Looking back at July 15 in history brings together a wealth of notable events – from the opening of the first Commonwealth Bank of Australia as a savings bank in 1912, to the shooting of fashion designer, Gianni Versace outside his Miami Beach mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan in 1997.
Also on this day, in 1916, Boeing – then known as Pacific Aero Products – was founded in Seattle by William Boeing; Italy declared war on Japan in 1945; and Taiwan ended 38 years of martial law to pave the way for multi-party elections in 1987.
In Australia, Griffith anti-drugs campaigner, Donald McKay disappeared on this day in 1977 – his body has never been found; while in Western Australia, former Premier Brian Burke was jailed for two years after being convicted of fraud in 1994.
And another Australian who found himself in hot water on this day was Rupert Murdoch who, on July 15 in 2011, was forced to accept the resignations of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher and his chief of British operations as the media mogul worked to control an escalating phone hacking scandal in the UK.
And on July 15 in 2015, Brisbane real estate agent, Gerard Baden-Clay was jailed for life for the murder of his wife, Allison. The charge was later downgraded to murder on appeal.
In the sporting arena, on this day in 2018 France won the World Cup title with a 4-2 win over Croatia.
