On July 21, 2011, NASAs space shuttle program completes its final, and 135th, mission, when the shuttle Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As it became clear that no consensus could be reached on the issue of possible German reunification or the precise configuration of an arms control agreement, Eisenhower dramatically unveiled what came to be known as his Open Skies proposal. With these maps in hand, each nation would then be allowed to conduct aerial surveillance of the installations in order to assure that the other nations were in compliance with any arms control agreements that might be reached. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. During the programs 30-year history, its five orbitersColumbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavourcarried more read more, On July 21, 1899, Ernest Miller Hemingway, author of such novels as For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea, is born in Oak Park, Illinois. Trust, but verify, became Reagans standard phrase. Indeed, Open Skies was much less than an espionage plot. Eisenhower himself was later quoted as saying that he knew the Soviets would never accept the plan, but thought that their rejection of the idea would make the Russians look like they were the major impediment to an arms control agreement. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The plan, though never accepted, laid the foundation for President Ronald Reagans later policy of trust, but verify in relation to arms agreements with the Soviet Union.

Beauregard. Thirty years later, President Reagan would use much the same rhetoric in his arms control dealings with the Soviet Union. Though no agreements were reached, the conference was considered an important first step toward easing Cold War tension. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Eisenhower met with Prime Minister Anthony Eden of Great Britain, Premier Edgar Faure of France, and Premier Nikolai Bulganin of the Soviet Union (acting for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev) in Geneva in July 1955. He had suffered punctured eardrums, some burns and minor wounds, but read more. Geneva Summit, (1955) meeting in Geneva of the leaders of the U.S., France, Britain, and the Soviet Union that sought to end the Cold War. Corrections? They did not want it known that the Soviet Union was far behind the United States in terms of its military capabilities. Omissions? While the French and British expressed interest in the idea, the Soviets rejected any plan that would leave their nation subject to surveillance by a Western power. Although there were no measuring tools at the time, scientists now estimate that the quake was actually two tremors in succession, the largest of which read more, Schoolteacher John T. Scopes is convicted of violating Tennessees law against teaching evolution in public schools. Three months after the Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter, Union military command still believed read more, On July 21, 1944, Adolf Hitler takes to the airwaves to announce that the attempt on his life has failed and that accounts will be settled. Hitler had survived the bomb blast that was meant to take his life. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The attempted attack came exactly two weeks after terrorists killed 56 people, including themselves, and wounded 700 read more, After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in Egypt is completed on July 21, 1970. 2022 A&E Television Networks, LLC. It called for the United States and the Soviet Union to exchange maps indicating the exact location of every military installation in their respective nations. President Eisenhower presents his Open Skies plan, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/eisenhower-presents-his-open-skies-plan. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. More than two miles long at its crest, the massive $1 billion dam ended the cycle of flood and drought in the Nile River region, and exploited a tremendous source of read more, On July 21, 1861, in the first major land battle of the Civil War, a large Union force under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army under General Pierre G.T. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Arms control, he declared, could only be effective if compliance with such agreements could be verified. President Dwight D. Eisenhower presents his Open Skies plan at the 1955 Geneva summit meeting with representatives of France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. The United States soon found that out anywayjust a few months after the Soviet rejection of Open Skies, the Eisenhower administration approved the use of high-altitude spy planes (the famous U-2s) for spying on the Soviet Union. Updates? Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Such issues as disarmament, unification of Germany, and increased economic ties were discussed. The case debated in the so-called Trial of the Century was never really in doubt; the jury only conferred for a few moments in the hallway before returning to read more, On July 21, 1960, the German government passes the Law Concerning the Transfer of the Share Rights in Volkswagenwerk Limited Liability Company into Private Hands, known informally as the Volkswagen Law. Founded in 1937 and originally under the control of Adolf Hitlers read more. All Rights Reserved. Like each of the previous Harry Potter novels, Deathly Hallows was slated to be made into a read more, On July 21, 365, a powerful earthquake off the coast of Greece causes a tsunami that devastates the city of Alexandria, Egypt. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Geneva-Summit-1955, United States Department of State - Office of the Historian - Geneva Summit, International Atomic Energy Agency - The Geneva Conference-How it began. read more, On July 21, 2007, the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is released, with an initial print run of 12 million copies in the United States alone. In what may be the first true western showdown, Wild Bill Hickok shoots Dave Tutt dead in the market square of Springfield, Missouri. Hemingway, who read more, On July 21, 2005, terrorists attempt to attack the London transit system by planting bombs on three subways and on one bus; none of the bombs detonate completely. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The influential American literary icon became known for his straightforward prose and use of understatement. Hollywood movies and dime novels notwithstanding, the classic western showdownalso called a walkdownhappened only rarely in the American West. For the Soviets, the idea of U.S. planes conducting surveillance of their military bases was unthinkable. The agenda for the summit included discussions on the future of Germany and arms control. Khrushchev declared that Eisenhowers Open Skies was nothing more than an espionage plot..