July 13, 1787 – Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing procedures for transforming territories into states to be considered equal to the original 13 (Illinois becomes one such state in 1818).
July 14, 1789 – The fall of the Bastille Prison occurs at the beginning of the French Revolution. This will later be celebrated as a day of French unification over the monarchy.
July 17, 1955 – Disneyland is opened by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California. Originally planned as an eight-acre park across the street from the Walt Disney Burbank Studios to be called Mickey Mouse Park, it evolved into a 160-acre site near Anaheim highlighting multiple Walt Disney characters and movies appealing to children and adults.
July 18, 1947 – President Harry Truman signs an Executive Order formally determining the line of succession for the Presidency beyond that of Vice-President (i.e., Speaker of the House, Senate President, etc.) and includes how to handle cases of disability. This later becomes the basis of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution which is ratified in 1967.