by the sports daily, L'Auto , as a way to boost its circulation. The first Tour de France was win by Italian-French racer, Maurice Garin.