Inspired, he engineered a garment with minimal fabric — just 30 square inches, connected by strings — that would break all sensual and sartorial boundaries.The choice of name was deliberate and provocative. On July 1, 1946, the US had conducted Operation Crossroads atomic tests at Bikini Atoll.Réard seized on the pun — his swimsuit would have a similarly explosive impact on fashion consciousness. Named “bikini,” it linked a physical revelation with nuclear symbolic force.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADRéard needed a grand stage: Piscine Molitor — nicknamed the “White Ocean Liner” — an Art Deco landmark reopened after German occupation, brimming with Parisian elegance and optimism.To generate maximum attention, Réard scheduled an outdoor press preview on July 5. But no professional model would step forward for such a scandalous design.Finally, he recruited Micheline Bernardini, an exotic dancer at the Casino de Paris. At 19 years old, she became the face of this new swimwear era.Bernardini emerged onto the pool deck wearing a newsprint-patterned bikini that left her midriff — and, shockingly (at the time), her navel — bare.Micheline Bernardini wearing the first bikini in 1946. The new ‘Bikini’ swimming costume (in a newsprint-patterned fabric), which caused a sensation at a beauty contest at the Molitor swimming pool in Paris. She is holding a small box into which the entire costume can be packed. File Image/Hulton ArchiveA hush fell over the audience: 3,000 spectators and the press, stunned and captivated. It was the smallest swimsuit ever seen in swimwear, one Réard dared say could “be pulled through a wedding ring.”The reaction was electric. Conservative European nations — Italy, Spain, Belgium — banned the garment on moral grounds.Catholic leaders denounced it as immodest.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADAmerican newspapers initially ignored the reveal, focusing on the nuclear tests. But gradually, the bikini’s shockwaves spread internationally.History Extra noted Réard’s flair for publicity — skywriters advertised the bikini above Cannes with slogans like “smaller than the world’s smallest bathing suit.”Media outlets responded: Micheline Bernardini received over 50,000 fan letters, primarily from men, as the suit sparked both fascination and scandal.Despite early resistance, the bikini began to permeate beach culture — first on the Mediterranean and then globally.By the 1950s and 1960s, Hollywood icons like Brigitte Bardot and Ursula Andress wore bikinis onscreen, normalising them and reinforcing their association with youth and modern freedom.Bardot in particular popularised the bikini’s French Riviera chic, while Andress’s white bikini in Dr. No (James Bond) became a fashion milestone.Still in the US, the bikini remained controversial until the sexual revolution of the 1960s, when increased emphasis on sexual liberation propelled its adoption in mainstream American beaches.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADRéard understood that sensationalism sold. He patented the bikini on July 19, 1946, and kept fuelling its mystique through clever marketing: the wedding-ring slogan, skywriting campaigns, flamboyant promotional vehicles (like a Packard “road yacht” carrying bikini-clad models) and celebrity endorsements.The original design — four triangles, string-joined, newsprint-clad — highlighted Réard’s engineering background, merging technical minimalism with striking aesthetics.Its intentional contrast to conservative one-pieces was a statement of modernity.Decades later, Réard’s bikini endures. International Bikini Day is celebrated annually on July 5, honouring the radical spirit of Réard’s unveiling.The bikini remains a billion-dollar industry and a symbol of feminist empowerment and body positivity — though its cultural journey reflects ongoing tensions around modesty, sexuality and female representation.Academic studies highlight its significance: Réard’s garment sparked “a psychological link between atomic destruction and sexuality,” and scholar Diana Vreeland dubbed it the “atom bomb of fashion.”He successfully trivialised nuclear dread by fusing it with liberation and desire.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADAs women reclaimed their bodies and public spaces, the bikini became host, symbol, and testament to a shifting world.Réard’s engineering genius and daring marketing acumen ensured its lasting place in history — and in wardrobes worldwide.Dolly the sheep is bornOn July 5, 1996, at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, scientists made history with the birth of Dolly the Finn-Dorset sheep, the world’s first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell.The world’s first clone of an adult animal, Dolly the sheep, stands in her pen at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, February 23, 1997. File Image/ReutersBorn from a mammary gland cell wired into an enucleated egg and implanted in a surrogate, Dolly shattered scientific dogma: mature cells could be reprogrammed to create a whole organism.Her 1997 unveiling sparked controversy and excitement. Though not the first clone, Dolly proved adult-cell cloning was viable, opening avenues in stem-cell research and ethics.She gave birth to six lambs and lived until 2003, but suffered lung disease possibly linked to premature ageing.Professor Ian Wilmut is reflected in a mirror as he poses for photographs after a news conference in Edinburgh, February 8, 2005. Wilmut who created Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, was granted a licence to clone human embryos for medical research. File Image/ReutersToday, Dolly’s preserved remains stand at the National Museum of Scotland as a symbol of scientific breakthrough.Arthur Ashe wins WimbledonOn July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe, an American tennis pioneer, stunned the world by becoming the first Black man to win the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title, defeating reigning champ Jimmy Connors in four sets (6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4).Ashe, who had already made history by winning the US Open in 1968 and Australian Open in 1970, overcame discrimination and segregation en route to the Centre Court victory .STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADHis triumph transcended sport: Ashe became a global symbol of racial equality and leadership, publicly advocating for civil rights and AIDS awareness.His Wimbledon win remains a celebrated milestone in tennis as well as in the struggle for social justice. The main stadium of the US Open tennis tournament is named after Ashe.Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, widow of the late Arthur Ashe, sits next to a plaque that was unveiled at the formal dedication of the new Arthur Ashe Stadium at the at the US Open in New York, August 25, 1997. The tribute included over 40 past champions of the US Open. File Image/ReutersAlgeria gains independenceOn July 5, 1962, Algeria officially gained independence from France after a protracted eight-year liberation war, marking the end of 132 years of colonial rule.The conflict began in November 1954, with the FLN waging fierce guerrilla tactics. It drew international attention for its brutality — both French repression and FLN terrorism.Following a 1962 referendum granting self-determination, France recognised independence on July 3, and Algeria celebrated on July 5 — the anniversary of France’s 1830 invasion, symbolically reclaiming the date.The first President, Ahmed Ben Bella, called on Algerians to “build history with our hands.”Independence Day remains a cornerstone of Algerian national identity.With inputs from agenciesTagsFrance, The bikini debuts in Paris On a sunny afternoon in July 1946, the tranquil elegance of Paris was upended by the unveiling of a swimsuit so daring it would reverberate through fashion — and cultural history., Although two-piece bathing suits were being used by women as early as the 1930s, the modern bikini is dated to July 5, 1946, when, partly due to material rationing after World War II, French engineer Louis Réard introduced the modern bikini, modeled by Micheline Bernardini..