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1819

September 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 48 BC – Pompey is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy upon arriving in Egypt.
  • 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He is exiled to the mines of Sardinia, along with Hippolytus of Rome.
  • 351 – Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius.
  • 365 – Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself emperor.
  • 935 – Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia is murdered by a group of nobles led by his brother Boleslaus I, who succeeds him.
  • 995 – Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia, kills most members of the rival Slavník dynasty.
  • 1066 – William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman conquest.
  • 1106 – King Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose.
  • 1238 – King James I of Aragon conquers Valencia from the Moors. Shortly thereafter, he proclaims himself king of Valencia.
  • 1322 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.
  • 1538 – Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza.
  • 1542 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California.
  • 1779 – American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.
  • 1781 – American Revolution: American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown.
  • 1787 – The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly-written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval.
  • 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted. It will be made public on 13 October.
  • 1844 – Oscar I of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
  • 1867 – Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, having also been the capital of Ontario’s predecessors since 1796.
  • 1868 – The Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.
  • 1871 – The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves.
  • 1889 – The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter.
  • 1892 – The first night game for American football takes place in a contest between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield State Normal.
  • 1893 – Foundation of the Portuguese football club FC Porto.
  • 1901 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas kill more than forty American soldiers while losing 28 of their own.
  • 1912 – The Ulster Covenant is signed by some 500,000 Ulster Protestant Unionists in opposition to the Third Irish Home Rule Bill.
  • 1912 – Corporal Frank S. Scott of the United States Army becomes the first enlisted man to die in an airplane crash.
  • 1918 – World War I: The Fifth Battle of Ypres begins.
  • 1919 – Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska.
  • 1924 – The first aerial circumnavigation is completed by a team from the US Army.
  • 1928 – Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
  • 1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland.
  • 1939 – World War II: The siege of Warsaw comes to an end.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Drama uprising against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece begins.
  • 1941 – Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better.
  • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army troops liberate Klooga concentration camp in Estonia.
  • 1951 – CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.
  • 1961 – A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.
  • 1970 – Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser dies of a heart attack in Cairo.
  • 1971 – The Parliament of the UK passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, banning the medicinal use of cannabis.
  • 1973 – The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT’s alleged involvement in the coup d’état in Chile.
  • 1975 – The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.
  • 1986 – The Democratic Progressive Party becomes the first opposition party in Taiwan.
  • 1991 – The Strategic Air Command stands down from alert all ICBMs scheduled for deactivation under START I, as well as its strategic bomber force.
  • 1992 – A Pakistan International Airlines flight crashes into a hill in Nepal, killing all 167 passengers and crew.
  • 1994 – The cruise ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.
  • 1995 – Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of the Comoros in a coup.
  • 1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
  • 2000 – Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits Al-Aqsa Mosque known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
  • 2008 – Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit.
  • 2009 – The military junta leading Guinea attacks a protest rally, killing or wounding 1400 people.
  • 2012 – Somali and African Union forces launch a coordinated assault on the Somali port of Kismayo to take back the city from al-Shabaab militants.
  • 2014 – The 2014 Hong Kong protests begin in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing.
  • 2016 – The 2016 South Australian blackout occurs, lasting up to three days in some areas.
  • 2018 – The 7.5 Mw 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami, leaves 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.
  • 2018 – On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the international project Tree of Peace was established (September, 28). One of the trees was planted personally by Zuzana Čaputová, President of the Slovak Republic.

Births on September 28

  • 551 BC – Confucius, Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. (d. 479 BC)
  • 616 – Javanshir, King of Caucasian Albania (d. 680)
  • 1494 – Agnolo Firenzuola, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1545)
  • 1555 – Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne, Marshal of France (d. 1623)
  • 1573 – Théodore de Mayerne, Swiss physician (d. 1654)
  • 1605 – Ismaël Bullialdus, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1694)
  • 1681 – Johann Mattheson, German composer, lexicographer, and diplomat (d. 1764)
  • 1705 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1774)
  • 1705 – Johann Peter Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1772)
  • 1735 – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1811)
  • 1746 – William Jones, English-Welsh philologist and scholar (d. 1794)
  • 1765 – Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (d. 1814)
  • 1803 – Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist, historian, and author (d. 1870)
  • 1809 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (d. 1899)
  • 1819 – Narcís Monturiol, Spanish engineer and publisher (d. 1885)
  • 1821 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American minister and politician (d. 1874)
  • 1823 – Alexandre Cabanel, French painter and educator (d. 1889)
  • 1824 – Francis Turner Palgrave, English poet and critic (d. 1897)
  • 1836 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber, invented the ballcock (d. 1910)
  • 1838 – Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian national saint (d. 1918)
  • 1841 – Georges Clemenceau, French journalist, physician, and politician, 85th Prime Minister of France (d. 1929)
  • 1844 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
  • 1852 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
  • 1852 – Isis Pogson, British astronomer and meteorologist (d. 1945)
  • 1856 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author and educator (d. 1923)
  • 1860 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French chemist and physicist (d. 1934)
  • 1861 – Amélie of Orléans, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1951)
  • 1867 – Hiranuma Kiichirō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1952)
  • 1867 – James Edwin Campbell, American poet, editor, short story writer and educator (d. 1896)
  • 1868 – Evelyn Beatrice Hall, English writer best known for her biography of Voltaire, and wrote under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre (d. 1956)
  • 1877 – Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (d. 1940)
  • 1878 – Joseph Ruddy, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1962)
  • 1870 – Florent Schmitt, French composer and critic (d. 1958)
  • 1881 – Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (d. 1950)
  • 1882 – Mart Saar, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1963)
  • 1885 – Emil Väre, Finnish wrestler, coach, and referee (d. 1974)
  • 1887 – Avery Brundage, American businessman, 5th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1975)
  • 1889 – Jack Fournier, American baseball player and coach (d. 1973)
  • 1890 – Florence Violet McKenzie, Australian electrical engineer (d. 1982)
  • 1892 – Elmer Rice, American playwright (d. 1967)
  • 1893 – Hilda Geiringer, Austrian mathematician (d. 1973)
  • 1893 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 1984)
  • 1898 – Carl Clauberg, German Nazi physician (d. 1957)
  • 1900 – Isabel Pell, American socialite, fought as part of the French Resistance during WWII (d. 1951)
  • 1901 – William S. Paley, American broadcaster, founded CBS (d. 1990)
  • 1901 – Ed Sullivan, American television host (d. 1974)
  • 1903 – Haywood S. Hansell, American general (d. 1988)
  • 1905 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (d. 2005)
  • 1907 – Heikki Savolainen, Finnish gymnast and physician (d. 1997)
  • 1907 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (d. 1931)
  • 1909 – Al Capp, American author and illustrator (d. 1979)
  • 1910 – Diosdado Macapagal, Filipino lawyer and politician, 9th President of the Philippines (d. 1997)
  • 1910 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1942)
  • 1913 – Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss illustrator (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Alice Marble, American tennis player (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American refugee and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1915 – Ethel Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
  • 1916 – Peter Finch, English-Australian actor (d. 1977)
  • 1916 – Olga Lepeshinskaya, Ukrainian-Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Ángel Labruna, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
  • 1918 – Arnold Stang, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Doris Singleton, American actress (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Larry Munson, American sportscaster (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Tuli Kupferberg, American singer, poet, and writer (d. 2010)
  • 1923 – John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Selkirkshire (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – William Windom, American actor (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Rudolf Barshai, Russian-Swiss viola player and conductor (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian-French actor and singer (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – Seymour Cray, American computer scientist, founded the CRAY Computer Company (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (d. 1991)
  • 1925 – Martin David Kruskal, American physicist and mathematician (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Jerry Clower, American soldier, comedian, and author (d. 1998)
  • 1928 – Koko Taylor, American singer (d. 2009)
  • 1929 – Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer and composer
  • 1930 – Tommy Collins, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1930 – Immanuel Wallerstein, American sociologist, author, and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Jeremy Isaacs, Scottish screenwriter and producer
  • 1932 – Víctor Jara, Chilean singer-songwriter, poet, and director (d. 1973)
  • 1933 – Joe Benton, English soldier and politician
  • 1933 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor and educator (d. 2006)
  • 1933 – Johnny “Country” Mathis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1934 – Brigitte Bardot, French actress
  • 1935 – Bruce Crampton, Australian golfer
  • 1935 – David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick, English diplomat, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations
  • 1935 – Ronald Lacey, English actor (d. 1991)
  • 1936 – Emmett Chapman, American guitarist, invented the Chapman Stick
  • 1936 – Eddie Lumsden, Australian rugby league player (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Robert Wolders, Dutch television actor (d. 2018)
  • 1937 – Alice Mahon, English trade union leader and politician
  • 1937 – Glenn Sutton, American country music songwriter and record producer (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Stuart Kauffman, American biologist and academic
  • 1941 – David Lewis, American philosopher and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1941 – Edmund Stoiber, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Bavaria
  • 1942 – Pierre Clémenti, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1942 – Edward “Little Buster” Forehand, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Warren Lieberfarb, American businessman
  • 1943 – George W. S. Trow, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Nick St. Nicholas, German-Canadian bass player
  • 1944 – Richie Karl, American golfer
  • 1944 – Marcia Muller, American journalist and author
  • 1945 – Marielle Goitschel, French skier
  • 1945 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1945 – Fusako Shigenobu, Japanese activist, founded the Japanese Red Army
  • 1946 – Tom Bower, English journalist and author
  • 1946 – Majid Khan, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
  • 1947 – Bob Carr, Australian journalist and politician, 37th Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1947 – Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi politician, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
  • 1947 – Jon Snow, English journalist and academic
  • 1947 – Rhonda Hughes, American mathematician and academic
  • 1949 – Jim Henshaw, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Paul Burgess, English drummer
  • 1950 – Christina Hoff Sommers, American author and philosopher
  • 1950 – John Sayles, American novelist, director, and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2015)
  • 1952 – Christopher Buckley, American satirical novelist
  • 1952 – Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1952 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch model and actress (d. 2012)
  • 1952 – Andy Ward, English drummer
  • 1953 – Otmar Hasler, Liechtensteiner educator and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
  • 1954 – Steve Largent, American football player and politician
  • 1954 – George Lynch, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1954 – John Scott, English rugby player
  • 1954 – Margot Wallström, Swedish politician and diplomat, 42nd Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1955 – Stéphane Dion, Canadian sociologist and politician, 15th Canadian Minister of the Environment
  • 1955 – Mercy Manci, Xhosa sangoma and HIV activist from South Africa
  • 1955 – Kenny Kirkland, American pianist (d. 1998)
  • 1956 – Martha Isabel Fandiño Pinilla, Colombian-Italian mathematician and author
  • 1957 – Bill Cassidy, American politician and physician
  • 1959 – Ron Fellows, Canadian race car driver
  • 1959 – Laura Bruce, American artist
  • 1960 – Gary Ayres, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1960 – Tom Byrum, American golfer
  • 1960 – Frank Hammerschlag, German footballer and manager
  • 1960 – Gus Logie, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1960 – Kamlesh Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, English politician
  • 1960 – Jennifer Rush, American singer-songwriter
  • 1960 – Socrates Villegas, Filipino archbishop
  • 1961 – Helen Grant, English lawyer and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
  • 1961 – Gregory Jbara, American actor and singer
  • 1961 – Quentin Kawānanakoa, American lawyer and politician
  • 1961 – Anne White, American tennis player
  • 1962 – Grant Fuhr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Laurie Rinker, American golfer
  • 1962 – Dietmar Schacht, German footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Chuck Taylor, American journalist
  • 1963 – Steve Blackman, American wrestler and martial artist
  • 1963 – Érik Comas, French race car driver
  • 1963 – Greg Weisman, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Claudio Borghi, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Gregor Fisken, Scottish race car driver
  • 1964 – Janeane Garofalo, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Paul Jewell, English footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Mārtiņš Roze, Latvian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1966 – Scott Adams, American football player (d. 2013)
  • 1966 – Maria Canals-Barrera, Cuban-American actress
  • 1966 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Mira Sorvino, American actress
  • 1967 – Moon Zappa, American actress and author
  • 1968 – Francois Botha, South African boxer and mixed martial artist
  • 1968 – Mika Häkkinen, Finnish race car driver
  • 1968 – Trish Keenan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
  • 1968 – Sean Levert, American R&B singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1968 – Rob Moroso, American race car driver (d. 1990)
  • 1968 – Naomi Watts, English-Australian actress and producer
  • 1969 – Kerri Chandler, electronic music producer and DJ
  • 1969 – Marcel Dost, Dutch decathlete
  • 1969 – Ben Greenman, American journalist and author
  • 1969 – Piper Kerman, American author and memoirist
  • 1969 – Éric Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1969 – Sascha Maassen, German race car driver
  • 1969 – Angus Robertson, Scottish politician
  • 1969 – Nico Vaesen, Belgian footballer
  • 1970 – Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japanese tennis player
  • 1970 – Mike DeJean, American baseball player
  • 1970 – Gualter Salles, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1971 – Joseph Arthur, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1971 – George Eustice, English lawyer and politician
  • 1971 – Braam van Straaten, South African rugby player
  • 1971 – Alan Wright, English footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Dita Von Teese, American model and dancer
  • 1973 – Brian Rafalski, American ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Marco Di Loreto, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Mariya Kiselyova, Russian swimmer
  • 1974 – Joonas Kolkka, Finnish footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Shane Webcke, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1975 – Stuart Clark, Australian cricketer and manager
  • 1975 – Isamu Jordan, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1975 – Lenny Krayzelburg, Russian-American swimmer
  • 1976 – Fedor Emelianenko, Russian mixed martial artist and politician
  • 1977 – Ireneusz Marcinkowski, Polish footballer
  • 1977 – Pak Se-ri, South Korean golfer
  • 1977 – Young Jeezy, American rapper
  • 1978 – Ben Edmondson, Australian cricketer
  • 1979 – Bam Margera, American skateboarder, actor, and stuntman
  • 1979 – Taki Tsan, American-Greek rapper and producer
  • 1980 – Marlon Parmer, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Greg Anderson, American pianist and composer
  • 1981 – Willy Caballero, Argentine footballer
  • 1981 – José Calderón, Spanish basketball player
  • 1981 – Jorge Guagua, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1981 – Iracema Trevisan, Brazilian bass player
  • 1982 – Aleksandr Anyukov, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Abhinav Bindra, Indian target shooter
  • 1982 – Ray Emery, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2018)
  • 1982 – Ranbir Kapoor, Indian actor and director
  • 1982 – Nolwenn Leroy, French singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1982 – Emeka Okafor, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Dustin Penner, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Aivar Rehemaa, Estonian skier
  • 1982 – Anderson Varejão, Brazilian basketball player
  • 1982 – St. Vincent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1983 – Stefan Moore, English footballer
  • 1983 – John Schwalger, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1984 – Jenny Omnichord, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Luke Pomersbach, Australian cricketer
  • 1984 – Naim Terbunja, Kosovan-Swedish boxer
  • 1984 – Melody Thornton, American singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1984 – Mathieu Valbuena, French footballer
  • 1984 – Ryan Zimmerman, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Shindong, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1985 – Alina Ibragimova, Russian-English violinist
  • 1986 – Andrés Guardado, Mexican footballer
  • 1986 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (d. 2013)
  • 1986 – Dominic Waters, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Pierre Becken, German footballer
  • 1987 – Gary Deegan, Irish footballer
  • 1987 – Hilary Duff, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Chloë Hanslip, English violinist
  • 1987 – Viktoria Leks, Estonian high jumper
  • 1988 – Marin Čilić, Croatian tennis player
  • 1988 – Esmée Denters, Dutch singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Aleks Vrteski, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Worakls, French DJ and electronic musician
  • 1989 – Çağla Büyükakçay, Turkish tennis player
  • 1989 – Darius Johnson-Odom, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Mark Randall, English footballer
  • 1990 – Phoenix Battye, Australian rugby player
  • 1992 – Khem Birch, Canadian professional basketball player
  • 1992 – Adam Thompson, English-Northern Irish footballer
  • 1992 – Kōko Tsurumi, Japanese gymnast
  • 1993 – Jodie Williams, English sprinter
  • 1995 – Jason Williams, English footballer

Deaths on September 28

  • 48 BC – Pompey, Roman general and politician (b. 106 BC)
  • 782 – Leoba, Anglo-Saxon nun
  • 935 – Wenceslaus I, duke of Bohemia
  • 980 – Minamoto no Hiromasa, Japanese nobleman (b. 918)
  • 1197 – Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1165)
  • 1213 – Gertrude of Merania, queen consort of Hungaria (b. 1185)
  • 1330 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (b. 1292)
  • 1429 – Cymburgis of Masovia, duchess consort of Austria (b. 1394)
  • 1582 – George Buchanan, Scottish historian and scholar (b. 1506)
  • 1596 – Margaret Clifford, countess of Derby (b. 1540)
  • 1618 – Josuah Sylvester, English poet and translator (b. 1563)
  • 1687 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian theologian and academic (b. 1623)
  • 1694 – Gabriel Mouton, French mathematician and theologian (b. 1618)
  • 1702 – Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, French-English lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1640)
  • 1742 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French bishop (b. 1663)
  • 1829 – Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and politician (b. 1771)
  • 1844 – Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy, Russian general and politician (b. 1769)
  • 1859 – Carl Ritter, German geographer and academic (b. 1779)
  • 1873 – Émile Gaboriau, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
  • 1891 – Herman Melville, American author and poet (b. 1819)
  • 1895 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (b. 1822)
  • 1899 – Giovanni Segantini, Austrian painter (b. 1858)
  • 1914 – Richard Warren Sears, American businessman, co-founded Sears (b. 1863)
  • 1915 – Saitō Hajime, Japanese samurai (b. 1844)
  • 1918 – Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1858)
  • 1918 – Freddie Stowers, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1896)
  • 1925 – Paul Vermoyal, French actor (b. 1888)
  • 1935 – William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer, invented the Kinetoscope (b. 1860)
  • 1938 – Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (b. 1861)
  • 1943 – Sam Ruben, American chemist and academic (b. 1913)
  • 1943 – Filippo Illuminato, Italian partisan, Gold Medal of Military Valour (b. 1930)
  • 1949 – Archbishop Chrysanthus of Athens (b. 1881)
  • 1953 – Edwin Hubble, American astronomer and scholar (b. 1889)
  • 1956 – William Boeing, American businessman, founded the Boeing Company (b. 1881)
  • 1957 – Luis Cluzeau Mortet, Uruguayan violinist and composer (b. 1888)
  • 1959 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (b. 1901)
  • 1962 – Roger Nimier, French soldier and author (b. 1925)
  • 1964 – Harpo Marx, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1888)
  • 1966 – André Breton, French author and poet (b. 1896)
  • 1970 – John Dos Passos, American novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright (b. 1896)
  • 1970 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (b. 1918)
  • 1978 – Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)
  • 1979 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist and engineer (b. 1921)
  • 1981 – Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan journalist and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
  • 1982 – Mabel Albertson, American actress (b. 1901)
  • 1984 – Cihad Baban, Turkish journalist, author, and politician (b. 1911)
  • 1989 – Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Philippines (b. 1917)
  • 1990 – Larry O’Brien, American businessman and politician, 57th United States Postmaster General (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – Miles Davis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1926)
  • 1993 – Peter De Vries, American editor and novelist (b. 1910)
  • 1993 – Alexander A. Drabik, American sergeant (b. 1910)
  • 1994 – Urmas Alender, Estonian singer (b. 1953)
  • 1994 – José Francisco Ruiz Massieu, Mexican lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Guerrero (b. 1946)
  • 1994 – Harry Saltzman, Canadian production manager and producer (b. 1915)
  • 1994 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Escott Reid, Canadian academic and diplomat (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – Pierre Trudeau, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Patsy Mink, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2002 – Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (b. 1907)
  • 2003 – Althea Gibson, American tennis player and golfer (b. 1927)
  • 2003 – Elia Kazan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
  • 2003 – George Odlum, Saint Lucian politician and diplomat (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Geoffrey Beene, American fashion designer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Constance Baker Motley, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – René Desmaison, French mountaineer (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (b. 1913)
  • 2009 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (b. 1936)
  • 2009 – Ulf Larsson, Swedish actor and director (b. 1956)
  • 2010 – Kurt Albert, German mountaineer and photographer (b. 1954)
  • 2010 – Arthur Penn, American director and producer (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Dolores Wilson, American soprano and actress (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Avraham Adan, Israeli general (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Chris Economaki, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Brajesh Mishra, Indian politician and diplomat, 1st Indian National Security Advisor (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – James Emanuel, American-French poet and scholar (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Jonathan Fellows-Smith, South African cricketer and rugby player (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – George Amon Webster, American singer and pianist (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Dannie Abse, Welsh physician, poet, and author (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Joseph H. Alexander, American colonel and historian (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Sheila Faith, English dentist and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Tim Rawlings, English footballer and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Petr Skoumal, Czech pianist and composer (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Alexander Faris, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Walter Dale Miller, American rancher and politician, 29th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Ignacio Zoco, Spanish footballer (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Agnes Nixon, American television writer and director (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Gary Glasberg, American television writer and producer (b. 1966)
  • 2016 – Shimon Peres, Polish-Israeli statesman and politician, 9th President of Israel (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – Gloria Naylor, American novelist (b. 1950)
  • 2017 – Daniel Pe’er, Israeli television host and newsreader (b. 1943)
  • 2018 – Predrag Ejdus, Serbian actor (b. 1947)
  • 2019 – José José, 71, Mexican singer (El Principe de la Canción or The Prince of Song), pancreas cancer (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances on September 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aaron of Auxerre
    • Annemund
    • Conval
    • Eustochium
    • Exuperius
    • Faustus of Riez
    • John of Dukla
    • Leoba
    • Lorenzo Ruiz
    • Paternus of Auch
    • Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton and Margery Kempe (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Simón de Rojas
    • Wenceslas
    • September 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
  • Czech Statehood Day (Czech Republic)
  • Freedom from Hunger Day
  • International Day for Universal Access to Information
  • National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography (Philippines)
  • Teachers’ Day (Taiwan and Chinese-Filipino schools in the Philippines), ceremonies dedicated to Confucius are also observed.
  • World Rabies Day (International)

September 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day, Uncategorized

August 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
  • AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
  • 527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
  • 607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
  • 902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
  • 1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
  • 1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
  • 1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.
  • 1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
  • 1571 – The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.
  • 1620 – Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.
  • 1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
  • 1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.
  • 1759 – Seven Years’ War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
  • 1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
  • 1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
  • 1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • 1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
  • 1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.
  • 1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
  • 1849 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.
  • 1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
  • 1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
  • 1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.
  • 1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
  • 1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
  • 1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot’s test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator’s certificate.
  • 1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.
  • 1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
  • 1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff, and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.
  • 1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
  • 1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
  • 1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as “Black Sunday”, was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
  • 1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
  • 1950 – Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth as President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.
  • 1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
  • 1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
  • 1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
  • 1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation’s first centralized military espionage organization.
  • 1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • 1965 – Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
  • 1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
  • 1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
  • 1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
  • 1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  • 1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the “Green Line”, dividing Cyprus into two zones.
  • 1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
  • 1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.
  • 1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
  • 1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.
  • 1988 – A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.
  • 1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
  • 1998 – The establishment of Muslim Medics, one of the largest student-led societies in Imperial College London that provides both academic and wellbeing support to medical students of all backgrounds.
  • 2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
  • 2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
  • 2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.
  • 2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
  • 2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.

Births on August 1

  • 10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)
  • 126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)
  • 845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)
  • 992 – Hyeonjong, Korean king (d. 1031)
  • 1068 – Taizu, Chinese emperor (d. 1123)
  • 1313 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (d. 1364)
  • 1377 – Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (d. 1433)
  • 1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)
  • 1410 – Jan IV, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1475)
  • 1492 – Wolfgang, German prince (d. 1566)
  • 1520 – Sigismund II, Polish king (d. 1572)
  • 1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)
  • 1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
  • 1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)
  • 1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)
  • 1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)
  • 1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)
  • 1713 – Charles I, German duke and prince (d. 1780)
  • 1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)
  • 1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
  • 1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)
  • 1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)
  • 1778 – Mary Jefferson Eppes, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who died in childbirth (d. 1804)
  • 1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)
  • 1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)
  • 1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)
  • 1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)
  • 1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)
  • 1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)
  • 1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
  • 1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
  • 1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)
  • 1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)
  • 1860 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (d. 1918)
  • 1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
  • 1865 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (d. 1917)
  • 1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)
  • 1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)
  • 1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)
  • 1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
  • 1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)
  • 1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)
  • 1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)
  • 1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
  • 1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980)
  • 1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
  • 1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)
  • 1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)
  • 1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)
  • 1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)
  • 1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
  • 1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)
  • 1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Gerda Taro, German war photographer (d. 1937)
  • 1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)
  • 1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)
  • 1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
  • 1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)
  • 1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)
  • 1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
  • 1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)
  • 1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – Val Bettin, American actor
  • 1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)
  • 1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)
  • 1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (d. 2006)
  • 1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)
  • 1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)
  • 1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)
  • 1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
  • 1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
  • 1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
  • 1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
  • 1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2019)
  • 1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
  • 1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer
  • 1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)
  • 1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)
  • 1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic
  • 1937 – Al D’Amato, American lawyer and politician
  • 1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor
  • 1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)
  • 1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
  • 1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant
  • 1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor
  • 1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)
  • 1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
  • 1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)
  • 1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic
  • 1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author
  • 1947 – Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist
  • 1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios
  • 1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player
  • 1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)
  • 1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan
  • 1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)
  • 1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)
  • 1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach
  • 1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
  • 1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
  • 1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author
  • 1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)
  • 1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author
  • 1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach
  • 1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter
  • 1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)
  • 1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer
  • 1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor
  • 1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer
  • 1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician
  • 1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator
  • 1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer
  • 1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer
  • 1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author
  • 1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach
  • 1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach
  • 1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter
  • 1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout
  • 1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist
  • 1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player
  • 1970 – David James, English footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer
  • 1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach
  • 1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic
  • 1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach
  • 1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner
  • 1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
  • 1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist
  • 1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)
  • 1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer
  • 1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier
  • 1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator
  • 1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
  • 1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
  • 1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
  • 1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player
  • 1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor
  • 1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player
  • 1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer
  • 1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete
  • 1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer
  • 1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player
  • 1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete
  • 1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer
  • 1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer
  • 1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author
  • 1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer
  • 1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player
  • 1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer
  • 1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player
  • 1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer
  • 1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
  • 1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer
  • 1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
  • 1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
  • 1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player
  • 1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player
  • 1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer
  • 1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer
  • 1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer
  • 1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer
  • 1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
  • 1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player
  • 1987 – Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Karen Carney, English women’s football winger
  • 1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer
  • 1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer
  • 1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer
  • 1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
  • 1989 – Tiffany Hwang, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress
  • 1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player
  • 1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer
  • 1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player
  • 1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer
  • 1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
  • 1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player
  • 1992 – Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress
  • 1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player
  • 1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer
  • 1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player
  • 1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer
  • 1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player
  • 2001 – Park Si-eun, South Korean actress

Deaths on August 1

  • 30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)
  • 371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)
  • 527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)
  • 873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia
  • 946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)
  • 946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)
  • 953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)
  • 984 – Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester
  • 1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate
  • 1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)
  • 1146 – Vsevolod II of Kiev, Russian prince
  • 1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)
  • 1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)
  • 1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)
  • 1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)
  • 1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)
  • 1464 – Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)
  • 1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)
  • 1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)
  • 1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)
  • 1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)
  • 1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)
  • 1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)
  • 1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)
  • 1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)
  • 1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)
  • 1787 – Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)
  • 1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)
  • 1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)
  • 1798 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)
  • 1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)
  • 1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)
  • 1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)
  • 1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)
  • 1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)
  • 1863 – Jind Kaur Majarani (Regent) of the Sikh Empire (b. 1817)
  • 1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)
  • 1869 – Peter Julian Eymard, French Priest and Founder Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (b. 1811)
  • 1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)
  • 1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)
  • 1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)
  • 1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)
  • 1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)
  • 1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)
  • 1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
  • 1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)
  • 1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
  • 1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)
  • 1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)
  • 1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
  • 1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)
  • 1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
  • 1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)
  • 1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
  • 1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)
  • 1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)
  • 1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
  • 1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)
  • 1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)
  • 1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)
  • 1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)
  • 1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)
  • 1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
  • 1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
  • 1990 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1897)
  • 1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
  • 1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)
  • 1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)
  • 2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
  • 2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
  • 2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)
  • 2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)
  • 2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)
  • 2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)
  • 2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)
  • 2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)
  • 2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)
  • 2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)
  • 2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)
  • 2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)
  • 2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)
  • 2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Bernard d’Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)
  • 2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on August 1

  • Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)
  • Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army (People’s Republic of China)
  • Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):
    • Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August. (Toronto)
    • Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)
    • Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
    • Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori
    • Æthelwold of Winchester
    • Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
    • Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder
    • Eusebius of Vercelli
    • Exuperius of Bayeux
    • Felix of Girona
    • Peter Apostle in Chains
    • Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
    • The Holy Maccabees
    • August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
  • Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Canada)
  • Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or Frídagur verslunarmanna, can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)
  • Earliest day on which Constitution Day (Cook Islands) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
  • Earliest day on which Farmers’ Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Zambia)
  • Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August.
  • Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)
  • Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)
  • Minden Day (United Kingdom)
  • National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
  • National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
  • Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)
  • Parents’ Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Statehood Day (Colorado)
  • Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
  • The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):
    • Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)
    • Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)
    • Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)
  • The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)
  • Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)
  • World Scout Scarf Day
  • Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)

August 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

“Mordad 5th”—day 129th in the Iranian official calendar (236 days – 237 days in leap years – till the end of the year)

July 26 in History

  • 657 – First Fitna: In the Battle of Siffin, troops led by Ali ibn Abu Talib clash with those led by Muawiyah I.
  • 811 – Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded.
  • 920 – Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at the Battle of Valdejunquera.
  • 1309 – Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V.
  • 1469 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Edgecote Moor, pitting the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of Edward IV of England, takes place.
  • 1509 – The Emperor Krishnadevaraya ascends to the throne, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
  • 1529 – Francisco Pizarro González, Spanish conquistador, is appointed governor of Peru.
  • 1581 – Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration): The northern Low Countries declare their independence from the Spanish king, Philip II.
  • 1703 – During the Bavarian Rummel the rural population of Tyrol drove the Bavarian Prince-Elector Maximilian II Emanuel out of North Tyrol with a victory at the Pontlatzer Bridge and thus prevented the Bavarian Army, which was allied with France, from marching as planned on Vienna during the War of the Spanish Succession.
  • 1745 – The first recorded women’s cricket match takes place near Guildford, England.
  • 1758 – French and Indian War: The Siege of Louisbourg ends with British forces defeating the French and taking control of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
  • 1775 – The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.
  • 1788 – New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
  • 1803 – The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world’s first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom.
  • 1814 – The Swedish–Norwegian War begins.
  • 1822 – José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar.
  • 1822 – First day of the three-day Battle of Dervenakia, between the Ottoman Empire force led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha and the Greek Revolutionary force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis.
  • 1847 – Liberia declares its independence.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid ends; At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
  • 1882 – Premiere of Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal at Bayreuth.
  • 1882 – The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa.
  • 1887 – Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement.
  • 1890 – In Buenos Aires, Argentina the Revolución del Parque takes place, forcing President Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman’s resignation.
  • 1891 – France annexes Tahiti.
  • 1892 – Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
  • 1897 – Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India.
  • 1899 – Ulises Heureaux, the 27th President of the Dominican Republic, is assassinated.
  • 1908 – United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
  • 1918 – Emmy Noether’s paper, which became known as Noether’s theorem was presented at Göttingen, Germany, from which conservation laws are deduced for symmetries of angular momentum, linear momentum, and energy.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: Germany and Italy decide to intervene in the war in support for Francisco Franco and the Nationalist faction.
  • 1936 – King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: End of the Battle of Brunete with the Nationalist victory.
  • 1941 – World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands freeze all Japanese assets and cut off oil shipments.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Red Army enters Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, capturing it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jews survive out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation.
  • 1945 – The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Potsdam Declaration is signed in Potsdam, Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.
  • 1945 – World War II: The USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with components and enriched uranium for the Little Boy nuclear bomb.
  • 1946 – Aloha Airlines begins service from Honolulu International Airport.
  • 1947 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
  • 1948 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States.
  • 1951 – Walt Disney’s 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom.
  • 1952 – King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad.
  • 1953 – Cold War: Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution. The movement took the name of the date: 26th of July Movement
  • 1953 – Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid.
  • 1953 – Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment repel a number of Chinese assaults against a key position known as The Hook during the Battle of the Samichon River, just hours before the Armistice Agreement is signed, ending the Korean War.
  • 1956 – Following the World Bank’s refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
  • 1957 – Carlos Castillo Armas, dictator of Guatemala, is assassinated.
  • 1958 – Explorer program: Explorer 4 is launched.
  • 1963 – Syncom 2, the world’s first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
  • 1963 – An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.
  • 1963 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo “J-Mission”, and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
  • 1974 – Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country’s first civil government after seven years of military rule.
  • 1977 – The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government.
  • 1979 (1358 SH) – Holding the first Friday Prayer in Iran led by Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani
  • 1986 (1365 SH) – Aerial bombardment of citizens of Arak by Ba’athist Iraq regime at 9:13 a.m. (local time):
  • 1988 (1367 SH) – Mersad Operation part of Iran-Iraq war
  • 1989 – A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
  • 1990 – The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
  • 1993 – Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashes into a ridge on Mt. Ungeo on its third attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea. Sixty-eight of the 116 people onboard are killed.
  • 1999 – Celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas. Kargil conflict officially comes to an end. The Indian Army announces the complete eviction of Pakistani intruders.
  • 2005 – Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA’s first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003.
  • 2005 – Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing over 5,000 people.
  • 2008 – Fifty-six people are killed and over 200 people are injured, in the Ahmedabad bombings in India.
  • 2009 – The militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacks a police station in Bauchi, leading to reprisals by the Nigeria Police Force and four days of violence across multiple cities.
  • 2016 – The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Nineteen people are killed.
  • 2016 – Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for President of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
  • 2016 – Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.

Births on July 26

  • 1030 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Polish bishop and saint (d. 1079)
  • 1400 – Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester, English noble (d. 1439)
  • 1502 – Christian Egenolff, German printer (d. 1555)
  • 1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman sultan (d. 1640)
  • 1678 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1711)
  • 1711 – Lorenz Christoph Mizler, German physician, mathematician, and historian (d. 1778)
  • 1739 – George Clinton, American general and politician, 4th Vice President of the United States (d. 1812)
  • 1782 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (d. 1837)
  • 1791 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1844)
  • 1796 – George Catlin, American painter, author, and traveler (d. 1872)
  • 1802 – Mariano Arista, Mexican general and politician, 42nd President of Mexico (d. 1855)
  • 1819 – Justin Holland, American guitarist and educator (d. 1887)
  • 1829 – Auguste Beernaert, Belgian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Belgium, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
  • 1841 – Carl Robert Jakobson, Estonian journalist and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1842 – Alfred Marshall, English economist and academic (d. 1924)
  • 1844 – Stefan Drzewiecki, Ukrainian-Polish engineer and journalist (d. 1938)
  • 1854 – Philippe Gaucher, French dermatologist and academic (d. 1918)
  • 1855 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1936)
  • 1856 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
  • 1858 – Tom Garrett, Australian cricketer and lawyer (d. 1943)
  • 1863 – Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (d. 1948)
  • 1865 – Philipp Scheidemann, German journalist and politician, 10th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1939)
  • 1865 – Rajanikanta Sen, Indian poet and composer (d. 1910)
  • 1874 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (d. 1951)
  • 1875 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (d. 1961)
  • 1875 – Antonio Machado, Spanish poet and academic (d. 1939)
  • 1877 – Jesse Lauriston Livermore, American investor and security analyst, “Great Bear of Wall Street” (d. 1940)
  • 1878 – Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (d. 1937)
  • 1879 – Shunroku Hata, Japanese field marshal and politician, 48th Japanese Minister of War (d. 1962)
  • 1880 – Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian playwright and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Ukrainian People’s Republic (d. 1951)
  • 1882 – Albert Dunstan, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1950)
  • 1885 – Roy Castleton, Major League Baseball player (d.1967)
  • 1885 – André Maurois, French soldier and author (d. 1967)
  • 1886 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – Reginald Hands, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 1918)
  • 1890 – Daniel J. Callaghan, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1942)
  • 1892 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1966)
  • 1893 – George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Aldous Huxley, English novelist and philosopher (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (d. 1964)
  • 1896 – Tim Birkin, English soldier and race car driver (d. 1933)
  • 1897 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
  • 1897 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Sarah Kafrit, Israeli politician and teacher (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Estes Kefauver, American lawyer and politician (d. 1963)
  • 1904 – Edwin Albert Link, American industrialist and entrepreneur, invented the flight simulator (d. 1981)
  • 1906 – Irena Iłłakowicz, German-Polish lieutenant (d. 1943)
  • 1908 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourger sculptor (d. 2002)
  • 1909 – Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (d. 1979)
  • 1913 – Kan Yuet-keung, Hong Kong banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1914 – C. Farris Bryant, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Governor of Florida (d. 2002)
  • 1914 – Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 1993)
  • 1914 – Ellis Kinder, American baseball player (d. 1968)
  • 1916 – Dean Brooks, American physician and actor (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Jaime Luiz Coelho, Brazilian archbishop (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Marjorie Lord, American actress (d. 2015)
  • 1919 – Virginia Gilmore, American actress (d. 1986)
  • 1919 – James Lovelock, English biologist and chemist
  • 1920 – Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
  • 1921 – Tom Saffell, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Jean Shepherd, American radio host, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Blake Edwards, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Jim Foglesong, American record producer (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Jason Robards, American actor (d. 2000)
  • 1923 – Jan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Gene Gutowski, Polish-American producer (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1926 (1305 SH) – Sadeq Khalkhali, Shia cleric and a religious ruler in the Islamic Republic of Iran (d. 2003)
  • 1926 – Dorothy E. Smith, Canadian sociologist
  • 1927 – Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
  • 1928 – Don Beauman, English race car driver (d. 1955)
  • 1928 – Francesco Cossiga, Italian academic and politician, 8th President of Italy (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – Elliott Erwitt, French-American photographer and director
  • 1928 – Ibn-e-Safi, Indian-Pakistani author and poet (d. 1980)
  • 1928 – Joe Jackson, American talent manager, father of Michael Jackson (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Peter Lougheed, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, Irish-born English politician
  • 1928 – Bernice Rubens, Welsh author (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Marc Lalonde, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice
  • 1929 – Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, Brazilian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Barbara Jefford, English actress
  • 1931 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2006)
  • 1934 – Tommy McDonald, American football player (d. 2018)
  • 1936 – Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1936 – Lawrie McMenemy, English footballer and manager
  • 1938 – Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Keith Peters, Welsh physician and academic
  • 1939 – Jun Henmi, Japanese author and poet (d. 2011)
  • 1939 – John Howard, Australian lawyer and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Australia
  • 1939 – Bob Lilly, American football player and photographer
  • 1939 – Richard Marlow, English organist and conductor (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1940 – Brian Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, Northern Irish-British academic and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
  • 1940 – Bobby Rousseau, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1941 – Jean Baubérot, French historian and sociologist
  • 1941 – Darlene Love, American singer and actress
  • 1941 – Brenton Wood, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1942 – Vladimír Mečiar, Slovak politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovakia
  • 1942 (1321 SH) – Bahman Mofid, Iranian actor
  • 1942 – Teddy Pilette, Belgian race car driver
  • 1943 – Peter Hyams, American director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
  • 1943 – Mick Jagger, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1944 (1323 SH) – Dariush Arjmand, Iranian actor
  • 1945 – Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Helen Mirren, English actress
  • 1946 – Emilio de Villota, Spanish race car driver
  • 1948 – Luboš Andršt, Czech guitarist and songwriter
  • 1948 – Herbert Wiesinger, German figure skater
  • 1949 – Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai businessman and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Thailand
  • 1949 – Roger Taylor, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
  • 1950 – Nelinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1950 – Nicholas Evans, English journalist, screenwriter, and producer
  • 1950 – Susan George, English actress and producer
  • 1950 – Anne Rafferty, English lawyer and judge
  • 1950 – Rich Vogler, American race car driver (d. 1990)
  • 1951 – Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2011)
  • 1952 – Glynis Breakwell, English psychologist and academic
  • 1953 – Felix Magath, German footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Robert Phillips, American guitarist
  • 1953 – Henk Bleker, Dutch politician
  • 1953 – Earl Tatum, American professional basketball player
  • 1954 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player and coach (d. 1994)
  • 1955 – Aleksandrs Starkovs, Latvian footballer and coach
  • 1955 – Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani businessman and politician, 11th President of Pakistan
  • 1956 – Peter Fincham, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1956 – Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater
  • 1956 – Tommy Rich, American wrestler
  • 1956 – Tim Tremlett, English cricketer and coach
  • 1957 – Norman Baker, Scottish politician
  • 1957 – Nana Visitor, American actress
  • 1958 – Monti Davis, American basketball player (d. 2013)
  • 1958 – Angela Hewitt, Canadian-English pianist
  • 1959 – Rick Bragg, American author and journalist
  • 1959 – Kevin Spacey, American actor and director
  • 1960 (1339 SH) – Mohsen Vezvaei, Iranian commander killed in Iran-Iraq war
  • 1961 – Gary Cherone, American singer-songwriter
  • 1961 – Andy Connell, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1961 – Felix Dexter, Caribbean-English comedian and actor (d. 2013)
  • 1963 – Jeff Stoughton, Canadian curler
  • 1964 – Sandra Bullock, American actress and producer
  • 1964 – Ralf Metzenmacher, German painter and designer
  • 1964 – Anne Provoost, Belgian author
  • 1965 – Jeremy Piven, American actor and producer
  • 1965 – Jim Lindberg, American singer and guitarist
  • 1966 – Angelo di Livio, Italian footballer
  • 1967 – Martin Baker, English organist and conductor
  • 1967 – Tim Schafer, American video game designer, founded Double Fine Productions
  • 1967 – Jason Statham, English actor
  • 1968 – Frédéric Diefenthal, French actor and director
  • 1968 – Jim Naismith, Scottish biologist and academic
  • 1968 – Olivia Williams, English actress
  • 1969 – Greg Colbrunn, American baseball player and coach
  • 1969 – Tanni Grey-Thompson, Welsh baroness and wheelchair racer
  • 1971 – Khaled Mahmud, Bangladeshi cricketer and coach
  • 1971 – Chris Harrison, America television personality
  • 1972 – Nathan Buckley, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Kate Beckinsale, English actress
  • 1973 – Mariano Raffo, Argentinian director and producer
  • 1974 – Iron & Wine, American singer-songwriter
  • 1974 – Kees Meeuws, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1974 – Dean Sturridge, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Ingo Schultz, German sprinter
  • 1975 – Joe Smith, American basketball player
  • 1975 – Elizabeth Truss, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • 1976 – Elena Kustarova, Russian ice dancer and coach
  • 1976 – Darius Labanauskas, Lithuanian darts player
  • 1977 – Joaquín Benoit, Dominican baseball player
  • 1977 – Martin Laursen, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Tanja Szewczenko, German figure skater
  • 1979 – Friedrich Michau, German rugby player
  • 1979 – Derek Paravicini, English pianist
  • 1979 – Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Erik Westrum, American ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Juliet Rylance, English actress
  • 1980 – Jacinda Ardern, 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • 1980 – Dave Baksh, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1980 – Robert Gallery, American football player
  • 1981 – Abe Forsythe, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1981 (1360 SH) Mehdi Seyed-Salehi, Iranian soccer player
  • 1981 – Maicon Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Gilad Hochman, Israeli composer
  • 1982 – Christopher Kane, Scottish fashion designer
  • 1983 – Kelly Clark, American snowboarder
  • 1983 – Stephen Makinwa, Nigerian footballer
  • 1983 – Roderick Strong, American wrestler
  • 1983 – Naomi van As, Dutch field hockey player
  • 1983 – Ken Wallace, Australian kayaker
  • 1983 – Delonte West, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Kyriakos Ioannou, Cypriot high jumper
  • 1984 – Benjamin Kayser, French rugby player
  • 1984 – Sabri Sarıoğlu, Turkish footballer
  • 1985 – Marcus Benard, American football player
  • 1985 – Gaël Clichy, French footballer
  • 1985 – Audrey De Montigny, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1985 – Mat Gamel, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Leonardo Ulloa, Argentinian footballer
  • 1986 – John White, English footballer
  • 1987 – Panagiotis Kone, Greek footballer
  • 1987 – Jordie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Fredy Montero, Colombian footballer
  • 1988 – Yurie Omi, Japanese female announcer
  • 1988 – Sayaka Akimoto, Filipino–Japanese actress and singer
  • 1991 – Tyson Barrie, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Marika Koroibete, Fijian rugby player
  • 1993 – Raymond Faitala-Mariner, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1994 – Ella Leivo, Finnish tennis player
  • 1996 – Olivia Breen, British sprinter

Deaths on July 26

  • 342 – Cheng of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 321)
  • 432 – Celestine I, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 811 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine emperor
  • 899 – Li Hanzhi, Chinese warlord (b. 842)
  • 943 – Motoyoshi, Japanese nobleman and poet (b. 890)
  • 990 – Fujiwara no Kaneie, Japanese statesman (b. 929)
  • 1380 – Kōmyō, emperor of Japan (b. 1322)
  • 1450 – Cecily Neville, duchess of Warwick (b. 1424)
  • 1471 – Paul II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1417)
  • 1533 – Atahualpa, Inca emperor abducted and murdered by Francisco Pizarro (b. ca. 1500)
  • 1592 – Armand de Gontant, French marshal (b. 1524)
  • 1605 – Miguel de Benavides, Spanish archbishop and sinologist (b. 1552)
  • 1611 – Horio Yoshiharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1542)
  • 1630 – Charles Emmanual I, duke of Savoy (b. 1562)
  • 1659 – Mary Frith, English female criminal (b. 1584)
  • 1680 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (b. 1647)
  • 1684 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1646)
  • 1693 – Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, queen of Sweden (b. 1656)
  • 1712 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1631)
  • 1723 – Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1660)
  • 1801 – Maximilian Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1756)
  • 1863 – Sam Houston, American general and politician, 7th Governor of Texas (b. 1793)
  • 1867 – Otto, king of Greece (b. 1815)
  • 1899 – Ulises Heureaux, 22nd, 26th, and 27th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1845)
  • 1915 – James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (b. 1837)
  • 1919 – Edward Poynter, English painter and illustrator (b. 1836)
  • 1921 – Howard Vernon, Australian actor (b. 1848)
  • 1925 – Antonio Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1888)
  • 1925 – Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and philosopher (b. 1848)
  • 1925 – William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
  • 1926 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War, son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1843)
  • 1930 – Pavlos Karolidis, Greek historian and academic (b. 1849)
  • 1932 – Fred Duesenberg, German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Company (b. 1876)
  • 1934 – Winsor McCay, American cartoonist, animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1871)
  • 1941 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
  • 1942 – Roberto Arlt, Argentinian author and playwright (b. 1900)
  • 1951 – James Mitchell, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1866)
  • 1952 – Eva Perón, Argentinian politician, 25th First Lady of Argentina (b. 1919)
  • 1953 – Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general and politician, 135th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1883)
  • 1957 – Carlos Castillo Armas, Authoritarian ruler of Guatemala (1954-1957)
  • 1960 – Cedric Gibbons, British art director and production designer (b. 1893)
  • 1964 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (b. 1884)
  • 1968 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (b. 1899)
  • 1970 – Robert Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 11th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1896)
  • 1971 – Diane Arbus, American photographer and academic (b. 1923)
  • 1980 (1359 SH) – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the second shah (king) of Pahlavi dynasty
  • 1984 – George Gallup, American mathematician and statistician, founded the Gallup Company (b. 1901)
  • 1984 – Ed Gein, American serial killer (b. 1906)
  • 1986 – W. Averell Harriman, American politician and diplomat, 11th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1891)
  • 1988 – Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani philosopher, scholar, and academic (b. 1919)
  • 1992 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
  • 1993 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (b. 1895)
  • 1994 – James Luther Adams, American theologian and academic (b. 1901)
  • 1995 – Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian-American guitarist and composer (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Raymond Mailloux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (b. 1907)
  • 1996 – Max Winter, American businessman and sports executive (b. 1903)
  • 1999 – Walter Jackson Bate, American author and critic (b. 1918)
  • 1999 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1917)
  • 2000 – John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Rex T. Barber, American colonel and pilot (b. 1917)
  • 2001 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist and author (b. 1913)
  • 2004 – William A. Mitchell, American chemist, created Pop Rocks and Cool Whip (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Alexander Golitzen, Russian-born American production designer and art director (b. 1908)
  • 2005 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Lars Forssell, Swedish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Skip Prosser, American basketball player and coach (b. 1950)
  • 2009 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1919)
  • 2010 – Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean politician (b. 1945)
  • 2011 – Joe Arroyo, Colombian singer-songwriter and composer (b. 1955)
  • 2011 – Richard Harris, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1948)
  • 2011 – Sakyo Komatsu, Japanese author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Margaret Olley, Australian painter and philanthropist (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Don Bagley, American bassist and composer (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Karl Benjamin, American painter and educator (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Miriam Ben-Porat, Russian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – James D. Watkins, American admiral and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Luther F. Cole, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Harley Flanders, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Sung Jae-gi, South Korean philosopher and activist (b. 1967)
  • 2013 – George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Oleh Babayev, Ukrainian businessman and politician (b. 1965)
  • 2014 – Charles R. Larson, American admiral (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Richard MacCormac, English architect, founded MJP Architects (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Sergei O. Prokofieff, Russian anthropologist and author (b. 1954)
  • 2014 – Roland Verhavert, Belgian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Bijoy Krishna Handique, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Mines (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Leo Reise, Jr., Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Ann Rule, American police officer and author (b. 1931)
  • 2017 – June Foray, American voice actress (b. 1917)
  • 2017 – Patti Deutsch, American voice artist and comedic actress (b. 1943)
  • 2017 – Ronald Phillips, American criminal (b. 1973)
  • 2018 – Adem Demaci, Kosovo Albanian politician and writer (b. 1936)
  • 2018 – John Kline, American basketball player (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances on July 26

  • Christian feast day:
    • Andrew of Phú Yên
    • Anne (Western Christianity)
    • Bartolomea Capitanio
    • Blessed Maria Pierina
    • Joachim (Western Christianity)
    • Paraskevi of Rome (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Venera
    • July 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of National Significance (Barbados)
  • Day of the National Rebellion (Cuba)
  • Esperanto Day
  • Independence Day (Liberia), celebrates the independence of Liberia from the American Colonization Society in 1847.
  • Independence Day (Maldives), celebrates the independence of Maldives from the United Kingdom in 1965.
  • Kargil Victory Day or Kargil Vijay Diwas (India)

July 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
  • 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital.
  • 711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic.
  • 939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas.
  • 998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea.
  • 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots.
  • 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins.
  • 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.
  • 1553 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after only nine days on the throne.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel.
  • 1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England.
  • 1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow.
  • 1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai.
  • 1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom.
  • 1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary.
  • 1843 – Brunel’s steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
  • 1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed four firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings.
  • 1848 – Women’s rights: A two-day Women’s Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River.
  • 1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
  • 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
  • 1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.
  • 1903 – Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
  • 1916 – World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers’ militias against the Nationalist forces.
  • 1940 – World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.
  • 1940 – Field Marshal Ceremony: First occasion in World War II, that Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements.
  • 1940 – World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Second Happy Time of Hitler’s submarines comes to an end, as the increasingly effective American convoy system compels them to return to the central Atlantic.
  • 1943 – World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties.
  • 1947 – Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated.
  • 1947 – Korean politician Lyuh Woon-hyung is assassinated.
  • 1952 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
  • 1961 – Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later.
  • 1963 – Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
  • 1969 – Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
  • 1972 – Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat.
  • 1976 – Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
  • 1977 – The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).
  • 1979 – The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
  • 1979 – The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.
  • 1980 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
  • 1981 – In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.
  • 1982 – In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.
  • 1983 – The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
  • 1985 – The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
  • 1989 – United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa killing 111.
  • 1992 – A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.
  • 1997 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
  • 2014 – Gunmen in Egypt’s western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.

Births on July 19

  • 810 – Muhammad al-Bukhari, Persian scholar (d. 870)
  • 1223 – Baibars, sultan of Egypt (d. 1277)
  • 1420 – William VIII, Marquess of Montferrat (d. 1483)
  • 1569 – Conrad Vorstius, Dutch theologian (d. 1622)
  • 1670 – Richard Leveridge, English singer-songwriter (d. 1758)
  • 1688 – Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian missionary and painter (d. 1766)
  • 1744 – Heinrich Christian Boie, German author and poet (d. 1806)
  • 1759 – Marianna Auenbrugger, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1782)
  • 1759 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian monk and saint (d. 1833)
  • 1771 – Thomas Talbot, Irish-Canadian colonel and politician (d. 1853)
  • 1794 – José Justo Corro, Mexican politician and president, (1836-1837) (d. 1864)
  • 1789 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (d. 1854)
  • 1800 – Juan José Flores, Venezuelan general and politician, 1st President of Ecuador (d. 1864)
  • 1814 – Samuel Colt, American businessman, founded the Colt’s Manufacturing Company (d. 1862)
  • 1819 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (d. 1890)
  • 1822 – Princess Augusta of Cambridge (d. 1916)
  • 1827 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (d. 1857)
  • 1834 – Edgar Degas, French painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1835 – Justo Rufino Barrios, Guatemalan president (d. 1885)
  • 1842 – Frederic T. Greenhalge, English-American lawyer and politician, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
  • 1846 – Edward Charles Pickering, American astronomer and physicist (d. 1919)
  • 1849 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French scholar and critic (d. 1906)
  • 1865 – Georges Friedel, French mineralogist and crystallographer (d. 1933)
  • 1865 – Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon, founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
  • 1860 – Lizzie Borden, American woman, tried and acquitted for the murders of her parents in 1892 (d. 1927)
  • 1868 – Florence Foster Jenkins, American soprano and educator (d. 1944)
  • 1869 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (d. 1927)
  • 1875 – Alice Dunbar Nelson, African-American poet and activist (d. 1935)
  • 1876 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972)
  • 1877 – Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (d. 1949)
  • 1881 – Friedrich Dessauer, German physicist and philosopher (d. 1963)
  • 1883 – Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1886 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1888 – Enno Lolling, German physician (d. 1945)
  • 1890 – George II of Greece (d. 1947)
  • 1892 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1957)
  • 1893 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1930)
  • 1894 – Aleksandr Khinchin, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Khawaja Nazimuddin, Bangladeshi-Pakistani politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1965)
  • 1894 – Percy Spencer, American physicist and inventor of the microwave oven (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1896 – Reginald Baker, English film producer (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and novelist (d. 1981)
  • 1896 – Bob Meusel, American baseball player and sailor (d. 1977)
  • 1898 – Herbert Marcuse, German-American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay, Indian physician, author, poet, and playwright (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Samudrala Raghavacharya, Indian singer, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1904 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer and farmer (d. 1985)
  • 1907 – Isabel Jewell, American actress (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – Daniel Fry, American contactee (d. 1992)
  • 1909 – Balamani Amma, Indian poet and author (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Peter Leo Gerety, American prelate (d. 2016)
  • 1914 – Marius Russo, American baseball player (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Åke Hellman, Finnish painter (d. 2017)
  • 1916 – Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Patricia Medina, English-American actress (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (d. 2005)
  • 1919 – Ron Searle, English-Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician, 4th Mayor of Mississauga (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Robert Mann, American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2018)
  • 1920 – Richard Oriani, Salvadoran-American metallurgist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Harold Camping, American evangelist, author, radio host (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – André Moynet, French soldier, race car driver, and politician (d. 1993)
  • 1921 – Elizabeth Spencer, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – George McGovern, American lieutenant, historian, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Rachel Robinson, American professor, registered nurse, and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson
  • 1923 – Theo Barker, English historian (d. 2001)
  • 1923 – Alex Hannum, American basketball player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Joseph Hansen, American author and poet (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – William A. Rusher, American lawyer and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Lon Simmons, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Stanley K. Hathaway, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 40th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Pat Hingle, American actor and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Arthur Rankin Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Sue Thompson, American singer
  • 1926 – Helen Gallagher, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1928 – Samuel John Hazo, American author
  • 1928 – Choi Yun-chil, South Korean long-distance runner and a two-time national champion in the marathon.
  • 1929 – Gaston Glock, Austrian engineer and businessman, co-founded Glock Ges.m.b.H.
  • 1929 – Orville Turnquest, Bahamian politician
  • 1932 – Buster Benton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1932 – Jan Lindblad, Swedish biologist and photographer (d. 1987)
  • 1934 – Francisco de Sá Carneiro, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1980)
  • 1935 – Nick Koback, American baseball player and golfer (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – David Colquhoun, English pharmacologist and academic
  • 1937 – George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1938 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist and astronomer
  • 1938 – Tom Raworth, English poet and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1941 – Vikki Carr, American singer and actress
  • 1941 – Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician and diplomat, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society
  • 1943 – Han Sai Por, Singaporean sculptor and academic
  • 1944 – Tim McIntire, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
  • 1944 – Andres Vooremaa, Estonian chess player
  • 1945 – Paule Baillargeon, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Alan Gorrie, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (Average White Band)
  • 1946 – Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player and politician
  • 1947 – André Forcier, Canadian director and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Hans-Jürgen Kreische, German footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Bernie Leadon, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1947 – Brian May, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and astrophysicist
  • 1948 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1949 – Kgalema Motlanthe, South African politician, 3rd President of South Africa
  • 1950 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Finance
  • 1950 – Freddy Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Adrian Noble, English director and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Abel Ferrara, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1952 – Jayne Anne Phillips American novelist and short story writer
  • 1954 – Mark O’Donnell, American playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Steve O’Donnell, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1954 – Srđa Trifković, Serbian-American journalist and historian
  • 1955 – Roger Binny, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1955 – Dalton McGuinty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Premier of Ontario
  • 1956 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist, designed the IMAP (d. 2012)
  • 1958 – Brad Drewett, Australian tennis player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1958 – Robert Gibson, American wrestler
  • 1958 – David Robertson, American conductor
  • 1959 – Juan J. Campanella, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Atom Egoyan, Egyptian-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Kevin Haskins, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1961 – Harsha Bhogle, Indian journalist and author
  • 1961 – Maria Filatova, Russian gymnast
  • 1961 – Lisa Lampanelli, American comedian, actress, and author
  • 1961 – Benoît Mariage, Belgian director and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Hideo Nakata, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Campbell Scott, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1962 – Anthony Edwards, American actor and director
  • 1963 – Thomas Gabriel Fischer, Swiss musician
  • 1963 – Garth Nix, Australian author
  • 1964 – Teresa Edwards, American basketball player
  • 1964 – Masahiko Kondō, Japanese singer-songwriter and race car driver
  • 1965 – Evelyn Glennie, Scottish musician
  • 1965 – Claus-Dieter Wollitz, German footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Yael Abecassis, Israeli model and actress
  • 1967 – Jean-François Mercier, Canadian comedian, screenwriter, and television host
  • 1968 – Robb Flynn, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1968 – Pavel Kuka, Czech footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Jim Norton, American comedian, actor, and author
  • 1969 – Matthew Libatique, American cinematographer
  • 1970 – Bill Chen, American poker player and software designer
  • 1970 – Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish lawyer and politician, First Minister of Scotland
  • 1971 – Rene Busch, Estonian tennis player and coach
  • 1971 – Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer and politician, Mayor of Kiev
  • 1971 – Michael Modest, American wrestler
  • 1971 – Catriona Rowntree, Australian television host
  • 1971 – Lesroy Weekes, Montserratian cricketer
  • 1972 – Ebbe Sand, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Martin Powell, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1973 – Scott Walker, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1974 – Rey Bucanero, Mexican wrestler
  • 1974 – Francisco Copado, German footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Josée Piché, Canadian ice dancer
  • 1974 – Vince Spadea, American tennis player
  • 1974 – Preston Wilson, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Luca Castellazzi, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor
  • 1976 – Gonzalo de los Santos, Uruguayan footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Tony Mamaluke, American wrestler and manager
  • 1977 – Ed Smith, English cricketer and journalist
  • 1979 – Rick Ankiel, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Josué Anunciado de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
  • 1979 – Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1979 – Luke Young, English footballer
  • 1980 – Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player
  • 1980 – Giorgio Mondini, Italian race car driver
  • 1981 – Nenê, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – David Bernard, Jamaican cricketer
  • 1981 – Mark Gasnier, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1981 – Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Grégory Vignal, French footballer
  • 1982 – Christopher Bear, American drummer
  • 1982 – Phil Coke, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor
  • 1982 – Jess Vanstrattan, Australian footballer
  • 1983 – Helen Skelton, English television host and actress
  • 1983 – Fedor Tyutin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Andrea Libman, Canadian voice actress
  • 1984 – Adam Morrison, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Ryan O’Byrne, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Lewis Price, Welsh footballer
  • 1985 – LaMarcus Aldridge, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Zhou Haibin, Chinese footballer
  • 1985 – Marina Kuzina, Russian basketball player
  • 1985 – Hadi Norouzi, Iranian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1986 – Leandro Greco, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Jon Jones, American mixed martial artist
  • 1987 – Marc Murphy, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Shane Dawson, American comedian and actor
  • 1988 – Kevin Großkreutz, German footballer
  • 1988 – Jakub Kovář, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Sam McKendry, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Eray İşcan, Turkish footballer
  • 1992 – Jake Nicholson, English footballer
  • 1994 – Christian Welch, Australian rugby league player
  • 1998 – Erin Cuthbert, footballer
  • 1998 – Ronaldo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean footballer

Deaths on July 19

  • 514 – Symmachus, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 806 – Li Shigu, Chinese general (b. 778)
  • 973 – Kyunyeo, Korean monk and poet (b. 917)
  • 998 – Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine general (b. 940)
  • 1030 – Adalberon, French bishop
  • 1234 – Floris IV, Dutch nobleman (b. 1210)
  • 1249 – Jacopo Tiepolo, doge of Venice
  • 1333 – John Campbell, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Alexander Bruce, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Sir Archibald Douglas, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Maol Choluim II, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
  • 1374 – Petrarch, Italian poet and scholar (b. 1304)
  • 1415 – Philippa of Lancaster, Portuguese queen (b. 1360)
  • 1543 – Mary Boleyn, English daughter of Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1499)
  • 1631 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher and academic (b. 1550)
  • 1742 – William Somervile, English poet and author (b. 1675)
  • 1810 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prussian queen (b. 1776)
  • 1814 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (b. 1774)
  • 1824 – Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican general and emperor (b. 1783)
  • 1838 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (b. 1785)
  • 1850 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1855 – Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet and translator (b. 1787)
  • 1857 – Stefano Franscini, Swiss statistician and politician (b. 1796)
  • 1878 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1847)
  • 1896 – Abraham H. Cannon, American publisher and religious leader (b. 1859)
  • 1913 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1852)
  • 1925 – John Indermaur, British lawyer (b. 1851)
  • 1930 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1844)
  • 1933 – Kaarle Krohn, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1939 – Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet and author (b. 1850)
  • 1943 – Yekaterina Budanova, Russian captain and pilot (b. 1916)
  • 1947 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1947 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1947 – Lyuh Woon-hyung, South Korean politician (b. 1886)
  • 1963 – William Andrew, English priest (b. 1884)
  • 1965 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (b. 1875)
  • 1967 – Odell Shepard, American poet and politician, 66th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – Stratis Myrivilis, Greek soldier and author (b. 1890)
  • 1974 – Ernő Schwarz, Hungarian-American soccer player and coach (b. 1904)
  • 1975 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
  • 1977 – Karl Ristikivi, Estonian geographer, author, and poet (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Margaret Craven, American journalist and author (b. 1901)
  • 1980 – Nihat Erim, Turkish jurist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1981 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (b. 1919)
  • 1982 – Hugh Everett III, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1930)
  • 1984 – Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Aziz Sami, Iraqi writer and translator (b. 1895)
  • 1985 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish author (b. 1938)
  • 1989 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish businessman and politician, President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1913)
  • 1990 – Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1940)
  • 1994 – Victor Barbeau, Canadian author and academic (b. 1896)
  • 1998 – Elmer Valo, Polish-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2002 – Dave Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 2002 – Alan Lomax, American historian, scholar, and activist (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Bill Bright, American evangelist and author, founded the Campus Crusade for Christ (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (b. 1902)
  • 2004 – J. Gordon Edwards, American entomologist, mountaineer, and DDT advocate (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Francis A. Marzen, American priest, and journalist (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Edward Bunker, American author and screenwriter (b. 1933)
  • 2006 – Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentinian cartoonist (b. 1944)
  • 2008 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedian and actress (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Frank McCourt, American author and educator (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (b. 1991)
  • 2010 – Cécile Aubry, French actress, author, television screenwriter and director (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Jon Cleary, Australian author and playwright (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Humayun Ahmed, Bangladeshi director and playwright (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Tom Davis, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general, and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Sylvia Woods, American businesswoman, co-founded Sylvia’s Restaurant of Harlem (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Valiulla Yakupov, Islamic cleric (b. 1963)
  • 2013 – Mikhail Gorsheniov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Mel Smith, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Bert Trautmann, German footballer and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Phil Woosnam, Welsh-American soccer player and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Peter Ziegler, Swiss geologist and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Leyla Erbil, Turkish author (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Rubem Alves, Brazilian theologian (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – David Easton, Canadian-American political scientist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Paul M. Fleiss, American pediatrician and author (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – James Garner, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Jerzy Jurka, Polish biologist (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – Ray King, English footballer and manager (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ingemar Odlander, Swedish journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Harry Pougher, English cricketer (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Leen Vleggeert, Dutch politician (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – John Winkin, American baseball player, coach, and journalist (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Van Alexander, American composer and conductor (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Galina Prozumenshchikova, Ukrainian-Russian swimmer and journalist (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Carmino Ravosa, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Gennadiy Seleznyov, Russian journalist and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Duma (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Garry Marshall, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1934)
  • 2018 – Jon Schnepp, American producer, director, voice actor, editor, writer, cartoonist, animator, and cinematographer (b. 1967)
  • 2018 – Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (b. 1993)
  • 2019 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on July 19

  • Christian feast day:
    • Arsenius (Catholic Church)
    • Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht
    • Justa and Rufina
    • Kirdjun (or Abakerazum)
    • Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great
    • Symmachus
    • July 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Myanmar)
  • Sandinista Day or Liberation Day (Nicaragua)

July 19 – 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

  • 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 »

On This Day

July 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 587 BC – Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem ends following the destruction of Solomon’s Temple.
  • 1174 – William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England.
  • 1249 – Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots.
  • 1260 – The Livonian Order suffers its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
  • 1558 – Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes at Gravelines.
  • 1573 – Eighty Years’ War: The Siege of Haarlem ends after seven months.
  • 1643 – English Civil War: Battle of Roundway Down: In England, Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, commanding the Royalist forces, heavily defeats the Parliamentarian forces led by Sir William Waller.
  • 1787 – The Continental Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admission of new states and limits the expansion of slavery.
  • 1793 – Journalist and French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat is assassinated in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday, a member of the opposing political faction.
  • 1794 – The Battle of Trippstadt is fought between French forces and those of Prussia and Austria.
  • 1814 – The Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy, is established.
  • 1830 – The General Assembly’s Institution, now the Scottish Church College, one of the pioneering institutions that ushered the Bengali Renaissance, is founded by Alexander Duff and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, in Calcutta, India.
  • 1831 – Regulamentul Organic, a quasi-constitutional organic law is adopted in Wallachia, one of the two Danubian Principalities that were to become the basis of Romania.
  • 1854 – In the Battle of Guaymas, Mexico, General José María Yáñez stops the French invasion led by Count Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon.
  • 1863 – New York City draft riots: In New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of rioting which will be later regarded as the worst in United States history.
  • 1878 – Treaty of Berlin: The European powers redraw the map of the Balkans. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania become completely independent of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1919 – The British airship R34 lands in Norfolk, England, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in 182 hours of flight.
  • 1941 – World War II: Montenegrins begin a popular uprising against the Axis powers (Trinaestojulski ustanak).
  • 1956 – The Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.
  • 1962 – In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses seven members of his Cabinet, marking the effective end of the National Liberals as a distinct force within British politics.
  • 1973 – Watergate scandal: Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of a secret Oval Office taping system to investigators for the Senate Watergate Committee.
  • 1977 – Somalia declares war on Ethiopia, starting the Ogaden War.
  • 1977 – New York City: Amidst a period of financial and social turmoil experiences an electrical blackout lasting nearly 24 hours that leads to widespread fires and looting.
  • 1985 – The Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Moscow and Sydney.
  • 1985 – Vice President George H. W. Bush becomes the Acting President for the day when President Ronald Reagan undergoes surgery to remove polyps from his colon.
  • 2003 – French DGSE personnel abort an operation to rescue Íngrid Betancourt from FARC rebels in Colombia, causing a political scandal when details are leaked to the press.
  • 2008 – Battle of Wanat begins when Taliban and al-Qaeda guerrillas attack US Army and Afghan National Army troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. deaths were, at that time, the most in a single battle since the beginning of operations in 2001.
  • 2011 – Mumbai is rocked by three bomb blasts during the evening rush hour, killing 26 and injuring 130.
  • 2011 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1999 is adopted, which admits South Sudan to member status of the United Nations.
  • 2013 – Typhoon Soulik kills at least nine people and affects more than 160 million in East China and Taiwan.
  • 2016 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns, and is succeeded by Theresa May.

Births on July 13

  • 100 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman (d. 44 BC)
  • 1426 – Anne Neville, Countess of Warwick (d. 1492)
  • 1478 – Giulio d’Este, illegitimate son of Italian noble (d. 1561)
  • 1470 – Francesco Armellini Pantalassi de’ Medici, Catholic cardinal (d. 1528)
  • 1527 – John Dee, English-Welsh mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer (d. 1609)
  • 1579 – Arthur Dee, English physician and chemist (d. 1651)
  • 1590 – Pope Clement X (d. 1676)
  • 1606 – Roland Fréart de Chambray (d. 1676)
  • 1607 – Wenceslaus Hollar, Czech-English painter and illustrator (d. 1677)
  • 1608 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1657)
  • 1745 – Robert Calder, Scottish-English admiral (d. 1818)
  • 1756 – Thomas Rowlandson, English artist and caricaturist (d. 1827)
  • 1760 – István Pauli, Hungarian-Slovene priest and poet (d. 1829)
  • 1770 – Alexander Balashov, Russian general and politician, Russian Minister of Police (d. 1837)
  • 1793 – John Clare, English poet and author (d. 1864)
  • 1821 – Nathan Bedford Forrest, American general and first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (d. 1877)
  • 1831 – Arthur Böttcher, German pathologist and anatomist (d. 1889)
  • 1841 – Otto Wagner, Austrian architect, designed the Austrian Postal Savings Bank and Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station (d. 1918)
  • 1858 – Stewart Culin, American ethnographer and author (d. 1929)
  • 1859 – Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, English economist and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1947)
  • 1863 – Margaret Murray, British archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, and folklorist (d. 1963)
  • 1864 – John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel and businessman (d. 1912)
  • 1877 – Robert Henry Mathews, Australian linguist and missionary (d. 1970)
  • 1884 – Yrjö Saarela, Finnish wrestler and coach (d. 1951)
  • 1889 – Emma Asson, Estonian educator and politician (d. 1965)
  • 1889 – Stan Coveleski, American baseball player (d. 1984)
  • 1892 – Léo-Pol Morin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1941)
  • 1892 – Jonni Myyrä, Finnish-American discus and javelin thrower (d. 1955)
  • 1894 – Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright (d. 1940)
  • 1895 – Sidney Blackmer, American actor (d. 1973)
  • 1896 – Mordecai Ardon, Israeli painter and educator (d. 1992)
  • 1898 – Julius Schreck, German commander (d. 1936)
  • 1898 – Ivan Triesault, Estonian-born American actor (d. 1980)
  • 1900 – George Lewis, American clarinet player and songwriter (d. 1969)
  • 1901 – Eric Portman, English actor (d. 1969)
  • 1903 – Kenneth Clark, English historian and author (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – Alfredo M. Santos, Filipino general (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – Eugenio Pagnini, Italian modern pentathlete (d. 1993)
  • 1905 – Magda Foy, American child actress (d. 2000)
  • 1907 – George Weller, American author, playwright, and journalist (d. 2002)
  • 1908 – Dorothy Round, English tennis player (d. 1982)
  • 1908 – Tim Spencer, American country & western singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1974)
  • 1910 – Lien Gisolf, Dutch high jumper (d. 1993)
  • 1910 – Loren Pope, American journalist and author (d. 2008)
  • 1911 – Bob Steele (broadcaster), American radio personality (d. 2002)
  • 1913 – Dave Garroway, American journalist and television personality (d. 1982)
  • 1913 – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Kay Linaker, American actress and screenwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1915 – Kaoru Ishikawa, Japanese author and educator (d. 1989)
  • 1918 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (d. 1955)
  • 1918 – Ronald Bladen, American painter and sculptor (d. 1988)
  • 1918 – Marcia Brown, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1919 – Hau Pei-tsun, 13th Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2020)
  • 1919 – William F. Quinn, American lawyer (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Ernest Gold, Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Leslie Brooks, American actress (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish trade union leader and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 2016)
  • 1922 – Helmy Afify Abd El-Bar, Egyptian military commander (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Ken Mosdell, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – Ashley Bryan, American children’s book author and illustrator
  • 1924 – Johnny Gilbert, American game show host and announcer
  • 1925 – Suzanne Zimmerman, American competition swimmer and Olympic medalist
  • 1925 – Huang Zongying, Chinese actress and writer
  • 1926 – Robert H. Justman, American director, producer, and production manager (d. 2008)
  • 1926 – T. Loren Christianson, American politician (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Thomas Clark, American politician (d. 2020)
  • 1927 – Simone Veil, French lawyer and politician, President of the European Parliament (d. 2017)
  • 1927 – Ian Reed, Australian discus thrower
  • 1928 – Bob Crane, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1928 – Sven Davidson, Swedish-American tennis player (d. 2008)
  • 1928 – Al Rex, American musician (d. 2020)
  • 1929 – Sofia Muratova, Russian gymnast (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – Svein Ellingsen, Norwegian visual artist and hymnist (d. 2020)
  • 1930 – Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Naomi Shemer, Israeli singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1931 – Frank Ramsey, American basketball player and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Hubert Reeves, Canadian-French astrophysicist and author
  • 1933 – David Storey, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1933 – Piero Manzoni, Italian artist (d. 1963)
  • 1934 – Peter Gzowski, Canadian journalist and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1934 – Gordon Lee, English footballer and manager
  • 1934 – Wole Soyinka, Nigerian author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1934 – Aleksei Yeliseyev, Russian engineer and astronaut
  • 1935 – Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – Earl Lovelace, Trinidadian journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1935 – Kurt Westergaard, Danish cartoonist
  • 1936 – Albert Ayler, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1970)
  • 1937 – Ghillean Prance, English botanist and ecologist
  • 1939 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Tom Lichtenberg, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Paul Prudhomme, American chef and author (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Patrick Stewart, English actor, director, and producer
  • 1941 – Grahame Corling, Australian cricketer
  • 1941 – Robert Forster, American actor and producer (d. 2019)
  • 1941 – Ehud Manor, Israeli songwriter and translator (d. 2005)
  • 1941 – Jacques Perrin, French actor, director, and producer
  • 1942 – Harrison Ford, American actor and producer
  • 1942 – Roger McGuinn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Chris Serle, English journalist and actor
  • 1944 – Eric Freeman, Australian cricketer
  • 1944 – Cyril Knowles, English footballer and manager (d. 1991)
  • 1944 – Erno Rubik, Hungarian game designer, architect, and educator, invented the Rubik’s Cube
  • 1945 – Ashley Mallett, Australian cricketer and author
  • 1946 – Bob Kauffman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
  • 1948 – Catherine Breillat, French director and screenwriter
  • 1949 – Bryan Murray, Irish actor
  • 1950 – George Nelson, American astronomer and astronaut
  • 1950 – Ma Ying-jeou, Hong Kong-Taiwanese commander and politician, 12th President of the Republic of China
  • 1950 – Jurelang Zedkaia, Marshallese politician, 5th President of the Marshall Islands (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – Rob Bishop, American educator and politician
  • 1951 – Didi Conn, American actress and singer
  • 1953 – David Thompson, American basketball player
  • 1954 – Ray Bright, Australian cricketer
  • 1954 – Louise Mandrell, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1956 – Mark Mendoza, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1956 – Michael Spinks, American boxer
  • 1957 – Thierry Boutsen, Belgian race car driver and businessman
  • 1957 – Cameron Crowe, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1959 – Richard Leman, English field hockey player
  • 1959 – Fuziah Salleh, Malaysian politician
  • 1960 – Robert Abraham, American football player
  • 1960 – Ian Hislop, Welsh-English journalist and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Curtis Rouse, American football player (d. 2013)
  • 1961 – Tahira Asif, Pakistani politician (d. 2014)
  • 1961 – Anders Jarryd, Swedish tennis player
  • 1961 – Khalid Mahmood, Pakistani-English engineer and politician
  • 1961 – Stelios Manolas, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Tim Watson, Australian footballer, coach, and journalist
  • 1962 – Tom Kenny, American voice actor and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Rhonda Vincent, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player
  • 1963 – Neal Foulds, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Kenny Johnson, American actor, producer, and model
  • 1964 – Charlie Hides, American drag queen and comedian
  • 1964 – Paul Thorn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Eileen Ivers, American fiddler
  • 1965 – Colin van der Voort, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Gerald Levert, American R&B singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2006)
  • 1966 – Natalia Luis-Bassa, Venezuelan-English conductor and educator
  • 1967 – Richard Marles, Australian lawyer and politician, 50th Australian Minister for Trade and Investment
  • 1967 – Mark McGowan, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Western Australia
  • 1969 – Brad Godden, Australian rugby league player
  • 1969 – Ken Jeong, American actor, comedian, and physician
  • 1969 – Oleg Serebrian, Moldovan political scientist and politician
  • 1970 – Andrei Tivontchik, German pole vaulter and trainer
  • 1971 – Mark Neeld, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Sean Waltman, American professional wrestler
  • 1974 – Deborah Cox, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1974 – Jarno Trulli, Italian race car driver
  • 1975 – Diego Spotorno, Ecuadorian actor
  • 1975 – Mariada Pieridi, Cypriot singer-songwriter
  • 1976 – Sheldon Souray, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Chris Horn, American football player
  • 1978 – Ryan Ludwick, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Prodromos Nikolaidis, Greek basketball player
  • 1979 – Craig Bellamy, Welsh footballer
  • 1979 – Daniel Díaz, Argentinian footballer
  • 1979 – Libuše Průšová, Czech tennis player
  • 1979 – Lucinda Ruh, Swiss figure skater and coach
  • 1981 – Ágnes Kovács, Hungarian swimmer
  • 1981 – Mirco Lorenzetto, Italian cyclist
  • 1982 – Shin-Soo Choo, South Korean baseball player
  • 1982 – Simon Clist, English footballer
  • 1982 – Dominic Isaacs, South African footballer
  • 1982 – Nick Kenny, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Yadier Molina, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1983 – Kristof Beyens, Belgian sprinter
  • 1983 – Marco Pomante, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Liu Xiang, Chinese hurdler
  • 1984 – Ida Maria, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1985 – Trell Kimmons, American sprinter
  • 1985 – Guillermo Ochoa, Mexican footballer
  • 1985 – Charlotte Dujardin, English equestrian
  • 1988 – Marcos Paulo Gelmini Gomes, Brazilian-Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Colton Haynes, American actor, model and singer
  • 1988 – Steven R. McQueen, American actor and model
  • 1988 – Raúl Spank, German high jumper
  • 1988 – Tulisa, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1989 – Leon Bridges, American soul singer, songwriter and record producer
  • 1989 – Charis Giannopoulos, Greek basketball player
  • 1990 – Kieran Foran, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1990 – Eduardo Salvio, Argentinian footballer
  • 1992 – Elise Matthysen, Belgian swimmer
  • 1993 – Daniel Bentley, English footballer
  • 1995 – Cody Bellinger, American baseball player
  • 1995 – Dante Exum, Australian basketball player
  • 2002 – Deborah Medrado, Brazilian rhythmic gymnast
  • 2003 – Wyatt Oleff, American child actor
  • 2005 – Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, Canadian child actor

Deaths on July 13

  • 574 – John III, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 716 – Rui Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 662)
  • 815 – Wu Yuanheng, Chinese poet and politician (b. 758)
  • 884 – Huang Chao, Chinese rebel leader (b. 835)
  • 939 – Leo VII, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 982 – Gunther, margrave of Merseburg
  • 982 – Henry I, bishop of Augsburg
  • 982 – Pandulf II, Lombard prince
  • 982 – Landulf IV, Lombard prince
  • 982 – Abu’l-Qasim, Kalbid emir of Sicily
  • 1024 – Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 973)
  • 1105 – Rashi, French rabbi and commentator (b. 1040)
  • 1205 – Hubert Walter, English archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of The United Kingdom (b. 1160)
  • 1357 – Bartolus de Saxoferrato Italian academic and jurist (b. 1313)
  • 1380 – Bertrand du Guesclin, French nobleman and knight (b. 1320)
  • 1399 – Peter Parler, German architect, designed St. Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge (b. 1330)
  • 1399 – Jadwiga, queen of Poland (b. 1399)
  • 1402 – Jianwen, Chinese emperor (b. 1377)
  • 1491 – Afonso, Portuguese prince (b. 1475)
  • 1551 – John Wallop, English soldier and diplomat (b. 1490)
  • 1617 – Adam Wenceslaus, duke of Cieszyn (b. 1574)
  • 1621 – Albert VII, archduke of Austria (b. 1559)
  • 1626 – Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1563)
  • 1628 – Robert Shirley, English soldier and diplomat (b. 1581)
  • 1629 – Caspar Bartholin the Elder, Swedish physician and theologian (b. 1585)
  • 1683 – Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1631)
  • 1755 – Edward Braddock, Scottish general (b. 1695)
  • 1762 – James Bradley, English priest and astronomer (b. 1693)
  • 1789 – Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau, French economist and academic (b. 1715)
  • 1793 – Jean-Paul Marat, French physician and theorist (b. 1743)
  • 1807 – Henry Benedict Stuart, Italian cardinal (b. 1725)
  • 1881 – John C. Pemberton, American general (b. 1814)
  • 1889 – Robert Hamerling, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1830)
  • 1890 – John C. Frémont, American general and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (b. 1813)
  • 1890 – Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (b. 1819)
  • 1893 – Young Man Afraid of His Horses, American tribal chief (b. 1836)
  • 1896 – August Kekulé, German chemist and academic (b. 1829)
  • 1907 – Henrik Sillem, Dutch target shooter and jurist (b. 1866)
  • 1911 – Allan McLean, Scottish-Australian politician, 19th Premier of Victoria (b. 1840)
  • 1921 – Gabriel Lippmann, Luxembourger physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
  • 1922 – Martin Dies, Sr., American journalist and politician (b. 1870)
  • 1927 – Mimar Kemaleddin Bey, Turkish architect and academic, designed the Tayyare Apartments (b. 1870)
  • 1934 – Mary E. Byrd, American astronomer and academic (b. 1849)
  • 1936 – Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese lawyer and politician (b. 1887)
  • 1941 – Ilmar Raud, Estonian chess player (b. 1913)
  • 1945 – Alla Nazimova, Russian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1879)
  • 1946 – Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer and curator (b. 1864)
  • 1949 – Walt Kuhn, American painter and academic (b. 1877)
  • 1951 – Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian-American composer and painter (b. 1874)
  • 1954 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter and educator (b. 1907)
  • 1960 – Joy Davidman, American-English poet and author (b. 1915)
  • 1965 – Photis Kontoglou, Greek painter and illustrator (b. 1895)
  • 1967 – Tom Simpson, English cyclist (b. 1937)
  • 1970 – Leslie Groves, American general and engineer (b. 1896)
  • 1970 – Sheng Shicai, Chinese warlord (b. 1895)
  • 1973 – Willy Fritsch, German actor and screenwriter (b. 1901)
  • 1974 – Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
  • 1976 – Frederick Hawksworth, English engineer (b. 1884)
  • 1976 – Joachim Peiper, German SS officer (b. 1915)
  • 1979 – Ludwig Merwart, Austrian painter and illustrator (b. 1913)
  • 1980 – Seretse Khama, Botswana lawyer and politician, 1st President of Botswana (b. 1921)
  • 1983 – Gabrielle Roy, Canadian engineer and author (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – Davey Allison, American race car driver (b. 1961)
  • 1995 – Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman (b. 1920)
  • 1996 – Pandro S. Berman, American director, producer, and production manager (b. 1905)
  • 1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (b. 1968)
  • 1999 – Konstantinos Kollias, Greek general and politician, 168th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1901)
  • 2000 – Jan Karski, Polish-American activist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2003 – Compay Segundo, Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1907)
  • 2005 – Robert E. Ogren, American zoologist (b. 1922)
  • 2006 – Red Buttons, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 2007 – Michael Reardon, American mountaineer (b. 1965)
  • 2008 – Bronisław Geremek, Polish historian and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1932)
  • 2010 – Manohari Singh, Indian saxophonist and composer (b. 1931)
  • 2010 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (b. 1930)
  • 2011 – Allan Jeans, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Warren Jabali, American basketball player (b. 1946)
  • 2012 – Jerzy Kulej, Polish boxer and politician (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Leonard Garment, American lawyer and public servant, 14th White House Counsel (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Henri Julien, French race car driver (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1982)
  • 2013 – Ottavio Quattrocchi, Italian businessman (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Vernon B. Romney, American lawyer and politician, 14th Attorney General of Utah (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Marc Simont, French-American author and illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2014 – Thomas Berger, American author and playwright (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist, author, and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Nadine Gordimer, South African novelist, short story writer, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Jeff Leiding, American football player (b. 1961)
  • 2014 – Lorin Maazel, French-American violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Philipp Mißfelder, German historian and politician (b. 1979)
  • 2015 – Martin Litchfield West, English scholar, author, and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2017 – Liu Xiaobo, Chinese literary critic, human rights activist (b. 1955)

Holidays and observances on July 13

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abd-al-Masih
    • Abel of Tacla Haimonot (Coptic Church)
    • Clelia Barbieri
    • Conrad Weiser (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Eugenius of Carthage
    • Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
    • Mildrith of Thanet
    • Rosa Mystica
    • Silas (Catholic Church)
    • Teresa of the Andes
    • July 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Feast of Kalimát, first day of the seventh month of the Bahá’í calendar. (Bahá’í Faith)
  • Statehood Day (Montenegro)
  • The last day of Naadam (Mongolia)
  • Kashmir Martyrs’ Day (Pakistan)

July 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 491 – Odoacer makes a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forces Odoacer back into Ravenna.
  • 551 – A major earthquake strikes Beirut, triggering a devastating tsunami that affected the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing thousands of deaths.
  • 660 – Korean forces under general Kim Yu-sin of Silla defeat the army of Baekje in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol.
  • 869 – The 8.4–9.0 Mw  Sanriku earthquake strikes the area around Sendai in northern Honshu, Japan. Inundation from the tsunami extended several kilometers inland.
  • 969 – The Fatimid general Jawhar leads the Friday prayer in Fustat in the name of Caliph al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah, thereby symbolically completing the Fatimid conquest of Egypt.
  • 1357 – Emperor Charles IV assists in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague.
  • 1386 – The Old Swiss Confederacy makes great strides in establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach.
  • 1401 – Timur attacks the Jalairid Sultanate and destroys Baghdad.
  • 1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
  • 1572 – Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum.
  • 1609 – Bohemia is granted freedom of religion through the Letter of Majesty by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II.
  • 1701 – A Bourbon force under Nicolas Catinat withdraws from a smaller Habsburg force under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Battle of Carpi.
  • 1745 – French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after.
  • 1755 – The Braddock Expedition is soundly defeated by a smaller French and Native American force in its attempt to capture Fort Duquesne in what is now downtown Pittsburgh.
  • 1762 – Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the coup against her husband, Peter III.
  • 1776 – George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island.
  • 1789 – In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution.
  • 1790 – The Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian Baltic fleet.
  • 1793 – The Act Against Slavery in Upper Canada bans the importation of slaves and will free those who are born into slavery after the passage of the Act at 25 years of age.
  • 1807 – The Treaties of Tilsit are signed by Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia.
  • 1810 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire.
  • 1811 – Explorer David Thompson posts a sign near what is now Sacajawea State Park in Washington state, claiming the Columbia District for the United Kingdom.
  • 1815 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord becomes the first Prime Minister of France.
  • 1816 – Argentina declares independence from Spain.
  • 1821 – Four hundred and seventy prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence.
  • 1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and iced milk; he is succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
  • 1850 – Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Persia.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ends, giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River.
  • 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
  • 1875 – The Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule begins, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans.
  • 1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon Championships begins.
  • 1893 – Daniel Hale Williams, American heart surgeon, performs the first successful open-heart surgery in United States without anesthesia.
  • 1896 – William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
  • 1900 – The Federation of Australia is given royal assent.
  • 1900 – The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
  • 1918 – In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express, killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history.
  • 1922 – Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the ‘minute barrier’.
  • 1932 – The state of São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution.
  • 1937 – The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Allied invasion of Sicily soon causes the downfall of Mussolini and forces Hitler to break off the Battle of Kursk.
  • 1944 – World War II: American forces take Saipan, bringing the Japanese archipelago within range of B-29 raids, and causing the downfall of the Tojo government.
  • 1944 – World War II: Continuation War: Finland wins the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdraws its troops from Ihantala and digs into a defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive.
  • 1955 – The Russell–Einstein Manifesto calls for a reduction of the risk of nuclear warfare.
  • 1956 – The 7.7 Mw  Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the destructive tsunami that followed left fifty-three people dead. A damaging M7.2 aftershock occurred minutes after the mainshock.
  • 1958 – A 7.8 Mw  strike-slip earthquake in Alaska causes a landslide that produces a megatsunami. The runup from the waves reached 525 m (1,722 ft) on the rim of Lituya Bay; five people were killed.
  • 1962 – Starfish Prime tests the effects of a nuclear test at orbital altitudes.
  • 1979 – A car bomb destroys a Renault motor car owned by “Nazi hunters” Serge and Beate Klarsfeld outside their home in France in an unsuccessful assassination attempt.
  • 1982 – Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground.
  • 1986 – The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
  • 1993 – The Parliament of Canada passes the Nunavut Act leading to the 1999 creation of Nunavut, dividing the Northwest Territories into arctic (Inuit) and sub-arctic (Dene) lands based on a plebiscite.
  • 1995 – The Navaly church bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force killing 125 Tamil civilian refugees.
  • 1999 – Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
  • 2002 – The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, replacing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The organization’s first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.
  • 2006 – One hundred and twenty-five people are killed when S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310 passenger jet, veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia.
  • 2011 – South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.

Births on July 9

  • 1249 – Emperor Kameyama of Japan (d. 1305)
  • 1455 – Frederick IV of Baden, Dutch bishop (d. 1517)
  • 1511 – Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1571)
  • 1526 – Elizabeth of Austria, Polish noble (d. 1545)
  • 1577 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English-American soldier and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (d. 1618)
  • 1578 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1637)
  • 1654 – Emperor Reigen of Japan (d. 1732)
  • 1686 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1749)
  • 1689 – Alexis Piron, French epigrammatist and playwright (d. 1773)
  • 1721 – Johann Nikolaus Götz, German poet and author (d. 1781)
  • 1753 – William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, English admiral and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1825)
  • 1764 – Ann Ward, English author and poet (d. 1823)
  • 1775 – Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (d. 1818)
  • 1800 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (d. 1885)
  • 1808 – Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and colonel (d. 1887)
  • 1819 – Elias Howe, American inventor, invented the sewing machine (d. 1867)
  • 1825 – A. C. Gibbs, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of Oregon (d. 1886)
  • 1828 – Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian cardinal (d. 1913)
  • 1834 – Jan Neruda, Czech journalist and poet (d. 1891)
  • 1836 – Camille of Renesse-Breidbach (d. 1904)
  • 1848 – Robert I, Duke of Parma (d. 1907)
  • 1853 – William Turner Dannat, American painter (d. 1929)
  • 1856 – John Verran, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of South Australia (d. 1932)
  • 1858 – Franz Boas, German-American anthropologist and linguist (d. 1942)
  • 1867 – Georges Lecomte, French author and playwright (d. 1958)
  • 1879 – Carlos Chagas, Brazilian physician and parasitologist (d. 1934)
  • 1879 – Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer and conductor (d. 1936)
  • 1887 – James Ormsbee Chapin, American-Canadian painter and illustrator (d. 1975)
  • 1887 – Saturnino Herrán, Mexican painter (d. 1918)
  • 1887 – Samuel Eliot Morison, American admiral and historian (d. 1976)
  • 1889 – Léo Dandurand, American-Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and referee (d. 1964)
  • 1893 – George Geary, English cricketer and coach (d. 1981)
  • 1901 – Barbara Cartland, prolific English author (d. 2000)
  • 1902 – Peter Acland, English soldier (d. 1993)
  • 1905 – Clarence Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (d. 1984)
  • 1907 – Eddie Dean, American singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1908 – Allamah Rasheed Turabi, Pakistani philosopher and scholar (d. 1973)
  • 1908 – Minor White, American photographer, critic, and educator (d. 1976)
  • 1909 – Basil Wolverton, American author and illustrator (d. 1978)
  • 1910 – Govan Mbeki, South African anti-apartheid and ANC leader and activist (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Mervyn Peake, English author and illustrator (d. 1968)
  • 1911 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and author (d. 2008)
  • 1914 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of East Germany (d. 1999)
  • 1914 – Mac Wilson, Australian rules footballer (d. 2017)
  • 1915 – David Diamond, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Lee Embree, American sergeant and photographer (d. 2008)
  • 1916 – Dean Goffin, New Zealand composer (d. 1984)
  • 1916 – Edward Heath, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
  • 1917 – Krystyna Dańko, Polish orphan, survivor of Holocaust (d. 2019)
  • 1918 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – Jarl Wahlström, Finnish 12th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – David C. Jones, American general (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Angelines Fernández, Spanish-Mexican actress (d. 1994)
  • 1922 – Jim Pollard, American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
  • 1924 – Pierre Cochereau, French organist and composer (d. 1984)
  • 1925 – Guru Dutt, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1964)
  • 1925 – Charles E. Wicks, American engineer, author, and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Ronald I. Spiers, American ambassador
  • 1926 – Murphy Anderson, American illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Ben Roy Mottelson, American-Danish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1926 – Pedro Dellacha, Argentine football defender and coach (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Mathilde Krim, Italian-American medical researcher and health educator (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Ed Ames, American singer and actor
  • 1927 – Red Kelly, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and politician (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Federico Bahamontes, Spanish cyclist
  • 1928 – Vince Edwards, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1996)
  • 1929 – Lee Hazlewood, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Jesse McReynolds, American singer and mandolin player
  • 1929 – Chi Haotian, Chinese general
  • 1929 – Hassan II of Morocco (d. 1999)
  • 1930 – K. Balachander, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Buddy Bregman, American composer and conductor (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – Janice Lourie, American computer scientist and graphic artist
  • 1930 – Elsa Lystad, Norwegian actress
  • 1930 – Roy McLean, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 2007)
  • 1931 – Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Sylvia Bacon, American judge
  • 1932 – Donald Rumsfeld, American captain and politician, 13th United States Secretary of Defense
  • 1932 – Amitzur Shapira, Israeli sprinter and long jumper (d. 1972)
  • 1933 – Oliver Sacks, English-American neurologist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1934 – Michael Graves, American architect, designed the Portland Building and the Humana Building (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Finance (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Mercedes Sosa, Argentinian singer and activist (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – Michael Williams, English actor (d. 2001)
  • 1936 – June Jordan, American poet and educator (d. 2002)
  • 1936 – David Zinman, American violinist and conductor
  • 1937 – David Hockney, English painter and photographer
  • 1938 – Brian Dennehy, American actor (d. 2020)
  • 1938 – Sanjeev Kumar, Indian film actor (d. 1985)
  • 1940 – David B. Frohnmayer, American lawyer and politician, 12th Oregon Attorney General (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, American psychoanalyst and theorist (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – Mac MacLeod, English musician
  • 1942 – David Chidgey, Baron Chidgey, English engineer and politician
  • 1942 – Richard Roundtree, American actor
  • 1943 – John Casper, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1944 – Judith M. Brown, Indian-English historian and academic
  • 1944 – John Cunniff, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1945 – Dean Koontz, American author and screenwriter
  • 1945 – Root Boy Slim, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1993)
  • 1946 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1947 – Haruomi Hosono, Japanese singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1947 – Mitch Mitchell, English drummer (d. 2008)
  • 1947 – O. J. Simpson, American football player and actor
  • 1947 – Patrick Wormald, English historian (d. 2004)
  • 1948 – Hassan Wirajuda, Indonesian lawyer and politician, 15th Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1949 – Raoul Cédras, Haitian military officer and politician
  • 1950 – Amal ibn Idris al-Alami, Moroccan physician and neurosurgeon
  • 1950 – Adriano Panatta, Italian tennis player and sailor
  • 1950 – Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 4th President of Ukraine
  • 1951 – Chris Cooper, American actor
  • 1951 – Māris Gailis, Latvian politician, businessman, and former Prime Minister of Latvia
  • 1952 – John Tesh, American pianist, composer, and radio and television host
  • 1953 – Margie Gillis, Canadian dancer and choreographer
  • 1953 – Thomas Ligotti, American author
  • 1954 – Théophile Abega, Cameroonian footballer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Kevin O’Leary, Canadian journalist and businessman
  • 1955 – Steve Coppell, English footballer and manager
  • 1955 – Lindsey Graham, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
  • 1955 – Jimmy Smits, American actor and producer
  • 1955 – Willie Wilson, American baseball player and manager
  • 1956 – Tom Hanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Michael Lederer, American author, poet, and playwright
  • 1957 – Marc Almond, English singer-songwriter
  • 1957 – Tim Kring, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1957 – Kelly McGillis, American actress
  • 1957 – Paul Merton, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Malaysian politician
  • 1958 – Jacob Joseph, Malaysian football coach
  • 1959 – Jim Kerr, Scottish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1959 – Kevin Nash, American wrestler
  • 1959 – Clive Stafford Smith, English lawyer and author
  • 1960 – Yūko Asano, Japanese actress and singer
  • 1960 – Wally Fullerton Smith, Australian rugby league player
  • 1960 – Eduardo Montes-Bradley, Argentinian journalist, photographer, and author
  • 1963 – Klaus Theiss, German footballer
  • 1964 – Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1964 – Gianluca Vialli, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1965 – Frank Bello, American bass player
  • 1965 – Thomas Jahn, German director and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Jason Rhoades, American sculptor (d. 2006)
  • 1966 – Pamela Adlon, American actress and voice artist
  • 1966 – Zheng Cao, Chinese-American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
  • 1966 – Gary Glasberg, American television writer and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1966 – Marco Pennette, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1967 – Gunnar Axén, Swedish politician
  • 1967 – Yordan Letchkov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1967 – Mark Stoops, American football player and coach
  • 1968 – Paolo Di Canio, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Lars Gyllenhaal, Swedish historian and author
  • 1969 – Nicklas Barker, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1969 – Jason Kearton, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1970 – Trent Green, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Masami Tsuda, Japanese author and illustrator
  • 1971 – Marc Andreessen, American software developer, co-founded Netscape
  • 1972 – Ara Babajian, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1973 – Kelly Holcomb, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Siân Berry, English environmentalist and politician
  • 1974 – Ian Bradshaw, Barbadian cricketer
  • 1974 – Gary Kelly, Irish footballer
  • 1974 – Nikola Šarčević, Swedish singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1975 – Shelton Benjamin, American wrestler
  • 1975 – Isaac Brock, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1975 – Robert Koenig, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Craig Quinnell, Welsh rugby player
  • 1975 – Jack White, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1976 – Thomas Cichon, Polish-German footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Fred Savage, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1976 – Radike Samo, Fijian-Australian rugby player
  • 1978 – Kara Goucher, American runner
  • 1978 – Nuno Santos, Portuguese footballer
  • 1979 – Gary Chaw, Malaysian Chinese singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Lee Chun-soo, South Korean footballer
  • 1981 – Junauda Petrus, American author and performance artist
  • 1982 – Alecko Eskandarian, American soccer player and manager
  • 1982 – Sakon Yamamoto, Japanese race car driver
  • 1984 – Chris Campoli, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Gianni Fabiano, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Jacob Hoggard, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1984 – Ave Pajo, Estonian footballer
  • 1984 – Piia Suomalainen, Finnish tennis player
  • 1984 – LA Tenorio, Filipino basketball player
  • 1985 – Paweł Korzeniowski, Polish swimmer
  • 1985 – Ashley Young, English footballer
  • 1986 – Sébastien Bassong, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1986 – Simon Dumont, American skier
  • 1986 – Kiely Williams, American singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1987 – Gert Jõeäär, Estonian cyclist
  • 1987 – Rebecca Sugar, American animator, composer, and screenwriter
  • 1988 – Raul Rusescu, Romanian footballer
  • 1990 – Earl Bamber, New Zealand race car driver
  • 1990 – Fábio, Brazilian footballer
  • 1990 – Rafael, Brazilian footballer
  • 1991 – Mitchel Musso, American actor and singer
  • 1993 – Mitch Larkin, Australian swimmer
  • 1993 – DeAndre Yedlin, American footballer
  • 1999 – Claire Corlett, American voice actress

Deaths on July 9

  • 230 – Empress Dowager Bian, Cao Cao’s wife (b. 159)
  • 518 – Anastasius I Dicorus, Byzantine emperor (b. 430)
  • 715 – Naga, Japanese prince
  • 880 – Ariwara no Narihira, Japanese poet (b. 825)
  • 981 – Ramiro Garcés, king of Viguera
  • 1169 – Guido of Ravenna, Italian cartographer, entomologist and historian
  • 1228 – Stephen Langton, English cardinal and theologian (b. 1150)
  • 1270 – Stephen Báncsa, Hungarian cardinal (b. c. 1205)
  • 1386 – Leopold III, Duke of Austria (b. 1351)
  • 1441 – Jan van Eyck, Dutch painter
  • 1546 – Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, Scottish statesman (b. c. 1493)
  • 1553 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (b. 1521)
  • 1654 – Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans (b. 1633)
  • 1706 – Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, Canadian captain and explorer (b. 1661)
  • 1737 – Gian Gastone de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1671)
  • 1742 – John Oldmixon, English historian, poet, and playwright (b. 1673)
  • 1746 – Philip V of Spain (b. 1683)
  • 1747 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (b. 1670)
  • 1766 – Jonathan Mayhew, American minister (b. 1720)
  • 1795 – Henry Seymour Conway, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1721)
  • 1797 – Edmund Burke, Irish-English philosopher, academic, and politician (b. 1729)
  • 1828 – Cathinka Buchwieser, German operatic singer and actress (b. 1789)
  • 1850 – Báb, Persian religious leader, founded Bábism (b. 1819)
  • 1850 – Zachary Taylor, American general and politician, 12th President of the United States (b. 1784)
  • 1852 – Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1794)
  • 1856 – Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist and academic (b. 1776)
  • 1856 – James Strang, American religious leader and politician (b. 1813)
  • 1880 – Paul Broca, French physician and anatomist (b. 1824)
  • 1882 – Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean captain (b. 1848)
  • 1903 – Alphonse François Renard, Belgian geologist and photographer (b. 1842)
  • 1927 – John Drew, Jr., American actor (b. 1853)
  • 1932 – King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (b. 1855)
  • 1937 – Oliver Law, American commander (b. 1899)
  • 1938 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1870)
  • 1947 – Lucjan Żeligowski, Polish-Lithuanian general and politician (b. 1865)
  • 1949 – Fritz Hart, English-Australian composer and conductor (b. 1874)
  • 1951 – Harry Heilmann, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1894)
  • 1955 – Don Beauman, English race car driver (b. 1928)
  • 1955 – Adolfo de la Huerta, Mexican politician and provisional president, 1920 (b. 1881)
  • 1959 – Ferenc Talányi, Slovene journalist and painter (b. 1883)
  • 1962 – Georges Bataille, French philosopher, novelist, and poet (b. 1897)
  • 1961 – Whittaker Chambers, American spy and witness in Hiss case(b. 1901)
  • 1967 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (b. 1874)
  • 1967 – Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani dentist and politician (b. 1893)
  • 1970 – Sigrid Holmquist, Swedish actress (b. 1899)
  • 1971 – Karl Ast, Estonian author and politician (b. 1886)
  • 1972 – Robert Weede, American opera singer (b. 1903)
  • 1974 – Earl Warren, American jurist and politician, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1891)
  • 1977 – Alice Paul, American activist (b. 1885)
  • 1979 – Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (b. 1899)
  • 1980 – Vinicius de Moraes, Brazilian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1913)
  • 1984 – Edna Ernestine Kramer, American mathematician (b. 1902)
  • 1985 – Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1896)
  • 1985 – Jimmy Kinnon, Scottish-American activist, founded Narcotics Anonymous (b. 1911)
  • 1986 – Patriarch Nicholas VI of Alexandria (b. 1915)
  • 1992 – Kelvin Coe, Australian ballet dancer (b. 1946)
  • 1992 – Eric Sevareid, American journalist (b. 1912)
  • 1993 – Metin Altıok, Turkish poet and educator (b. 1940)
  • 1994 – Bill Mosienko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
  • 1996 – Melvin Belli, American lawyer (b. 1907)
  • 1999 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (b. 1944)
  • 2000 – Doug Fisher, English actor (b. 1941)
  • 2002 – Mayo Kaan, American bodybuilder (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Rod Steiger, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2004 – Paul Klebnikov, American journalist and historian (b. 1963)
  • 2004 – Isabel Sanford, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Chuck Cadman, Canadian engineer and politician (b. 1948)
  • 2005 – Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (b. 1931)
  • 2005 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
  • 2006 – Milan Williams, American keyboard player and producer (b. 1948)
  • 2007 – Charles Lane, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 2008 – Séamus Brennan, Irish accountant and politician, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (b. 1948)
  • 2010 – Jessica Anderson, Australian author and playwright (b. 1916)
  • 2011 – Don Ackerman, American basketball player (b. 1930)
  • 2011 – Facundo Cabral, Argentinian singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Shin Jae-chul, South Korean-American martial artist (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Chick King, American baseball player (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Terepai Maoate, Cook Islander physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Eugênio Sales, Brazilian cardinal (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Markus Büchel, Liechtensteiner politician, 9th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (b. 1959)
  • 2013 – Andrew Nori, Solomon lawyer and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Kiril of Varna, Bulgarian metropolitan (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Barbara Robinson, American author and poet (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Toshi Seeger, American activist, co-founded the Clearwater Festival (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Lorenzo Álvarez Florentín, Paraguayan violinist and composer (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Eileen Ford, American businesswoman, co-founded Ford Models (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – John Spinks, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1953)
  • 2015 – Christian Audigier, French fashion designer (b. 1958)
  • 2015 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1940)
  • 2019 – William E. Dannemeyer, American politician (b. 1929)
  • 2019 – Ross Perot, American businessman and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2019 – Fernando de la Rúa, 43rd President of Argentina (b. 1937)
  • 2019 – Rip Torn, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 2019 – Freddie Jones, English actor (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on July 9

  • Arbor Day (Cambodia)
  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Agilulfus of Cologne
    • Amandina of Schakkebroek (one of Martyrs of Southern Hunan)
    • Blessed Marija Petković
    • Everilda
    • Gregorio Grassi (one of Martyrs of Shanxi)
    • Martyr Saints of China
    • Martyrs of Gorkum
    • Our Lady of Itatí
    • Our Lady of Peace, Octave of the Visitation
    • Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá
    • Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus
    • Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican commemoration)
    • Veronica Giuliani
    • July 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Australia)
  • Constitution Day (Palau)
  • Constitutionalist Revolution Day (São Paulo)
  • Day of the Employees of the Diplomatic Service (Azerbaijan)
  • Earliest day on which Martyrdom of the Báb can fall, while July 10 is the latest; observed on the 17th of Raḥmat (Bahá’í Faith)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the United Provinces of South America by the Congress of Tucumán in 1816. (Argentina)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011.
  • Nunavut Day (Nunavut)

July 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch.
  • 1283 – Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese fleet, defeats an Angevin fleet sent to put down a rebellion on Malta.
  • 1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.
  • 1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
  • 1663 – Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal charter to Rhode Island.
  • 1709 – Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, thus effectively ending Sweden’s status as a major power in Europe.
  • 1716 – The Battle of Dynekilen forces Sweden to abandon its invasion of Norway.
  • 1730 – An estimated magnitude 8.7 earthquake causes a tsunami that damages more than 1,000 km (620 mi) of Chile’s coastline.
  • 1758 – French forces hold Fort Carillon against the British at Ticonderoga, New York.
  • 1760 – British forces defeat French forces in the last naval battle in New France.
  • 1775 – The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies of North America.
  • 1776 – Church bells (possibly including the Liberty Bell) are rung after John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.
  • 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte approves the Bayonne Statute, a royal charter intended as the basis for his rule as king of Spain.
  • 1822 – Chippewas turn over a huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
  • 1853 – The Perry Expedition arrives in Edo Bay with a treaty requesting trade.
  • 1859 – King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway.
  • 1864 – Ikedaya Incident: The Choshu Han shishi’s planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya.
  • 1874 – The Mounties begin their March West.
  • 1876 – The Hamburg massacre prior to the 1876 United States presidential election results in the deaths of six African-Americans of the Republican Party, along with one white assailant.
  • 1879 – Sailing ship USS Jeannette departs San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole.
  • 1889 – The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published.
  • 1892 – St. John’s, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892.
  • 1898 – The death of crime boss Soapy Smith, killed in the Shootout on Juneau Wharf, releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.
  • 1912 – Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro leads an unsuccessful royalist attack against the First Portuguese Republic in Chaves.
  • 1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.
  • 1933 – The first rugby union test match between the Wallabies of Australia and the Springboks of South Africa is played at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
  • 1937 – Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan sign the Treaty of Saadabad.
  • 1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico in what became known as the Roswell UFO incident.
  • 1948 – The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).
  • 1960 – Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.
  • 1962 – Ne Win besieges and dynamites the Rangoon University Student Union building to crush the Student Movement.
  • 1966 – King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.
  • 1968 – The Chrysler wildcat strike begins in Detroit, Michigan.
  • 1970 – Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
  • 1972 – Israeli Mossad assassinate Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani.
  • 1980 – The inaugural 1980 State of Origin game is won by Queensland who defeat New South Wales 20–10 at Lang Park.
  • 1982 – A failed assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein results in the Dujail Massacre over the next several months.
  • 1988 – The Island Express train travelling from Bangalore to Kanyakumari derails on the Peruman bridge and falls into Ashtamudi Lake, killing 105 passengers and injuring over 200 more.
  • 1994 – Kim Jong-il begins to assume supreme leadership of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
  • 2003 – Sudan Airways Flight 139 crashes near Port Sudan Airport during an emergency landing attempt, killing 116 of the 117 people on board.
  • 2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.
  • 2014 – Israel launches an offensive on Gaza amid rising tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.

Births on July 8

  • 1478 – Gian Giorgio Trissino, Italian linguist, poet, and playwright (d. 1550)
  • 1528 – Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (d. 1580)
  • 1538 – Alberto Bolognetti, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1585)
  • 1545 – Carlos, Prince of Asturias (d. 1568)
  • 1593 – Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter (d. 1653)
  • 1621 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (d. 1695)
  • 1760 – Christian Kramp, French mathematician and academic (d. 1826)
  • 1766 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon (d. 1842)
  • 1779 – Giorgio Pullicino, Maltese painter and architect (d. 1851)
  • 1819 – Francis Leopold McClintock, Irish admiral and explorer (d. 1907)
  • 1830 – Frederick W. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1915)
  • 1831 – John Pemberton, American chemist and pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola (d. 1888)
  • 1836 – Joseph Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1914)
  • 1838 – Eli Lilly, American soldier, chemist, and businessman, founded Eli Lilly and Company (d. 1898)
  • 1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Airship Company (d. 1917)
  • 1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company (d. 1937)
  • 1851 – Arthur Evans, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1941)
  • 1851 – John Murray, Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1916)
  • 1857 – Alfred Binet, French psychologist and graphologist (d. 1911)
  • 1867 – Käthe Kollwitz, German painter and sculptor (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – Alexandros Papanastasiou, Greek sociologist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1936)
  • 1882 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (d. 1961)
  • 1885 – Ernst Bloch, German philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1977)
  • 1885 – Hugo Boss, German fashion designer, founded Hugo Boss (d. 1948)
  • 1890 – Stanton Macdonald-Wright, American painter (d. 1973)
  • 1892 – Richard Aldington, English author and poet (d. 1962)
  • 1892 – Pavel Korin, Russian painter (d. 1967)
  • 1893 – R. Carlyle Buley, American historian and author (d. 1968)
  • 1894 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
  • 1895 – Igor Tamm, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
  • 1898 – Melville Ruick, American actor (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – George Antheil, American pianist, composer, and author (d. 1959)
  • 1904 – Henri Cartan, French mathematician and academic (d. 2008)
  • 1905 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator and director (d. 1997)
  • 1906 – Philip Johnson, American architect, designed the IDS Center and PPG Place (d. 2005)
  • 1907 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (d. 1995)
  • 1908 – Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and actor (d. 1975)
  • 1908 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (d. 1979)
  • 1908 – V. K. R. Varadaraja Rao, Indian economist, politician, professor and educator (d. 1991)
  • 1909 – Alan Brown, English soldier (d. 1971)
  • 1909 – Ike Petersen, American football back (d. 1995)
  • 1910 – Carlos Betances Ramírez, Puerto Rican general (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Ken Farnes, English cricketer (d. 1941)
  • 1913 – Alejandra Soler, Spanish politician (d. 2017)
  • 1914 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Billy Eckstine, American singer and trumpet player (d. 1993)
  • 1915 – Neil D. Van Sickle, American Air Force major general (d. 2019)
  • 1915 – Lowell English, United States Marine Corps general (d. 2005)
  • 1916 – Jean Rouverol, American author, actress and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1917 – Pamela Brown, English actress (d. 1975)
  • 1917 – Faye Emerson, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1917 – J. F. Powers, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Paul B. Fay, American businessman, soldier, and diplomat, 12th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2009)
  • 1918 – Irwin Hasen, American illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1918 – Oluf Reed-Olsen, Norwegian resistance member and pilot (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Julia Pirie, British spy working for MI5 (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Edward B. Giller, U.S Major General (d. 2017)
  • 1918 – Craig Stevens, American actor (d. 2000)
  • 1919 – Walter Scheel, German soldier and politician, 4th President of West Germany (d. 2016)
  • 1920 – Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – John Money, New Zealand psychologist and sexologist, responsible for controversial sexual identity study on David Reimer (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – Harrison Dillard, American sprinter and hurdler (d. 2019)
  • 1924 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and songwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Charles C. Droz, American politician
  • 1925 – Marco Cé, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Arthur Imperatore Sr., Italian-American businessman from New Jersey
  • 1925 – Bill Mackrides, American football quarterback (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Dominique Nohain, French actor, screenwriter and director (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – John Dingell, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Martin Riesen, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
  • 1926 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-American psychiatrist and author (d. 2004)
  • 1927 – Maurice Hayes, Irish educator and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1927 – Khensur Lungri Namgyel, Tibetan religious leader
  • 1927 – Bob Beckham, American country singer (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Balakh Sher Mazari, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
  • 1930 – Jerry Vale, American singer (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Antonio Lamer, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Raquel Correa, Chilean journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1934 – Marty Feldman, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
  • 1934 – Edward D. DiPrete, American politician
  • 1935 – John David Crow, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Steve Lawrence, American actor and singer
  • 1935 – Vitaly Sevastyanov, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Diane Clare, English actress (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Ed Lumley, Canadian businessman and politician, 8th Canadian Minister of Communications
  • 1940 – Joe B. Mauldin, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Dario Gradi, Italian-English footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1942 – Phil Gramm, American economist and politician
  • 1944 – Jaimoe, American drummer
  • 1944 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor and singer
  • 1945 – Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss politician, 91st President of the Swiss Confederation
  • 1947 – Kim Darby, American actress
  • 1947 – Jenny Diski, English author and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1947 – Luis Fernando Figari, Peruvian religious leader, founded the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae
  • 1948 – Raffi, Egyptian-Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1948 – Ruby Sales, American civil-rights activist
  • 1949 – Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-American chef, restaurateur and entrepreneur
  • 1949 – Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 2009)
  • 1951 – Alan Ashby, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1951 – Anjelica Huston, American actress and director
  • 1952 – Larry Garner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Jack Lambert, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Marianne Williamson, American author and activist
  • 1956 – Terry Puhl, Canadian baseball player and coach
  • 1957 – Carlos Cavazo, Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1957 – Aleksandr Gurnov, Russian journalist and author
  • 1958 – Kevin Bacon, American actor and musician
  • 1958 – Andreas Carlgren, Swedish educator and politician, 8th Swedish Minister for the Environment
  • 1958 – Tzipi Livni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 18th Justice Minister of Israel
  • 1959 – Pauline Quirke, English actress
  • 1960 – Mal Meninga, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1961 – Ces Drilon, Filipino journalist
  • 1961 – Andrew Fletcher, English keyboard player
  • 1961 – Toby Keith, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1961 – Karl Seglem, Norwegian saxophonist and record producer
  • 1962 – Joan Osborne, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Mark Christopher, American director and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Alexei Gusarov, Russian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1965 – Dan Levinson, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and bandleader
  • 1966 – Ralf Altmeyer, German-Chinese virologist and academic
  • 1966 – Shadlog Bernicke, Nauruan politician
  • 1967 – Jordan Chan, Hong Kong actor and singer
  • 1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor
  • 1968 – Shane Howarth, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1969 – Sugizo, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
  • 1970 – Beck, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1970 – Sylvain Gaudreault, Canadian educator and politician
  • 1970 – Todd Martin, American tennis player and coach
  • 1971 – Neil Jenkins, Welsh rugby player and coach
  • 1972 – Karl Dykhuis, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1972 – Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricketer
  • 1972 – Shōsuke Tanihara, Japanese actor
  • 1974 – Hu Liang, Chinese field hockey player
  • 1976 – Talal El Karkouri, Moroccan footballer
  • 1976 – David Kennedy, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1976 – Ellen MacArthur, English sailor
  • 1977 – Christian Abbiati, Italian footballer
  • 1977 – Paolo Tiralongo, Italian cyclist
  • 1977 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1977 – Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
  • 1978 – Urmas Rooba, Estonian footballer
  • 1979 – Mat McBriar, American football player
  • 1979 – Ben Jelen, Scottish-American singer-songwriter
  • 1980 – Eric Chouinard, American-Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Wolfram Müller, German runner
  • 1981 – Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
  • 1982 – Sophia Bush, American actress and director
  • 1982 – Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
  • 1983 – John Bowker, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Rich Peverley, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Jaime Garcia, Mexican baseball player
  • 1986 – Renata Costa, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1988 – Jesse Sergent, New Zealand cyclist
  • 1988 – Dave Taylor, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Yarden Gerbi, Israeli Judo champion
  • 1989 – Tor Marius Gromstad, Norwegian footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1991 – Virgil van Dijk, Dutch footballer
  • 1992 – Ariel Camacho, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1992 – Son Heung-min, Korean footballer
  • 1992 – Xander Mobus, American voice actor
  • 1997 – Bryce Love, American football player
  • 1997 – Lauran Hibberd, English singer-songwriter
  • 1998 – Jaden Smith, American actor and rapper

Deaths on July 8

  • 689 – Kilian, Irish bishop
  • 810 – Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne (b. 773)
  • 873 – Gunther, archbishop of Cologne
  • 900 – Qatr al-Nada, wife of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu’tadid
  • 901 – Grimbald, French-English monk and saint (b. 827)
  • 975 – Edgar the Peaceful, English king (b. 943)
  • 1153 – Pope Eugene III (b. 1087)
  • 1253 – Theobald I of Navarre (b. 1201)
  • 1261 – Adolf IV of Holstein, Count of Schauenburg
  • 1390 – Albert of Saxony, Bishop of Halberstadt and German philosopher (b. circa 1320)
  • 1538 – Diego de Almagro, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1475)
  • 1623 – Pope Gregory XV (b. 1554)
  • 1689 – Edward Wooster, English-American settler (b. 1622)
  • 1695 – Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1629)
  • 1716 – Robert South, English preacher and theologian (b. 1634)
  • 1721 – Elihu Yale, American-English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1649)
  • 1784 – Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (b. 1735)
  • 1794 – Richard Mique, French architect (b. 1728)
  • 1820 – Octavia Taylor, daughter of Zachary Taylor (b. 1816)
  • 1822 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet and playwright (b. 1792)
  • 1850 – Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (b. 1774)
  • 1859 – Oscar I of Sweden (b. 1799)
  • 1873 – Franz Xaver Winterhalter, German painter and lithographer (b. 1805)
  • 1887 – Ben Holladay, American businessman (b. 1819)
  • 1895 – Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian chemist and physicist (b. 1821)
  • 1905 – Walter Kittredge, American violinist and composer (b. 1834)
  • 1913 – Louis Hémon, French-Canadian author (b. 1880)
  • 1917 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (b. 1877)
  • 1930 – Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1856)
  • 1933 – Anthony Hope, English author and playwright (b. 1863)
  • 1934 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (b. 1848)
  • 1939 – Havelock Ellis, English psychologist and author (b. 1859)
  • 1941 – Moses Schorr, Polish rabbi, historian, and politician (b. 1874)
  • 1942 – Louis Franchet d’Espèrey, Algerian-French general (b. 1856)
  • 1942 – Refik Saydam, Turkish physician and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1881)
  • 1943 – Jean Moulin, French soldier (b. 1899)
  • 1950 – Othmar Spann, Austrian sociologist, economist, and philosopher (b. 1878)
  • 1952 – August Alle, Estonian lawyer, author, and poet (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Giovanni Papini, Italian journalist, author, and critic (b. 1881)
  • 1965 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (b. 1881)
  • 1968 – Désiré Mérchez, French swimmer and water polo player (b. 1882)
  • 1971 – Kurt Reidemeister, German mathematician connected to the Vienna Circle (b. 1893)
  • 1972 – Ghassan Kanafani, Palestinian writer and politician (b. 1936)
  • 1973 – Gene L. Coon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
  • 1973 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli educator and politician, 4th Education Minister of Israel (b. 1884)
  • 1973 – Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer and coach (b. 1877)
  • 1979 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
  • 1979 – Michael Wilding, English actor (b. 1912)
  • 1979 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
  • 1981 – Bill Hallahan, American baseball player (b. 1902)
  • 1985 – Phil Foster, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1913)
  • 1985 – Jean-Paul Le Chanois, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
  • 1986 – Skeeter Webb, American baseball player and manager (b. 1909)
  • 1987 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Canadian Minister of Justice (b. 1903)
  • 1987 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet and author (b. 1896)
  • 1988 – Ray Barbuti, American runner and football player (b. 1905)
  • 1990 – Howard Duff, American actor (b. 1913)
  • 1991 – James Franciscus, American actor (b. 1934)
  • 1994 – Christian-Jaque, French director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
  • 1994 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean commander and politician, President of North Korea (b. 1912)
  • 1994 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (b. 1927)
  • 1994 – Dick Sargent, American actor (b. 1930)
  • 1996 – Irene Prador, Austrian-born actress and writer (b. 1911)
  • 1998 – Lilí Álvarez, Spanish tennis player, author, and feminist (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Pete Conrad, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
  • 2001 – John O’Shea, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Ward Kimball, American animator and trombonist (b. 1914)
  • 2004 – Paula Danziger, American author and educator (b. 1944)
  • 2005 – Maurice Baquet, French actor and cellist (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – June Allyson, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Chandra Shekhar, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (b. 1927)
  • 2007 – Jack B. Sowards, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – John Templeton, American-born British businessman and philanthropist (b. 1912)
  • 2009 – Midnight, American singer-songwriter (b. 1962)
  • 2011 – Roberts Blossom, American actor and poet (b. 1924)
  • 2011 – Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Muhammed bin Saud Al Saud, Saudi Arabian politician (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Gyang Dalyop Datong, Nigerian physician and politician (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Martin Pakledinaz, American costume designer (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – Dick Gray, American baseball player (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Edmund Morgan, American historian and author (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Claudiney Ramos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2013 – Rubby Sherr, American physicist and academic (b. 1913)
  • 2013 – Sundri Uttamchandani, Indian author (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Brett Walker, American songwriter and producer (b. 1961)
  • 2014 – Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, Brazilian lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Ben Pangelinan, Guamanian businessman and politician (b. 1956)
  • 2014 – Howard Siler, American bobsledder and coach (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Tom Veryzer, American baseball player (b. 1953)
  • 2015 – Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1945)
  • 2015 – James Tate, American poet (b. 1943)
  • 2016 – Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistani philanthropist (b. 1928)
  • 2018 – Tab Hunter, American actor, pop singer, film producer and author (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances on July 8

  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Abda and Sabas
    • Auspicius of Trier
    • Grimbald
    • Kilian, Totnan, and Colman
    • Peter and Fevronia Day (Russian Orthodox)
    • Procopius of Scythopolis
    • Sunniva and companions
    • Theobald of Marly
    • July 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Air Force and Air Defense Forces Day (Ukraine)

July 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta’s reputation of military invincibility.
  • 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under ‘Amr ibn al-‘As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt).
  • 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania.
  • 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death.
  • 1411 – Ming China’s Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor.
  • 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. (See Deaths section.)
  • 1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey.
  • 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England.
  • 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.
  • 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League.
  • 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England.
  • 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again.
  • 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.
  • 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.
  • 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends.
  • 1614 – Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta.
  • 1630 – Thirty Years’ War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany.
  • 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
  • 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia.
  • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
  • 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War.
  • 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras.
  • 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars.
  • 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held.
  • 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
  • 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king’s authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
  • 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded.
  • 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.
  • 1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members.
  • 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.
  • 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.
  • 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.
  • 1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises.
  • 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia’s longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.
  • 1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.
  • 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the “Secret Annexe” above her father’s office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
  • 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial.
  • 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America’s worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.
  • 1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.
  • 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.
  • 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.
  • 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.
  • 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.
  • 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world’s longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
  • 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
  • 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President.
  • 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.
  • 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France.
  • 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France.
  • 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world’s worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.
  • 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff.
  • 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded.
  • 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
  • 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland.
  • 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city’s international airport.
  • 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively.
  • 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
  • 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria.
  • 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board.
  • 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town’s central area.

Births on July 6

  • 1387 – Queen Blanche I of Navarre (d. 1441)
  • 1423 – Antonio Manetti, Italian mathematician and architect (d. 1497)
  • 1580 – Johann Stobäus, German lute player and composer (d. 1646)
  • 1623 – Jacopo Melani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1676)
  • 1678 – Nicola Francesco Haym, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1729)
  • 1686 – Antoine de Jussieu, French biologist and academic (d. 1758)
  • 1701 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (d. 1785)
  • 1736 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (d. 1802)
  • 1747 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American captain (d. 1792)
  • 1766 – Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (d. 1813)
  • 1781 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (d. 1826)
  • 1782 – Maria Luisa of Spain (d. 1824)
  • 1785 – William Hooker, English botanist and academic (d. 1865)
  • 1789 – María Isabella of Spain (d. 1846)
  • 1796 – Nicholas I of Russia (d. 1855)
  • 1797 – Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey (d. 1869)
  • 1799 – Louisa Caroline Huggins Tuthill, American author (d. 1879)
  • 1817 – Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (d. 1905)
  • 1818 – Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (d. 1879)
  • 1823 – Sophie Adlersparre, Swedish publisher, writer, and women’s rights activist (d. 1895)
  • 1829 – Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1880)
  • 1831 – Sylvester Pennoyer, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
  • 1832 – Maximilian I of Mexico (d. 1867)
  • 1837 – R. G. Bhandarkar, Indian orientalist and scholar (d. 1925)
  • 1838 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian philologist and scholar (d. 1923)
  • 1840 – José María Velasco Gómez, Mexican painter and academic (d. 1912)
  • 1843 – John Downer, Australian politician, 16th Premier of South Australia (d. 1915)
  • 1856 – George Howard Earle, Jr., American lawyer and businessman (d. 1928)
  • 1858 – William Irvine, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Victoria (d. 1943)
  • 1865 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (d. 1950)
  • 1868 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1935)
  • 1873 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician, 140th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1955)
  • 1877 – Arnaud Massy, French golfer (d. 1950)
  • 1878 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1926)
  • 1883 – Godfrey Huggins, Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (d. 1971)
  • 1884 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American businessman and sailor (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (d. 1945)
  • 1886 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1887 – Marc Chagall, Belarusian-French painter and poet (d. 1985)
  • 1887 – Annette Kellerman, Australian swimmer and actress (d. 1975)
  • 1890 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (d. 1936)
  • 1892 – Will James, American author and illustrator (d. 1942)
  • 1897 – Richard Krautheimer, German-American historian and scholar (d. 1994)
  • 1898 – Hanns Eisler, German-Austrian soldier and composer (d. 1962)
  • 1899 – Susannah Mushatt Jones, American supercentarian (d. 2016)
  • 1900 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1900 – Elfriede Wever, German Olympic runner (d. 1941)
  • 1903 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
  • 1904 – Robert Whitney, American conductor and composer (d. 1986)
  • 1904 – Erik Wickberg, Swedish 9th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Juan O’Gorman, Mexican painter and architect (d. 1982)
  • 1907 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter and educator (d. 1954)
  • 1907 – George Stanley, Canadian soldier, historian, and author, designed the flag of Canada (d. 2002)
  • 1908 – Anton Muttukumaru, Sri Lankan general and diplomat (d. 2001)
  • 1909 – Eric Reece, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Tasmania (d. 1999)
  • 1910 – René Le Grèves, French cyclist (d. 1946)
  • 1911 – June Gale, American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian geographer and mountaineer (d. 2006)
  • 1912 – Molly Yard, American feminist (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Vance Trimble, American journalist and author
  • 1914 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter, founded WWE (d. 1984)
  • 1914 – Ernest Kirkendall, American chemist and metallurgist (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Leonard Birchall, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – Harold Norse, American poet and author (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – Don R. Christensen, American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and inventor (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand runner and coach (d. 2004)
  • 1918 – Sebastian Cabot, English-Canadian actor (d. 1977)
  • 1918 – Herm Fuetsch, American professional basketball player (d. 2010)
  • 1918 – Francisco Moncion, Dominican-American ballet dancer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (d.1995)
  • 1919 – Ernst Haefliger, Swiss tenor and educator (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Edward Kenna, Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Ray Dowker, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Allan MacEachen, Canadian economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2017)
  • 1921 – Billy Mauch, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Bobby Mauch, American actor (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Nancy Reagan, American actress and activist, 42nd First Lady of the United States (d. 2016)
  • 1922 – William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Mahim Bora, Indian writer and educationist, recipients of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Louie Bellson, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 2009)
  • 1925 – Merv Griffin, American actor, singer, and producer, created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (d. 2007)
  • 1925 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
  • 1925 – Gazi Yaşargil, Turkish neurosurgeon and academic
  • 1926 – Sulev Vahtre, Estonian historian and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – Armando Silvestre, Mexican-American actor
  • 1927 – Jan Hein Donner, Dutch chess player and journalist (d. 1988)
  • 1927 – Janet Leigh, American actress and author (d. 2004)
  • 1928 – Bernard Malgrange, French mathematician
  • 1929 – Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, French politician historian
  • 1930 – George Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1930 – Ian Burgess, English racing driver (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Della Reese, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – László Tábori, Hungarian runner and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Herman Hertzberger, Dutch architect and academic
  • 1935 – Candy Barr, American model, dancer, and actress (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
  • 1936 – Dave Allen, Irish comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1937 – Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian-Icelandic pianist and conductor
  • 1937 – Ned Beatty, American actor
  • 1937 – Gene Chandler, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1937 – Bessie Head, Botswanan writer
  • 1937 – Michael Sata, Zambian police officer and politician, 5th President of Zambia (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Jet Harris, English bass player (d. 2011)
  • 1939 – Mary Peters, English-Irish pentathlete and shot putter
  • 1939 – Bruce Hunter, American swimmer (d. 2018)
  • 1940 – Jeannie Seely, Grammy Award-winning country music singer-songwriter and Grand Ole Opry member
  • 1940 – Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh politician, 1st President of Kazakhstan
  • 1941 – David Crystal, British linguist, author, and academic
  • 1941 – Reinhard Roder, German footballer and manager
  • 1943 – Tamara Sinyavskaya, Russian soprano
  • 1944 – Gunhild Hoffmeister, German runner
  • 1946 – George W. Bush, American businessman and politician, 43rd President of the United States
  • 1946 – Fred Dryer, American football player and actor
  • 1946 – Peter Singer, Australian philosopher and academic
  • 1946 – Sylvester Stallone, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Roy Señeres, Filipino diplomat and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1948 – Nathalie Baye, French actress
  • 1948 – Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Canadian academic and politician, 26th Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs
  • 1948 – Brad Park, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1949 – Noli de Castro, Filipino journalist and politician, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
  • 1949 – Phyllis Hyman, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1995)
  • 1949 – Michael Shrieve, American composer, drummer, and percussionist
  • 1950 – John Byrne, English-American author and illustrator
  • 1951 – Lorna Golding, Former First Lady of Jamaica
  • 1951 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor and producer
  • 1952 – Hilary Mantel, English author and critic
  • 1953 – Nanci Griffith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1953 – Robert Ménard, French politician and former journalist
  • 1954 – Allyce Beasley, American actress
  • 1954 – Willie Randolph, American baseball player and manager
  • 1958 – Jennifer Saunders, English actress, comedian and screenwriter
  • 1959 – Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
  • 1960 – Maria Wasiak, Polish businesswoman and politician, Polish Minister of Infrastructure and Development
  • 1961 – Robin Antin, American dancer, choreographer, and businesswoman
  • 1962 – Todd Bennett, English runner and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1962 – Peter Hedges, American author, screenwriter, and director
  • 1967 – Heather Nova, Bermudian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1970 – Inspectah Deck, American rapper and producer
  • 1970 – Martin Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Daniel Andrews, Australian politician, 48th Premier of Victoria
  • 1972 – Laurent Gaudé, French author and playwright
  • 1972 – Greg Norton, American baseball player and coach
  • 1972 – Zhanna Pintusevich-Block, Ukrainian sprinter
  • 1974 – Zé Roberto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1975 – 50 Cent, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1975 – Sebastián Rulli, Argentine-Mexican actor and model
  • 1975 – Amir-Abbas Fakhravar, Iranian journalist and activist
  • 1976 – Rory Delap, English-Irish footballer
  • 1976 – Ioana Dumitriu, Romanian-American mathematician and academic
  • 1977 – Max Mirnyi, Belarusian tennis player
  • 1977 – Makhaya Ntini, South African cricketer
  • 1978 – Adam Busch, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1978 – Tamera Mowry, American actress and producer
  • 1978 – Tia Mowry, American actress and producer
  • 1978 – Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1979 – Nic Cester, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Kevin Hart, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Joell Ortiz, American rapper
  • 1980 – Eva Green, French actress and model
  • 1981 – Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player
  • 1981 – Roman Shirokov, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Brandon Jacobs, American football player
  • 1982 – Misty Upham, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1983 – Gregory Smith, Canadian actor, director, and producer
  • 1984 – Zhang Hao, Chinese figure skater
  • 1985 – Ranveer Singh, Indian film actor
  • 1986 – David Karp, American businessman, founded Tumblr
  • 1987 – Sophie Auster, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Manteo Mitchell, American runner
  • 1987 – Kate Nash, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1987 – Caroline Trentini, Brazilian model
  • 1988 – Kevin Fickentscher, Swiss footballer
  • 1990 – Magaye Gueye, French footballer
  • 1992 – Manny Machado, Dominican-American baseball player

Deaths on July 6

  • 371 BC – Cleombrotus I, Spartan king
  • 649 – Goar of Aquitaine, French bishop
  • 887 – Wang Chongrong, Chinese warlord
  • 918 – William I, duke of Aquitaine (b. 875)
  • 1017 – Genshin, Japanese scholar (b. 942)
  • 1070 – Godelieve, Flemish saint (b. 1049)
  • 1189 – Henry II, king of England (b. 1133)
  • 1218 – Odo III, duke of Burgundy (b. 1166)
  • 1249 – Alexander II, king of Scotland (b. 1198)
  • 1415 – Jan Hus, Czech priest, philosopher, and reformer (b. 1369)
  • 1476 – Regiomontanus, German mathematician and astrologer (b. 1436)
  • 1480 – Antonio Squarcialupi, Italian composer (b. 1416)
  • 1533 – Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet and playwright (b. 1474)
  • 1535 – Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1478)
  • 1553 – Edward VI, king of England and Ireland (b. 1537)
  • 1583 – Edmund Grindal, English archbishop (b. 1519)
  • 1585 – Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (b. 1552)
  • 1614 – Man Singh I, Rajput Raja of Amer (b. 1550)
  • 1684 – Peter Gunning, English bishop (b. 1614)
  • 1758 – George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, English general and politician (b. 1725)
  • 1768 – Conrad Beissel, German-American religious leader (b. 1690)
  • 1802 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (b. 1736)
  • 1809 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, French general (b. 1775)
  • 1813 – Granville Sharp, English activist (b. 1735)
  • 1815 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (b. 1764)
  • 1835 – John Marshall, American captain and politician, 4th United States Secretary of State (b. 1755)
  • 1854 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1789)
  • 1868 – Harada Sanosuke, Japanese captain (b. 1840)
  • 1893 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (b. 1850)
  • 1901 – Chlodwig Carl Viktor, German prince and chancellor (b. 1819)
  • 1902 – Maria Goretti, Italian martyr and saint (b. 1890)
  • 1904 – Abai Qunanbaiuly, Kazakh poet and philosopher (b. 1845)
  • 1907 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist and theologian (b. 1826)
  • 1916 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (b. 1840)
  • 1918 – Wilhelm von Mirbach, German diplomat (b. 1871)
  • 1922 – Maria Teresia Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and missionary (b. 1863)
  • 1932 – Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English author (b. 1859)
  • 1934 – Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian commander (b. 1888)
  • 1946 – Horace Pippin, American painter (b. 1888)
  • 1947 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (b. 1862)
  • 1952 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (b. 1867)
  • 1959 – George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (b. 1893)
  • 1960 – Aneurin Bevan, Welsh-English politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1897)
  • 1961 – Scott LaFaro, American bassist (b. 1936)
  • 1961 – Woodall Rodgers, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Dallas (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Paul Boffa, Maltese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – William Faulkner, American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
  • 1962 – Joseph August, archduke of Austria (b. 1872)
  • 1963 – George, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1899)
  • 1964 – Claude V. Ricketts, American admiral (b. 1906)
  • 1966 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (b. 1892)
  • 1967 – Hilda Taba, Estonian architect and educator (b. 1902)
  • 1971 – Louis Armstrong, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1901)
  • 1973 – Otto Klemperer, German-American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
  • 1975 – Reşat Ekrem Koçu, Turkish historian, scholar, and poet (b. 1905)
  • 1976 – Zhu De, Chinese general and politician, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (b. 1886)
  • 1976 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (b. 1887)
  • 1977 – Ödön Pártos, Hungarian-Israeli viola player and composer (b. 1907)
  • 1978 – Babe Paley, American socialite and fashion style icon (b. 1915)
  • 1979 – Van McCoy, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1940)
  • 1986 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian lawyer and politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (b. 1908)
  • 1989 – János Kádár, Hungarian mechanic and politician, Hungarian Minister of the Interior (b. 1912)
  • 1991 – Mudashiru Lawal, Nigerian footballer (b. 1954)
  • 1992 – Marsha P. Johnson, American drag queen performer and activist (b. 1945)
  • 1994 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (b. 1932)
  • 1995 – Aziz Nesin, Turkish author and poet (b. 1915)
  • 1997 – Chetan Anand, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1998 – Roy Rogers, American cowboy, actor, and singer (b. 1911)
  • 1999 – Joaquín Rodrigo, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1901)
  • 2000 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1911)
  • 2002 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (b. 1932)
  • 2002 – John Frankenheimer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
  • 2003 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1908)
  • 2003 – Çelik Gülersoy, Turkish lawyer, historical preservationist, writer and poet (b. 1930)
  • 2004 – Thomas Klestil, Austrian politician, 10th President of Austria (b. 1932)
  • 2004 – Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2005 – Ed McBain, American author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2005 – Claude Simon, Malagasy-French novelist and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
  • 2006 – Kasey Rogers, American actress (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, American author (b. 1939)
  • 2009 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian author and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2009 – Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1916)
  • 2010 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
  • 2011 – Carly Hibberd, Australian road racing cyclist (b. 1985)
  • 2012 – Hani al-Hassan, Palestinian engineer and politician (b. 1939)
  • 2013 – Lo Hsing Han, Burmese businessman, co-founded Asia World (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Alan J. Dixon, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Illinois Secretary of State (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer, and talent agent (b. 1937)
  • 2018 – Shoko Asahara, founder of Japanese cult group Aum Shinrikyo (b. 1955)
  • 2019 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist, pioneer of bossa nova music style (b. 1931)
  • 2020 – Charlie Daniels, American singer-songwriter, fiddle-player and guitarist (b. 1936)
  • 2020 – Ennio Morricone, Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on July 6

  • The first day of San Fermín, which lasts until July 14. (Pamplona)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Maria Goretti
    • Romulus of Fiesole
    • July 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Cayman Islands)
  • Day of the Capital (Kazakhstan)
  • Independence Day (Comoros), celebrates the independence of the Comoros from France in 1975.
  • Independence Day (Malawi), celebrates the independence of Malawi from United Kingdom in 1964.
  • International Kissing Day (informally observed)
  • Jan Hus Day (Czech Republic)
  • Kupala Night (Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine)
  • National Fried Chicken Day (United States)
  • Statehood Day (Lithuania)
  • Teachers’ Day (Peru)

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