{"id":15877,"date":"2022-07-05T10:28:59","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T08:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=211189"},"modified":"2022-07-05T10:42:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T08:42:13","slug":"5-july-on-this-day-in-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/5-july-on-this-day-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"5 July: On this day in history"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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5 July 328<\/h3>\n

On the border between modern-day Romania and Bulgaria, Constantine the Great watches the formal opening of one of the ancient world\u2019s longest river bridges, reaching almost 8,000 feet across the Danube.<\/p>\n

5 July 1641<\/h3>\n

The English Long Parliament abolished the Court of Star Chamber, which it saw as an instrument of arbitrary royal power.<\/p>\n

5 July 1810<\/h3>\n

Birth in Connecticut of American showman, businessman and politician PT Barnum<\/a>. \u2018Attractions\u2019 exhibited by him over the years included the 25-inch General Tom Thumb, Jumbo the elephant and Jenny Lind, the singer known as the Swedish nightingale.<\/p>\n

5 July 1913\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Former colonial secretary Alfred Lyttelton died of an abscess after being struck in the stomach by a cricket ball. He had represented Cambridge University at five sports and was the first man to play both cricket and football for England.<\/p>\n

5 July 1942<\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/span>American submarine USS Growler<\/em> attacked three Japanese destroyers off Kiska, Alaska, sinking one, and severely damaging the other two.<\/p>\n

5 July 1948:\u00a0The NHS is launched<\/h3>\n

Free-to-access healthcare changes the lives of millions<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

On a July morning in 1948, health minister Aneurin Bevan strode through the corridors of Manchester\u2019s Park Hospital to meet one very special patient. Her name was Sylvia Diggory, a 13-year-old suffering from acute nephritis, a dangerous kidney condition. She was\u00a0propped up on pillows in her hospital bed when Bevan arrived, and exchanged just a few hopeful words with him before he ambled away. Although their interaction was brief, she later recalled knowing there was \u201ca great change coming about\u201d.<\/p>\n

Diggory was the first patient to be treated by the National Health Service<\/a> (NHS). The creation of this groundbreaking institution was spearheaded by Bevan, who described it as \u201ca great and novel undertaking\u201d \u2013 the first service to give all British citizens access to healthcare, free of charge at the point of use, from birth until death.<\/p>\n

The journey towards this moment had been relatively short. In 1942, economist\u00a0Sir William Beveridge had published a report on the state of the nation that identified disease as one of five \u201cgreat evils\u201d to be tackled in the UK. Over the following five years the government set about designing a free healthcare service, latterly under Bevan\u2019s direction. Significant compromises were made to implement his plans, including giving GPs the right to run their practices\u00a0as private businesses.<\/p>\n

The public uptake was overwhelming. Despite warnings by postwar prime minister Clement Attlee that there were \u201cbound\u00a0to be early difficulties with staff, accommo- dation and so on\u201d, 94 per cent of the population had registered as NHS patients by the day of the launch. On 5 July, when the service officially opened, 2,751 British hospitals \u2013 plus doctors\u2019 surgeries,\u00a0dentists and opticians \u2013 were part of the NHS. Today, the service treats millions\u00a0each year. | Written by Helen Carr<\/strong><\/p>\n

Browse more\u00a0On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n