30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.
1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
1571 – The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.
1620 – Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.
1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.
1759 – Seven Years’ War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.
1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
1849 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.
1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.
1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot’s test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator’s certificate.
1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.
1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff, and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.
1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as “Black Sunday”, was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.
1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
1950 – Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth as President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.
1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation’s first centralized military espionage organization.
1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
1965 – Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the “Green Line”, dividing Cyprus into two zones.
1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.
1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.
1988 – A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.
1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
1998 – The establishment of Muslim Medics, one of the largest student-led societies in Imperial College London that provides both academic and wellbeing support to medical students of all backgrounds.
2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.
2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.
Births on August 1
10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)
126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)
845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)
992 – Hyeonjong, Korean king (d. 1031)
1068 – Taizu, Chinese emperor (d. 1123)
1313 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (d. 1364)
1377 – Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (d. 1433)
1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)
1410 – Jan IV, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1475)
1492 – Wolfgang, German prince (d. 1566)
1520 – Sigismund II, Polish king (d. 1572)
1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)
1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)
1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)
1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)
1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)
1713 – Charles I, German duke and prince (d. 1780)
1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)
1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)
1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)
1778 – Mary Jefferson Eppes, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who died in childbirth (d. 1804)
1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)
1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)
1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)
1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)
1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)
1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)
1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)
1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)
1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)
1860 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (d. 1918)
1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
1865 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (d. 1917)
1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)
1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)
1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)
1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)
1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)
1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)
1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)
1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980)
1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)
1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)
1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)
1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)
1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)
1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
1910 – Gerda Taro, German war photographer (d. 1937)
1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)
1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)
1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)
1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)
1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)
1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)
1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009)
1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)
1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)
1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
1923 – Val Bettin, American actor
1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)
1924 – Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)
1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)
1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)
1926 – Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (d. 2018)
1927 – María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (d. 2006)
1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)
1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)
1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)
1929 – Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (d. 2018)
1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)
1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)
1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)
1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
1931 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)
1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)
1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2019)
1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)
1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)
1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer
1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)
1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)
1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)
1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic
1937 – Al D’Amato, American lawyer and politician
1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)
1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor
1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)
1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)
1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant
1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor
1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)
1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)
1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)
1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (d. 2011)
1946 – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic
1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author
1947 – Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist
1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios
1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player
1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)
1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan
1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)
1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)
1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach
1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author
1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)
1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author
1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager
1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)
1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach
1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter
1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)
1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer
1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor
1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor
1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer
1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer
1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician
1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator
1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer
1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer
1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author
1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach
1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter
1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach
1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter
1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager
1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout
1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist
1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player
1970 – David James, English footballer and manager
1970 – Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer
1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach
1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach
1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic
1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach
1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner
1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist
1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)
1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer
1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach
1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier
1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator
1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager
1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player
1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor
1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player
1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer
1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer
1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete
1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer
1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player
1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer
1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer
1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete
1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer
1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer
1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author
1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer
1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player
1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer
1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter
1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player
1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player
1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer
1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer
1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player
1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player
1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player
1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player
1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player
1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer
1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer
1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer
1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player
1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer
1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player
1987 – Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer
1987 – Karen Carney, English women’s football winger
1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer
1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer
1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer
1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player
1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
1989 – Tiffany Hwang, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress
1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player
1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer
1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player
1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer
1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player
1992 – Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress
1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player
1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer
1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player
1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer
1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player
2001 – Park Si-eun, South Korean actress
Deaths on August 1
30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)
371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)
527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)
873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia
946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)
946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)
953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)
984 – Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester
1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate
1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)
1146 – Vsevolod II of Kiev, Russian prince
1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)
1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)
1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)
1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)
1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)
1464 – Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)
1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)
1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)
1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)
1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)
1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)
1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)
1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)
1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)
1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)
1787 – Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)
1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)
1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)
1798 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)
1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)
1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)
1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)
1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)
1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)
1863 – Jind Kaur Majarani (Regent) of the Sikh Empire (b. 1817)
1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)
1869 – Peter Julian Eymard, French Priest and Founder Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (b. 1811)
1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)
1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)
1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)
1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)
1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)
1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)
1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)
1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)
1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)
1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)
1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)
1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)
1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)
1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)
1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)
1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)
1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)
1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)
1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)
1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)
1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)
2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)
2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)
2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)
2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)
2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)
2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)
2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)
2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)
2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)
2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)
2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)
2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)
2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)
2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)
2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)
2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)
2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)
2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)
2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)
2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)
2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)
2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)
2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)
2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)
2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)
2015 – Bernard d’Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)
2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)
2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)
2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on August 1
Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)
Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army (People’s Republic of China)
Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)
Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):
Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August. (Toronto)
Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)
Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)
Christian feast day:
Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori
Æthelwold of Winchester
Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder
Eusebius of Vercelli
Exuperius of Bayeux
Felix of Girona
Peter Apostle in Chains
Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
The Holy Maccabees
August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Canada)
Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or Frídagur verslunarmanna, can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)
Earliest day on which Constitution Day (Cook Islands) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
Earliest day on which Farmers’ Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Zambia)
Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August.
Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August. (United States)
Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)
Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)
Minden Day (United Kingdom)
National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)
Parents’ Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Statehood Day (Colorado)
Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):
Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)
Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)
Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)
The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)
30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian’s forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: 6th day of the 7th month of the 1st year of the Ten’o (天応) era).
1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.
1201 – Attempted usurpation by John Komnenos the Fat for the throne of Alexios III Angelos.
1423 – Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Cravant: The French army is defeated by the English at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.
1492 – The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
1588 – The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
1618 – Maurice, Prince of Orange disbands the waardgelders militia in Utrecht, a pivotal event in the Remonstrant/Counter-Remonstrant tensions.
1655 – Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.
1658 – Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India.
1703 – Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
1712 – Action of 31 July 1712 (Great Northern War): Danish and Swedish ships clash in the Baltic Sea; the result is inconclusive.
1715 – Seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain, 11 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure is salvaged from these wrecks.
1741 – Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.
1763 – Odawa Chief Pontiac’s forces defeat British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac’s War.
1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette “be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States.”
1790 – The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.
1865 – The first narrow-gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia.
1874 – Dr. Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University.
1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation.
1913 – The Balkan States sign an armistice in Bucharest.
1917 – World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.
1919 – German national assembly adopts the Weimar Constitution, which comes into force on August 14.
1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question.”
1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
1948 – USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.
1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
1972 – The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy.
1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
1975 – The Troubles: three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland.
1987 – A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Canada.
1988 – Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.
1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries’ stockpiles.
1992 – The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations.
1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon’s surface.
2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl.
2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
2012 – Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
2014 – Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.
Births on July 31
1143 – Emperor Nijō of Japan (d. 1165)
1396 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
1526 – Augustus, Elector of Saxony (d. 1586)
1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
1595 – Philipp Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1641)
1598 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
1686 – Charles of France, Duke of Berry (d. 1714)
1702 – Jean Denis Attiret, French missionary and painter (d. 1768)
1704 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1752)
1718 – John Canton, English physicist and academic (d. 1772)
1724 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (d. 1801)
1759 – Ignaz Anton von Indermauer, Austrian nobleman and government official (d. 1796)
1777 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (d. 1849)
1796 – Jean-Gaspard Deburau, Czech-French actor and mime (d. 1846)
1800 – Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist and academic (d. 1882)
1803 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, co-designed the USS Princeton and the Novelty Locomotive (d. 1889)
1816 – George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
1826 – William S. Clark, American colonel and politician (d. 1886)
1835 – Henri Brisson, French lawyer and politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (d. 1912)
1835 – Paul Du Chaillu, French-American anthropologist and explorer (d. 1903)
1836 – Vasily Sleptsov, Russian author and activist (d. 1878)
1837 – William Quantrill, American captain (d. 1865)
1839 – Ignacio Andrade, Venezuelan general and politician, 25th President of Venezuela (d. 1925)
1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and author (d. 1918)
1847 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1905)
1854 – José Canalejas, Spanish academic and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1912)
1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, English seismologist and geologist (d. 1936)
1858 – Marion Talbot, influential American educator (d. 1948)
1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American painter and illustrator (d. 1940)
1867 – S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (d. 1966)
1875 – Jacques Villon, French painter (d. 1963)
1877 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (d. 1970)
1880 – Premchand, Indian author and playwright (d. 1936)
1883 – Ramón Fonst, Cuban fencer (d. 1959)
1884 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, Polish-German economist and politician (d. 1945)
1886 – Salvatore Maranzano, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1931)
1886 – Fred Quimby, American animation producer (d. 1965)
1887 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1969)
1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist and publisher, founded Worldwide Church of God (d. 1986)
1892 – Joseph Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1959)
1894 – Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
1901 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
1902 – Gubby Allen, Australian-English cricketer and soldier (d. 1989)
1904 – Brett Halliday, American engineer, surveyor, and author (d. 1977)
1909 – Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian theorist and author (d. 1999)
1911 – George Liberace, American violinist (d. 1983)
1912 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American football player and journalist (d. 2003)
1913 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
1914 – Paul J. Christiansen, American conductor and composer (d. 1997)
1914 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1983)
1916 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (d. 1986)
1916 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
1916 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1979)
1918 – Paul D. Boyer, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1918 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2010)
1918 – Frank Renouf, New Zealand businessman and financier (d. 1998)
1919 – Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (d. 2006)
1919 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (d. 1987)
1920 – James E. Faust, American religious leader, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
1921 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer and activist, founded Amnesty International (d. 2005)
1921 – Donald Malarkey, American sergeant and author (d. 2017)
1921 – Whitney Young, American activist (d. 1971)
1922 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
1923 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American songwriter and producer, founded Atlantic Records (d. 2006)
1923 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer, invented Kevlar (d. 2014)
1924 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (d. 2015)
1925 – Carmel Quinn, Irish singer, actress and writer
1925 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (d. 1994)
1926 – Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (d. 2011)
1926 – Hilary Putnam, American mathematician, computer scientist, and philosopher (d. 2016)
1927 – Peter Nichols, English author and playwright (d. 2019)
1928 – Bill Frenzel, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
1929 – Lynne Reid Banks, English author
1929 – Gilles Carle, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
1929 – Don Murray, American actor
1929 – José Santamaría, Uruguayan footballer and manager
1931 – Nick Bollettieri, American tennis player and coach
1931 – Kenny Burrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1979)
1932 – John Searle, American philosopher and academic
1933 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch journalist, author, and poet
1935 – Yvon Deschamps, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer
1935 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1939 – Steuart Bedford, English pianist and conductor
1939 – Susan Flannery, American actress
1939 – France Nuyen, Vietnamese-French actress
1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (d. 2004)
1943 – William Bennett, American journalist and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
1943 – Lobo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress and screenwriter
1944 – Jonathan Dimbleby, English journalist and author
1944 – Sherry Lansing, American film producer
1944 – Robert C. Merton, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1944 – David Norris, Irish scholar and politician
1945 – William Weld, American lawyer and politician, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
1946 – Gary Lewis, American pop-rock musician
1947 – Karl Green, English bass player and songwriter (Herman’s Hermits)
1947 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (d. 2013)
1947 – Mumtaz, Indian actress
1947 – Hubert Védrine, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
1947 – Ian Beck, English children’s illustrator and author
1948 – Russell Morris, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Mike Jackson, American basketball player
1949 – Alan Meale, English journalist and politician
1950 – Richard Berry, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1951 – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player
1952 – Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
1952 – Alan Autry, American football player, actor, and politician, 23rd Mayor of Fresno, California
1952 – Helmuts Balderis, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
1952 – João Barreiros, Portuguese author and critic
1952 – Faye Kellerman, American author
1953 – Ted Baillieu, Australian architect and politician, 46th Premier of Victoria
1953 – Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer and coach
1953 – Hugh McDowell, English cellist
1954 – Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
1956 – Michael Biehn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Bill Callahan, American football player and coach
1956 – Ron Kuby, American lawyer and radio host
1956 – Deval Patrick, American lawyer and politician, 71st Governor of Massachusetts
1956 – Lynne Rae Perkins, American author and illustrator
1957 – Daniel Ash, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1957 – Mark Thompson, English business executive
1958 – Bill Berry, American drummer and songwriter
1958 – Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality
1958 – Suzanne Giraud, French music editor and composer
1959 – Stanley Jordan, American guitarist, pianist, and songwriter
1959 – Andrew Marr, Scottish journalist and author
1959 – Kim Newman, English journalist and author
1960 – Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1960 – Malcolm Ross, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
1961 – Frank Gardner, English captain and journalist
1961 – Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nigerian banker, royal
1962 – John Chiang, American lawyer and politician, 31st California State Controller
1962 – Kevin Greene, American football player and coach
1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer
1963 – Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), English DJ and musician
1963 – Fergus Henderson, English chef and author
1963 – Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1964 – Jim Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Urmas Hepner, Estonian footballer and coach
1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball player and coach
1965 – John Laurinaitis, American wrestler and producer
1965 – Ian Roberts, English-Australian rugby league player and actor
1965 – J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer
1966 – Dean Cain, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Tony Massenburg, American basketball player
1967 – Tim Wright, Welsh composer
1968 – Saeed-Al-Saffar, Emirati cricketer
1968 – Julian Richards, Welsh director and producer
1969 – Antonio Conte, Italian footballer and manager
1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
1969 – Kenneth D. Schisler, American lawyer and politician
1970 – Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian author and poet
1970 – Ben Chaplin, English actor
1970 – Andrzej Kobylański, Polish footballer and manager
1970 – Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
1971 – Gus Frerotte, American football player and coach
1973 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player and coach
1974 – Emilia Fox, English actress
1974 – Leona Naess, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1974 – Jonathan Ogden, American football player
1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball player and coach
1975 – Andrew Hall, South African cricketer
1975 – Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
1976 – Joshua Cain, American guitarist and producer
1976 – Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer and manager
1978 – Zac Brown, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 – Nick Sorensen, American football player and sportscaster
1978 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver (d. 2015)
1979 – Jaco Erasmus, South African-Italian rugby player
1979 – J.J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
1979 – Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
1979 – Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
1979 – B.J. Novak, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1980 – Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish race car driver
1980 – Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby player
1981 – Titus Bramble, English footballer
1981 – Vernon Carey, American football player
1981 – Paul Whatuira, New Zealand rugby league player
1981 – M. Shadows, American musician, lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold
1982 – Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player
1982 – DeMarcus Ware, American football player
1985 – Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer
1985 – Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist
1986 – Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Brian Orakpo, American football player
1987 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
1988 – Alex Glenn, New Zealand rugby league player
1989 – Victoria Azarenka, Belorussian tennis player
1991 – Réka Luca Jani, Hungarian tennis player
1992 – José Fernández, Cuban baseball player (d. 2016)
1992 – Ryan Johansen, Canadian ice hockey player
1992 – Kyle Larson, American race car driver
1994 – Lil Uzi Vert, American hip hop artist
Deaths on July 31
54 BC – Aurelia Cotta, Roman mother of Gaius Julius Caesar (b. 120 BC)
450 – Peter Chrysologus, Italian bishop and saint (b. 380)
910 – Feng Xingxi, Chinese warlord
975 – Fu Yanqing, Chinese general (b. 898)
1098 – Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
1358 – Étienne Marcel, French rebel leader (b. 1302)
1396 – William Courtenay, English archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
1508 – Na’od, Ethiopian emperor
1556 – Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish priest and theologian, founded the Society of Jesus (b. 1491)
1616 – Roger Wilbraham, Solicitor-General for Ireland (b. 1553)
1638 – Sibylla Schwarz, German poet (b. 1621)
1653 – Thomas Dudley, English soldier and politician, 3rd Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
1693 – Willem Kalf, Dutch still life painter (b. 1619)
1726 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (b. 1695)
1750 – John V, king of Portugal (b. 1689)
1762 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (b. 1711)
1781 – John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley, British parliamentarian (b. 1719)
1784 – Denis Diderot, French philosopher and critic (b. 1713)
1805 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian soldier (b. 1756)
1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (b. 1800)
1875 – Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
1884 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1869)
1886 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
1891 – Jean-Baptiste Capronnier, Belgian stained glass painter (b. 1814)
1913 – John Milne, British geologist and mining engineer. (b. 1850)
1914 – Jean Jaurès, French journalist and politician (b. 1859)
1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh language poet (b. 1887)
1917 – Francis Ledwidge, Irish soldier and poet (b. 1881)
1920 – Ion Dragoumis, Greek philosopher and diplomat (b. 1878)
1940 – Udham Singh, Indian activist (b. 1899)
1943 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1905)
1942 – Francis Younghusband, British Army Officer, explorer and spiritual writer (b.1863)
1944 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and poet (b. 1900)
1953 – Robert A. Taft, American soldier and politician (b. 1889)
1954 – Onofre Marimón, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1923)
1958 – Eino Kaila, Finnish philosopher and psychologist, attendant of the Vienna circle (b. 1890)
1964 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (b. 1923)
1966 – Bud Powell, American pianist (b. 1924)
1968 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
1971 – Walter P. Carter, American soldier and activist (b. 1923)
1972 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
1973 – Azumafuji Kin’ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 40th Yokozuna (b. 1921)
1979 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress and director (b. 1903)
1980 – Pascual Jordan, German physicist, author, and academic (b. 1902)
1980 – Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
1981 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (b. 1929)
1985 – Eugene Carson Blake, American religious leader (b. 1906)
1986 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
1987 – Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905)
1990 – Albert Leduc, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
1992 – Leonard Cheshire, English captain and pilot (b. 1917)
1992 – Md. Abdul Wajed Chowdhury, Bangladeshi politician.
1993 – Baudouin, King of Belgium (b. 1930)
2000 – William Keepers Maxwell Jr., American editor, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1908)
2001 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (b. 1914)
2001 – Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (b. 1910)
2003 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1933)
2004 – Virginia Grey, American actress (b. 1917)
2005 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, 1st President of the European Central Bank (b. 1935)
2009 – Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
2009 – Harry Alan Towers, English-Canadian screenwriter and producer (b. 1920)
2012 – Mollie Hunter, Scottish author and playwright (b. 1922)
2012 – Alfredo Ramos, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1924)
2012 – Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1925)
2012 – Tony Sly, American musician, singer-songwriter (b. 1970)
2013 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (b. 1922)
2013 – Michel Donnet, English-Belgian general and pilot (b. 1917)
2013 – John Graves, American captain and author (b. 1920)
2013 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (b. 1930)
2014 – Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (b. 1925)
2014 – Nabarun Bhattacharya, Indian journalist and author (b. 1948)
2014 – Jeff Bourne, English footballer (b. 1948)
2014 – Wilfred Feinberg, American lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
2015 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (b. 1940)
2015 – Howard W. Jones, American surgeon and academic (b. 1910)
2015 – Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1927)
2015 – Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (b. 1954)
2015 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (b. 1926)
2016 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (b. 1955)
2016 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (b. 1928)
2017 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (b. 1928)
2018 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor & businessman (b. 1939)
2019 – Harold Prince, noted Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on July 31
Christian feast day:
Abanoub
Germanus of Auxerre
Ignatius of Loyola
Neot
July 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which the Feast of Kamál (Perfection) can fall, while August 1 is the latest; observed on the first day of the eighth month of the Bahá’í calendar. (Bahá’í Faith)
End of the Trinity term (sitting of the High Court of Justice of England)
Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Day (Hawaii, United States), and its related observance:
Sovereignty Restoration Day (Hawaiian sovereignty movement)
Martyrdom Day of Shahid Udham Singh (Haryana and Punjab, India)
1098 – Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.
1360 – Muhammed VI becomes the tenth Nasrid king of Granada after killing his brother-in-law Ismail II.
1461 – Edward, Earl of March, is crowned King Edward IV of England.
1519 – Charles V is elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
1575 – Sengoku period of Japan: The combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu are victorious in the Battle of Nagashino.
1635 – Guadeloupe becomes a French colony.
1651 – The Battle of Berestechko between Poland and Ukraine starts.
1709 – Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava.
1745 – A New England colonial army captures the French fortifications at Louisbourg (New Style).
1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Sullivan’s Island ends with the American victory, leading to the commemoration of Carolina Day.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington, is hanged for mutiny and sedition.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: The American Continentals engage the British in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse resulting in standstill and British withdrawal under cover of darkness.
1797 – French troops disembark in Corfu, beginning the French rule in the Ionian Islands.
1807 – Second British invasion of the Río de la Plata; John Whitelocke lands at Ensenada on an attempt to recapture Buenos Aires and is defeated by the locals.
1838 – Coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
1841 – The Paris Opera Ballet premieres Giselle in the Salle Le Peletier.
1846 – Adolphe Sax patents the saxophone.
1855 – Sigma Chi fraternity is founded in North America.
1859 – The first conformation dog show is held in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
1865 – The Army of the Potomac is disbanded.
1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is captured at Glenrowan.
1881 – The Austro–Serbian Alliance of 1881 is secretly signed.
1882 – The Anglo-French Convention of 1882 marks the territorial boundaries between Guinea and Sierra Leone.
1894 – Labor Day becomes an official US holiday.
1895 – The United States Court of Private Land Claims rules James Reavis’s claim to Barony of Arizona is “wholly fictitious and fraudulent.”
1896 – An explosion in the Newton Coal Company’s Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners.
1902 – The U.S. Congress passes the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the Panama Canal.
1904 – The SS Norge runs aground on Hasselwood Rock in the North Atlantic 430 kilometres (270 mi) northwest of Ireland. More than 635 people die during the sinking.
1911 – The Nakhla meteorite, the first one to suggest signs of aqueous processes on Mars, falls to Earth, landing in Egypt.
1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo; this is the casus belli of World War I.
1917 – World War I: Greece joins the Allied powers.
1919 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending the state of war between Germany and the Allies of World War I.
1921 – Serbian King Alexander I proclaims the new constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution.
1922 – The Irish Civil War begins with the shelling of the Four Courts in Dublin by Free State forces.
1926 – Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.
1936 – The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
1940 – Romania cedes Bessarabia (current-day Moldova) to the Soviet Union after facing an ultimatum.
1942 – World War II: Nazi Germany starts its strategic summer offensive against the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue.
1945 – Poland’s Soviet-allied Provisional Government of National Unity is formed over a month after V-E Day.
1948 – Cold War: The Tito–Stalin Split results in the expulsion of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia from the Cominform.
1948 – Boxer Dick Turpin beats Vince Hawkins at Villa Park in Birmingham to become the first black British boxing champion in the modern era.
1950 – Korean War: Suspected communist sympathizers (between 60,000 to 200,000) are executed in the Bodo League massacre.
1950 – Korean War: Packed with its own refugees fleeing Seoul and leaving their 5th Division stranded, South Korean forces blow up the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to slow North Korea’s offensive. The city falls later that day.
1950 – Korean War: North Korean Army conducts the Seoul National University Hospital massacre.
1956 – in Poznań, workers from HCP factory go to the streets, sparking one of the first major protests against communist government both in Poland and Europe.
1964 – Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
1969 – Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
1973 – Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will lead to power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland for the first time.
1976 – The Angolan court sentences US and UK mercenaries to death sentences and prison terms in the Luanda Trial.
1978 – The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke bars quota systems in college admissions.
1981 – A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of the Islamic Republican Party.
1987 – For the first time in military history, a civilian population is targeted for chemical attack when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht.
1989 – On the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
1997 – Holyfield–Tyson II: Mike Tyson is disqualified in the third round for biting a piece off Evander Holyfield’s ear.
2001 – Slobodan Milošević is extradited to the ICTY in The Hague to stand trial.
2004 – Iraq War: Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.
2009 – Honduran president Manuel Zelaya is ousted by a local military coup following a failed request to hold a referendum to rewrite the Honduran Constitution. This was the start of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.
2016 – A terrorist attack in Turkey’s Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others.
Births on June 28
751 – Carloman I, king of the Franks (d. 771)
1243 – Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan (d. 1304)
1444 – Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1487)
1476 – Pope Paul IV (d. 1559)
1490 – Albert of Brandenburg, German archbishop (d. 1545)
1491 – Henry VIII of England (d. 1547)
1503 – Giovanni della Casa, Italian author and poet (d. 1556)
1547 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1599)
1557 – Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (d. 1595)
1560 – Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1657)
1573 – Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby, English noble (d. 1644)
1577 – Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter and diplomat (d. 1640)
1582 – William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English politician (d. 1662)
1604 – Heinrich Albert, German composer and poet (d. 1651)
1641 – Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien, consort to King John III Sobieski (d. 1716)
1653 – Muhammad Azam Shah, Mughal emperor (d. 1707)
1703 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (d. 1791)
1712 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and polymath (d. 1778)
1719 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1785)
1734 – Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, French organist and composer (d. 1794)
1742 – William Hooper, American physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1790)
1824 – Paul Broca, French physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (d. 1880)
1825 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist (d. 1909)
1831 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1907)
1836 – Emmanuel Rhoides, Greek journalist and author (d. 1904)
1844 – John Boyle O’Reilly, Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer (d. 1890)
1852 – Charles Cruft, English showman, founded Crufts Dog Show (d. 1938)
1867 – Luigi Pirandello, Italian dramatist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
1873 – Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
1875 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
1879 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (d. 1949)
1880 – John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1971)
1883 – Pierre Laval, French soldier and politician, 101st Prime Minister of France (d. 1945)
1884 – Lamina Sankoh, Sierra Leonean banker and politician (d. 1964)
1888 – George Challenor, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1947)
1888 – Stefi Geyer, Hungarian violinist and educator (d. 1956)
1891 – Esther Forbes, American historian and author (d. 1968)
1891 – Carl Spaatz, American general (d. 1974)
1892 – Carl Panzram, American serial killer (d. 1930)
1893 – August Zamoyski, Polish-French sculptor (d. 1970)
1894 – Francis Hunter, American tennis player (d. 1981)
1902 – Richard Rodgers, American playwright and composer (d. 1979)
1906 – Maria Goeppert Mayer, Polish-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
1907 – Jimmy Mundy, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1983)
1907 – Yvonne Sylvain, First female Haitian physician (d. 1989)
1909 – Eric Ambler, English author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
1912 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (d. 2007)
1913 – Franz Antel, Austrian director and producer (d. 2007)
1913 – George Lloyd, English soldier and composer (d. 1998)
1913 – Walter Oesau, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
1914 – Aribert Heim, Austrian SS physician and Nazi war criminal (d. 1992)
1917 – A. E. Hotchner, American author and playwright (d. 2020)
1918 – William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, Scottish-English politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1999)
1919 – Joseph P. Lordi, American government official (d. 1983)
1920 – Clarissa Eden, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1921 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (d. 2004)
1922 – Hans Frauenfelder, American physicist and biophysicist
1923 – Pete Candoli, American trumpet player (d. 2008)
1923 – Adolfo Schwelm Cruz, Argentinian racing driver (d. 2012)
1923 – Gaye Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
1926 – George Booth, American cartoonist
1926 – Mel Brooks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1926 – Robert Ledley, American academic and inventor (d. 2012)
1927 – Correlli Barnett, English historian and author
1927 – Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
1928 – Hans Blix, Swedish politician and diplomat, 33rd Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs
1928 – Patrick Hemingway, American writer
1928 – Harold Evans, English-American historian and journalist
1928 – Peter Heine, South African cricketer (d. 2005)
1928 – Cyril Smith, English politician (d. 2010)
1929 – Alfred Miodowicz, Polish politician
1930 – William C. Campbell, Irish-American biologist and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1930 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (d. 2011)
1930 – Jack Gold, English director and producer (d. 2015)
1931 – Hans Alfredson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter
1931 – Junior Johnson, American race car driver (d. 2019)
1931 – Lucien Victor, Belgian cyclist (d. 1995)
1932 – Pat Morita, American actor (d. 2005)
1933 – Gusty Spence, Northern Irish loyalist and politician (d. 2011)
1934 – Robert Carswell, Baron Carswell, Northern Irish lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
1934 – Roy Gilchrist, Jamaican cricketer (d. 2001)
1934 – Bette Greene, American journalist and author
1934 – Carl Levin, American lawyer and politician
1934 – Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French journalist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
1935 – John Inman, English actor (d. 2007)
1936 – Chuck Howley, American football player
1937 – George Knudson, Canadian golfer (d. 1989)
1937 – Fernand Labrie, Canadian endocrinologist and academic
1937 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1995)
1938 – John Byner, American actor and comedian
1938 – Leon Panetta, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of Defense
1938 – S. Sivamaharajah, Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper publisher and politician (d. 2006)
1938 – Simon Douglas-Pennant, 7th Baron Penrhyn, British baron
1939 – Klaus Schmiegel, German chemist
1940 – Karpal Singh, Malaysian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
1940 – Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1941 – Al Downing, American baseball player and sportscaster
1941 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist and academic, developed the OBJ language (d. 2006)
1941 – David Johnston, Canadian academic, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor General of Canada
1942 – Chris Hani, South African politician (d. 1993)
1942 – Hans-Joachim Walde, German decathlete (d. 2013)
1942 – Frank Zane, American professional bodybuilder and author
1943 – Jens Birkemose, Danish painter
1943 – Donald Johanson, American paleontologist and academic
1943 – Klaus von Klitzing, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1945 – Ken Buchanan, Scottish boxer
1945 – David Knights, English bass player and producer
1945 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1989)
1945 – Türkan Şoray, Turkish actress, director, and screenwriter
1946 – Robert Asprin, American soldier and author (d. 2008)
1946 – Bruce Davison, American actor and director
1946 – David Duckham, English rugby player
1946 – Robert Xavier Rodríguez, American classical composer
1946 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (d. 1991)
1946 – Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (d. 1989)
1947 – Mark Helprin, American novelist and journalist
1947 – Laura Tyson, American economist and academic
1948 – Kathy Bates, American actress
1948 – Sergei Bodrov, Russian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
1948 – Deborah Moggach, English author and screenwriter
1948 – Daniel Wegner, Canadian-American psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
1949 – Don Baylor, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
1950 – Philip Fowke, English pianist and educator
1950 – Mauricio Rojas, Chilean-Swedish economist and politician
1950 – Chris Speier, American baseball player and coach
1951 – Mick Cronin, Australian rugby league player and coach
1951 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (d. 2014)
1951 – Lalla Ward, English actress and author
1952 – Enis Batur, Turkish poet and author
1952 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (d. 2013)
1952 – Jean-Christophe Rufin, French physician and author
1954 – A. A. Gill, Scottish author and critic (d. 2016)
1954 – Alice Krige, South African actress
1955 – Shirley Cheriton, British actress
1956 – Amira Hass, Israeli journalist and author
1956 – Noel Mugavin, Australian footballer and coach
1957 – Lance Nethery, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1957 – Georgi Parvanov, Bulgarian historian and politician, 4th President of Bulgaria
1957 – Mike Skinner, American race car driver
1957 – Jim Spanarkel, American basketball player and sportscaster
1958 – Donna Edwards, American lawyer and politician
455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.
1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later.
1615 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
1676 – Franco-Dutch War: France ensured the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo.
1692 – Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she was found guilty and later hanged.
1763 – Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort.
1774 – Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
1793 – French Revolution: François Hanriot, leader of the Parisian National Guard, arrests 22 Girondists selected by Jean-Paul Marat, setting the stage for the Reign of Terror.
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptures Diamond Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British.
1835 – P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.
1848 – The Slavic congress in Prague begins.
1866 – The Fenians defeat Canadian forces at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, but the raids end soon after.
1896 – Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
1909 – Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
1910 – Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
1919 – Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities.
1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
1941 – World War II: German paratroopers murder Greek civilians in the villages of Kondomari and Alikianos.
1946 – Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
1953 – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.
1955 – The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between both countries, discontinued since 1948.
1962 – During the FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed.
1966 – Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
1967 – Luis Monge is executed in Colorado’s gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States.
1967 – Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into riots, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.
1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
1983 – After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane’s doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place.
1990 – The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12.
1997 – In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
2003 – Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
2012 – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
2014 – Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India, formed from ten districts of northwestern Andhra Pradesh.
Births on June 2
1305 – Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan, ruler of Ilkhanate (d. 1335)
1423 – Ferdinand I of Naples (d. 1494)
1489 – Charles, Duke of Vendôme (d. 1537)
1535 – Pope Leo XI (d. 1605)
1602 – Rudolf Christian, Count of East Frisia, Ruler of East Frisia (d. 1628)
1621 – Rutger von Ascheberg, Courland-born soldier in Swedish service (d. 1693)
1621 – (baptized) Isaac van Ostade, Dutch painter (d. 1649)
1638 – Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (d. 1709)
1644 – William Salmon, English medical writer (d. 1713)
1739 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1815)
1740 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and politician (d. 1814)
1743 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian occultist and explorer (d. 1795)
1773 – John Randolph of Roanoke, American planter and politician, 8th United States Ambassador to Russia (d. 1833)
1774 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (d. 1850)
1813 – Daniel Pollen, Irish-New Zealand politician, 9th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1896)
1823 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1905)
1835 – Pope Pius X (d. 1914)
1838 – Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (d. 1900)
1840 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (d. 1928)
1840 – Émile Munier, French artist (d. 1895)
1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer and educator (d. 1934)
1857 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
1861 – Concordia Selander, Swedish actress and manager (d. 1935)
1863 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian-Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
1865 – George Lohmann, English cricketer (d. 1901)
1865 – Adelaide Casely-Hayford, Sierra Leone Creole advocate and activist for cultural nationalism (d. 1960)
1869 – Jack O’Connor, American baseball player and manager (d. 1937)
1875 – Charles Stewart Mott, American businessman and politician, 50th Mayor of Flint, Michigan (d. 1973)
1878 – Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (d. 1912)
1881 – Walter Egan, American golfer (d. 1971)
1891 – Thurman Arnold, American lawyer and judge (d. 1969)
1891 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral and pilot (d. 1945)
1899 – Lotte Reiniger, German animator and director (d. 1981)
1899 – Edwin Way Teale, American environmentalist and photographer (d. 1980)
1904 – Frank Runacres, English painter and educator (d. 1974)
1904 – Johnny Weissmuller, Hungarian-American swimmer and actor (d. 1984)
1907 – Dorothy West, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
1907 – John Lehmann, English poet and publisher (d. 1987)
1910 – Hector Dyer, American sprinter (d. 1990)
1911 – Joe McCluskey, American runner (d. 2002)
1913 – Barbara Pym, English author (d. 1980)
1913 – Elsie Tu, English-Hong Kong educator and politician (d. 2015)
1914 – Johnny Bulla, American golfer (d. 2003)
1915 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy (d. 1992)
1917 – Heinz Sielmann, German photographer and director (d. 2006)
1918 – Ruth Atkinson, Canadian-American illustrator (d. 1997)
1918 – Kathryn Tucker Windham, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
1919 – Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (d. 2005)
1920 – Frank G. Clement, American lawyer and politician, 41st Governor of Tennessee (d. 1969)
1920 – Yolande Donlan, American-English actress (d. 2014)
1920 – Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German author and critic (d. 2013)
1920 – Tex Schramm, American businessman (d. 2003)
1920 – Johnny Speight, English screenwriter and producer (d. 1998)
1921 – Betty Freeman, American photographer and philanthropist (d. 2009)
1921 – Ernie Royal, American trumpet player (d. 1983)
1921 – Sigmund Sternberg, Hungarian-English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
1921 – András Szennay, Hungarian priest (d. 2012)
1922 – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1922 – Carmen Silvera, Canadian-English actress (d. 2002)
1923 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
1924 – June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2007)
1926 – Chiyonoyama Masanobu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 41st Yokozuna (d. 1977)
1926 – Milo O’Shea, Irish-American actor (d. 2013)
1927 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (d. 2013)
1927 – Colin Brittan, English footballer (d. 2013)
1927 – Christopher Slade, English lawyer and judge
1928 – Erzsi Kovács, Hungarian singer (d. 2014)
1928 – Rafael A. Lecuona, Cuban-American gymnast and academic (d. 2014)
1928 – Ron Reynolds, English footballer (d. 1999)
1929 – Norton Juster, American architect, author, and academic
1929 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player (d. 2007)
1930 – Pete Conrad, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1999)
1933 – Jerry Lumpe, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
1933 – Lew “Sneaky Pete” Robinson, drag racer (d. 1971)
1934 – Johnny Carter, American singer (d. 2009)
1935 – Carol Shields, American-Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2003)
250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.
1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark’s oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia.
1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.
1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
1868 – Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
1870 – Construction work begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, United States.
1871 – In the Battle of Bapaume, an engagement in the Franco-Prussian War, General Louis Faidherbe’s forces bring about a Prussian retreat.
1885 – Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop
1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.
1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
1938 – The March of Dimes is established as a foundation to combat infant polio by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.
1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.
1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
1961 – Cold War: The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter’s nationalization of American assets.
1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
1976 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, comes into force.
1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
1990 – United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
1994 – More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.
1994 – Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashes near Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 125 deaths.
1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
2000 – Final daily edition of the Peanuts comic strip.
2002 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
2015 – Boko Haram militants raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.
2016 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
2019 – Chang’e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.
2020 – Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.
Births on January 3
106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC)
169 – Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord (d. 199)
1196 – Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
1509 – Gian Girolamo Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1591)
1611 – James Harrington, English political theorist (d. 1677)
1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and songwriter (d. 1782)
1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796)
1722 – Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)
1731 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (d. 1792)
1760 – Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
1775 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont (d. 1863)
1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish archbishop (d. 1861)
1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880)
1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (d. 1898)
1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (d. 1857)
1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano and actress (d. 1854)
1810 – Antoine Thomson d’Abbadie, French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (d. 1897)
1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Italian-Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 1900)
1821 – Karel Dežman, Slovenian archaeologist, botanist, and politician, Mayor of Ljubljana (d. 1889)
1831 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet, educator, and activist (d. 1897)
1836 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and rebel leader (d. 1867)
1840 – Father Damien, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1889)
1847 – Ettore Marchiafava, Italian physician (d. 1935)
1853 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer (d. 1921)
1855 – Hubert Bland, English businessman (d. 1914)
1861 – Ernest Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1899)
1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
1862 – Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
1865 – Henry Lytton, English actor (d. 1936)
1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian-English author (d. 1946)
1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and politician, 145th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, German carpenter and politician, 1st President of the German Democratic Republic (d. 1960)
1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960)
1883 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
1883 – Duncan Gillis, Canadian discus thrower and hammer thrower (d. 1963)
1884 – Raoul Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912)
1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
1886 – Arthur Mailey, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
1887 – August Macke, German-French painter (d. 1914)
1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973)
1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961)
1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990)
1898 – Carlos Keller, Chilean historian, academic, and politician (d. 1974)
1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985)
1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, Vietnamese lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1963)
1905 – Dante Giacosa, Italian engineer (d. 1996)
1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986)
1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000)
1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000)
1911 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1992)
1912 – Federico Borrell García, Spanish soldier (d. 1936)
1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2002)
1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010)
1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994)
1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004)
1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch author and actor (d. 2002)
1917 – Vernon A. Walters, American general and diplomat, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004)
1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
1920 – Siegfried Buback, German lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Germany (d. 1977)
1920 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2001)
1921 – Chetan Anand, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1921 – Isabella Bashmakova, Russian historian of mathematics (d. 2005)
1922 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005)
1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013)
1924 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1997)
1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005)
1925 – Jill Balcon, English actress (d. 2009)
1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
1926 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2016)
1928 – Abdul Rahman Ya’kub, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (d. 2015)
1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
1929 – Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer and conductor
1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation
1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015)
1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
1932 – Eeles Landström, Finnish pole vaulter and politician
1933 – Geoffrey Bindman, English lawyer
1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author
1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008)
1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
1935 – Raymond Garneau, Canadian businessman and politician
1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014)
1938 – Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, English academic and politician
1938 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (d. 2006)
1939 – Arik Einstein, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player
1940 – Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (d. 2008)
1940 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2007)
1941 – Malcolm Dick, New Zealand rugby player
1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer and activist (d. 2006)
1942 – John Thaw, English actor and producer, played Inspector Morse (d. 2002)
1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor
1944 – Blanche d’Alpuget, Australian author
1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
1946 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (d. 2002)
1947 – Fran Cotton, English rugby player
1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1948 – Ian Nankervis, Australian footballer
1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman
1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic
1950 – Vesna Vulović, Serbian plane crash survivor and Guinness World Record holder
1951 – Linda Dobbs, English lawyer and judge
1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian surveyor and politician, 14th Special Minister of State
1952 – Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish civil servant and politician, 3rd President of the Community of Madrid
1952 – Gianfranco Fini, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1952 – Jim Ross, American professional wrestling commentator
1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and author
1953 – Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Maldivian educator and politician, 5th President of the Maldives
1953 – Peter Taylor, English football winger and manager
1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean actor, director, and producer
1960 – Russell Spence, English racing driver
1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017)
1962 – Gavin Hastings, Scottish rugby player
1963 – Stewart Hosie, Scottish businessman and politician
1963 – Aamer Malik, Pakistani cricketer
1963 – Alex Wheatle, English author and playwright
1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach
1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricketer
1969 – Michael Caines, English chef
1969 – Lorenzo Fertitta, American entrepreneur, casino executive and sports promoter
1969 – Jarmo Lehtinen, Finnish racing driver
1969 – Michael Schumacher, German racing driver
1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian luger and bobsledder
1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1971 – Lee Il-hwa, South Korean actress
1973 – Dan Harmon, American screenwriter and producer
1974 – Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
1975 – Jason Marsden, American actor
1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ, musician (Daft Punk), and producer
1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress, writer, and mathematician
1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer
1977 – Lee Bowyer, English footballer and coach
1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player
1977 – Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress and singer
1978 – Dimitra Kalentzou, Greek basketball player
1978 – Dominic Wood, English comedian and former magician
1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
1980 – David Tyree, American football player
1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter
1981 – Eli Manning, American football playe
1982 – Peter Clarke, English footballer
1982 – Lasse Nilsson, Swedish footballer
1982 – Park Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
1984 – Billy Mehmet, English-Irish footballer
1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player
1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
1986 – Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter
1986 – Greg Nwokolo, Indonesian footballer
1986 – Dmitry Starodubtsev, Russian pole vaulter
1987 – Reto Berra, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
1987 – Kim Ok-bin, South Korean actress and singer
1988 – Ikechi Anya, Scottish-Nigerian footballer
1988 – Matt Frattin, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – J. R. Hildebrand, American racing driver
1989 – Ben Matulino, New Zealand rugby league player
