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1792

July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 587 BC – The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple.
  • 238 – The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor.
  • 615 – Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12.
  • 904 – Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire’s second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.
  • 923 – Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the dethroned Emperor Berengar I of Italy at Firenzuola (Tuscany).
  • 1014 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.
  • 1018 – Count Dirk III defeats an army sent by Emperor Henry II in the Battle of Vlaardingen.
  • 1030 – Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
  • 1148 – The Siege of Damascus ends in a decisive crusader defeat and leads to the disintegration of the Second Crusade.
  • 1565 – The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • 1567 – James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
  • 1693 – War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen: France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
  • 1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.
  • 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.
  • 1836 – Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
  • 1848 – Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
  • 1851 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
  • 1858 – United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
  • 1871 – The Connecticut Valley Railroad opens between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.
  • 1899 – The First Hague Convention is signed.
  • 1900 – In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
  • 1907 – Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9, 1907, and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
  • 1914 – The Cape Cod Canal opened.
  • 1920 – Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
  • 1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
  • 1932 – Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans.
  • 1937 – Tōngzhōu Incident: In Tōngzhōu, China, the East Hopei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
  • 1945 – The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
  • 1948 – Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.
  • 1950 – Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.
  • 1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
  • 1958 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
  • 1959 – First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
  • 1967 – During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
  • 1973 – Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi.
  • 1973 – During the Dutch Grand Prix driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race, after a suspected tire failure caused the car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
  • 1976 – In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the “Son of Sam”) kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
  • 1980 – Iran adopts a new “holy” flag after the Islamic Revolution.
  • 1981 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
  • 1981 – After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
  • 1987 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).
  • 1987 – Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.
  • 1993 – The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
  • 1996 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.
  • 2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
  • 2010 – An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.
  • 2013 – Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.
  • 2019 – Prison riot between rival gangs broke out in Brazil, at least 57 people have been killed.

Births on July 29 

  • 869 – Muhammad al-Mahdi, Iraqi 12th Imam (d. 941)
  • 996 – Fujiwara no Norimichi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1075)
  • 1166 – Henry II, French nobleman and king of Jerusalem (d. 1197)
  • 1356 – Martin the Elder, king of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca (d. 1410)
  • 1537 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, Spanish nobleman (d. 1590)
  • 1573 – Philip II, duke of Pomerania-Stettin (d. 1618)
  • 1580 – Francesco Mochi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
  • 1605 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymn-writer (d. 1659)
  • 1646 – Johann Theile, German organist and composer (d. 1724)
  • 1744 – Giulio Maria della Somaglia, Italian cardinal (d. 1830)
  • 1763 – Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Daniel Drew, American businessman and financier (d. 1879)
  • 1801 – George Bradshaw, English cartographer and publisher (d. 1853)
  • 1805 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher (d. 1859)
  • 1806 – Horace Abbott, American businessman and banker (d. 1887)
  • 1817 – Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian-Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1900)
  • 1817 – Martin Körber, Baltic German pastor, composer, and conductor (d. 1893)
  • 1841 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (d. 1912)
  • 1843 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (d. 1901)
  • 1846 – Sophie Menter, German pianist and composer (d. 1918)
  • 1846 – Isabel, Brazilian princess (d. 1921)
  • 1849 – Max Nordau, Hungarian physician, author, and critic, co-founded the World Zionist Organization (d. 1923)
  • 1860 – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, English politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (d. 1940)
  • 1867 – Berthold Oppenheim, Moravian rabbi (d. 1942)
  • 1869 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (d. 1946)
  • 1871 – Jakob Mändmets, Estonian writer and journalist (d. 1930)
  • 1872 – Eric Alfred Knudsen, American author, lawyer, and politician (d. 1957)
  • 1874 – J. S. Woodsworth, Canadian minister and politician (d. 1942)
  • 1876 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-American actress and acting teacher (d. 1949)
  • 1878 – Don Marquis, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1883 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and author (d. 1942)
  • 1883 – Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist revolutionary and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1945)
  • 1884 – Ralph Austin Bard, American financier and politician, 2nd Under Secretary of the Navy (d. 1975)
  • 1885 – Theda Bara, American actress (d. 1955)
  • 1887 – Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-American pianist and composer (d. 1951)
  • 1888 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (d. 1982)
  • 1891 – Bernhard Zondek, German-Israeli gynecologist and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1892 – William Powell, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
  • 1896 – Maria L. de Hernández, Mexican-American rights activist (d. 1986)
  • 1897 – Neil Ritchie, Guyanese-English general (d. 1983)
  • 1898 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1899 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (d. 1959)
  • 1900 – Mary V. Austin, Australian community worker and political activist (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Eyvind Johnson, Swedish novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Teresa Noce, Italian labor leader, activist, and journalist (d. 1980)
  • 1900 – Don Redman, American composer, and bandleader (d. 1964)
  • 1904 – Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (d. 1982)
  • 1904 – J. R. D. Tata, French-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (d. 1993)
  • 1905 – Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
  • 1905 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1905 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (d. 2006)
  • 1906 – Thelma Todd, American actress and singer (d. 1935)
  • 1907 – Melvin Belli, American lawyer (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Chester Himes, American-Spanish author (d. 1984)
  • 1910 – Gale Page, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1911 – Foster Furcolo, American lawyer and politician, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Erich Priebke, German war criminal, leader of the 1944 Ardeatine massacre (d. 2013)
  • 1914 – Irwin Corey, American actor and activist (d. 2017)
  • 1915 – Bruce R. McConkie, American colonel and religious leader (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Budd Boetticher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Charlie Christian, American guitarist (d. 1942)
  • 1916 – Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Rochus Misch, German SS officer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Don Ingalls, American writer and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Edwin O’Connor, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
  • 1918 – Mary Lee Settle, American novelist, essayist, and memoirist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Neville Jeffress, Australian businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1921 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Gordon Mitchell, American bodybuilder and actor (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian-American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Robert Horton, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Ted Lindsay, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer
  • 1926 – Robert Kilpatrick, Baron Kilpatrick of Kincraig, Scottish physician, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Kjell Karlsen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Leslie Fielding, English diplomat
  • 1932 – Nancy Kassebaum, American businesswoman and politician
  • 1933 – Lou Albano, Italian-American wrestler, manager, and actor (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Colin Davis, English race car driver (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Robert Fuller, American actor and rancher
  • 1933 – Randy Sparks, American folk singer-songwriter and musician (The New Christy Minstrels)
  • 1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Elizabeth Dole, American lawyer and politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
  • 1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
  • 1938 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Jean Rochon, Canadian physician and politician
  • 1940 – Betty Harris, American chemist
  • 1940 – Winnie Monsod, Filipina economist and political commentator
  • 1941 – Jennifer Dunn, American engineer and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1941 – Goenawan Mohamad, Indonesian poet and playwright
  • 1941 – David Warner, English actor
  • 1942 – Doug Ashdown, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – David Taylor, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1944 – Jim Bridwell, American rock climber and mountaineer
  • 1945 – Sharon Creech, American author and educator
  • 1945 – Mircea Lucescu, Romanian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1946 – Ximena Armas, Chilean painter
  • 1946 – Stig Blomqvist, Swedish race car driver
  • 1946 – Neal Doughty, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1946 – Alessandro Gogna, Italian mountaineer and adventurer
  • 1946 – Diane Keen, English actress
  • 1946 – Aleksei Tammiste, Estonian basketball player
  • 1947 – Dick Harmon, American golfer and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1948 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Leslie Easterbrook, American actress
  • 1949 – Jamil Mahuad, Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
  • 1950 – Jenny Holzer, American painter, author, and dancer
  • 1951 – Susan Blackmore, English psychologist and theorist
  • 1951 – Dan Driessen, American baseball player and coach
  • 1951 – Dean Pitchford, American actor, director, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1952 – Norman Blackwell, Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
  • 1952 – Joe Johnson, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Greek politician
  • 1953 – Ken Burns, American director and producer
  • 1953 – Geddy Lee, Canadian musician
  • 1953 – Frank McGuinness, Irish poet and playwright
  • 1953 – Tim Gunn, American television host and actor
  • 1954 – Patti Scialfa, American musician
  • 1955 – Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Dave Stevens, American illustrator (d. 2008)
  • 1955 – Stephen Timms, English politician, Minister of State for Competitiveness
  • 1956 – Teddy Atlas, American boxer, trainer, and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Ronnie Musgrove, American lawyer and politician, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
  • 1956 – Faustino Rupérez, Spanish cyclist
  • 1957 – Liam Davison, Australian author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1957 – Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian-Swiss chess player (d. 2016)
  • 1957 – Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast and coach
  • 1958 – Gail Dines, English-American author, activist, and academic
  • 1958 – Simon Nye, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1958 – Cynthia Rowley, American fashion designer
  • 1959 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1959 – Ruud Janssen, Dutch blogger and illustrator
  • 1959 – Dave LaPoint, American baseball player and manager
  • 1959 – John Sykes, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Didier Van Cauwelaert, French author
  • 1962 – Carl Cox, English DJ and producer
  • 1962 – Frank Neubarth, German footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Scott Steiner, American wrestler
  • 1962 – Vincent Rousseau, Belgian runner
  • 1963 – Hans-Holger Albrecht, Belgian-German businessman
  • 1963 – Jim Beglin, Irish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Julie Elliott, English politician
  • 1963 – Azeem Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1963 – Alexandra Paul, American actress and producer
  • 1963 – Graham Poll, English footballer, referee, and journalist
  • 1964 – Jaanus Veensalu, Estonian footballer
  • 1965 – Luis Alicea, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1965 – Dean Haglund, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Adam Holloway, English captain and politician
  • 1965 – Stan Koziol, American soccer player (d. 2014)
  • 1965 – Chang-Rae Lee, South Korean-American author and academic
  • 1965 – Xavier Waterkeyn, Australian author
  • 1965 – Woody Weatherman, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1966 – Sally Gunnell, English hurdler and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Stuart Lampitt, English cricketer
  • 1966 – Martina McBride, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1968 – Gideon Henderson, English geologist and academic
  • 1968 – Paavo Lötjönen, Finnish cellist and educator
  • 1970 – Adele Griffin, American author
  • 1970 – Andi Peters, English journalist, actor, and producer
  • 1970 – John Rennie, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1971 – Andrea Philipp, German sprinter
  • 1972 – Wil Wheaton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Stephen Dorff, American actor and producer
  • 1973 – Denis Urubko, Kazakh mountaineer
  • 1975 – Yoshihiro Akiyama, Japanese mixed martial artist
  • 1975 – Lanka de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1975 – Corrado Grabbi, Italian footballer
  • 1975 – Jaanus Sirel, Estonian footballer
  • 1978 – Mike Adams, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Marina Lazarovska, Macedonian tennis player
  • 1979 – Karim Essediri, Tunisian footballer
  • 1979 – Ronald Murray, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Juris Umbraško, Latvian basketball player
  • 1980 – Ryan Braun, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1980 – Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
  • 1980 – Ben Koller, American drummer
  • 1980 – John Morris, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish race car driver
  • 1981 – Andrés Madrid, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Troy Perkins, American soccer player
  • 1982 – Janez Aljančič, Slovenian footballer
  • 1982 – Jônatas Domingos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Allison Mack, American actress and criminal
  • 1983 – Jason Belmonte, Australian bowler
  • 1983 – Inés Gómez Mont, Mexican journalist and actress
  • 1983 – Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Jerious Norwood, American football player
  • 1983 – Elise Testone, American singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Oh Beom-seok, South Korean footballer
  • 1984 – Chad Billingsley, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Wilson Palacios, Honduran footballer
  • 1985 – Besart Berisha, Albanian footballer
  • 1985 – Okinoumi Ayumi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1985 – Simon Santoso, Indonesian badminton player
  • 1988 – Tarjei Bø, Norwegian biathlete
  • 1989 – Grit Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete
  • 1991 – Dale Copley, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Irakli Logua, Russian footballer
  • 1992 – Karen Torrez, Bolivian swimmer
  • 1993 – Nicole Melichar, American tennis player
  • 1994 – Liam O’Brien, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths on July 29

  • 238 – Balbinus, Roman emperor (b. 165)
  • 238 – Pupienus, Roman emperor (b. 178)
  • 451 – Tuoba Huang, prince of Northern Wei (b. 428)
  • 796 – Offa of Mercia (b. 730)
  • 846 – Li Shen, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 1030 – Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
  • 1095 – Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040)
  • 1099 – Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
  • 1108 – Philip I of France (b. 1052)
  • 1236 – Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen of France (b. 1175)
  • 1326 – Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (b. 1259)
  • 1504 – Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby (b. 1435)
  • 1507 – Martin Behaim, German-Bohemian geographer and astronomer (b. 1459)
  • 1573 – John Caius, English physician and academic (b. 1510)
  • 1612 – Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (b. 1554)
  • 1644 – Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
  • 1752 – Peter Warren, Irish admiral and politician (b. 1703)
  • 1781 – Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713)
  • 1792 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
  • 1813 – Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (b. 1771)
  • 1833 – William Wilberforce, English philanthropist and politician (b. 1759)
  • 1839 – Gaspard de Prony, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1755)
  • 1844 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1791)
  • 1856 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1857 – Thomas Dick, Scottish minister, astronomer, and author (b. 1774)
  • 1887 – Agostino Depretis, Italian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1813)
  • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
  • 1895 – Floriano Peixoto, Brazilian general and politician, 2nd President of Brazil (b. 1839)
  • 1900 – Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)
  • 1908 – Marie Adam-Doerrer (b. 1838)
  • 1913 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and jurist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1838)
  • 1918 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (b. 1863)
  • 1924 – Sotirios Krokidas, Greek educator and politician, 110th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1852)
  • 1934 – Didier Pitre, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1883)
  • 1938 – Nikolai Krylenko, Russian lawyer, jurist, and politician, Prosecutor General of the Russian SFSR (b. 1885)
  • 1950 – Joe Fry, English race car driver (b. 1915)
  • 1951 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded Galatasaray S.K. (b. 1886)
  • 1954 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
  • 1960 – Hasan Saka, Turkish politician, 7th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Ronald Fisher, English biologist and statistician (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Leonardo De Lorenzo, Italian-American flute player and educator (b. 1875)
  • 1964 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (b. 1885)
  • 1966 – Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigerian general and politician, 2nd Head of State of Nigeria (b. 1924)
  • 1966 – Adekunle Fajuyi, Nigerian colonel (b. 1926)
  • 1970 – John Barbirolli, English cellist and conductor (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Norm Smith, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1915)
  • 1973 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (b. 1948)
  • 1974 – Cass Elliot, American singer (b. 1941)
  • 1974 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (b. 1899)
  • 1976 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (b. 1913)
  • 1978 – Andrzej Bogucki, Polish actor, operetta singer, and songwriter (b. 1904)
  • 1979 – Herbert Marcuse, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1898)
  • 1979 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1916)
  • 1981 – Robert Moses, American urban planner, designed the Northern State Parkway and Southern State Parkway (b. 1888)
  • 1982 – Harold Sakata, American wrestler and actor (b. 1920)
  • 1982 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1983 – Raymond Massey, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1896)
  • 1983 – David Niven, English military officer and actor (b. 1910)
  • 1984 – Fred Waring, American television host and bandleader (b. 1900)
  • 1987 – Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1894)
  • 1990 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian academic and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
  • 1992 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – John Britton, American physician (b. 1925)
  • 1994 – Dorothy Hodgkin, Egyptian-English biochemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1995 – Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1917)
  • 1996 – Ric Nordman, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1920)
  • 1996 – Jason Thirsk, American singer and bass player (b. 1967)
  • 1998 – Jerome Robbins, American director, producer, and choreographer (b. 1918)
  • 2001 – Edward Gierek, Polish soldier and politician (b. 1913)
  • 2001 – Wau Holland, German computer scientist, co-founded Chaos Computer Club (b. 1951)
  • 2003 – Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean soldier, founded the Revolutionary United Front (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (b. 1940)
  • 2007 – Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (b. 1936)
  • 2007 – Marvin Zindler, American journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Bruce Edward Ivins, American scientist and bio-defense researcher (b. 1946)
  • 2010 – Charles E. Wicks, American chemist and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Tatiana Egorova, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1970)
  • 2012 – August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – James Mellaart, English archaeologist and author (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – John Stampe, Danish footballer and coach (b. 1957)
  • 2013 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1986)
  • 2013 – Peter Flanigan, American banker and civil servant (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Tony Gaze, Australian soldier, pilot, and race car driver (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Munir Hussain, Indian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – M. Caldwell Butler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Jon R. Cavaiani, English-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Giorgio Gaslini, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – María Antonia Iglesias, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Péter Kiss, Hungarian engineer and politician (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Idris Muhammad, American drummer and composer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Thomas R. St. George, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Antony Holland, English-Canadian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Peter O’Sullevan, Anglo-Irish sportscaster (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Mike Pyle, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Franklin H. Westervelt, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2018 – Oliver Dragojević, a Croatian recording artist (b. 1947)
  • 2018 – Josip Peruzovic, Yugoslav-born American professional wrestler (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances on July 29

  • Christian feast day:
    • Lupus of Troyes
    • Martha of Bethany (Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Church)
    • Mary of Bethany
    • Olaf II of Norway
    • Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix
    • July 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Somer’s Day can fall, while August 4 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before the first Monday in August. (Bermuda)
  • International Tiger Day
  • Mohun Bagan Day (India)
  • National Anthem Day (Romania)
  • National Thai Language Day (Thailand)
  • Ólavsøka or Olsok, opening of the Løgting session. (Faroe Islands and the Nordic countries)

July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.
  • 315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.
  • 677 – Climax of the Siege of Thessalonica by the Slavs in a three-day assault on the city walls.
  • 864 – The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings.
  • 1137 – Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Prince Louis, later King Louis VII of France, at the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux.
  • 1139 – Battle of Ourique: The Almoravids, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, are defeated by Prince Afonso Henriques who is proclaimed King of Portugal.
  • 1261 – The city of Constantinople is recaptured by Nicaean forces under the command of Alexios Strategopoulos, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1278 – The naval Battle of Algeciras takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in a victory for the Emirate of Granada and the Maranid Dynasty over the Kingdom of Castile.
  • 1467 – The Battle of Molinella: The first battle in Italy in which firearms are used extensively.
  • 1536 – Sebastián de Belalcázar on his search of El Dorado founds the city of Santiago de Cali.
  • 1538 – The city of Guayaquil is founded by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana and given the name Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil.
  • 1547 – Henry II of France is crowned.
  • 1554 – Mary I marries Philip II of Spain at Winchester Cathedral.
  • 1567 – Don Diego de Losada founds the city of Santiago de Leon de Caracas, modern-day Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela.
  • 1593 – Henry IV of France publicly converts from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.
  • 1603 – James VI of Scotland is crowned king of England (James I of England), bringing the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.
  • 1609 – The English ship Sea Venture, en route to Virginia, is deliberately driven ashore during a storm at Bermuda to prevent its sinking; the survivors go on to found a new colony there.
  • 1693 – Ignacio de Maya founds the Real Santiago de las Sabinas, now known as Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Mexico.
  • 1722 – Dummer’s War begins along the Maine-Massachusetts border.
  • 1755 – British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council order the deportation of the Acadians.
  • 1759 – French and Indian War: In Western New York, British forces capture Fort Niagara from the French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.
  • 1783 – American Revolutionary War: The war’s last action, the Siege of Cuddalore, is ended by a preliminary peace agreement.
  • 1788 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K550).
  • 1792 – The Brunswick Manifesto is issued to the population of Paris promising vengeance if the French royal family is harmed.
  • 1797 – Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain).
  • 1799 – At Abu Qir in Egypt, Napoleon I of France defeats 10,000 Ottomans under Mustafa Pasha.
  • 1814 – War of 1812: An American attack on Canada is repulsed.
  • 1824 – Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua.
  • 1837 – The first commercial use of an electrical telegraph is successfully demonstrated in London by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone.
  • 1853 – Joaquin Murrieta, the famous Californio bandit known as the “Robin Hood of El Dorado”, is killed.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Crittenden–Johnson Resolution, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
  • 1866 – The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to this rank.
  • 1868 – The Wyoming Territory is established.
  • 1869 – The Japanese daimyōs begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese Date: June 17, 1869).
  • 1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War begins when the Japanese fire upon a Chinese warship.
  • 1898 – In the Puerto Rican Campaign, the United States seizes Puerto Rico from Spain.
  • 1908 – Ajinomoto is founded. Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in kombu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it.
  • 1909 – Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from Calais to Dover, England, United Kingdom in 37 minutes.
  • 1915 – RFC Captain Lanoe Hawker becomes the first British pursuit aviator to earn the Victoria Cross.
  • 1917 – Sir Robert Borden introduces the first income tax in Canada as a “temporary” measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).
  • 1925 – Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established.
  • 1934 – The Nazis assassinate Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in a failed coup attempt.
  • 1940 – General Henri Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.
  • 1942 – The Norwegian Manifesto calls for nonviolent resistance to the German occupation.
  • 1943 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is forced out of office by the Grand Council of Fascism and is replaced by Pietro Badoglio.
  • 1944 – World War II: Operation Spring is one of the bloodiest days for the First Canadian Army during the war.
  • 1946 – Nuclear weapons testing: Operation Crossroads: An atomic bomb is detonated underwater in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll.
  • 1956 – Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51.
  • 1957 – The Republic of Tunisia is proclaimed, under President Habib Bourguiba.
  • 1958 – The African Regroupment Party (PRA) holds its first congress in Cotonou.
  • 1961 – Cold War: In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.
  • 1965 – Bob Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music.
  • 1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the “Vietnamization” of the war.
  • 1973 – Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched.
  • 1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo.
  • 1978 – Puerto Rican police shoot two nationalists in the Cerro Maravilla murders.
  • 1978 – Birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
  • 1979 – Another section of the Sinai Peninsula is peacefully returned by Israel to Egypt.
  • 1983 – Black July: Thirty-seven Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by the fellow Sinhalese prisoners.
  • 1984 – Salyut 7 cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to perform a space walk.
  • 1993 – Israel launches a massive attack against Lebanon in what the Israelis call Operation Accountability, and the Lebanese call the Seven-Day War.
  • 1993 – The Saint James Church massacre occurs in Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • 1994 – Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, that formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948.
  • 1995 – A gas bottle explodes in Saint Michel station of line B of the RER (Paris regional train network). Eight are killed and 80 wounded.
  • 1996 – In a military coup in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya deposes Sylvestre Ntibantunganya.
  • 2000 – Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 113 people.
  • 2007 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India’s first female president.
  • 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.
  • 2018 – As-Suwayda attacks: Coordinated attacks occur in Syria.
  • 2019 – National extreme heat records set this day in the UK, Belgium and Germany during the July 2019 European heatwave.

Births on July 25

  • 975 – Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg (d. 1018)
  • 1016 – Casimir I the Restorer, duke of Poland (d. 1058)
  • 1109 – Afonso I, king of Portugal (d. 1185)
  • 1165 – Ibn Arabi, Andalusian Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher (d. 1240)
  • 1261 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312)
  • 1291 – Hawys Gadarn, Welsh noblewoman (d. 1353)
  • 1336 – Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1404)
  • 1394 – James I, king of Scotland (d. 1437)
  • 1404 – Philip I, Duke of Brabant (d. 1430)
  • 1421 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (d. 1461)
  • 1450 – Jakob Wimpfeling, Renaissance humanist (d. 1528)
  • 1486 – Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1547)
  • 1498 – Hernando de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza (d. 1575)
  • 1532 – Alphonsus Rodriguez, Jesuit lay brother and saint (d. 1617)
  • 1556 – George Peele, English translator, poet, and dramatist (d. 1596)
  • 1562 – Katō Kiyomasa, Japanese warlord (d. 1611)
  • 1573 – Christoph Scheiner, German astronomer and Jesuit (d. 1650)
  • 1581 – Brian Twyne, English archivist (d. 1644)
  • 1605 – Theodore Haak, German scholar (d. 1690)
  • 1633 – Joseph Williamson, English politician (d. 1701)
  • 1654 – Agostino Steffani, Italian composer and diplomat (d. 1728)
  • 1657 – Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, German composer (d. 1714)
  • 1658 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, Scottish general (d. 1703)
  • 1683 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch playwright and poet (d. 1756)
  • 1750 – Henry Knox, American general and politician, 1st United States Secretary of War (d. 1806)
  • 1753 – Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, French-Spanish captain and politician, 10th Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (d. 1810)
  • 1797 – Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1889)
  • 1806 – Maria Weston Chapman, American abolitionist (d. 1885)
  • 1839 – Francis Garnier, French captain and explorer (d. 1873)
  • 1844 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, sculptor, and photographer (d. 1916)
  • 1847 – Paul Langerhans, German pathologist, physiologist and biologist (d. 1888)
  • 1848 – Arthur Balfour, Scottish-English lieutenant and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1930)
  • 1857 – Frank J. Sprague, American naval officer and inventor (d. 1934)
  • 1865 – Jac. P. Thijsse, Dutch botanist and conservationist (d. 1945)
  • 1866 – Frederick Blackman, English physiologist and academic (d. 1947)
  • 1867 – Max Dauthendey, German author and painter (d. 1918)
  • 1867 – Alexander Rummler, American painter (d. 1959)
  • 1869 – Platon, Estonian bishop and saint (d. 1919)
  • 1870 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (d. 1966)
  • 1875 – Jim Corbett, Indian hunter, environmentalist, and author (d. 1955)
  • 1878 – Masaharu Anesaki, Japanese philosopher and scholar (d. 1949)
  • 1882 – George S. Rentz, American commander (d. 1942)
  • 1883 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1947)
  • 1886 – Edward Cummins, American golfer (d. 1926)
  • 1894 – Walter Brennan, American actor (d. 1974)
  • 1894 – Gavrilo Princip, Bosnian Serb revolutionary (d. 1918)
  • 1895 – Ingeborg Spangsfeldt, Danish actress (d. 1968)
  • 1896 – Jack Perrin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1967)
  • 1896 – Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (d. 1952)
  • 1901 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (d. 1993)
  • 1901 – Mohammed Helmy, Egyptian physician and Righteous Among the Nations (d.1982)
  • 1901 – Lila Lee, American actress and singer (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – Eric Hoffer, American philosopher and author (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-Swiss novelist, playwright, and memoirist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
  • 1905 – Georges Grignard, French race car driver (d. 1977)
  • 1905 – Denys Watkins-Pitchford, English author and illustrator (d. 1990)
  • 1906 – Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1970)
  • 1908 – Bill Bowes, English cricketer (d. 1987)
  • 1908 – Ambroise-Marie Carré, French priest and author (d. 2004)
  • 1908 – Jack Gilford, American actor (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Woody Strode, American football player and actor (d. 1994)
  • 1915 – S. U. Ethirmanasingham, Sri Lankan businessman and politician
  • 1915 – Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
  • 1916 – Lucien Saulnier, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
  • 1917 – Fritz Honegger, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (d. 1986)
  • 1920 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist, chemist, and academic (d. 1958)
  • 1921 – Adolph Herseth, American soldier and trumpet player (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Lionel Terray, French mountaineer (d. 1965)
  • 1923 – Estelle Getty, American actress (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Edgar Gilbert, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Frank Church, American lawyer and politician (d. 1984)
  • 1924 – Scotch Taylor, South African cricketer and hockey player (d. 2004)
  • 1925 – Benny Benjamin, American R&B drummer (The Funk Brothers) (d. 1969)
  • 1925 – Jerry Paris, American actor and director (d. 1986)
  • 1925 – Dick Passwater, American race car driver
  • 1925 – Jutta Zilliacus, Finnish journalist and politician
  • 1926 – Whitey Lockman, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2009)
  • 1926 – Bernard Thompson, British television producer and director (d. 1998)
  • 1926 – Beatriz Segall, Brazilian actress (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Midge Decter, American journalist and author
  • 1927 – Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician, 10th Governor of Punjab (d. 2000)
  • 1927 – Jean-Marie Seroney, Kenyan activist and politician (d. 1982)
  • 1928 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Mario Montenegro, Filipino actor (d. 1988)
  • 1928 – Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Judd Buchanan, Canadian businessman and politician, 36th Canadian Minister of Public Works
  • 1929 – Somnath Chatterjee, Indian lawyer and politician, 14th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 2018)
  • 1929 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1995)
  • 1930 – Murray Chapple, New Zealand cricketer and manager (d. 1985)
  • 1930 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian actress and singer (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-Canadian journalist and criminologist (d. 1990)
  • 1930 – Herbert Scarf, American economist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress
  • 1931 – James Butler, English sculptor and educator
  • 1932 – Paul J. Weitz, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Don Ellis, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1978)
  • 1934 – Claude Zidi, French director and screenwriter
  • 1935 – Barbara Harris, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Adnan Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – John Robinson, American football player and coach
  • 1935 – Larry Sherry, American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1935 – Lars Werner, Swedish lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Gerry Ashmore, English race car driver
  • 1936 – Glenn Murcutt, English-Australian architect and academic
  • 1937 – Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, English archaeologist and academic
  • 1940 – Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – Manny Charlton, Spanish-born Scottish rock musician and songwriter
  • 1941 – Nate Thurmond, American basketball player (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Emmett Till, American lynching victim (d. 1955)
  • 1942 – Bruce Woodley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Jim McCarty, English singer and drummer
  • 1943 – Erika Steinbach, Polish-German politician
  • 1944 – Sally Beauman, English journalist and author (d. 2016)
  • 1946 – José Areas, Nicaraguan drummer
  • 1946 – Nicole Farhi, French fashion designer and sculptor
  • 1946 – John Gibson, American radio host
  • 1946 – Rita Marley, Cuban-Jamaican singer
  • 1946 – P. Selvarasa, Sri Lankan politician
  • 1946 – Ljupka Dimitrovska, Macedonian-Croatian pop singer (d. 2016)
  • 1948 – Steve Goodman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
  • 1950 – Mark Clarke, English singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1951 – Jack Thompson, American lawyer and activist
  • 1951 – Verdine White, American bass player and producer
  • 1952 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese architect, designed the Estádio Municipal de Braga
  • 1953 – Joseph A. Tunzi, Chicago based author, foremost expert on Elvis Presley
  • 1953 – Robert Zoellick, American banker and politician, 14th United States Deputy Secretary of State
  • 1954 – Ken Greer, Canadian guitarist, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1954 – Sheena McDonald, Scottish journalist
  • 1954 – Walter Payton, American football player and race car driver (d. 1999)
  • 1954 – Jochem Ziegert, German footballer and manager
  • 1955 – Iman, Somalian-English model and actress
  • 1955 – Randall Bewley, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1956 – Andy Goldsworthy, English-Scottish sculptor and photographer
  • 1956 – Frances Arnold, American scientist and engineer
  • 1957 – Mark Hunter, English politician
  • 1957 – Steve Podborski, Canadian skier
  • 1958 – Alexei Filippenko, American astrophysicist and academic
  • 1958 – Thurston Moore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1959 – Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1959 – Geoffrey Zakarian, American chef and author
  • 1960 – Alain Robidoux, Canadian snooker player
  • 1960 – Justice Howard, American photographer
  • 1960 – Māris Martinsons, Latvian film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor
  • 1962 – Carin Bakkum, Dutch tennis player
  • 1962 – Doug Drabek, American baseball player and coach
  • 1963 – Denis Coderre, Canadian politician, 44th Mayor of Montreal
  • 1963 – Julian Hodgson, Welsh chess player
  • 1964 – Anne Applebaum, American journalist and author
  • 1964 – Tony Granato, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1964 – Breuk Iversen, American designer and journalist
  • 1965 – Marty Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Illeana Douglas, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Dale Shearer, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Daryl Halligan, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Maureen Herman, American bass player
  • 1966 – Diana Johnson, English politician
  • 1967 – Matt LeBlanc, American actor and producer
  • 1967 – Ruth Peetoom, Dutch minister and politician
  • 1967 – Tommy Skjerven, Norwegian footballer and referee
  • 1968 – Rudi Bryson, South African cricketer
  • 1968 – Shi Tao, Chinese journalist and poet
  • 1969 – Jon Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Annastacia Palaszczuk, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Queensland
  • 1971 – Roger Creager, American singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Tracy Murray, American basketball player
  • 1971 – Billy Wagner, American baseball player and coach
  • 1972 – David Penna, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1973 – Dani Filth, English singer-songwriter
  • 1973 – Kevin Phillips, English footballer
  • 1973 – Igli Tare, Albanian footballer
  • 1974 – Lauren Faust, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Julia Laffranque, Estonian lawyer and judge
  • 1974 – Kenzo Suzuki, Japanese rugby player and wrestler
  • 1975 – Jody Craddock, English footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Jean-Claude Darcheville, Guianan-French footballer
  • 1975 – El Zorro, Mexican wrestler
  • 1975 – Brian Gibson, American bass player
  • 1975 – Evgeni Nabokov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Marcos Assunção, Brazilian footballer
  • 1976 – Jovica Tasevski-Eternijan, Macedonian poet and critic
  • 1976 – Javier Vázquez, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1977 – Kenny Thomas, American basketball player
  • 1978 – Gerard Warren, American football player
  • 1978 – Louise Brown, first human to be born via IVF
  • 1979 – Ali Carter, English snooker player
  • 1979 – Tom Lungley, English cricketer and umpire
  • 1980 – Shawn Riggans, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Toni Vilander, Finnish race car driver
  • 1980 – David Wachs, American actor and producer
  • 1980 – Scott Waldrom, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1981 – Conor Casey, American soccer player
  • 1981 – Constantinos Charalambidis, Cypriot footballer
  • 1981 – Yūichi Komano, Japanese footballer
  • 1981 – Mac Lethal, American rapper and producer
  • 1981 – Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Brad Renfro, American actor and musician (d. 2008)
  • 1982 – Jason Dundas, Australian TV host
  • 1983 – Nenad Krstić, Serbian basketball player
  • 1984 – Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Greek basketball player
  • 1985 – James Lafferty, American actor and athlete
  • 1985 – Nelson Piquet Jr., Brazilian race car driver
  • 1985 – Hugo Rodallega, Colombian footballer
  • 1986 – Abraham Gneki Guié, Ivorian footballer
  • 1986 – Hulk, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Richard Bachman, American ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Mitchell Burgzorg, Dutch footballer and rapper
  • 1987 – Fernando, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Jax Jones, English DJ, singer and songwriter
  • 1987 – Eran Zahavi, Israeli footballer
  • 1988 – John Goossens, Dutch footballer
  • 1988 – Tom Hiariej, Dutch footballer
  • 1988 – Stacey Kemp, English skater
  • 1988 – Paulinho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Anthony Stokes, Irish footballer
  • 1989 – Natalia Vieru, Russian basketball player
  • 1990 – Thodoris Karapetsas, Greek footballer
  • 1991 – Toni Duggan, English footballer
  • 1992 – Sergei Simonov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
  • 1997 – Nat Butcher, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on July 25

  • 306 – Constantius Chlorus, Roman emperor (b. 250)
  • 885 – Ragenold, margrave of Neustria
  • 1011 – Ichijō, emperor of Japan (b. 980)
  • 1190 – Sibylla, queen of Jerusalem
  • 1409 – Martin I, king of Sicily (b. 1376)
  • 1471 – Thomas à Kempis, German priest and mystic
  • 1472 – Charles of Artois, French nobleman (b. 1394)
  • 1492 – Innocent VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1432)
  • 1564 – Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1503)
  • 1572 – Isaac Luria, Ottoman rabbi and mystic (b. 1534)
  • 1608 – Pomponio Nenna, Italian composer (b. 1556)
  • 1616 – Andreas Libavius, German physician and chemist (b. 1550)
  • 1643 – Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, English general and politician (b. 1584)
  • 1681 – Urian Oakes, English-American minister and educator (b. 1631)
  • 1790 – Johann Bernhard Basedow, German educator and reformer (b. 1723)
  • 1790 – William Livingston, American soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Jersey (b. 1723)
  • 1791 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician (b. 1735)
  • 1794 – André Chénier, Greek-French poet and author (b. 1762)
  • 1794 – Jean-Antoine Roucher, French poet and author (b. 1745)
  • 1794 – Friedrich von der Trenck, Prussian adventurer and author (b. 1726)
  • 1826 – Kondraty Ryleyev, Russian poet and publisher (b. 1795)
  • 1831 – Maria Szymanowska, Polish composer and pianist (b. 1789)
  • 1834 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1772)
  • 1842 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French physician and surgeon (b. 1766)
  • 1843 – Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and engineer (b. 1766)
  • 1861 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1805)
  • 1865 – James Barry, English soldier and surgeon (b. 1799)
  • 1887 – John Taylor, American religious leader, 3rd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1808)
  • 1934 – François Coty, French businessman, founded Coty, Inc. (b. 1874)
  • 1934 – Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian politician, 14th Chancellor of Austria (b. 1892)
  • 1942 – Fred Englehardt, American triple jumper (b. 1879)
  • 1952 – Herbert Murrill, English organist and composer (b. 1909)
  • 1958 – Otto Lasanen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1891)
  • 1959 – Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Polish-born Irish rabbi and author (b. 1888)
  • 1962 – Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 9th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1879)
  • 1963 – Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist and academic (b. 1877)
  • 1966 – Frank O’Hara, American poet and critic (b. 1926)
  • 1967 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Egyptian-Greek painter (b. 1878)
  • 1971 – John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
  • 1971 – Leroy Robertson, American composer and educator (b. 1896)
  • 1973 – Amy Jacques Garvey, Jamaican-American journalist and activist (b. 1895)
  • 1973 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1882)
  • 1980 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1938)
  • 1981 – Rosa A. González, Puerto Rican nurse, author, feminist, and activist (b. 1889)
  • 1982 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator (b. 1892)
  • 1984 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1913)
  • 1984 – Big Mama Thornton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
  • 1986 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (b. 1903)
  • 1988 – Judith Barsi, American child actress (b. 1978)
  • 1989 – Steve Rubell, American businessman, co-owner of Studio 54 (b. 1943)
  • 1991 – Lazar Kaganovich, Soviet politician (b. 1893)
  • 1992 – Alfred Drake, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
  • 1995 – Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
  • 1997 – Ben Hogan, American golfer (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Evangelos Papastratos, Greek businessman, co-founded Papastratos (b. 1910)
  • 2000 – Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1934)
  • 2002 – Abdel Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher and poet (b. 1917)
  • 2003 – Ludwig Bölkow, German engineer (b. 1912)
  • 2003 – John Schlesinger, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2004 – John Passmore, Australian philosopher and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2005 – Albert Mangelsdorff, German trombonist (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Ezra Fleischer, Romanian-Israeli poet and philologist (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Bernd Jakubowski, German footballer and manager (b. 1952)
  • 2008 – Jeff Fehring, Australian footballer (b. 1955)
  • 2008 – Tracy Hall, American chemist and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2008 – Randy Pausch, American computer scientist and educator (b. 1960)
  • 2009 – Vernon Forrest, American boxer (b. 1971)
  • 2009 – Stanley Middleton, English author (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Harry Patch, English soldier (b. 1898)
  • 2011 – Michael Cacoyannis, Cypriot-Greek director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – B. R. Ishara, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Barry Langford, English director and producer (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Greg Mohns, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Franz West, Austrian painter and sculptor (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Walter De Maria, American sculptor, illustrator, and composer (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – William J. Guste, American lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Bel Kaufman, German-American author and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2014 – Richard Larter, Australian painter and illustrator (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Jacques Andreani, French diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – R. S. Gavai, Indian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor of Kerala (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Bob Kauffman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1946)
  • 2017 – Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
  • 2018 – Sergio Marchionne, Italian-Canadian businessman(b. 1952)
  • 2019 – Beji Caid Essebsi , 4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Tunisia (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances on July 25

  • Christian feast day:
    • Anne (Eastern Christianity)
    • Christopher (Western Christianity)
    • Cucuphas
    • Glodesind
    • James the Great (Western Christianity)
    • John I Agnus
    • Julian of Le Mans (translation)
    • Magnerich of Trier
    • July 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Dominican Republic)
  • Earliest day on which National Tree Planting Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Australia)
  • Earliest day on which Navy Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Russia)
  • Guanacaste Day (Costa Rica)
  • National Baha’i Day (Jamaica)
  • National Day of Galicia (Galicia)
  • Puerto Rico Constitution Day (Puerto Rico)
  • Republic Day (Tunisia)

July 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 811 – Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum’s treasury.
  • 1319 – A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios.
  • 1632 – Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.
  • 1677 – Scanian War: Denmark–Norway captures the harbor town of Marstrand from Sweden.
  • 1793 – Kingdom of Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France.
  • 1813 – Sir Thomas Maitland is appointed as the first Governor of Malta, transforming the island from a British protectorate to a de facto colony.
  • 1821 – While the Mora Rebellion continues, Greeks capture Monemvasia Castle. Turkish troops and citizens are transferred to Asia Minor’s coasts.
  • 1829 – In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
  • 1840 – The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Henry Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
  • 1874 – Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa, India.
  • 1881 – The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
  • 1885 – President Ulysses S. Grant dies of throat cancer.
  • 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
  • 1908 – The Second Constitution accepted by the Ottomans.
  • 1914 – Austria-Hungary issues a series of demands in an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia accepts all but one of those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.
  • 1919 – Prince Regent Aleksander Karađorđević signs the decree establishing the University of Ljubljana
  • 1921 – The Communist Party of China (CPC) is established at the founding National Congress.
  • 1926 – Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
  • 1927 – The first station of the Indian Broadcasting Company goes on the air in Bombay.
  • 1936 – In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of Socialist and Communist parties.
  • 1940 – The United States’ Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
  • 1942 – World War II: The German offensives Operation Edelweiss and Operation Braunschweig begin.
  • 1942 – Bulgarian poet and Communist leader Nikola Vaptsarov is executed by firing squad.
  • 1943 – The Rayleigh bath chair murder occurred in Rayleigh, Essex, England.
  • 1943 – World War II: The British destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Laforey sink the Italian submarine Ascianghi in the Mediterranean after she torpedoes the cruiser HMS Newfoundland.
  • 1945 – The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
  • 1952 – General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the real power behind the coup) in overthrowing King Farouk of Egypt.
  • 1961 – The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.
  • 1962 – Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
  • 1962 – The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
  • 1962 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • 1967 – Detroit Riots: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city. It ultimately kills 43 people, injures 342 and burns about 1,400 buildings.
  • 1968 – Glenville shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization and the Cleveland Police Department occurs. During the shootout, a riot begins and lasts for five days.
  • 1968 – The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft takes place when a Boeing 707 carrying ten crew and 38 passengers is taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft was en route from Rome, to Lod, Israel.
  • 1970 – Qaboos bin Said al Said becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur initiating massive reforms, modernization programs and end to a decade long civil war.
  • 1972 – The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
  • 1974 – The Greek military junta collapses, and former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis is invited to lead the new government, beginning Greece’s metapolitefsi era.
  • 1980 – Phạm Tuân becomes the first Vietnamese citizen and the first Asian in space when he flies aboard the Soyuz 37 mission as an Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut.
  • 1982 – Outside Santa Clarita, California, actor Vic Morrow and two children are killed when a helicopter crashes onto them while shooting a scene from Twilight Zone: The Movie.
  • 1983 – Thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
  • 1983 – Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
  • 1988 – General Ne Win, effective ruler of Burma since 1962, resigns after pro-democracy protests.
  • 1992 – A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that limiting certain rights of homosexual people and non-married couples is not equivalent to discrimination on grounds of race or gender.
  • 1992 – Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
  • 1995 – Comet Hale–Bopp is discovered; it becomes visible to the naked eye on Earth nearly a year later.
  • 1997 – Digital Equipment Corporation files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
  • 1999 – ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan by Yuji Nishizawa.
  • 1999 – Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-93, with Eileen Collins becoming the first female space shuttle commander. The shuttle also carried and deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
  • 2005 – Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
  • 2014 – TransAsia Airways Flight 222 crashes in Xixi village near Huxi, Penghu, during approach to Phengu Airport. 48 of the 58 people on board are killed and five more people on the ground are injured.
  • 2015 – NASA announces discovery of Kepler-452b by Kepler.
  • 2016 – Kabul twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of Deh Mazang when protesters, mostly from the Shiite Hazara minority, were marching against route changing of the TUTAP power project. At least 80 people were killed and 260 were injured.
  • 2018 – A wildfire in East Attica, Greece caused the death of 102 people. It was the deadliest wildfire in history of Greece and the second-deadliest in the world, in the 21st century, after the 2009 bushfires in Australia that killed 180.

Births on July 23

  • 1301 – Otto, Duke of Austria (d. 1339)
  • 1339 – Louis I, Duke of Anjou (d. 1384)
  • 1370 – Pier Paolo Vergerio the Elder, humanist (d. 1444 or 1445)
  • 1401 – Francesco I Sforza, Italian husband of Bianca Maria Visconti (d. 1466)
  • 1441 – Danjong of Joseon, King of Joseon (d. 1457)
  • 1503 – Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1547)
  • 1614 – Bonaventura Peeters the Elder, Flemish painter (d. 1652)
  • 1635 – Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, New France garrison commander (d. 1660)
  • 1649 – Pope Clement XI (d. 1721)
  • 1705 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (d. 1752)
  • 1713 – Luís António Verney, Portuguese philosopher and pedagogue (d. 1792)
  • 1773 – Thomas Brisbane, Scottish general and politician, 6th Governor of New South Wales (d. 1860)
  • 1775 – Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812)
  • 1777 – Philipp Otto Runge, German painter and illustrator (d. 1810)
  • 1796 – Franz Berwald, Swedish surgeon and composer (d. 1868)
  • 1802 – Manuel María Lombardini, Mexican general and president (1853) (d. 1853)
  • 1823 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop and missionary (d. 1894)
  • 1838 – Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (d. 1910)
  • 1851 – Peder Severin Krøyer, Norwegian-Danish painter (d. 1909)
  • 1856 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (d. 1920)
  • 1864 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (d. 1903)
  • 1865 – Henry Norris, English businessman and politician (d. 1934)
  • 1866 – Francesco Cilea, Italian composer and academic (d. 1950)
  • 1878 – James Thomas Milton Anderson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Saskatchewan (d. 1946)
  • 1882 – Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1948)
  • 1883 – Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, French-English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of the County of London (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – Emil Jannings, Swiss-German actor (d. 1950)
  • 1885 – Izaak Killam, Canadian financier and philanthropist (d. 1955)
  • 1885 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman, created Prince Matchabelli perfume (d. 1935)
  • 1886 – Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish historian and diplomat (d. 1978)
  • 1886 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (d. 1976)
  • 1888 – Raymond Chandler, American crime novelist and screenwriter (d. 1959)
  • 1891 – Louis T. Wright, American surgeon and civil rights activist (d. 1952)
  • 1892 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1975)
  • 1894 – Arthur Treacher, English-American actor and television personality (d. 1975)
  • 1895 – Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)
  • 1898 – Daniel Cosío Villegas, Mexican historian, economist (d. 1976)
  • 1898 – Bengt Djurberg, Swedish actor and singer (d. 1941)
  • 1898 – Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Herman Kruusenberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1970)
  • 1898 – Jacob Marschak, Ukrainian-American economist, journalist, and author (d. 1977)
  • 1899 – Gustav Heinemann, German lawyer and politician, 3rd President of West Germany (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Julia Davis Adams, American author and journalist (d. 1993)
  • 1900 – John Babcock, Canadian-American sergeant (d. 2010)
  • 1900 – Inger Margrethe Boberg, Danish folklore researcher and writer (d. 1957)
  • 1901 – Hank Worden, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
  • 1901 – Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer, Puerto Rican brothel owner and madam in barrio Maragüez, Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 1974)
  • 1905 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian author and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1906 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
  • 1906 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian activist (d. 1931)
  • 1912 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1912 – Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979)
  • 1913 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Nassos Daphnis, Greek-American painter (d.2010)
  • 1914 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (d. 1971)
  • 1914 – Elly Annie Schneider, German-American actress (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – Laurel Martyn, Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Abraham Bueno de Mesquita, Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Damiano Damiani, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – Morris Halle, Latvian-American linguist and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Gavin Lambert, English-American screenwriter and author (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Gazanfer Bilge, Turkish wrestler (d. 2008)
  • 1925 – Tajuddin Ahmad, Bangladeshi politician, 1st Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
  • 1925 – Quett Masire, Botswana politician, the former Vice-President of Botswana (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – Alain Decaux, French historian and author (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Ludvík Vaculík, Czech journalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Gérard Brach, French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1928 – Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor
  • 1928 – Vera Rubin, American astronomer and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Danny Barcelona, American drummer (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Lateef Jakande, Nigerian journalist and politician, 5th Governor of Lagos State
  • 1931 – Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (d. 2006)
  • 1931 – Claude Fournier, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
  • 1931 – Guy Fournier, Canadian author and screenwriter
  • 1933 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum (d. 2010)
  • 1933 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (d. 1991)
  • 1933 – Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Richard Rogers, Italian-English architect, designed the Millennium Dome and Lloyd’s building
  • 1935 – Jim Hall, American race car driver
  • 1936 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1993)
  • 1936 – Anthony Kennedy, American lawyer and jurist
  • 1937 – Dave Webster, American football player and engineer
  • 1938 – Juliet Anderson, American porn actress and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Ronny Cox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1938 – Charles Harrelson, American murderer (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Bert Newton, Australian actor and television host
  • 1940 – Danielle Collobert, French author, poet, and journalist (d. 1978)
  • 1940 – Don Imus, American radio host (d. 2019)
  • 1940 – Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finance (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – Christopher Andrew, English historian and academic
  • 1941 – Richie Evans, American race car driver (d. 1985)
  • 1941 – Sergio Mattarella, Italian lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th President of Italy
  • 1942 – Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian journalist and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane
  • 1942 – Madeline Bell, American singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Richard E. Dauch, American businessman, co-founded American Axle (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Dimitris Liantinis, Greek philosopher and author (d. 1998)
  • 1943 – Randall Forsberg, American scientist (d. 2007)
  • 1943 – Tony Joe White, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1944 – Dino Danelli, American drummer
  • 1944 – Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist
  • 1945 – Edward Gregson, English composer and educator
  • 1945 – Jon Sammels, English footballer
  • 1946 – Andy Mackay, English oboe player and composer
  • 1946 – René Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Gardner Dozois, American journalist and author (d. 2018)
  • 1947 – David Essex, English singer-songwriter, and actor
  • 1947 – Torsten Palm, Swedish race car driver
  • 1947 – Robin Simon, English historian, critic, and academic
  • 1948 – Ross Cranston, Australian-English lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales
  • 1948 – John Cushnahan, Northern Irish educator and politician
  • 1948 – John Hall, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and politician
  • 1948 – Stanisław Targosz, Polish general (d. 2013)
  • 1949 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1950 – Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American lawyer and judge
  • 1950 – Ian Thomas, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Blair Thornton, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
  • 1950 – Alan Turner, Australian cricketer
  • 1952 – Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1952 – Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
  • 1952 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (d. 2008)
  • 1952 – Janis Siegel, American jazz singer (The Manhattan Transfer)
  • 1953 – Graham Gooch, English cricketer and coach
  • 1953 – Najib Razak, Malaysian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia
  • 1957 – Jo Brand, English comedian, actress, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Nikos Galis, American basketball player
  • 1957 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1957 – Quentin Willson, English TV presenter, Top Gear.
  • 1958 – Ken Green, American golfer
  • 1958 – Tomy Winata, Indonesian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation
  • 1959 – Nancy Savoca, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Gary Ella, Australian rugby player
  • 1960 – Susan Graham, American soprano and educator
  • 1960 – Al Perez, American wrestler
  • 1961 – André Ducharme, Canadian comedian and author
  • 1961 – Michael Durant, American pilot and author
  • 1961 – Martin Gore, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1961 – Woody Harrelson, American actor and activist
  • 1961 – Milind Gunaji, Indian actor, model, television show host, and author
  • 1962 – Eriq La Salle, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1962 – Mark Laurie, Australian rugby league player
  • 1962 – Alain Lefèvre, Canadian pianist and composer
  • 1963 – Slobodan Zivojinovic, Serbian tennis player
  • 1964 – Uwe Barth, German politician
  • 1964 – Nick Menza, German drummer and songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1965 – Rob Dickinson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Slash, English-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1967 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1968 – Elden Campbell, American basketball player
  • 1968 – Gary Payton, American basketball player and actor
  • 1968 – Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
  • 1969 – Andrew Cassels, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1970 – Charisma Carpenter, American actress
  • 1970 – Thea Dorn, German author and playwright
  • 1970 – Sam Watters, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1971 – Dalvin DeGrate, American rapper and producer
  • 1971 – Alison Krauss, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
  • 1971 – Joel Stein, American journalist
  • 1972 – Suat Kılıç, Turkish journalist, lawyer, and politician, Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports
  • 1972 – Floyd Reifer, Barbadian cricketer and coach
  • 1972 – Marlon Wayans, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Fran Healy, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1973 – Himesh Reshammiya, Indian singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
  • 1973 – Andrea Scanavacca, Italian rugby player and manager
  • 1974 – Terry Glenn, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1974 – Maurice Greene, American sprinter
  • 1974 – Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
  • 1975 – Dan Rogerson, English politician
  • 1976 – Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
  • 1977 – Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1977 – Gail Emms, English badminton player
  • 1977 – Néicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1977 – Shawn Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1978 – Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1978 – Lauren Groff, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1979 – Perro Aguayo Jr., Mexican wrestler and promoter (d. 2015)
  • 1979 – Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Greek footballer
  • 1979 – Richard Sims, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1979 – Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1979 – Cathleen Tschirch, German sprinter
  • 1980 – Sandeep Parikh, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Michelle Williams, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1981 – Steve Jocz, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, and director
  • 1981 – Dmitriy Karpov, Kazakhstani decathlete
  • 1981 – Aleksandr Kulik, Estonian footballer
  • 1981 – Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
  • 1982 – Ömer Aysan Barış, Turkish footballer
  • 1982 – Joe Mather, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Gökhan Ünal, Turkish footballer
  • 1982 – Gerald Wallace, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Paul Wesley, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1983 – Bec Hewitt, Australian actress
  • 1983 – Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
  • 1983 – David Strettle, English rugby player
  • 1984 – Walter Gargano, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1984 – Matthew Murphy, English singer and guitarist
  • 1984 – Brandon Roy, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Celeste Thorson, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1985 – Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
  • 1986 – Aya Uchida, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1986 – Nelson Philippe, French race car driver
  • 1986 – Yelena Sokolova, Russian long jumper
  • 1987 – Alessio Cerci, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Felipe Dylon, Brazilian singer
  • 1987 – Serdar Kurtuluş, Turkish footballer
  • 1989 – Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
  • 1989 – Donald Young, American tennis player
  • 1990 – Kevin Reynolds, Canadian figure skater
  • 1991 – Lauren Mitchell, Australian gymnast
  • 1991 – Jarrod Wallace, Australian rugby league footballer
  • 1992 – Danny Ings, English footballer
  • 1996 – Alexandra Andresen, Norwegian heiress and equestrian

Deaths on July 23

  • 955 – He Ning, Chinese chancellor (b. 898)
  • 997 – Nuh II, Samanid emir (b. 963)
  • 1100 – Warner of Grez, French nobleman, relative of Godfrey of Bouillon
  • 1227 – Qiu Chuji, Chinese religious leader, founded the Dragon Gate Taoism (b. 1148)
  • 1298 – Thoros III, Armenian king (b. c. 1271)
  • 1373 – Bridget of Sweden, Swedish mystic and saint, founded the Bridgettine Order (b. 1303)
  • 1403 – Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (b. 1343)
  • 1531 – Louis de Brézé, French husband of Diane de Poitiers
  • 1536 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1519)
  • 1562 – Götz von Berlichingen, German knight and poet (b. 1480)
  • 1584 – John Day, English printer (b. 1522)
  • 1596 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (b. 1526)
  • 1645 – Michael I, Russian tsar (b. 1596)
  • 1692 – Gilles Ménage, French lawyer, philologist, and scholar (b. 1613)
  • 1727 – Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, English politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1661)
  • 1757 – Domenico Scarlatti, Italian harpsichord player and composer (b. 1685)
  • 1773 – George Edwards, English biologist and ornithologist (b. 1693)
  • 1781 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American pastor and politician (b. 1724)
  • 1793 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
  • 1833 – Anselmo de la Cruz, Chilean politician, Chilean Minister of Finance (b. 1777)
  • 1853 – Andries Pretorius, South African general (b. 1798)
  • 1875 – Isaac Singer, American businessman, founded the Singer Corporation (b. 1811)
  • 1878 – Carl von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician, pathologist, and politician (b. 1804)
  • 1885 – Ulysses S. Grant, American general and politician, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
  • 1904 – John Douglas, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Queensland (b. 1828)
  • 1909 – Frederick Holder, Australian politician, 19th Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
  • 1916 – William Ramsay, Scottish-English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1919 – Spyridon Lambros, Greek historian and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1851)
  • 1920 – Conrad Kohrs, German-American rancher and politician (b. 1835)
  • 1924 – Frank Frost Abbott, American author and scholar (b. 1850)
  • 1926 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter (b. 1848)
  • 1927 – Reginald Dyer, British brigadier general (b. 1864)
  • 1930 – Glenn Curtiss, American pilot and engineer (b. 1878)
  • 1932 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (b. 1884)
  • 1936 – Anna Abrikosova, Russian linguist (b. 1882)
  • 1941 – George Lyman Kittredge, American scholar and educator (b. 1860)
  • 1941 – José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot (b. 1914)
  • 1942 – Adam Czerniaków, Polish engineer and politician (b. 1880)
  • 1942 – Andy Ducat, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
  • 1948 – D. W. Griffith, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1875)
  • 1950 – Shigenori Tōgō, Japanese politician and diplomat, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1882)
  • 1951 – Robert J. Flaherty, American director and producer (b. 1884)
  • 1951 – Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (b. 1856)
  • 1954 – Herman Groman, American runner (b. 1882)
  • 1955 – Cordell Hull, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
  • 1957 – Bob Shiring, American football player and coach (b. 1870)
  • 1966 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 1968 – Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
  • 1971 – Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910)
  • 1972 – Esther Applin, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1895)
  • 1973 – Eddie Rickenbacker, American pilot and race car driver, founded Rickenbacker Motors (b. 1890)
  • 1979 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (b. 1898)
  • 1980 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908)
  • 1980 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1948)
  • 1980 – Mollie Steimer, Russian activist (b. 1897)
  • 1982 – Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
  • 1983 – Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899)
  • 1985 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer and manager (b. 1923)
  • 1989 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (b. 1931)
  • 1990 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (b. 1899)
  • 1996 – Jean Muir, American actress (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (b. 1904)
  • 1999 – Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
  • 2001 – Eudora Welty, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1909)
  • 2002 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – William Luther Pierce, American activist and author (b. 1933)
  • 2002 – Chaim Potok, American novelist and rabbi (b. 1929)
  • 2002 – Clark Gesner, American author and composer (b. 1938)
  • 2003 – James E. Davis, American police officer and politician (b. 1962)
  • 2004 – Mehmood Ali, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1932)
  • 2004 – Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitarist and composer (b. 1925)
  • 2004 – Piero Piccioni, Italian pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1921)
  • 2005 – Ted Greene, American guitarist and journalist (b. 1946)
  • 2006 – Jean-Paul Desbiens, Canadian journalist and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2007 – Ron Miller, American songwriter and producer (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghan king (b. 1914)
  • 2008 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss lawyer and politician, 70th President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – E. Lynn Harris, American author and screenwriter (b. 1955)
  • 2010 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
  • 2011 – Amy Winehouse, English singer-songwriter (b. 1983)
  • 2012 – Margaret Mahy, New Zealand author (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1951)
  • 2012 – Lakshmi Sahgal, Indian soldier and politician (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Esther Tusquets, Spanish publisher and author (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – José Luis Uribarri, Spanish television host and director (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (b. 1941)
  • 2013 – Pauline Clarke, English author (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Arthur J. Collingsworth, American diplomat (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – Emile Griffith, American boxer and trainer (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Kim Jong-hak, South Korean director and producer (b. 1951)
  • 2013 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Dora Bryan, English actress and restaurateur (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Ariano Suassuna, Brazilian author and playwright (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Jordan Tabor, English footballer (b. 1990)
  • 2015 – Shigeko Kubota, Japanese-American sculptor and director (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Don Oberdorfer, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – William Wakefield Baum, American cardinal (b. 1926)
  • 2017 – John Kundla, American basketball coach (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances on July 23

  • Birthday of Haile Selassie (Rastafari)
  • Children’s Day (Indonesia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Bridget of Sweden
    • Heiromartyr Phocas (Eastern Orthodox)
    • John Cassian (Western Christianity)
    • Liborius of Le Mans
    • Margarita María
    • Mercè Prat i Prat
    • Rasyphus and Ravennus
    • July 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • National Remembrance Day (Papua New Guinea)
  • Renaissance Day (Oman)
  • Revolution Day (Egypt)

July 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
  • 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope.
  • 285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.
  • 365 – The 365 Crete earthquake affects the Greek island of Crete with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands were killed.
  • 905 – King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902).
  • 1242 – Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan.
  • 1403 – Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
  • 1545 – The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
  • 1568 – Eighty Years’ War: Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
  • 1645 – Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
  • 1656 – The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
  • 1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
  • 1774 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
  • 1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon’s forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
  • 1831 – Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
  • 1865 – In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
  • 1873 – At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
  • 1877 – After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of nine rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
  • 1904 – Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
  • 1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
  • 1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
  • 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
  • 1925 – Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
  • 1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
  • 1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators are tortured and executed in Berlin, Germany, for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
  • 1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
  • 1952 – The 7.3 Mw  Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
  • 1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
  • 1959 – NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” initiative.
  • 1959 – Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie” Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
  • 1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world’s first female head of government
  • 1961 – Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
  • 1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon.
  • 1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
  • 1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
  • 1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
  • 1977 – The start of the four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War.
  • 1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • 1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
  • 1990 – Taiwan’s military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.
  • 1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People’s Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
  • 2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
  • 2005 – July 2005 London bombings occur.
  • 2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first president of Nepal.
  • 2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
  • 2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.

Births on July 21

  • 541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui Dynasty (d. 604)
  • 1030 – Kyansittha, King of Burma (d. 1112)
  • 1414 – Pope Sixtus IV (d. 1484)
  • 1462 – Queen Jeonghyeon, Korean royal consort (d. 1530)
  • 1476 – Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara (d. 1534)
  • 1476 – Anna Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1497)
  • 1515 – Philip Neri, Italian Roman Catholic saint (d. 1595)
  • 1535 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Royal Governor of Chile (d. 1609)
  • 1616 – Anna de’ Medici, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1676)
  • 1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
  • 1648 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (d. 1689)
  • 1654 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino catechist and sacristan; later canonized (d. 1672)
  • 1664 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (d. 1721)
  • 1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1768)
  • 1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (d. 1792)
  • 1783 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (d. 1853)
  • 1808 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1864)
  • 1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (d. 1878)
  • 1811 – Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1873)
  • 1816 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (d. 1899)
  • 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria (d. 1929)
  • 1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (d. 1925)
  • 1858 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (d. 1941)
  • 1863 – C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (d. 1948)
  • 1866 – Carlos Schwabe, Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (d. 1926)
  • 1870 – Emil Orlík, Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (d. 1932)
  • 1875 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1947)
  • 1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (d. 1919)
  • 1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
  • 1891 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (d. 1969)
  • 1893 – Hans Fallada, German author (d. 1947)
  • 1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, Native American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (d. 1996)
  • 1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
  • 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1900 – Isadora Bennett, American theatre manager and modern dance publicity agent (d. 1980)
  • 1903 – Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
  • 1903 – Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (d. 2010)
  • 1908 – Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (d. 1996)
  • 1911 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (d. 1980)
  • 1911 – Umashankar Joshi, Indian author, poet, and scholar (d. 1988)
  • 1914 – Aleksander Kreek, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1977)
  • 1917 – Alan B. Gold, Canadian lawyer and jurist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Isaac Stern, Polish violinist and conductor (d. 2001)
  • 1920 – Jean Daniel, Algerian-French-Jewish journalist and author (d. 2020)
  • 1921 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – John Horsley, English actor (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Zulu sangoma (d. 2020)
  • 1922 – Kay Starr, American singer (d. 2016)
  • 1922 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (d. 2009)
  • 1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1923 – Queenie Watts, English actress and singer (d. 1980)
  • 1924 – Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan
  • 1924 – Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Paul Burke, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1925 – Johnny Peirson, Canadian hockey player
  • 1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian actor, director, and producer
  • 1926 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1928 – Sky Low Low, Canadian wrestler (d. 1998)
  • 1929 – Bob Orton, American wrestler (d. 2006)
  • 1930 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Helen Merrill, American singer
  • 1931 – Sonny Clark, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
  • 1931 – Plas Johnson, American saxophonist
  • 1931 – Leon Schidlowsky, Chilean-Israeli painter and composer
  • 1932 – Kaye Stevens, American singer and actress (d. 2011)
  • 1933 – John Gardner, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1982)
  • 1934 – Chandu Borde, Indian cricketer and manager
  • 1934 – Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author (d. 2019)
  • 1935 – Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician
  • 1935 – Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1937 – Eduard Streltsov, Soviet footballer (d. 1990)
  • 1938 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1995)
  • 1938 – Anton Kuerti, Austrian-Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1938 – Janet Reno, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
  • 1939 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – John Negroponte, English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
  • 1943 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (d. 2002)
  • 1943 – Edward Herrmann, American actor (d. 2014)
  • 1943 – Henry McCullough, Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1944 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1944 – Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1945 – Wendy Cope, English poet, critic, and educator
  • 1945 – Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
  • 1945 – Barry Richards, South African cricketer
  • 1946 – Ken Starr, American lawyer and judge, 39th Solicitor General of the United States
  • 1946 – Timothy Harris, American author, screenwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician
  • 1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
  • 1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
  • 1949 – Christina Hart, American playwright and actress
  • 1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2003)
  • 1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
  • 1950 – Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer, English politician, Minister of State for Transport
  • 1951 – Richard Gozney, English politician and diplomat, 30th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, 139th Governor of Bermuda
  • 1951 – Robin Williams, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – John Barrasso, American physician and politician
  • 1952 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian economist
  • 1953 – Eric Bazilian, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer (The Hooters)
  • 1953 – Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor
  • 1953 – Bernie Fraser, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1953 – Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
  • 1955 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1955 – Dannel Malloy, American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
  • 1955 – Henry Priestman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1955 – Taco, Indonesian-born Dutch singer and entertainer
  • 1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
  • 1957 – Stefan Löfven, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden
  • 1957 – Jon Lovitz, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1958 – Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1959 – Gene Miles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Reha Muhtar, Turkish journalist
  • 1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1960 – Veselin Matić, Serbian basketball player and coach
  • 1960 – Fritz Walter, German footballer
  • 1961 – Morris Iemma, Australian politician, 40th Premier of New South Wales
  • 1961 – Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
  • 1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Giant Silva, Brazilian basketball player, mixed martial artist, and wrestler
  • 1964 – Steve Collins, Irish boxer and actor
  • 1964 – Ross Kemp, English actor and producer
  • 1964 – Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper and journalist
  • 1965 – Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer and lawyer
  • 1965 – Mike Bordick, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Arija Bareikis, American actress
  • 1966 – Sarah Waters, Welsh author and academic
  • 1968 – Brandi Chastain, American soccer player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Aditya Srivastava, Indian actor
  • 1968 – Lyle Odelein, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1969 – Godfrey, American comedian and actor
  • 1969 – Klaus Graf, German race car driver
  • 1969 – Emerson Hart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1969 – Isabell Werth, German equestrian
  • 1970 – Michael Fitzpatrick, American singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
  • 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer
  • 1971 – Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1972 – Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist
  • 1972 – Catherine Ndereba, Kenyan marathon runner
  • 1974 – Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player and coach
  • 1974 – René Reinumägi, Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Christopher Barzak, American author and educator
  • 1975 – Cara Dillon, Irish singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1975 – Mike Sellers, American football player
  • 1976 – Jaime Murray, English actress
  • 1977 – Paul Casey, English golfer
  • 1978 – Justin Bartha, American actor
  • 1978 – Anderson da Silva Gibin, Brazilian footballer
  • 1978 – Josh Hartnett, American actor
  • 1978 – Julian Huppert, English academic and politician
  • 1978 – Damian Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1978 – Gary Teale, Scottish footballer
  • 1979 – David Carr, American football player
  • 1979 – Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Luis Ernesto Michel, Mexican footballer
  • 1979 – Andriy Voronin, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1980 – Justin Griffith, American football player
  • 1980 – Sandra Laoura, French skier
  • 1980 – CC Sabathia, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Yvonne Sampson, Australian journalist and sportscaster
  • 1981 – Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1981 – Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
  • 1981 – Joaquín, Spanish footballer
  • 1981 – Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
  • 1982 – Jason Cram, Australian swimmer
  • 1982 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese newscaster and actress (d. 2017)
  • 1984 – Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
  • 1984 – Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
  • 1985 – Mati Lember, Estonian footballer
  • 1985 – Von Wafer, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Anthony Annan, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1986 – Rebecca Ferguson, American-English singer-songwriter
  • 1986 – Jason Thompson, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Bilel Mohsni, French footballer
  • 1987 – Jesús Zavala, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – KB, American rapper
  • 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer (d. 2016)
  • 1989 – Marco Fabián, Mexican footballer
  • 1989 – Juno Temple, English actress
  • 1990 – Chris Martin, English footballer
  • 1990 – Jason Roy, English cricketer
  • 1990 – Erislandy Savón, Cuban amateur heavyweight boxer
  • 1990 – Franck Elemba, Congolese athlete
  • 1991 – Sara Sampaio, Portuguese model
  • 1992 – Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
  • 1996 – Mikael Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian footballer
  • 1998 – Thomas Preining, Austrian racing driver

Deaths on July 21

  • 658 – K’an II, Mayan ruler (b. 588)
  • 710 – Li Guo’er, princess of the Tang dynasty
  • 710 – Wei, empress of the Tang Dynasty
  • 710 – Shangguan Wan’er, Chinese poet (b. 664)
  • 987 – Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou
  • 1259 – Gojong of Goryeo
  • 1403 – Henry Percy, English soldier (b. 1364)
  • 1403 – Sir Walter Blount, English soldier, standard-bearer of Henry IV
  • 1403 – Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford, English soldier
  • 1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1350)
  • 1552 – Antonio de Mendoza, Spanish politician, 1st Viceroy of New Spain (b. 1495)
  • 1688 – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1610)
  • 1793 – Antoine Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, French admiral, explorer, and politician (b. 1739)
  • 1796 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1759)
  • 1798 – François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (b. 1733)
  • 1798 – Anthony Perry, Irish rebel leader (b. ca. 1760)
  • 1868 – William Bland, Australian surgeon and politician (b. 1789)
  • 1878 – Sam Bass, American outlaw (b. 1851)
  • 1880 – Hiram Walden, American general and politician (b. 1800)
  • 1889 – Nelson Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
  • 1899 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1833)
  • 1920 – Fiammetta Wilson, English astronomer and educator (b. 1864)
  • 1932 – Bill Gleason, American baseball player (b. 1858)
  • 1934 – Hubert Lyautey, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1854)
  • 1938 – Owen Wister, American lawyer and author (b. 1860)
  • 1941 – Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (b. 1872)
  • 1943 – Charley Paddock, American runner and actor (b. 1900)
  • 1943 – Louis Vauxcelles, French Jewish art critic (b. 1870)
  • 1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German soldier (b. 1907)
  • 1946 – Gualberto Villarroel, Bolivian soldier and politician, 45th President of Bolivia (b. 1908)
  • 1948 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (b. 1904)
  • 1952 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (b. 1856)
  • 1966 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, Vienna Circle member (b. 1884)
  • 1967 – Jimmie Foxx, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1907)
  • 1967 – Albert Lutuli, South African academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
  • 1967 – Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor and singer (b. 1892)
  • 1968 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1878)
  • 1970 – Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov, Russian anthropologist and sculptor (b. 1907)
  • 1970 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (b. 1945)
  • 1972 – Ralph Craig, American sprinter and sailor (b. 1889)
  • 1972 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1928)
  • 1977 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (b. 1907)
  • 1982 – Dave Garroway, American journalist and actor (b. 1913)
  • 1991 – Paul Warwick, English race car driver (b. 1969)
  • 1994 – Marijac, French author and illustrator (b. 1908)
  • 1997 – Olaf Kopvillem, Estonian-Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1926)
  • 1998 – Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1923)
  • 1998 – Robert Young, American actor and singer (b. 1907)
  • 2000 – Marc Reisner, American environmentalist and author (b. 1948)
  • 2002 – Esphyr Slobodkina, Russian-American author and illustrator (b. 1908)
  • 2003 – John Davies, English-New Zealand runner and coach (b. 1938)
  • 2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (b. 1929)
  • 2004 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer and actor (b. 1941)
  • 2005 – Lord Alfred Hayes, English-American wrestler and manager (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-American actor and singer (b. 1933)
  • 2006 – Ta Mok, Cambodian soldier and monk (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Dubravko Škiljan, Croatian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
  • 2008 – Donald Stokes, English businessman (b. 1914)
  • 2010 – Luis Corvalán, Chilean educator and politician (b. 1916)
  • 2010 – Ralph Houk, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1919)
  • 2010 – John E. Irving, Canadian businessman (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Marie Kruckel, American baseball player (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Ali Podrimja, Albanian poet and author (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – James D. Ramage, American admiral and pilot (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Angharad Rees, English-born Welsh actress (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Don Wilson, English cricketer and coach (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1988)
  • 2013 – Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, Indian martial artist (b. 1981)
  • 2013 – Det de Beus, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom, Colombian-French composer and educator (b. 1971)
  • 2013 – Fred Taylor, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Louise Abeita, Isleta Pueblo (Native American) writer, poet, and educator (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Dan Borislow, American businessman, invented the magicJack (b. 1961)
  • 2014 – Lettice Curtis, English engineer and pilot (b. 1915)
  • 2014 – Hans-Peter Kaul, German lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Rilwanu Lukman, Nigerian engineer and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Kevin Skinner, New Zealand rugby player and boxer (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Robert Broberg, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American physician (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Czesław Marchaj, Polish-English sailor and academic (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Dick Nanninga, Dutch footballer (b. 1949)
  • 2016 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (b. 1949)
  • 2017 – John Heard, American film and television actor (b. 1946)
  • 2018 – Alene Duerk, U.S. Navy first female admiral (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances on July 21

  • Christian feast day:
    • Albert John Luthuli (Episcopal Church)
    • Arbogast
    • Barhadbesciabas
    • Carlos of Brazil (Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church)
    • Daniel (Catholic Church)
    • Lawrence of Brindisi
    • Praxedes
    • Victor of Marseilles
    • July 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
  • Belgian National Day (Belgium)
  • Racial Harmony Day (Singapore)
  • Summer Kazanskaya (Russia)

July 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 18- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.
  • 387 BC– Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
  • 362 – Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire.
  • 452 – Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it.
  • 645 – Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.
  • 1195 – Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo.
  • 1290 – King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B’Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
  • 1334 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.
  • 1389 – France and England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13-year peace, the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years’ War.
  • 1391 – Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia.
  • 1507 – In Brussels, Prince Charles I, is crowned Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders, a year after inheriting the title.
  • 1555 – The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain.
  • 1806 – A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, kills around 200 people.
  • 1812 – The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars.
  • 1841 – Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
  • 1857 – Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall’s war against the French.
  • 1862 – First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
  • 1870 – The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.
  • 1872 – The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections be held by secret ballot.
  • 1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
  • 1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
  • 1936 – On the Spanish mainland, a faction of the army supported by fascists, rises up against the Second Spanish Republic in a coup d’etat starting the 3-year-long Civil War, resulting in the longest dictatorship in modern European history.
  • 1942 – World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia.
  • 1942 – The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.
  • 1944 – World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.
  • 1966 – Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
  • 1966 – A racially charged incident in a bar sparks the six-day Hough riots in Cleveland, Ohio; 1,700 Ohio National Guard troops intervene to restore order.
  • 1968 – Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.
  • 1976 – Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
  • 1982 – Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos (“peasants” or “country people”) are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
  • 1984 – McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
  • 1992 – A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web.
  • 1994 – The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Community Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.
  • 1995 – On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee.
  • 1996 – Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec’s costliest natural disasters ever.
  • 1996 – Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army’s base, killing over 1200 soldiers.
  • 2012 – At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.
  • 2013 – The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
  • 2019 – A man sets fire to an anime studio in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan, killing at 35 people and injuring dozens of others.

Births on July 18

  • 1013 – Hermann of Reichenau, German composer, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1013)
  • 1501 – Isabella of Austria, queen of Denmark (d. 1526)
  • 1504 – Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss pastor and reformer (d. 1575)
  • 1534 – Zacharius Ursinus, German theologian (d. 1583)
  • 1552 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1612)
  • 1634 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1695)
  • 1659 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (d. 1743)
  • 1670 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1747)
  • 1702 – Maria Clementina Sobieska, Polish noble (d. 1735)
  • 1718 – Saverio Bettinelli, Italian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1808)
  • 1720 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (d. 1793)
  • 1724 – Maria Antonia of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1780)
  • 1750 – Frederick Adolf, duke of Östergötland (d. 1803)
  • 1796 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
  • 1811 – William Makepeace Thackeray, English author and poet (d. 1863)
  • 1818 – Louis Gerhard De Geer, Swedish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1896)
  • 1821 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (d. 1910)
  • 1837 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian priest and activist (d. 1873)
  • 1843 – Virgil Earp, American marshal (d. 1905)
  • 1845 – Tristan Corbière, French poet (d. 1875)
  • 1848 – W. G. Grace, English cricketer and physician (d. 1915)
  • 1853 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
  • 1861 – Kadambini Ganguly, Indian physician, one of the first Indian women to obtain a degree (d. 1923)
  • 1864 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1937)
  • 1867 – Margaret Brown, American philanthropist and activist (d. 1932)
  • 1871 – Giacomo Balla, Italian painter (d.1958)
  • 1871 – Sada Yacco, Japanese actress and dancer (d. 1946)
  • 1881 – Larry McLean, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1921)
  • 1884 – Alberto di Jorio, Italian cardinal (d. 1979)
  • 1886 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (d. 1945)
  • 1887 – Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian military officer and politician, Minister President of Norway (d. 1945)
  • 1889 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (d. 1977)
  • 1890 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1983)
  • 1892 – Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian footballer (d. 1969)
  • 1893 – David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier (d. 1968)
  • 1895 – Olga Spessivtseva, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1991)
  • 1895 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (d. 1954)
  • 1897 – Ernest Eldridge, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1935)
  • 1898 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Ernst Scheller, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Marburg (d. 1942)
  • 1900 – Nathalie Sarraute, French lawyer and author (d. 1999)
  • 1902 – Jessamyn West, American author (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Chill Wills, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1905 – Robert Elton Brooker, American business executive (d. 2000)
  • 1906 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American academic and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1906 – Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
  • 1908 – Peace Pilgrim, American mystic and activist (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – Lupe Vélez, Mexican-American actress and dancer (d. 1944)
  • 1908 – Beatrice Aitchison, American mathematician, statistician, and transportation economist (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Bishnu Dey, Indian poet, critic, and academic (d. 1982)
  • 1909 – Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1989)
  • 1909 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (d. 1978)
  • 1909 – Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Diptendu Pramanick, Indian businessman (d. 1989)
  • 1910 – Mamadou Dia, Senegalese politician; 1st Prime Minister of Senegal (d. 2009)
  • 1911 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1913 – Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Oscar Heisserer, French footballer (d. 2004)
  • 1915 – Carequinha, Brazilian clown and actor (d. 2006)
  • 1915 – Roxana Cannon Arsht, American judge (d. 2003)
  • 1915 – Louis Le Bailly, British Royal Navy officer (d. 2010)
  • 1916 – Charles Kittel, American physicist (d. 2019)
  • 1917 – Henri Salvador, French singer and guitarist (d. 2008)
  • 1917 – Paul Streeten, Austrian-born British economics professor (d. 2019)
  • 1918 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Lilia Dale, Italian actress
  • 1920 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1982)
  • 1921 – Peter Austin, English brewer, founded Ringwood Brewery (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Aaron T. Beck, American psychiatrist and academic
  • 1921 – John Glenn, American colonel, astronaut, and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Richard Leacock, English-French director and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Heinz Bennent, German actor (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Thomas Kuhn, American physicist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Jerome H. Lemelson, American engineer and businessman (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – Michael Medwin, English actor (d. 2020)
  • 1924 – Inge Sørensen, Danish swimmer (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Tullio Altamura, Italian actor
  • 1925 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner and hurdler (d. 2004)
  • 1925 – Friedrich Zimmermann, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 2012)
  • 1925 – Raymond Jones, Australian Modernist architect
  • 1925 – Windy McCall, American baseball relief pitcher (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (d. 1987)
  • 1926 – Nita Bieber, American actress (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Bernard Pons, French politician and medical doctor
  • 1926 – Maunu Kurkvaara, Finnish film director and screenwriter
  • 1927 – Mehdi Hassan, Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – Kurt Masur, German conductor and educator (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Antonio García-Trevijano, Spanish republican, political activist, and author (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Keith MacDonald, Canadian politician
  • 1927 – Anthony Mirra, American gangster, member of the Bonanno Crime Family (d. 1982)
  • 1928 – Andrea Gallo, Italian priest and author (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Baddiewinkle, American internet personality
  • 1929 – Dick Button, American figure skater and actor
  • 1929 – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 2000)
  • 1932 – Robert Ellis Miller, American director and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1933 – Jean Yanne, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1933 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet and playwright (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Edward Bond, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Darlene Conley, American actress (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – Tenley Albright, American figure skater and physician
  • 1935 – Jayendra Saraswathi, Indian guru, 69th Shankaracharya
  • 1937 – Roald Hoffmann, Polish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1937 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – John Connelly, English footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1938 – Ian Stewart, Scottish keyboard player and manager (d. 1985)
  • 1938 – Paul Verhoeven, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Brian Auger, English rock and jazz keyboard player
  • 1939 – Dion DiMucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Jerry Moore, American football player and coach
  • 1940 – James Brolin, American actor
  • 1940 – Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
  • 1941 – Frank Farian, German songwriter and producer
  • 1941 – Lonnie Mack, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Martha Reeves, American singer and politician
  • 1942 – Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician, 84th President of the Swiss Confederation
  • 1943 – Joseph J. Ellis, American historian and author
  • 1944 – David Hemery, English hurdler and author
  • 1945 – Pat Doherty, Irish Republican politician
  • 1946 – Kalpana Mohan, Indian actress
  • 1946 – John Naughton, Scottish-Irish journalist, author, and academic
  • 1947 – Steve Forbes, American publisher and politician
  • 1948 – Carlos Colón Sr., Puerto Rican-American wrestler and promoter
  • 1948 – Jeanne Córdova, American journalist and activist (d. 2016)
  • 1948 – Graham Spanier, 16th President of Pennsylvania State University
  • 1948 – Hartmut Michel, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1949 – Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1950 – Richard Branson, English businessman, founded Virgin Group
  • 1950 – Jack Dongarra, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1950 – Kostas Eleftherakis, Greek footballer
  • 1950 – Glenn Hughes, American disco singer (Village People) and actor (d. 2001)
  • 1950 – Jack Layton, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Mark Udall, American educator and politician
  • 1951 – Elio Di Rupo, Belgian chemist, academic, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Belgium
  • 1951 – Margo Martindale, American actress
  • 1954 – Ricky Skaggs, American singer-songwriter, mandolin player, and producer
  • 1955 – Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
  • 1957 – Nick Faldo, English golfer and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1960 – Simon Heffer, English journalist and author
  • 1961 – Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
  • 1961 – Alan Pardew, English footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Pasi Rautiainen, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1962 – Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Marc Girardelli, Austrian-Luxembourgian skier
  • 1963 – Martín Torrijos, Panamanian economist and politician, 35th President of Panama
  • 1964 – Wendy Williams, American talk show host
  • 1965 – Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian soprano
  • 1966 – Dan O’Brien, American decathlete and coach
  • 1967 – Vin Diesel, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter1968 – Grant Bowler, New Zealand-Australian actor
  • 1968 – Scott Gourley, Australian rugby player
  • 1969 – Elizabeth Gilbert, American author
  • 1969 – The Great Sasuke, Japanese wrestler and politician
  • 1971 – Penny Hardaway, American basketball player and coach
  • 1971 – Sukhwinder Singh, Indian singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1974 – Alan Morrison, British poet
  • 1975 – Torii Hunter, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Daron Malakian, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1975 – M.I.A., English rapper and producer5
  • 1976 – Elsa Pataky, Spanish actress
  • 1976 – Go Soo-hee, South Korean actress
  • 1977 – Alexander Morozevich, Russian chess player and author
  • 1978 – Adabel Guerrero, Argentinian actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1978 – Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Crystal Mangum, American murderer responsible for making false rape allegations in the Duke lacrosse case
  • 1978 – Joo Sang-wook, South Korean actor
  • 1978 – Ben Sheets, American baseball player and coach
  • 1978 – Mélissa Theuriau, French journalist
  • 1979 – Deion Branch, American football player
  • 1979 – Joey Mercury, American wrestler and producer
  • 1980 – Kristen Bell, American actress
  • 1981 – Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Ryan Cabrera, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1982 – Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress, singer, and film producer
  • 1982 – Carlo Costly, Honduran footballer
  • 1983 – Carlos Diogo, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1983 – Aaron Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1983 – Mikk Pahapill, Estonian decathlete
  • 1983 – Jan Schlaudraff, German footballer
  • 1985 – Chace Crawford, American actor
  • 1985 – Panagiotis Lagos, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – James Norton, English actor
  • 1986 – Natalia Mikhailova, Russian ice dancer
  • 1987 – Tontowi Ahmad, Indonesian badminton player
  • 1988 – Änis Ben-Hatira, German-Tunisian footballer
  • 1988 – César Villaluz, Mexican footballer
  • 1989 – Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Sebastian Mielitz, German footballer
  • 1989 – Yohan Mollo, French footballer
  • 1993 – Lee Tae-min, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1993 – Michael Lichaa, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Nilo Soares, East Timorese footballer
  • 1997 – Noah Lyles, American sprinter
  • 2001 – Agustina Roth, Argentine BMX rider

Deaths on July 18

  • 707 – Emperor Monmu of Japan (b. 683)
  • 715 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Umayyad general (b. 695)
  • 912 – Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor (b. 852)
  • 924 – Abu’l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat, Abbasid vizier (b. 855)
  • 928 – Stephen II, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 984 – Dietrich I, bishop of Metz
  • 1100 – Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight (b. 1016)
  • 1185 – Stefan, first Archbishop of Uppsala (b. before 1143)
  • 1194 – Guy of Lusignan, king consort of Jerusalem (b. c. 1150)
  • 1232 – John de Braose, Marcher Lord of Bramber and Gower
  • 1270 – Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1300 – Gerard Segarelli, Italian religious leader, founded the Apostolic Brethren (b. 1240)
  • 1450 – Francis I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1414)
  • 1488 – Alvise Cadamosto, Italian explorer (b. 1432)
  • 1566 – Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish bishop and historian (b. 1484)
  • 1591 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (b. 1550)
  • 1608 – Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1546)
  • 1610 – Caravaggio, Italian painter (b. 1571)
  • 1639 – Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, German general (b. 1604)
  • 1650 – Robert Levinz, English Royalist, hanged in London by Parliamentary forces as a spy (b. 1615)
  • 1695 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1634)
  • 1698 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (b. 1633)
  • 1721 – Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
  • 1730 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (b. 1644)
  • 1756 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch poet and playwright (b. 1683)
  • 1792 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American admiral and diplomat (b. 1747)
  • 1817 – Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)
  • 1837 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (b. 1777)
  • 1863 – Robert Gould Shaw, American colonel (b. 1837)
  • 1872 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 26th President of Mexico (b. 1806)
  • 1884 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (b. 1829)
  • 1887 – Dorothea Dix, American social reformer and activist (b. 1802)
  • 1890 – Lydia Becker, English journalist, author, and activist, co-founded the Women’s Suffrage Journal (b. 1827)
  • 1892 – Thomas Cook, English travel agent, founded the Thomas Cook Group (b. 1808)
  • 1899 – Horatio Alger, American novelist and journalist (b. 1832)
  • 1916 – Benjamin C. Truman, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
  • 1925 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (b. 1840)
  • 1932 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French author and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (b. 1855)
  • 1937 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1938 – Marie of Romania (b. 1875)
  • 1944 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1870)
  • 1947 – Evald Tipner, Estonian footballer and ice hockey player (b. 1906)
  • 1948 – Herman Gummerus, Finnish historian, academic, and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1949 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator (b. 1870)
  • 1949 – Francisco Javier Arana, Guatemalan Army colonel and briefly Guatemalan head of state (b.1905)
  • 1950 – Carl Clinton Van Doren, American critic and biographer (b. 1885)
  • 1952 – Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect and historian (b. 1862)
  • 1954 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (b. 1895)
  • 1966 – Bobby Fuller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
  • 1968 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
  • 1969 – Mary Jo Kopechne, American educator and secretary (b. 1940)
  • 1973 – Jack Hawkins, English actor (b. 1910)
  • 1975 – Vaughn Bodē, American illustrator (b. 1941)
  • 1981 – Sonja Branting-Westerståhl, Swedish lawyer (b. 1890)
  • 1982 – Roman Jakobson, Russian–American linguist and theorist (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Lally Bowers, English actress (b. 1914)
  • 1984 – Grigori Kromanov, Estonian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 1987 – Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter, journalist and congressman (b. 1907)
  • 1988 – Nico, German singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1938)
  • 1988 – Joly Braga Santos, Portuguese composer and conductor (b. 1924)
  • 1989 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (b. 1954)
  • 1989 – Rebecca Schaeffer, American model and actress (b.1967)
  • 1990 – Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1896)
  • 1990 – Yun Posun, South Korean politician, 2nd President of South Korea (b. 1897)
  • 2001 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
  • 2002 – Metin Toker, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – André Castelot, Belgian-French historian and author (b. 1911)
  • 2004 – Émile Peynaud, French wine maker (b. 1912)
  • 2005 – Amy Gillett, Australian cyclist and rower (b. 1976)
  • 2005 – William Westmoreland, American general (b. 1914)
  • 2006 – Henry Hewes, American theater writer (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Jerry Hadley, American tenor (b. 1952)
  • 2007 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (b. 1908)
  • 2009 – Henry Allingham, English soldier (b. 1896)
  • 2009 – Jill Balcon, English actress (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Lithuanian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Jean François-Poncet, French politician and diplomat, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Dawoud Rajiha, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1947)
  • 2012 – Assef Shawkat, Syrian general and politician (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Hasan Turkmani, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Vaali, Indian poet, songwriter, and actor (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and academic (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – Andreas Biermann, German footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2014 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Alex Rocco, American actor (b. 1936)
  • 2018 – Jonathan Gold, American food critic (b. 1960)
  • 2018 – Adrian Cronauer, American Radio personality (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on July 18

  • Christian feast day:
    • Arnulf of Metz
    • Bartolomé de las Casas (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Bruno of Segni
    • Camillus de Lellis (optional memorial, United States only)
    • Eadburh (or Edburga) of Bicester
    • Elizabeth Ferard (Church of England)
    • Frederick of Utrecht
    • Goneri of Brittany
    • Gundenis
    • Marina of Aguas Santas
    • Maternus of Milan
    • Minnborinus of Cologne
    • Pambo
    • Philastrius (or Filaster)
    • Symphorosa
    • Teneu (or Theneva)
    • Theodosia of Constantinople
    • July 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Uruguay)
  • Nelson Mandela International Day

July 18- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 622 – The beginning of the Islamic calendar.
  • 997 – Battle of Spercheios: Bulgarian forces of Tsar Samuel are defeated by a Byzantine army under general Nikephoros Ouranos at the Spercheios River in Greece.
  • 1054 – Three Roman legates break relations between Western and Eastern Christian Churches through the act of placing an invalidly-issued Papal bull of Excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy. Historians frequently describe the event as the start of the East–West Schism.
  • 1212 – Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: After Pope Innocent III calls European knights to a crusade, forces of Kings Alfonso VIII of Castile, Sancho VII of Navarre, Peter II of Aragon and Afonso II of Portugal defeat those of the Berber Muslim leader Almohad, thus marking a significant turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain.
  • 1232 – The Spanish town of Arjona declares independence and names its native Muhammad ibn Yusuf as ruler. This marks Muhammad’s first rise to prominence; he would later establish the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state in Spain.
  • 1251 – Celebrated by the Carmelite Order – but doubted by modern historians – as the day when Saint Simon Stock had a vision of the Virgin Mary
  • 1377 – King Richard II of England is crowned.
  • 1661 – The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco.
  • 1683 – Manchu Qing dynasty naval forces under traitorous commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands.
  • 1769 – Father Junípero Serra founds California’s first mission, Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Over the following decades, it evolves into the city of San Diego, California.
  • 1779 – American Revolutionary War: Light infantry of the Continental Army seize a fortified British Army position in a midnight bayonet attack at the Battle of Stony Point.
  • 1790 – The District of Columbia is established as the capital of the United States after signature of the Residence Act.
  • 1809 – The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declares its independence from the Spanish Crown during the La Paz revolution and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo.
  • 1849 – Antonio María Claret y Clará founds the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, popularly known as the Claretians in Vic, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: At the order of President Abraham Lincoln, Union troops begin a 25-mile march into Virginia for what will become the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the war.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: David Farragut is promoted to rear admiral, becoming the first officer in United States Navy to hold an admiral rank.
  • 1909 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son Ahmad Shah Qajar.
  • 1910 – John Robertson Duigan makes the first flight of the Duigan pusher biplane, the first aircraft built in Australia.
  • 1915 – Henry James becomes a British citizen to highlight his commitment to Britain during the first World War.
  • 1915 – At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law.
  • 1927 – Augusto César Sandino leads a raid on U.S. Marines and Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional that had been sent to apprehend him in the village of Ocotal, but is repulsed by one of the first dive-bombing attacks in history.
  • 1931 – Emperor Haile Selassie signs the first constitution of Ethiopia.
  • 1935 – The world’s first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
  • 1941 – Joe DiMaggio hits safely for the 56th consecutive game, a streak that still stands as an MLB record.
  • 1942 – Holocaust: Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup (Rafle du Vel’ d’Hiv): The government of Vichy France orders the mass arrest of 13,152 Jews who are held at the Vélodrome d’Hiver in Paris before deportation to Auschwitz.
  • 1945 – World War II: The heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis leaves San Francisco with parts for the atomic bomb “Little Boy” bound for Tinian Island.
  • 1945 – Manhattan Project: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
  • 1948 – Following token resistance, the city of Nazareth, revered by Christians as the hometown of Jesus, capitulates to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
  • 1948 – The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, marks the first aircraft hijacking of a commercial plane.
  • 1950 – Chaplain–Medic massacre: American POWs are massacred by North Korean Army.
  • 1951 – King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin I of Belgium.
  • 1956 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its last “Big Tent” show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; due to changing economics, all subsequent circus shows will be held in arenas.
  • 1965 – The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France and Italy opens.
  • 1965 – South Vietnamese Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, a formerly undetected communist spy and double agent, is hunted down and killed by unknown individuals after being sentenced to death in absentia for a February 1965 coup attempt against Nguyễn Khánh.
  • 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11, the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Kennedy, Florida.
  • 1979 – Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.
  • 1983 – Sikorsky S-61 disaster: A helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.
  • 1990 – The Luzon earthquake strikes the Philippines with an intensity of 7.7, affecting Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac.
  • 1990 – The Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR declares state sovereignty over the territory of the Ukrainian SSR.
  • 1999 – John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when the Piper Saratoga PA-32R aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
  • 2004 – Millennium Park, considered Chicago’s first and most ambitious early 21st-century architectural project, is opened to the public by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
  • 2007 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 and 6.6 aftershock occurs off the Niigata coast of Japan killing eight people, injuring at least 800 and damaging a nuclear power plant.
  • 2013 – As many as 27 children die and 25 others are hospitalized after eating lunch served at their school in eastern India.
  • 2015 – Four U.S. Marines and one gunman die in a shooting spree targeting military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
  • 2019 – 100 years old building in Mumbai, India, collapsed, killing at least 10 people and many remaining trapped.

Births on July 16

  • 1194 – Clare of Assisi, an Italian nun and saint (d. 1253)
  • 1486 – Andrea del Sarto, Italian painter (d. 1530)
  • 1517 – Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, English duchess (d. 1559)
  • 1529 – Petrus Peckius the Elder, Dutch jurist, writer on international maritime law (d. 1589)
  • 1611 – Cecilia Renata of Austria (d. 1644)
  • 1661 – Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, Canadian captain, explorer, and politician (d. 1706)
  • 1714 – Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French engineer and author (d. 1800)
  • 1722 – Joseph Wilton, English sculptor and academic (d. 1803)
  • 1723 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter and academic (d. 1792)
  • 1731 – Samuel Huntington, American jurist and politician, 18th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1796)
  • 1749 – Cyrus Griffin, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 16th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1810)
  • 1796 – Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French painter and etcher (d. 1875)
  • 1821 – Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader and author, founded Christian Science (d. 1910)
  • 1841 – Nikolai von Glehn, Estonian-German architect and activist (d. 1923)
  • 1858 – Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1931)
  • 1862 – Ida B. Wells, American journalist and activist (d. 1931)
  • 1863 – Anderson Dawson, Australian politician, 14th Premier of Queensland (d. 1910)
  • 1870 – Lambert McKenna, Irish priest, lexicographer, and scholar (d. 1956)
  • 1871 – John Maxwell, American golfer (d. 1906)
  • 1872 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (d. 1928)
  • 1872 – Frank Cooper, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Queensland (d. 1949)
  • 1880 – Kathleen Norris, American journalist and author (d. 1966)
  • 1882 – Violette Neatley Anderson, American judge (d. 1937)
  • 1883 – Charles Sheeler, American photographer and painter (d. 1965)
  • 1884 – Anna Vyrubova, Russian author (d. 1964)
  • 1887 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
  • 1888 – Percy Kilbride, American actor (d. 1964)
  • 1888 – Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
  • 1889 – Arthur Bowie Chrisman, American author (d. 1953)
  • 1895 – Wilfrid Hamel, Canadian businessman and politician, 35th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 1968)
  • 1896 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German biologist and eugenicist (d. 1969)
  • 1896 – Trygve Lie, Norwegian trade union leader and politician, 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Alexander Luria, Russian psychologist and physician (d. 1977)
  • 1902 – Mary Philbin, American actress (d. 1993)
  • 1903 – Fritz Bauer, German lawyer and judge (d. 1968)
  • 1903 – Carmen Lombardo, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1971)
  • 1903 – Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, German mathematician and engineer (d. 1974)
  • 1904 – Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1906 – Vincent Sherman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1907 – Frances Horwich, American educator and television host (d. 2001)
  • 1907 – Orville Redenbacher, American farmer and businessman, founded Orville Redenbacher’s (d. 1995)
  • 1907 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (d. 1990)
  • 1910 – Stan McCabe, Australian cricketer (d. 1968)
  • 1910 – Gordon Prange, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1980)
  • 1911 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (d. 1970)
  • 1912 – Milt Bocek, American baseball player (d. 2007)
  • 1912 – Amy Patterson, Argentine composer, singer, poet, and teacher (d. 2019)
  • 1915 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1915 – Elaine Barrie, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1918 – Denis Edward Arnold, English soldier (d. 2015)
  • 1918 – Paul Farnes, famed World War II Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and one of “The Few” surviving pilots of the Battle of Britain (d. 2020)
  • 1918 – Samuel Victor Perry, English biochemist and rugby player (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Hermine Braunsteiner, Austrian SS officer (d. 1999)
  • 1919 – Choi Kyu-hah, South Korean politician, 4th President of South Korea (d. 2006)
  • 1920 – Anatole Broyard, American critic and editor (d. 1990)
  • 1923 – Chris Argyris, American psychologist, theorist, and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Bola Sete, Brazilian guitarist (d. 1987)
  • 1924 – James L. Greenfield, American journalist and politician
  • 1924 – Bess Myerson, American model, actress, game show panelist, and politician, Miss America 1945 (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Rupert Deese, Northern Mariana Islander ceramic artist (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Frank Jobe, American sergeant and surgeon (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Rosita Quintana, Argentine actress
  • 1925 – Cal Tjader, American jazz musician (d. 1982)
  • 1926 – Ivica Horvat, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1926 – Irwin Rose, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Pierre F. Côté, Canadian lawyer and civil servant (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Shirley Hughes, English author and illustrator
  • 1927 – Derek Hawksworth, English footballer
  • 1928 – Anita Brookner, English novelist and art historian (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Bella Davidovich, Soviet-American pianist
  • 1928 – Robert Sheckley, American author and screenwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1928 – Jim Rathmann, American race car driver (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Dave Treen, American lawyer and politician, 51st Governor of Louisiana (d. 2009)
  • 1928 – Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer and author (d. 2000)
  • 1929 – Charles Ray Hatcher, American serial killer (d. 1984)
  • 1929 – Sheri S. Tepper, American author and poet (d. 2016)
  • 1929 – Gaby Tanguy, French swimmer
  • 1930 – Guy Béart, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Michael Bilirakis, American lawyer and politician
  • 1930 – Bert Rechichar, American football defensive back and kicker (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Fergus Gordon Kerr, Scottish Roman Catholic priest of the English Dominican Province
  • 1931 – Norm Sherry, American former catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball
  • 1932 – John Chilton, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Max McGee, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Dick Thornburgh, American lawyer and politician, 76th United States Attorney General
  • 1933 – Julian A. Brodsky, American businessman
  • 1934 – Tomás Eloy Martínez, Argentine journalist (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Katherine D. Ortega, 38th Treasurer of the United States
  • 1934 – Donald M. Payne, American educator and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Carl Epting Mundy Jr., American general (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Lynn Wyatt, American socialite and philanthropist
  • 1936 – Yasuo Fukuda, Japanese politician, 91st Prime Minister of Japan
  • 1936 – Buddy Merrill, American guitarist
  • 1936 – Jerry Norman, American sinologist and linguist (d. 2012)
  • 1936 – Venkataraman Subramanya, Indian-Australian cricketer
  • 1937 – Richard Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Nevada
  • 1937 – John Daly, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Cynthia Enloe, American author and academic
  • 1938 – Tony Jackson, English singer and bass player (d. 2003)
  • 1939 – William Bell, American singer-songwriter
  • 1939 – Lido Vieri, Italian football manager and football player
  • 1939 – Denise LaSalle, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Ruth Perry, president of Liberia (d. 2017)
  • 1939 – Shringar Nagaraj, Indian actor and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Corin Redgrave, English actor and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Mariele Ventre, Italian singer and conductor (d. 1995)
  • 1941 – Desmond Dekker, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1941 – Dag Solstad, Norwegian author and playwright
  • 1941 – Hans Wiegel, Dutch journalist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
  • 1941 – Sir George Young, 6th Baronet, English banker and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
  • 1942 – Margaret Court, Australian tennis player and minister
  • 1943 – Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban-American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1990)
  • 1943 – Vernon Bogdanor, English political scientist and academic
  • 1943 – Jimmy Johnson, American football player and coach
  • 1944 – Angharad Rees, English-Welsh actress and jewellery designer (d. 2012)
  • 1946 – Louise Fréchette, Canadian civil servant and diplomat, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • 1946 – Barbara Lee, American politician
  • 1946 – Ron Yary, American football player
  • 1947 – Don Burke, Australian television host and producer
  • 1947 – Alexis Herman, American businesswoman and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of Labor
  • 1947 – Assata Shakur, American-Cuban criminal and activist
  • 1948 – Rubén Blades, Panamanian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1948 – Lars Lagerbäck, Swedish footballer and manager
  • 1948 – Kevin McKenzie, South African cricketer
  • 1948 – Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli violinist and conductor
  • 1949 – Alan Fitzgerald, American guitarist and keyboardist
  • 1950 – Pierre Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Dennis Priestley, English darts player
  • 1950 – Frances Spalding, English historian and academic
  • 1950 – Tom Terrell, American journalist and photographer (d. 2007)
  • 1951 – Jean-Luc Mongrain, Canadian journalist
  • 1951 – Che Rosli, Malaysian politician
  • 1952 – Stewart Copeland, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1952 – Richard Egielski, American author and illustrator
  • 1952 – Marc Esposito, French director and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Ken McEwan, South African cricketer
  • 1953 – Douglas J. Feith, American lawyer and politician, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
  • 1954 – Jeanette Mott Oxford, American politician
  • 1955 – Susan Wheeler, American poet and academic
  • 1955 – Saw Swee Leong, Malaysian badminton player
  • 1956 – Tony Kushner, American playwright and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Faye Grant, American actress
  • 1957 – Alexandra Marinina, Ukrainian-Russian colonel and author
  • 1958 – Mick Cornett, American politician, and former mayor of Oklahoma City.
  • 1958 – Michael Flatley, American-Irish dancer and choreographer
  • 1958 – Mike Rogers, American politician
  • 1959 – Gary Anderson, South African-American football player
  • 1959 – James MacMillan, Scottish composer and conductor
  • 1959 – Zoran Jolevski, Macedonian economist, politician, and diplomat, Macedonian Ambassador to the United States
  • 1959 – Jürgen Ligi, Estonian economist and politician, 25th Estonian Minister of Defence
  • 1960 – Terry Pendleton, American baseball player and coach
  • 1962 – Grigory Leps, Russian singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Phoebe Cates, American actress
  • 1963 – Srečko Katanec, Slovenian footballer and coach
  • 1963 – Mikael Pernfors, Swedish tennis player
  • 1964 – Phil Hellmuth, American poker player
  • 1964 – Miguel Induráin, Spanish cyclist
  • 1965 – Michel Desjoyeaux, French sailor
  • 1965 – Claude Lemieux, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Sherri Stoner, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Jyrki Lumme, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1967 – Will Ferrell, American actor, comedian, and producer
  • 1968 – Dhanraj Pillay, Indian field hockey player and manager
  • 1968 – Barry Sanders, American football player
  • 1968 – Larry Sanger, American philosopher and businessman, co-founded Wikipedia and Citizendium
  • 1968 – Michael Searle, Australian rugby league player and businessman
  • 1968 – Robert Sherman, American songwriter and businessman
  • 1968 – Olga Souza, Brazilian singer and dancer
  • 1969 – Jules De Martino, English singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1969 – Kathryn Harby-Williams, Australian netball player and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Raimonds Miglinieks, Latvian basketball player and coach
  • 1970 – Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thai director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Corey Feldman, American actor
  • 1971 – Ed Kowalczyk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Live)
  • 1972 – Ben Cahoon, American-Canadian football player and coach
  • 1972 – François Drolet, Canadian speed skater
  • 1973 – Shaun Pollock, South African cricketer
  • 1973 – Graham Robertson, American director and producer
  • 1973 – Tim Ryan, American politician
  • 1974 – Jeremy Enigk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Maret Maripuu, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1974 – Ryan McCombs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Wendell Sailor, Australian rugby player
  • 1975 – Bas Leinders, Belgian race car driver
  • 1976 – Tomasz Kuchar, Polish race car driver
  • 1976 – Carlos Humberto Paredes, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1976 – Anna Smashnova, Belarusian-Israeli tennis player
  • 1977 – Bryan Budd, Northern Ireland-born English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2006)
  • 1979 – Chris Mihm, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Mai Nakamura, Japanese swimmer
  • 1979 – Kim Rhode, American sport shooter
  • 1979 – Nathan Rogers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Konstantin Skrylnikov, Russian footballer
  • 1980 – Adam Scott, Australian golfer
  • 1981 – Giuseppe Di Masi, Italian footballer
  • 1981 – Robert Kranjec, Slovenian ski jumper
  • 1981 – Zach Randolph, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Vicente Rodríguez, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – André Greipel, German cyclist
  • 1982 – Carli Lloyd, American soccer player
  • 1982 – Michael Umaña, Costa Rican footballer
  • 1983 – Duncan Keith, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Hayanari Shimoda, Japanese race car driver
  • 1984 – Attila Szabó, Hungarian decathlete
  • 1985 – Mārtiņš Kravčenko, Latvian basketball player
  • 1986 – Dustin Boyd, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Misako Uno, Japanese actress, singer, and fashion designer
  • 1987 – Mousa Dembélé, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – AnnaLynne McCord, American actress and producer
  • 1987 – Knowshon Moreno, American football player
  • 1988 – Sergio Busquets, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Gareth Bale, Welsh footballer
  • 1990 – Bureta Faraimo, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1990 – Wizkid, Nigerian singer and songwriter
  • 1990 – Johann Zarco, French motorcycle racer
  • 1991 – Nate Schmidt, American ice hockey player
  • 1991 – Andros Townsend, English footballer
  • 1996 – Daniel Pearson, English actor and presenter

Deaths on July 16

  • 784 – Fulrad, Frankish diplomat and saint (b. 710)
  • 866 – Irmgard, Frankish abbess
  • 1212 – William de Brus, 3rd Lord of Annandale
  • 1216 – Pope Innocent III (b. 1160)
  • 1324 – Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (b. 1267)
  • 1342 – Charles I of Hungary (b. 1288)
  • 1344 – An-Nasir Ahmad, Sultan of Egypt (b. 1316)
  • 1509 – João da Nova, Portuguese explorer (b. 1460)
  • 1546 – Anne Askew, English author and poet (b. 1520)
  • 1557 – Anne of Cleves (b. 1515)
  • 1576 – Isabella de’ Medici, Italian noble (b. 1542)
  • 1647 – Masaniello, Italian rebel (b. 1622)
  • 1664 – Andreas Gryphius, German poet and playwright (b. 1616)
  • 1686 – John Pearson, English bishop and scholar (b. 1612)
  • 1691 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1641)
  • 1729 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (b. 1683)
  • 1747 – Giuseppe Crespi, Italian painter (b. 1665)
  • 1770 – Francis Cotes, English painter and academic (b. 1726)
  • 1796 – George Howard, English field marshal and politician (b. 1718)
  • 1831 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Russian general (b. 1763)
  • 1849 – Sarah Allen, African-American missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church (b. 1764)
  • 1868 – Dmitry Pisarev, Russian author and critic (b. 1840)
  • 1879 – Edward Deas Thomson, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Chief Secretary of New South Wales (b. 1800)
  • 1882 – Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States 1861-1865 (b. 1818)
  • 1886 – Ned Buntline, American journalist and author (b. 1823)
  • 1896 – Edmond de Goncourt, French critic and publisher, founded Académie Goncourt (b. 1822)
  • 1915 – Ellen G. White, American theologian and author (b. 1827)
  • 1917 – Philipp Scharwenka, German composer and educator (b. 1847)
  • 1939 – Bartholomeus Roodenburch, Dutch swimmer (b. 1866)
  • 1949 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1866)
  • 1953 – Hilaire Belloc, French-born British writer and historian (b. 1870)
  • 1954 – Herms Niel, German soldier, trombonist, and composer (b. 1888)
  • 1960 – Albert Kesselring, German field marshal (b. 1881)
  • 1960 – John P. Marquand, American author (b. 1893)
  • 1964 – Rauf Orbay, Turkish colonel and politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1881)
  • 1965 – Boris Artzybasheff, Ukrainian-American illustrator (b.1899)
  • 1969 – James Scott Douglas, English-born Scottish race car driver and 6th Baronet Douglas (b. 1930)
  • 1981 – Harry Chapin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
  • 1982 – Charles Robberts Swart, South African lawyer and politician, 1st State President of South Africa (b. 1894)
  • 1985 – Heinrich Böll, German novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
  • 1985 – Wayne King, American saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader (b. 1901)
  • 1989 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1908)
  • 1990 – Robert Blackburn, Irish educator (b. 1927)
  • 1990 – Miguel Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
  • 1991 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (b. 1906)
  • 1991 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (b. 1915)
  • 1991 – Frank Rizzo, American police officer and politician, 93rd Mayor of Philadelphia (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Buck Buchanan, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
  • 1994 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – May Sarton, American playwright and novelist (b. 1912)
  • 1995 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Adolf von Thadden, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1921)
  • 1998 – John Henrik Clarke, American historian and scholar (b. 1915)
  • 1999 – John F. Kennedy Jr., American lawyer and publisher (b. 1960)
  • 1999 – Alan Macnaughton, Canadian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons (b. 1903)
  • 2001 – Morris, Belgian cartoonist (b. 1923)
  • 2002 – John Cocke, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1925)
  • 2003 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer and actress (b. 1925)
  • 2003 – Carol Shields, American-Canadian novelist and short story writer (b. 1935)
  • 2004 – George Busbee, American lawyer and politician, 77th Governor of Georgia (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 2005 – Pietro Consagra, Italian sculptor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Camillo Felgen, Luxembourgian singer-songwriter and radio host (b. 1920)
  • 2006 – Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 13th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas (b. 1948)
  • 2007 – Caterina Bueno, Italian singer and historian (b. 1943)
  • 2008 – Jo Stafford, American singer (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Lindsay Thompson, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Victoria (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Forrest Blue, American football player (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – William Asher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Stephen Covey, American businessman and author (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Gilbert Esau, American businessman and politician (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian bassist, pianist, and composer (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Masaharu Matsushita, Japanese businessman (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Kitty Wells, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Alex Colville, Canadian painter and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Marv Rotblatt, American baseball player (1927)
  • 2014 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Mary Ellen Otremba, American educator and politician (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
  • 2014 – Heinz Zemanek, Austrian computer scientist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Denis Avey, English soldier, engineer, and author (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Evelyn Ebsworth, English chemist and academic (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Alcides Ghiggia, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Jack Goody, English anthropologist, author, and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2017 – George Romero, American filmmaker (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances on July 16

  • Christian feast day:
    • Gondulphus of Tongeren
    • Helier
    • Our Lady of Mount Carmel
      • Fiesta de La Tirana (Tarapacá Region, Chile)
    • Reineldis
    • July 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Engineer’s Day (Honduras)
  • Holocaust Memorial Day (France)

July 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 484 BC – Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome
  • AD 70 – Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar).
  • 756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is ordered by his Imperial Guards to execute chancellor Yang Guozhong by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. General An Lushan has other members of the emperor’s family killed.
  • 1099 – First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege.
  • 1149 – The reconstructed Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated in Jerusalem.
  • 1207 – King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.
  • 1240 – Swedish–Novgorodian Wars: A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva.
  • 1381 – John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hanged, drawn, and quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England.
  • 1410 – Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War: Battle of Grunwald: The allied forces of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the army of the Teutonic Order.
  • 1482 – Muhammad XII is crowned the twenty-second and last Nasrid king of Granada.
  • 1738 – Baruch Laibov and Alexander Voznitzin are burned alive in St. Petersburg, Russia. Vonitzin had converted to Judaism with Laibov’s help, with the consent of Empress Anna Ivanovna.
  • 1741 – Aleksei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.
  • 1789 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, is named by acclamation Colonel General of the new National Guard of Paris.
  • 1799 – The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign.
  • 1806 – Pike Expedition: United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, Missouri, to explore the west.
  • 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.
  • 1823 – A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy.
  • 1834 – The Spanish Inquisition is officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.
  • 1838 – Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Protestant community reacts with outrage.
  • 1862 – The CSS Arkansas, the most effective ironclad on the Mississippi River, battles with Union ships commanded by Admiral David Farragut, severely damaging three ships and sustaining heavy damage herself. The encounter changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi and helped to reverse Rebel fortunes on the river in the summer of 1862.
  • 1870 – Reconstruction Era of the United States: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
  • 1870 – Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory are transferred to Canada from the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are established from these vast territories.
  • 1888 – The stratovolcano Mount Bandai erupts killing approximately 500 people, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
  • 1910 – In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gives a name to Alzheimer’s disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.
  • 1916 – In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).
  • 1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Marne begins near the River Marne with a German attack.
  • 1920 – The Polish Parliament establishes Silesian Voivodeship before the Polish-German plebiscite.
  • 1922 – Japanese Communist Party is established in Japan.
  • 1927 – Massacre of July 15, 1927: Eighty-nine protesters are killed by the Austrian police in Vienna.
  • 1946 – State of North Borneo, today in Sabah, Malaysia, annexed by the United Kingdom.
  • 1954 – First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and C-135 series.
  • 1955 – Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others.
  • 1959 – The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.
  • 1966 – Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam begin Operation Hastings to push the North Vietnamese out of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.
  • 1971 – The United Red Army is founded in Japan.
  • 1974 – In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek junta-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d’état, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president.
  • 1975 – Space Race: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project features the dual launch of an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft on the first joint Soviet-United States human-crewed flight. It was both the last launch of an Apollo spacecraft, and the Saturn family of rockets.
  • 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his “malaise speech”.
  • 1983 – An attack at Orly Airport in Paris is launched by Armenian militant organisation ASALA, leaving eight people dead and 55 injured.
  • 1996 – A Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport.
  • 1998 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP S. Shanmuganathan is killed by a claymore mine.
  • 2002 – “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
  • 2002 – Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
  • 2003 – AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
  • 2006 – Twitter, later one of the largest social media platforms in the world, is launched.
  • 2014 – A train derails on the Moscow Metro, killing at least 24 and injuring more than 160 others.
  • 2016 – Factions of the Turkish Armed Forces attempt a coup.

Births on July 15

  • 980 – Ichijō, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
  • 1273 – Ewostatewos, Ethiopian monk and saint (d. 1352)
  • 1353 – Vladimir the Bold, Russian prince (d. 1410)
  • 1359 – Antonio Correr, Italian cardinal (d. 1445)
  • 1442 – Boček IV of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1496)
  • 1455 – Queen Yun, Korean queen (d. 1482)
  • 1471 – Eskender, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1494)
  • 1478 – Barbara Jagiellon, duchess consort of Saxony and Margravine consort of Meissen (d. 1534)
  • 1573 – Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen’s House (d. 1652)
  • 1600 – Jan Cossiers, Flemish painter (d. 1671)
  • 1606 – Rembrandt, Dutch painter and etcher (d. 1669)
  • 1611 – Jai Singh I, maharaja of Jaipur (d. 1667)
  • 1613 – Gu Yanwu, Chinese philologist and geographer (d. 1682)
  • 1631 – Jens Juel, Danish politician and diplomat, Governor-general of Norway (d. 1700)
  • 1631 – Richard Cumberland, English philosopher (d. 1718)
  • 1638 – Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1693)
  • 1704 – August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German bishop and theologian (d. 1792)
  • 1779 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author, poet, and educator (d. 1863)
  • 1793 – Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, American educator, author, editor (d. 1884)
  • 1796 – Thomas Bulfinch, American mythologist (d. 1867)
  • 1799 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (d. 1882)
  • 1800 – Sidney Breese, American jurist and politician (d. 1878)
  • 1808 – Henry Edward Manning, English cardinal (d. 1892)
  • 1812 – James Hope-Scott, English lawyer and academic (d. 1873)
  • 1817 – Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (d. 1898)
  • 1827 – W. W. Thayer American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Oregon (d. 1899)
  • 1848 – Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist and sociologist (d. 1923)
  • 1850 – Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American nun and saint (d. 1917)
  • 1852 – Josef Josephi, Polish-born singer and actor (d. 1920)
  • 1858 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English political activist and suffragist (d. 1928)
  • 1864 – Marie Tempest, English actress and singer (d. 1942)
  • 1865 – Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, Anglo-Irish businessman and publisher, founded the Amalgamated Press (d. 1922)
  • 1865 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (d. 1945)
  • 1867 – Jean-Baptiste Charcot, French physician and explorer (d. 1936)
  • 1871 – Doppo Kunikida, Japanese journalist, author, and poet (d. 1908)
  • 1880 – Enrique Mosca, Argentinian lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
  • 1887 – Wharton Esherick, American sculptor (d. 1970)
  • 1892 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (d. 1940)
  • 1893 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1969)
  • 1893 – Dick Rauch, American football player and coach (d. 1970)
  • 1894 – Tadeusz Sendzimir, Polish-American engineer (d. 1989)
  • 1899 – Seán Lemass, Irish soldier and politician, 4th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1971)
  • 1902 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Walter D. Edmonds, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – K. Kamaraj, Indian journalist and politician (d. 1975)
  • 1904 – Rudolf Arnheim, German-American psychologist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1905 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (d. 1974)
  • 1905 – Anita Farra, Italian actress (d. 2008)
  • 1906 – R. S. Mugali, Indian poet and academic (d. 1993)
  • 1906 – Rudolf Uhlenhaut, English-German engineer (d. 1989)
  • 1909 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (d. 1992)
  • 1911 – Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, English geographer and politician, Secretary of State for Air (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
  • 1913 – Hammond Innes, English journalist and author (d. 1998)
  • 1913 – Abraham Sutzkever, Russian poet and author (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Akhtar Hameed Khan, Pakistani economist, scholar, and activist (d. 1999)
  • 1914 – Howard Vernon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1996)
  • 1915 – Albert Ghiorso, American chemist and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1915 – Kashmir Singh Katoch, Indian army officer (d. 2007)
  • 1916 – Sumner Gerard, American politician and diplomat (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1917 – Joan Roberts, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
  • 1917 – Nur Muhammad Taraki, Afghan journalist and politician (d. 1979)
  • 1918 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
  • 1918 – Brenda Milner, English-Canadian neuropsychologist and academic
  • 1919 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Iris Murdoch, Anglo-Irish British novelist and philosopher (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Jack Beeson, American pianist and composer (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – Henri Colpi, Swiss-French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Robert Bruce Merrifield, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Jean Heywood, British actress (d. 2019)
  • 1922 – Leon M. Lederman, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
  • 1922 – Jean-Pierre Richard, French writer (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Francisco de Andrade, Portuguese sailor
  • 1924 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Marianne Bernadotte, Swedish actress and philanthropist
  • 1925 – Philip Carey, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1925 – Taylor Hardwick, American architect, designed Haydon Burns Library and Friendship Fountain Park (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – D. A. Pennebaker, American documentary filmmaker (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Evan Hultman, American politician
  • 1925 – Antony Carbone, American actor
  • 1925 – Pandel Savic, American football player (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Driss Chraïbi, Moroccan-French journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (d. 2003)
  • 1926 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Sir John Graham, 4th Baronet, English diplomat (d. 2019)
  • 1927 – Nan Martin, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Carmen Zapata, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Håkon Brusveen, Norwegian cross-country skier
  • 1928 – Carl Woese, American microbiologist and biophysicist (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Viramachaneni Vimla Devi, Indian parliamentarian (d. 1967)
  • 1929 – Charles Anthony, American tenor and actor (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Francis Bebey, Cameroonian-French guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1929 – Ian Stewart, Scottish race car driver (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – Jacques Derrida, Algerian-French philosopher and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1930 – Richard Garneau, Canadian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Stephen Smale, American mathematician and computer scientist
  • 1930 – Einosuke Akiya, Japanese Buddhist leader
  • 1931 – Clive Cussler, American archaeologist and author (d. 2020)
  • 1931 – Joanna Merlin, American actress and casting director
  • 1931 – Jacques-Yvan Morin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
  • 1932 – Ed Litzenberger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
  • 1933 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (d. 2003)
  • 1933 – M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Harrison Birtwistle, English composer and academic
  • 1934 – Eva Krížiková, Czech actress (d. 2020)
  • 1934 – Risto Jarva, Finnish director and producer (d. 1977)
  • 1935 – Donn Clendenon, American baseball player and lawyer (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Alex Karras, American football player, wrestler, and actor (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Ken Kercheval, American actor and director (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – George Voinovich, American lawyer and politician, 65th Governor of Ohio (d. 2016)
  • 1937 – Prabhash Joshi, Indian journalist (d. 2009)
  • 1938 – Ernie Barnes, American football player, actor, and painter (d. 2009)
  • 1938 – Carmen Callil, Australian publisher, founded Virago Press
  • 1938 – Barry Goldwater, Jr., American lawyer and politician
  • 1939 – Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Portuguese economist and politician, 19th President of the Portuguese Republic
  • 1940 – Denis Héroux, Canadian director and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and convicted murderer (d. 1990)
  • 1940 – Robert Winston, English surgeon, academic, and politician
  • 1942 – Vivian Malone Jones, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
  • 1943 – Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Northern Irish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
  • 1944 – Millie Jackson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 1945 – David Arthur Granger, Guyanese politician, 9th President of Guyana
  • 1945 – Peter Lewis (musician), American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1945 – Jürgen Möllemann, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2003)
  • 1946 – Linda Ronstadt, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1946 – Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
  • 1947 – Peter Banks, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Lydia Davis, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist
  • 1947 – Pridiyathorn Devakula, Thai economist and politician, Thai Minister of Finance
  • 1947 – Roky Erickson, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
  • 1948 – Twinkle, English singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1948 – Dimosthenis Kourtovik, Greek anthropologist and critic
  • 1948 – Artimus Pyle, American rock drummer and songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
  • 1949 – Carl Bildt, Swedish politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Sweden
  • 1949 – Trevor Horn, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1949 – Richard Russo, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Colin Barnett, Australian economist and politician, 29th Premier of Western Australia
  • 1950 – Arianna Huffington, Greek-American journalist and publisher (The Huffington Post)
  • 1951 – Gregory Isaacs, Jamaican-English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1951 – Jesse Ventura, American wrestler, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of Minnesota
  • 1952 – David Pack, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1952 – Celia Imrie, English actress
  • 1952 – Terry O’Quinn, American actor
  • 1952 – Marky Ramone, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1952 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
  • 1953 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian priest and politician, 49th President of Haiti
  • 1953 – Sultanah Haminah, Malaysian royal consort
  • 1953 – Mohamad Shahrum Osman, Malaysian politician
  • 1953 – Alicia Bridges, American singer-songwriter
  • 1954 – John Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1954 – Jeff Jarvis, American journalist and blogger
  • 1954 – Giorgos Kaminis, American-Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Mayor of Athens
  • 1954 – Mario Kempes, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Ashoke Sen, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
  • 1956 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Joy Division) (d. 1980)
  • 1956 – Nicholas Harberd, British botanist, educator and academician
  • 1956 – Barry Melrose, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Steve Mortimer, Australian rugby league player, coach, and administrator
  • 1956 – Joe Satriani, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Wayne Taylor, South African race car driver
  • 1958 – Gary Heale, English footballer and coach
  • 1958 – Mac Thornberry, American lawyer and politician
  • 1959 – Vincent Lindon, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Kim Alexis, American fashion model
  • 1961 – Lolita Davidovich, Canadian actress
  • 1961 – Jean-Christophe Grangé, French journalist and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Scott Ritter, American soldier and international weapons inspector
  • 1961 – Forest Whitaker, American actor
  • 1962 – Nikos Filippou, Greek basketball player and manager
  • 1962 – Michelle Ford, Australian swimmer
  • 1963 – Brigitte Nielsen, Danish-Italian actress
  • 1963 – Steve Thomas, English-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1965 – Alistair Carmichael, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1965 – Gero Miesenböck, Austrian neuroscientist and educator
  • 1965 – David Miliband, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
  • 1966 – Jason Bonham, English singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1966 – Irène Jacob, French-Swiss actress
  • 1967 – Adam Savage, American actor and special effects designer
  • 1967 – Elbert West, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1968 – Eddie Griffin, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1969 – Ain Tammus, Estonian footballer and coach
  • 1970 – Tarkan Gözübüyük, Turkish bass player and producer
  • 1972 – Scott Foley, American actor
  • 1973 – Brian Austin Green, American actor
  • 1975 – Cherry, American wrestler and manager
  • 1975 – Danny Law, English cricketer
  • 1975 – Ben Pepper, Australian basketball player
  • 1976 – Steve Cunningham, American boxer
  • 1976 – Marco Di Vaio, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Diane Kruger, German actress and model
  • 1976 – Gabriel Iglesias, Mexican-American comedian and voice actor
  • 1977 – André Nel, South African cricketer
  • 1977 – Lana Parrilla, American actress
  • 1977 – John St. Clair, American football player
  • 1977 – Ray Toro, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Miguel Olivo, Dominican baseball player
  • 1979 – Laura Benanti, American actress and singer
  • 1979 – Alexander Frei, Swiss footballer
  • 1979 – Edda Garðarsdóttir, Icelandic footballer
  • 1979 – Renata Kučerová, Czech tennis player
  • 1980 – Reggie Abercrombie, American baseball player
  • 1980 – BxB Hulk, Japanese professional wrestler
  • 1980 – Jonathan Cheechoo, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Julia Perez, Indonesian singer and actress (d. 2017)
  • 1981 – Alou Diarra, French footballer
  • 1981 – Petros Klampanis, Greek bassist and composer
  • 1981 – Marius Stankevičius, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1982 – Alan Pérez, Spanish cyclist
  • 1982 – Neemia Tialata, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1982 – Aída Yéspica, Venezuelan model and actress
  • 1983 – Nelson Merlo, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1983 – Will Rudge, English cricketer
  • 1983 – Heath Slater, American wrestler
  • 1984 – Angelo Siniscalchi, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Veronika Velez-Zuzulová, Slovak skier
  • 1985 – Sanjeev, Tamil actor
  • 1985 – Tomer Kapon, Israeli actor
  • 1986 – Tyler Kennedy, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Riki Christodoulou, English race car driver
  • 1989 – Steven Jahn, German footballer
  • 1989 – Alisa Kleybanova, Russian tennis player
  • 1989 – Anthony Randolph, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Zach Bogosian, American ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Damian Lillard, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Danilo, Brazilian footballer
  • 1991 – Derrick Favors, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Evgeny Tishchenko, Russian boxer
  • 1992 – Tobias Harris, American basketball player
  • 1992 – Hokutōfuji Daiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1992 – Wayde van Niekerk, South African sprinter
  • 1993 – Håvard Nielsen, Norwegian footballer

Deaths on July 15

  • 756 – Yang Guifei, consort of Xuan Zong (b. 719)
  • 998 – Abū al-Wafā’ Būzjānī, Persian mathematician and astronomer (b. 940)
  • 1015 – Vladimir the Great, Grand prince of Kievan Rus’ (b. c. 958)
  • 1274 – Bonaventure, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1221)
  • 1291 – Rudolf I of Germany (b. 1218)
  • 1299 – King Eric II of Norway (b. c. 1268)
  • 1381 – John Ball, English Lollard priest
  • 1388 – Agnes of Durazzo, titular Latin empress consort of Constantinople (d. 1313)
  • 1397 – Catherine of Henneberg, German ruler (b. c. 1334)
  • 1406 – William, Duke of Austria
  • 1410 – Ulrich von Jungingen, German Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (b. 1360)
  • 1445 – Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
  • 1542 – Lisa del Giocondo, subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa (b. 1479)
  • 1544 – René of Châlon (b. 1519)
  • 1571 – Shimazu Takahisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1514)
  • 1609 – Annibale Carracci, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1560)
  • 1614 – Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, French soldier, historian, and author (b. 1540)
  • 1655 – Girolamo Rainaldi, Italian architect (b. 1570)
  • 1685 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Dutch-English general and politician, Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull (b. 1649)
  • 1750 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (b. 1686)
  • 1765 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (b. 1705)
  • 1767 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (b. 1746)
  • 1789 – Jacques Duphly, French harpsichord player and composer (b. 1715)
  • 1828 – Jean-Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (b. 1741)
  • 1839 – Winthrop Mackworth Praed, English poet and politician (b. 1802)
  • 1844 – Claude Charles Fauriel, French philologist and historian (b. 1772)
  • 1851 – Juan Felipe Ibarra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1787)
  • 1857 – Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1791)
  • 1858 – Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Russian painter (b. 1806)
  • 1883 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (b. 1838)
  • 1885 – Rosalía de Castro, Spanish author and poet (b. 1837)
  • 1890 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (b. 1819)
  • 1898 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, French-American archbishop (d. 1825)
  • 1904 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (b. 1860)
  • 1919 – Hermann Emil Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1929 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
  • 1930 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1845)
  • 1931 – Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian-German economist and mathematician (b. 1868)
  • 1932 – Bahíyyih Khánum, Iranian writer and leader in the Baha’i faith (b. 1846)
  • 1932 – Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven, South African poet and politician (b. 1873)
  • 1933 – Irving Babbitt, American scholar, critic, and academic (b. 1865)
  • 1933 – Freddie Keppard, American cornet player (b. 1890)
  • 1940 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and physician (b. 1857)
  • 1940 – Robert Wadlow, American giant, 8″11′ 271 cm (b.1918)
  • 1942 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1910)
  • 1944 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (b. 1885)
  • 1946 – Razor Smith, English cricketer and coach (b. 1877)
  • 1947 – Walter Donaldson, American soldier and songwriter (b. 1893)
  • 1948 – John J. Pershing, American general (b. 1860)
  • 1953 – Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, Indian archbishop, founded the Order of the Imitation of Christ (b. 1882)
  • 1957 – James M. Cox, American publisher and politician, 46th Governor of Ohio (b. 1870)
  • 1957 – Vasily Maklakov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1869)
  • 1959 – Ernest Bloch, Swiss-American composer and academic (b. 1880)
  • 1959 – Vance Palmer, Australian author and critic (b. 1885)
  • 1960 – Set Persson, Swedish politician (b. 1897)
  • 1960 – Lawrence Tibbett, American singer and actor (b. 1896)
  • 1961 – John Edward Brownlee, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Alberta (b. 1884)
  • 1961. – Nina Bari, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
  • 1965 – Francis Cherry, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1908)
  • 1966 – Seyfi Arkan, Turkish architect (b. 1903)
  • 1974 – Christine Chubbuck, American journalist (b. 1944)
  • 1976 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (b. 1897)
  • 1977 – Donald Mackay, Australian businessman and activist (b. 1933)
  • 1979 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 29th President of Mexico, 1964-1970 (b. 1911)
  • 1981 – Frédéric Dorion, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1982 – Bill Justis, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1926)
  • 1986 – Billy Haughton, American harness racer and trainer (b. 1923)
  • 1988 – Eleanor Estes, American librarian, author, and illustrator (b. 1906)
  • 1989 – Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (b. 1956)
  • 1990 – Zaim Topčić, Yugoslav and Bosnian writer (b. 1920)
  • 1990 – Margaret Lockwood, English actress (b. 1916)
  • 1990 – Omar Abu Risha, Syrian poet and diplomat, 4th Syrian Ambassador to the United States (b. 1910)
  • 1991 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (b. 1933)
  • 1992 – Hammer DeRoburt, Nauruan educator and politician, 1st President of Nauru (b. 1922)
  • 1992 – Chingiz Mustafayev, Azerbaijani journalist and author (b. 1960)
  • 1997 – Justinas Lagunavičius, Lithuanian basketball player (b. 1924)
  • 1997 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (b. 1946)
  • 1998 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1960)
  • 2000 – Louis Quilico, Canadian opera singer and educator (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – C. Balasingham, Sri Lankan lawyer and civil servant (b. 1917)
  • 2003 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (b. 1953)
  • 2003 – Elisabeth Welch, American actress and singer (b. 1904)
  • 2006 – Robert H. Brooks, American businessman, founder of Hooters and Naturally Fresh, Inc. (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Alireza Shapour Shahbazi, Iranian archaeologist and academic (b. 1942)
  • 2008 – György Kolonics, Hungarian canoe racer (b. 1972)
  • 2010 – James E. Akins, American politician and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (b. 1926)
  • 2011 – Friedrich Wilhelm Schnitzler, German landowner and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2011 – Googie Withers, British-Australian actress (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Boris Cebotari, Moldovan footballer (b. 1975)
  • 2012 – Tsilla Chelton, Israeli-French actress (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Grant Feasel, American football player (b. 1960)
  • 2012 – David Fraser, English general (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Celeste Holm, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Yoichi Takabayashi, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Ninos Aho, Syrian-American poet and activist (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Henry Braden, American lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – Tom Greenwell, American lawyer and judge (b. 1956)
  • 2013 – Earl Gros, American football player (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Noël Lee, Chinese-American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (b. 1986)
  • 2013 – John T. Riedl, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1962)
  • 2014 – Óscar Acosta, Honduran author, poet, and diplomat (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Saúl Lara, Spanish footballer (b. 1982)
  • 2014 – Edward Perl, American neuroscientist and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Masahiko Aoki, Japanese-American economist and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Wan Li, Chinese politician, 4th Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Aubrey Morris, British actor (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Dave Somerville, Canadian singer (b. 1933)
  • 2017 – Martin Landau, American film and television actor (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on July 15

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
    • Anne-Marie Javouhey
    • Bernhard II, Margrave of Baden-Baden
    • Bonaventure
    • Dispersion of the Apostles (No longer officially celebrated by the Catholic Church)
    • Donald of Ogilvy
    • Edith of Polesworth
    • Edith of Wilton
    • Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
    • Plechelm
    • Quriaqos and Julietta
    • Swithun
    • Vladimir the Great (Eastern Orthodox; Catholic Church)
    • July 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Puerto Rico)
  • Earliest day on which Galla Bayramy can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday of July. (Turkmenistan)
  • Earliest day on which Marine Day can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Japan)
  • Earliest day on which President’s Day (Botswana) can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July.
  • Elderly Men Day (Kiribati)
  • Festival of Santa Rosalia (Palermo, Sicily)
  • Sultan’s Birthday (Brunei Darussalam)

July 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

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