South Africa returns to Olympics after 32 years
1992 - South Africa returned to the Olympics after 32 years in the sporting wilderness, but a row left over from apartheid still raged in the team. The 125-strong multi-racial Olympic team raised their flag for the Barcelona Games in an emotional ceremony that formally ended 32 years as Olympic outcasts. Most of them had not yet been born when South Africa last competed in the Games with an all-white team in Rome in 1960. Sam Ramsamy, president of the South African Olympic Committee (NOCSA), said after the ceremony: “This is the first time a non-racial team from South Africa has ever taken part in the Olympics. It is of tremendous importance to us and the emotion is too great to express.” Some of the South African competitors were watery-eyed as the flag was raised at the Olympic village.
July 23
1798 - Napoleon captures Alexandria, Egypt.
1829 - The first typewriter is patented by William Burt of Mount Vernon, Michigan.
1881 - Boundary treaty between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
1914 - Austria and Hungary issue ultimatum to Serbia after assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
1920 - British East Africa is renamed Kenya and becomes a British colony.
1921 - The first meeting of the Chinese Communist Party is held.
1927 - The first wireless telegraph link between Britain and India is established.
1952 - Egyptian military officers, led by Jamal Abdul Nasser, overthrow King Farouq I.
1962 - The Telstar satellite sends the first major live TV broadcast between the US and Europe.
1967 - English cyclist Tommy Simpson dies in intense heat during the 13th stage of the Tour de France.
1970 - Qaboos Bin Saeed becomes Sultan of Oman.
1972 - The first Earth Resources Technology Satellite is launched.
1986 - Britain’s Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London.
1994 - Gambian soldiers proclaim military government in Dakar, Senegal.
1997 - Slobodan Milosevic becomes President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
2000 - Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to complete a career Grand Slam.
2001 - Megawati Sukarnoputri is sworn in as Indonesian President.
2005 - Multiple pre-dawn bombings targeting several hotels kill at least 88 in the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm Al Shaikh.
2007 - Afghanistan’s last king Mohammad Zahir Shah dies in Kabul.
2008 - Cape Verde joins the World Trade Organisation, becoming its 153rd member.
2009 - German carmaker Volkswagen takes over Porsche to create a new car giant.
2011 - British soul singer Amy Winehouse is found dead in her home in London. She was 27.
2015 - An Earth-like planet Kepler 452b is discovered.
