July 15, 1834
The Spanish Inquisition, a centuries-long brutal effort by the Catholic Church to root out heresy, begun in 1481, was officially abolished. The Inquisition was originally intended to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1501 ordered Jews and Muslims to convert or leave Spain. Estimates of the number of persons charged with crimes by the Inquisition range up to 150,000 with 2,000 to 5,000 people actually executed.
July 15, 1958
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized Operation Blue Bat, the first application of the Eisenhower Doctrine under which the U.S. announced that it would intervene to protect regimes it considered threatened by international communism. The goal was to bolster the Christian, pro-Western Lebanese government of President Camille Chamoun against internal opposition and threats from Syria and Egypt. Approximately 14,000 men were deployed. The U.S. withdrew its forces on October 25, 1958.
