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1864

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

  • 61 BC – Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday.
  • 1011 – Danes capture Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, as a prisoner.
  • 1227 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for his failure to participate in the Crusades.
  • 1267 – The Treaty of Montgomery recognises Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as Prince of Wales, but only as a vassal of King Henry III.
  • 1364 – English forces defeat the French in Brittany, ending the War of the Breton Succession.
  • 1578 – Tegucigalpa, capital city of Honduras, is claimed by the Spaniards.
  • 1637 – 42-year-old Lorenzo Ruiz dies.
  • 1717 – An earthquake strikes Antigua Guatemala, destroying much of the city’s architecture.
  • 1789 – The United States Department of War first establishes a regular army with a strength of several hundred men.
  • 1789 – The 1st United States Congress adjourns.
  • 1829 – The Metropolitan Police of London, later also known as the Met, is founded.
  • 1848 – The Battle of Pákozd is a stalemate between Hungarian and Croatian forces, and is the first battle of the Hungarian Revolution.
  • 1850 – The papal bull Universalis Ecclesiae restores the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales.
  • 1855 – The Philippine port of Iloilo is opened to world trade by the Spanish administration.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm is fought.
  • 1864 – The Treaty of Lisbon defines the boundaries between Spain and Portugal and abolishes the Couto Misto microstate.
  • 1885 – The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England.
  • 1907 – The cornerstone is laid at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (better known as Washington National Cathedral) in Washington, D.C.
  • 1911 – Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1918 – World War I: Bulgaria signs the Armistice of Salonica.
  • 1918 – The Hindenburg Line is broken by an Allied attack.
  • 1918 – Germany’s Supreme Army Command tells the Kaiser and the Chancellor to open negotiations for an armistice.
  • 1923 – The British Mandate for Palestine takes effect, creating Mandatory Palestine.
  • 1923 – The French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon takes effect.
  • 1923 – The First American Track & Field championships for women are held.
  • 1932 – Chaco War: Last day of the Battle of Boquerón between Paraguay and Bolivia.
  • 1940 – Two Avro Ansons collide in mid-air over New South Wales, Australia, remain locked together, then land safely.
  • 1941 – World War II: German forces, with the aid of local Ukrainian collaborators, begin the two-day Babi Yar massacre.
  • 1949 – The Communist Party of China writes the Common Programme for the future People’s Republic of China.
  • 1954 – The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed.
  • 1957 – The Kyshtym disaster is the third-worst nuclear accident ever recorded.
  • 1971 – Oman joins the Arab League.
  • 1972 – China–Japan relations: Japan establishes diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China after breaking official ties with the Republic of China.
  • 1975 – WGPR becomes the first black-owned-and-operated television station in the US.
  • 1979 – The dictator Francisco Macias of Equatorial Guinea is shot by soldiers from Western Sahara.
  • 1988 – NASA launches STS-26, the first mission since the Challenger disaster.
  • 1990 – Construction of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (better known as Washington National Cathedral) is completed in Washington, D.C.
  • 1990 – The YF-22, which would later become the F-22 Raptor, flies for the first time.
  • 1991 – A Haitian coup d’état occurs.
  • 1992 – Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello is impeached.
  • 2004 – The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth.
  • 2004 – Burt Rutan’s Ansari SpaceShipOne performs a successful spaceflight, the first of two required to win the Ansari X Prize.
  • 2006 – A Boeing 737 and an Embraer 600 collide in mid-air, killing 154 people and triggering a Brazilian aviation crisis.
  • 2007 – Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, is demolished in a controlled explosion.
  • 2009 – The 8.1 Mw  Samoa earthquake results in a tsunami that kills 189 and injures hundreds.
  • 2011 – The special court in India convicted all 269 accused officials for atrocity on Dalits and 17 for rape in the Vachathi case.
  • 2013 – Over 42 people are killed by members of Boko Haram at the College of Agriculture in Nigeria.
  • 2016 – Eleven days after the Uri attack, the Indian Army conducts “surgical strikes” against suspected militants in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
  • 2019 – Violence and low turnout mar the 2019 Afghan presidential election.
  • 2019 – At least 59 people are reported dead due to monsoon rains in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. 350 people have died this year due to rain in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Births on September 29

  • 106 BC – Pompey, Roman general and politician (d. 48 BC)
  • 929 – Qian Chu, Chinese king (Ten Kingdoms) (d. 988)
  • 1240 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (d. 1275)
  • 1276 – Christopher II of Denmark (d. 1332)
  • 1373 – Margaret of Bohemia, Burgravine of Nuremberg (d. 1410)
  • 1402 – Fernando, the Saint Prince, of Portugal (d. 1443)
  • 1403 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brzeg-Legnica and Cieszyn, German princess (d. 1449)
  • 1460 – Louis II de la Trémoille, French military leader (d. 1525)
  • 1463 – Louis I, Count of Löwenstein, founder of the House of Löwenstein-Wertheim (d. 1523)
  • 1511 – Michael Servetus, Spanish physician, cartographer, and theologian (d. 1553)
  • 1527 – John Lesley, Scottish bishop (d. 1596)
  • 1538 – Joan Terès i Borrull, Spanish archbishop and academic (d. 1603)
  • 1547 – Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1616)
  • 1548 – William V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1626)
  • 1561 – Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1615)
  • 1574 – Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, Scottish nobleman and politician (d. 1624)
  • 1602 – Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, English military leader (d. 1668)
  • 1636 – Thomas Tenison, English archbishop (d. 1715)
  • 1639 – William Russell, Lord Russell, English politician (d. 1683)
  • 1640 – Antoine Coysevox, French sculptor and educator (d. 1720)
  • 1674 – Jacques-Martin Hotteterre, French flute player and composer (d. 1763)
  • 1678 – Adrien Maurice de Noailles, French soldier and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1766)
  • 1691 – Richard Challoner, English bishop (d. 1781)
  • 1703 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (d. 1770)
  • 1718 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier and politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1783)
  • 1725 – Robert Clive, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire (d. 1774)
  • 1758 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (d. 1805)
  • 1766 – Charlotte, Princess Royal of England (d. 1828)
  • 1786 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general, lawyer, and politician, 1st President of Mexico (d. 1843)
  • 1803 – Mercator Cooper, American captain and explorer (d. 1872)
  • 1803 – Jacques Charles François Sturm, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1850)
  • 1808 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (d. 1868)
  • 1810 – Elizabeth Gaskell, English author (d. 1865)
  • 1816 – Paul Féval, père, French author and playwright (d. 1887)
  • 1832 – Joachim Oppenheim, rabbi and author (d. 1891)
  • 1832 – Miguel Miramón, Unconstitutional president of Mexico, 1859-1860 (d. 1867)
  • 1843 – Mikhail Skobelev, Russian general (d. 1882)
  • 1844 – Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 10th President of Argentina (d. 1909)
  • 1853 – Luther D. Bradley, American cartoonist (d. 1917)
  • 1863 – Hugo Haase, German lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1919)
  • 1864 – Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish philosopher and author (d. 1936)
  • 1866 – Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Ukrainian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1934)
  • 1876 – Charlie Llewellyn, South African cricketer (d. 1964)
  • 1880 – Liberato Pinto, Portuguese colonel and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1949)
  • 1881 – Ludwig von Mises, Austrian-American economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1973)
  • 1882 – Lilias Armstrong, English phonetician (d. 1937)
  • 1885 – George Scott, English footballer (d. 1916)
  • 1891 – Ian Fairweather, Scottish-Australian painter (d. 1974)
  • 1895 – Clarence Ashley, American singer, guitarist, and banjo player (d. 1967)
  • 1895 – Joseph Banks Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (d. 1980)
  • 1895 – Roscoe Turner, American pilot (d. 1970)
  • 1897 – Herbert Agar, American journalist and historian (d. 1980)
  • 1898 – Trofim Lysenko, Ukrainian-Russian biologist and agronomist (d. 1976)
  • 1899 – László Bíró, Hungarian-Argentinian journalist and inventor, invented the ballpoint pen (d. 1985)
  • 1899 – Billy Butlin, South African-English businessman, founded Butlins (d. 1980)
  • 1901 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian poet, philosopher, and activist (d. 1981)
  • 1901 – Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
  • 1903 – Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican lawyer and civilian politician, 46th President of Mexico (1946-1952) (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Diana Vreeland, American journalist (d. 1989)
  • 1904 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1907 – Gene Autry, American singer, actor, and businessman (d. 1998)
  • 1907 – George W. Jenkins, American businessman, founded Publix (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – Eddie Tolan, American sprinter and educator (d. 1967)
  • 1910 – Bill Boyd, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
  • 1910 – Virginia Bruce, American actress (d. 1982)
  • 1911 – Charles Court, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia (d. 2007)
  • 1912 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Trevor Howard, English actor (d. 1988)
  • 1913 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (d. 2001)
  • 1915 – Vincent DeDomenico, American businessman, founded the Napa Valley Wine Train (d. 2007)
  • 1915 – Oscar Handlin, American historian and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1915 – Brenda Marshall, American actress (d. 1992)
  • 1916 – Carl Giles, English cartoonist (d. 1995)
  • 1919 – Kira Zvorykina, Belarusian chess player (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Peter D. Mitchell, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
  • 1920 – Václav Neumann, Czech violinist and conductor (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – John Ritchie, New Zealand composer and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Albie Roles, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Stan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Bum Phillips, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Steve Forrest, American actor (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Paul MacCready, American engineer, founded AeroVironment (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – Chuck Cooper, American basketball player (d. 1984)
  • 1926 – Pete Elliott, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Adhemar da Silva, Brazilian triple jumper and actor (d. 2001)
  • 1927 – Sherwood Johnston, American race car driver (d. 2000)
  • 1927 – Pete McCloskey, American colonel and politician
  • 1927 – Barbara Mertz, American historian and author (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Brajesh Mishra, Indian politician and diplomat, 1st Indian National Security Advisor (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Richard Bonynge, Australian pianist and conductor
  • 1930 – Colin Dexter, English author and educator (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – James Cronin, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
  • 1931 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish-Italian model and actress (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Paul Oestreicher, German-English priest and theologian
  • 1932 – Robert Benton, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1932 – Paul Giel, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
  • 1933 – Samora Machel, Mozambican commander and politician, 1st President of Mozambique (d. 1986)
  • 1934 – Skandor Akbar, American wrestler and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Hungarian-American psychologist and academic
  • 1934 – Lance Gibbs, Guyanese cricketer and manager
  • 1934 – Stuart M. Kaminsky, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1934 – Lindsay Kline, Australian cricketer (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Jerry Lee Lewis, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1936 – Silvio Berlusconi, Italian businessman and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Italy
  • 1936 – James Fogle, American author (d. 2012)
  • 1936 – Hal Trosky, Jr., American baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1938 – Dave Harper, English footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Wim Kok, Dutch union leader and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Fikret Abdić, Bosnian economist and politician
  • 1939 – Jim Baxter, Scottish footballer (d. 2001)
  • 1939 – Larry Linville, American actor (d. 2000)
  • 1939 – Rhodri Morgan, Welsh politician, 2nd First Minister of Wales (d. 2017)
  • 1940 – Brute Force, American singer-songwriter
  • 1940 – Carlos Morales Troncoso, Dominican politician, 34th Vice President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – David Steele, English cricketer
  • 1942 – Felice Gimondi, Italian cyclist
  • 1942 – Madeline Kahn, American actress and singer (d. 1999)
  • 1942 – Ian McShane, English actor
  • 1942 – Bill Nelson, American captain and politician
  • 1942 – Jean-Luc Ponty, French violinist and composer
  • 1942 – Janet Powell, Australian educator and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American screenwriter and playwright (d. 1996)
  • 1943 – Wolfgang Overath, German footballer
  • 1943 – Lech Wałęsa, Polish electrician and politician, 2nd President of Poland, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1944 – Mike Post, American composer and producer
  • 1945 – Kyriakos Sfetsas, Greek composer and poet
  • 1945 – Nadezhda Chizhova, Russian shot putter
  • 1946 – Patricia Hodge, English actress
  • 1947 – Ülo Kaevats, Estonian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1947 – S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (d. 2016)
  • 1947 – Gary Wetzel, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient
  • 1948 – Mark Farner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Bryant Gumbel, American journalist and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Theo Jörgensmann, German clarinet player and composer
  • 1948 – Mike Pinera, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1949 – George Dalaras, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Ken Macha, American baseball player and manager
  • 1951 – Michelle Bachelet, Chilean physician and politician, 34th President of Chile
  • 1951 – Pier Luigi Bersani, Italian educator and politician, 6th President of Emilia-Romagna
  • 1951 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1977)
  • 1951 – Maureen Caird, Australian-New Zealand hurdler
  • 1951 – Mike Enriquez, Filipino journalist and radio commentator
  • 1952 – Roy Campbell, Jr., American trumpet player (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Gábor Csupó, Hungarian-American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Klasky Csupo
  • 1952 – Richard Hodges, English archaeologist and academic
  • 1952 – Max Sandlin, American lawyer, judge, and politician
  • 1952 – Takanosato Toshihide, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 59th Yokozuna (d. 2011)
  • 1953 – Warren Cromartie, American baseball player, coach, and radio host
  • 1953 – Jean-Claude Lauzon, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1953 – Lawrence Reed, American economist and author
  • 1954 – Uwe Jahn, German footballer and manager
  • 1954 – Mark Mitchell, Australian actor
  • 1955 – Ann Bancroft, American explorer and author
  • 1955 – Gareth Davies, Welsh rugby player and academic
  • 1955 – Joe Donnelly, American politician and lawyer
  • 1955 – Benoît Ferreux, French actor and director
  • 1955 – Gwen Ifill, American journalist (d. 2016)
  • 1956 – Sebastian Coe, English sprinter and politician
  • 1956 – Jenny Morris, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Suzzy Roche, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1957 – Chris Broad, English cricketer and referee
  • 1957 – Sokratis Malamas, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Mark Nicholas, English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Julian Armour, American-Canadian cellist and educator
  • 1960 – Kenneth Hansen, Swedish race car driver
  • 1960 – Alan McGee, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1960 – Hubert Neuper, Austrian ski jumper
  • 1960 – John Paxson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1960 – David Sammartino, American wrestler and trainer
  • 1960 – Andy Slaughter, English politician
  • 1960 – Carol Welsman, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1961 – Julia Gillard, Welsh-Australian lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Australia
  • 1961 – Stephanie Miller, American comedian and radio host
  • 1962 – Roger Bart, American actor
  • 1963 – Dave Andreychuk, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1963 – Les Claypool, American bass player, singer, songwriter, and producer
  • 1964 – Brad Lohaus, American basketball player
  • 1966 – Hersey Hawkins, American basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Ben Miles, English actor
  • 1967 – Brett Anderson, English singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Sara Sankey, English badminton player
  • 1968 – Patrick Burns, American paranormal investigator
  • 1968 – Luke Goss, English actor
  • 1968 – Matt Goss, English singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Erika Eleniak, American model and actress
  • 1969 – DeVante Swing, American singer-songwriter, and producer
  • 1969 – Aleks Syntek, Mexican singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1970 – Russell Peters, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1970 – Yoshihiro Tajiri, Japanese wrestler and trainer
  • 1970 – Natasha Gregson Wagner, American actress
  • 1970 – Kushboo, South Indian actress and producer
  • 1971 – Yitzhak Yedid, Israeli-Australian composer & pianist
  • 1971 – Tanoka Beard, American basketball player
  • 1971 – Mackenzie Crook, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Theodore Shapiro, American composer
  • 1972 – Oliver Gavin, English race car driver
  • 1973 – Foivos Delivorias, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1973 – Shannon Larratt, Canadian publisher, founded BMEzine (d. 2013)
  • 1973 – Scout Niblett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Brian Ash, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Matt Hullum, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth
  • 1974 – James Lance, British actor
  • 1975 – Albert Celades, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Darren Byfield, English-Jamaican footballer
  • 1976 – Kelvin Davis, English footballer
  • 1976 – Óscar Sevilla, Spanish cyclist
  • 1976 – Andriy Shevchenko, Ukrainian footballer and politician
  • 1977 – Eric Barton, American football player
  • 1977 – Wade Brookbank, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
  • 1977 – Debelah Morgan, American singer-songwriter
  • 1977 – Jake Westbrook, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Mohini Bhardwaj, American gymnast and coach
  • 1978 – Gunner McGrath, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Karen Putzer, Italian skier
  • 1978 – Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Orhan Ak, Turkish footballer
  • 1979 – Takumi Beppu, Japanese cyclist and manager
  • 1979 – Artika Sari Devi, Indonesian model and actress
  • 1979 – Shelley Duncan, American baseball player and manager
  • 1979 – Jaime Lozano, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Patrick Agyemang, English footballer
  • 1980 – Dallas Green, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1980 – Zachary Levi, American actor and singer
  • 1981 – Aris Galanopoulos, Greek footballer
  • 1981 – Shane Smeltz, German-New Zealand footballer
  • 1982 – Matt Giteau, Australian rugby player
  • 1982 – Amy Williams, English skeleton racer
  • 1983 – Lisette Oropesa, American soprano and actress
  • 1984 – Per Mertesacker, German footballer
  • 1985 – Calvin Johnson, American football player
  • 1985 – Niklas Moisander, Finnish footballer
  • 1985 – Dani Pedrosa, Spanish motorcycle racer
  • 1985 – Magnus Gangstad Jørgensen, Norwegian music producer
  • 1986 – Lisa Foiles, American actress and journalist
  • 1986 – Mark Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Matt Lashoff, American ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Isaac Makwala, Botswanan sprinter
  • 1986 – Benoît Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – David Del Rio, American actor and director
  • 1988 – Kevin Durant, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Justin Nozuka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1989 – Theo Adams, English photographer and director
  • 1989 – Adore Delano, American drag queen and singer
  • 1989 – Yevhen Konoplyanka, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1989 – Aaron Martin, English footballer
  • 1989 – Andrea Poli, Italian footballer
  • 1989 – Fatima Lodhi, Pakistani social activist
  • 1990 – Doug Brochu, American voice actor
  • 1990 – Gerphil Flores, Filipina classical crossover singer and Asia’s Got Talent finalist
  • 1990 – Lena Wermelt, German footballer
  • 1991 – Adem Ljajić, Serbian footballer
  • 1991 – Martin Jensen, Danish musician
  • 1993 – Lee Hong-bin, South Korean singer
  • 1993 – Viktor Romanenkov, Estonian figure skater
  • 1993 – Oleg Vernyayev, Ukrainian artistic gymnast
  • 1998 – Vera Lapko, Belarusian tennis player
  • 1999 – Choi Ye-na, South Korean singer and dancer

Deaths on September 29

  • 722 – Leudwinus, Frankish archbishop and saint (b. 660)
  • 855 – Lothair I, Roman emperor (b. 795)
  • 1186 – William of Tyre, Archbishop of Tyre (b. c. 1130)
  • 1225 – Arnaud Amalric, Papal legate who allegedly promoted mass murder
  • 1298 – Guido I da Montefeltro, Italian military strategist (b. 1223)
  • 1304 – John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, English general (b. 1231)
  • 1360 – Joanna I of Auvergne, queen consort of France (b. 1326)
  • 1364 – Charles I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1319)
  • 1382 – ‘Izz al-Din ibn Rukn al-Din Mahmud, malik of Sistan
  • 1501 – Andrew Stewart, Scottish bishop (b. 1442)
  • 1560 – Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1496)
  • 1622 – Conrad Vorstius, German-Dutch Remonstrant theologian (b. 1569)
  • 1634 – Henry Hyde, English politician and lawyer (b.c. 1563)
  • 1637 – Lorenzo Ruiz, Filipino martyr and saint (b. 1600)
  • 1642 – René Goupil, French missionary and saint (b. 1608)
  • 1642 – William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire (b. 1561)
  • 1703 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French-English soldier, author, and critic (b. 1610)
  • 1800 – Michael Denis, Austrian poet and author (b. 1729)
  • 1804 – Michael Hillegas, American politician, 1st Treasurer of the United States (b. 1728)
  • 1833 – Ferdinand VII of Spain (b. 1784)
  • 1862 – William “Bull” Nelson, American general (b. 1824)
  • 1887 – Bernhard von Langenbeck, German surgeon and academic (b. 1810)
  • 1889 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician (b. 1818)
  • 1900 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (b. 1814)
  • 1902 – William McGonagall, Scottish poet and actor (b. 1825)
  • 1902 – Émile Zola, French journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1840)
  • 1908 – Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1839)
  • 1910 – Winslow Homer, American painter, illustrator, and engraver (b. 1836)
  • 1913 – Rudolf Diesel, German engineer, invented the diesel engine (b. 1858)
  • 1918 – Lawrence Weathers, decorated WWI Australian soldier (b. 1890).
  • 1925 – Léon Bourgeois, French police officer and politician, 64th Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1851)
  • 1927 – Arthur Achleitner, German journalist and author (b. 1858)
  • 1927 – Willem Einthoven, Indonesian-Dutch physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
  • 1928 – John Devoy, Irish-American Fenian rebel leader (b. 1842)
  • 1930 – Ilya Repin, Ukrainian-Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1844)
  • 1937 – Marie Zdeňka Baborová-Čiháková, Czech botanist and zoologist (b. 1877)
  • 1937 – Ray Ewry, American triple jumper (b. 1873)
  • 1937 – Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (b. 1878)
  • 1951 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer player and coach (b. 1864)
  • 1952 – John Cobb, English race car driver and pilot (b. 1899)
  • 1967 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, playwright, essayist, and poet (b. 1917)
  • 1970 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor (b. 1886)
  • 1973 – W. H. Auden, English-American poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1907)
  • 1975 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
  • 1981 – Bill Shankly, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1913)
  • 1982 – Monty Stratton, American baseball player and coach (b. 1912)
  • 1986 – Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (b. 1920)
  • 1987 – Henry Ford II, American businessman (b. 1917)
  • 1988 – Charles Addams, American cartoonist (b. 1912)
  • 1989 – Gussie Busch, American businessman (b. 1899)
  • 1989 – Georges Ulmer, Danish-French singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1919)
  • 1993 – Gordon Douglas, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1997 – Roy Lichtenstein, American painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
  • 1998 – Tom Bradley, American lieutenant and politician, 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Jean-Louis Millette, Canadian actor (b. 1935)
  • 2000 – John Grant, English journalist and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2001 – Mabel Fairbanks, American figure skater and coach (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (b. 1923)
  • 2004 – Richard Sainct, French motorcycle racer (b. 1970)
  • 2004 – Patrick Wormald, English historian (b. 1947)
  • 2005 – Patrick Caulfield, English painter and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2005 – Austin Leslie, American chef and author (b. 1934)
  • 2006 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and manager (b. 1915)
  • 2006 – Michael A. Monsoor, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1981)
  • 2006 – Louis-Albert Vachon, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian actress (b. 1927)
  • 2007 – Yıldırım Aktuna, Turkish psychiatrist and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1930)
  • 2008 – Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Pavel Popovich, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Tony Curtis, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2010 – Greg Giraldo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1965)
  • 2011 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Neil Smith, Scottish geographer and academic (b. 1954)
  • 2012 – Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Harold Agnew, American physicist and engineer (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Anton Benning, German lieutenant (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Pete T. Cenarrusa, American soldier, pilot, and politician, Secretary of State of Idaho (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – Carl Joachim Classen, German scholar and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – L. C. Greenwood, American football player (b. 1946)
  • 2013 – Bob Kurland, American basketball player and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Miguel Boyer, Spanish economist and politician (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (b. 1983)
  • 2014 – Stan Monteith, American surgeon and author (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Luis Nishizawa, Mexican painter and educator (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – John Ritchie, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – George Shuba, American baseball player (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Hellmuth Karasek, Czech-German journalist, author, and critic (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – William Kerslake, American wrestler and engineer (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Jean Ter-Merguerian, French-Armenian violinist (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Phil Woods, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician (b. 1945)
  • 2017 – Tom Alter, Indian actor (b. 1950)
  • 2018 – Otis Rush, American blues guitarist and singer (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances on September 29

  • Christian feast day:
    • Rhipsime
    • September 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. One of the four quarter days in the Irish calendar. (England and Ireland). Called Michaelmas in some western liturgical traditions
  • Day of Machine-Building Industry Workers (Russia)
  • Inventors’ Day (Argentina)
  • Victory of Boquerón Day (Paraguay)
  • World Heart Day

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

On This Day, Uncategorized

September 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

It is the last day of the third quarter, the midway point of the second half of the year.

  • 489 – The Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time.
  • 737 – The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus, and capture their baggage train.
  • 1399 – Henry IV is proclaimed king of England.
  • 1520 – Suleiman the Magnificent is proclaimed sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1541 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his forces enter Tula territory in present-day western Arkansas, encountering fierce resistance.
  • 1551 – A coup by the military establishment of Japan’s Ōuchi clan forces their lord to commit suicide, and their city is burned.
  • 1744 – War of the Austrian Succession: France and Spain defeat Sardinia at the Battle of Madonna dell’Olmo, but soon have to withdraw from Sardinia anyway.
  • 1791 – The first performance of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute takes place two months before his death.
  • 1791 – France’s National Constituent Assembly is dissolved, to be replaced the next day by the National Legislative Assembly
  • 1882 – Thomas Edison’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant (later known as Appleton Edison Light Company) begins operation.
  • 1888 – Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.
  • 1906 – The Royal Galician Academy, the Galician language’s biggest linguistic authority, starts working in La Coruña, Spain.
  • 1907 – The McKinley National Memorial, the final resting place of assassinated U.S. President William McKinley and his family, is dedicated in Canton, Ohio.
  • 1909 – The Cunard Line’s RMS Mauretania makes a record-breaking westbound crossing of the Atlantic, that will not be bettered for 20 years.
  • 1915 – World War I: Radoje Ljutovac becomes the first soldier in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft with ground-to-air fire.
  • 1922 – The University of Alabama opens the American football season with a 110–0 victory over the Marion Military Institute, which still stands as Alabama’s record for largest margin of victory and as their only 100 point game.
  • 1927 – Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season.
  • 1931 – Start of “Die Voortrekkers” youth movement for Afrikaners in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
  • 1935 – The Hoover Dam, astride the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated.
  • 1938 – Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, whereby Germany annexes the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
  • 1938 – The League of Nations unanimously outlaws “intentional bombings of civilian populations”.
  • 1939 – World War II: General Władysław Sikorski becomes prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile.
  • 1939 – NBC broadcasts the first televised American football game.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Babi Yar massacre comes to an end.
  • 1943 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy is dedicated by President Roosevelt.
  • 1945 – The Bourne End rail crash, in Hertfordshire, England, kills 43
  • 1947 – The 1947 World Series is the first to be televised, to include an African-American player, to exceed $2 million in receipts, to see a pinch-hit home run, and to have six umpires on the field.
  • 1947 – Pakistan joins the United Nations.
  • 1949 – The Berlin Airlift ends.
  • 1954 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world’s first nuclear-powered vessel.
  • 1962 – Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the National Farm Workers Association.
  • 1962 – James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying racial segregation rules.
  • 1965 – The Lockheed L-100, the civilian version of the C-130 Hercules, is introduced.
  • 1965 – In Indonesia, a coup by the 30 September Movement is crushed, leading to a mass anti-communist purge, with over 500,000 people killed.
  • 1966 – Bechuanaland declares its independence, and becomes the Republic of Botswana.
  • 1967 – The BBC Light Programme, Third Programme and Home Service are replaced with BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 Respectively, BBC Radio 1 is also launched.
  • 1968 – The Boeing 747 is rolled out and shown to the public for the first time.
  • 1970 – Jordan makes a deal with the PFLP for the release of the remaining hostages from the Dawson’s Field hijackings.
  • 1972 – Roberto Clemente records the 3,000th and final hit of his career.
  • 1975 – The AH-64 Apache makes its first flight. Eight years later, the first production model rolled out of the assembly line.
  • 1977 – Because of NASA budget cuts and dwindling power reserves, the Apollo program’s ALSEP experiment packages left on the Moon are shut down.
  • 1980 – Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.
  • 1990 – The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada’s capital city of Ottawa.
  • 1993 – The 6.2 Mw  Latur earthquake shakes Maharashtra, India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) killing 9,748 and injuring 30,000.
  • 1994 – Aldwych tube station (originally Strand Station) of the London Underground closes after eighty-eight years in service.
  • 1994 – Ongar railway station, the furthest London Underground from central London, closes.
  • 1999 – The Tokaimura nuclear accident causes the deaths of two technicians in Japan’s second-worst nuclear accident.
  • 2000 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah is shot and killed on the second day of the Second Intifada.
  • 2004 – The AIM-54 Phoenix, the primary missile for the F-14 Tomcat, is retired from service. Almost two years later, the Tomcat itself is retired.
  • 2005 – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in a Danish newspaper.
  • 2009 – The 7.6 Mw  Sumatra earthquake leaves 1,115 people dead.
  • 2016 – Hurricane Matthew becomes a Category 5 hurricane, making it the strongest hurricane to form in the Caribbean Sea since 2007.
  • 2016 – Two paintings with a combined value of $100 million are recovered after having been stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.

Births on September 30

  • 1207 – Rumi, Persian mystic and poet (d. 1273)
  • 1227 – Pope Nicholas IV (d. 1292)
  • 1530 – Girolamo Mercuriale, Italian philologist and physician (d. 1606)
  • 1550 – Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1631)
  • 1622 – Johann Sebastiani, German composer (d. 1683)
  • 1689 – Jacques Aubert, French violinist and composer (d. 1753)
  • 1700 – Stanisław Konarski, Polish monk, poet, and playwright (d. 1773)
  • 1710 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1771)
  • 1714 – Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, French epistemologist and philosopher (d. 1780)
  • 1732 – Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1804)
  • 1743 – Christian Ehregott Weinlig, German cantor and composer (d. 1813)
  • 1765 – José María Morelos, Mexican priest and general (d. 1815)
  • 1800 – Decimus Burton, English architect, designed the Pharos Lighthouse (d. 1881)
  • 1813 – John Rae, Scottish physician and explorer (d. 1893)
  • 1814 – Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, American feminist, educator, and philanthropist (d. 1900)
  • 1827 – Ellis H. Roberts, American journalist and politician, 20th Treasurer of the United States (d. 1918)
  • 1832 – Ann Jarvis, American activist, co-founded Mother’s Day (d. 1905)
  • 1836 – Remigio Morales Bermúdez, Peruvian politician, 56th President of Peru (d. 1894)
  • 1852 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer, conductor, and educator (d. 1924)
  • 1861 – William Wrigley, Jr., American businessman, founded Wrigley Company (d. 1932)
  • 1863 – Reinhard Scheer, German admiral (d. 1928)
  • 1870 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (d. 1948)
  • 1870 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, French-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
  • 1882 – Hans Geiger, German physicist and academic (d. 1945)
  • 1883 – Bernhard Rust, German educator and politician (d. 1945)
  • 1883 – Nora Stanton Blatch Barney, American civil engineer, architect, and suffragist (d. 1971)
  • 1887 – Lil Dagover, Indonesian-German actress (d. 1980)
  • 1893 – Lansdale Ghiselin Sasscer, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 1964)
  • 1895 – Lewis Milestone, Moldovan-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1897 – Gaspar Cassadó, Spanish cellist and composer (d. 1966)
  • 1897 – Alfred Wintle, Russian-English soldier and politician (d. 1966)
  • 1897 – Charlotte Wolff, German-English physician and psychotherapist (d. 1986)
  • 1898 – Renée Adorée, French-American actress (d. 1933)
  • 1898 – Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois (d. 1977)
  • 1898 – Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, German-American author and illustrator (d. 1986)
  • 1901 – Thelma Terry, American bassist and bandleader (d. 1966)
  • 1904 – Waldo Williams, Welsh poet and academic (d. 1971)
  • 1905 – Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Michael Powell, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1906 – Mireille Hartuch, French singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – David Oistrakh, Ukrainian-Russian violinist and educator (d. 1974)
  • 1910 – Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish captain (d. 1962)
  • 1911 – Gustave Gilbert, American psychologist (d. 1977)
  • 1912 – Kenny Baker, American singer and actor (d. 1985)
  • 1913 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1975)
  • 1915 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (d. 2003)
  • 1917 – Yuri Lyubimov, Russian actor and director (d. 2014)
  • 1917 – Buddy Rich, American drummer, bandleader, and actor (d. 1987)
  • 1918 – Lewis Nixon, U.S. Army captain (d. 1995)
  • 1918 – René Rémond, French historian and economist (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1992)
  • 1919 – Elizabeth Gilels, Ukrainian-Russian violinist and educator (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – William L. Guy, American lieutenant and politician, 26th Governor of North Dakota (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Patricia Neway, American soprano and actress (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish-English actress (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Aldo Parisot, Brazilian-American cellist and educator (d. 2018)
  • 1922 – Lamont Johnson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – Donald Swann, Welsh-English pianist and composer (d. 1994)
  • 1924 – Truman Capote, American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1925 – Arkady Ostashev, Russian engineer and educator (d. 1998)
  • 1926 – Heino Kruus, Estonian basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1926 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – W. S. Merwin, American poet and translator (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Elie Wiesel, Romanian-American author, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Ray Willsey, Canadian-American football player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Carol Fenner, American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
  • 1929 – Vassilis Papazachos, Greek seismologist and academic
  • 1929 – Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Filipino politician, diplomat and writer (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – Dorothee Sölle, German theologian and author (d. 2003)
  • 1931 – Angie Dickinson, American actress
  • 1931 – Teresa Gorman, English educator and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1932 – Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese author, playwright, and politician, Governor of Tokyo
  • 1932 – Johnny Podres, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1933 – Michel Aoun, Lebanese general and politician, President of Lebanon
  • 1933 – Cissy Houston, American singer
  • 1934 – Alan A’Court, English footballer and manager (d. 2009)
  • 1934 – Udo Jürgens, Austrian-Swiss singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Anna Kashfi, Indian-American actress (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Johnny Mathis, American singer and actor
  • 1936 – Jim Sasser, American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Ambassador to China
  • 1936 – Sevgi Soysal, Turkish author (d. 1976)
  • 1937 – Jurek Becker, Polish-German author (d. 1997)
  • 1937 – Valentyn Sylvestrov, Ukrainian pianist and composer
  • 1937 – Gary Hocking, Rhodesian motorcycle racer (d. 1962)
  • 1938 – Alan Hacker, English clarinet player and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1939 – Len Cariou, Canadian actor
  • 1939 – Anthony Green, English painter and academic
  • 1939 – Jean-Marie Lehn, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – Claudia Card, American philosopher and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Harry Jerome, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
  • 1940 – Dewey Martin, Canadian-American drummer (d. 2009)
  • 1941 – Samuel F. Pickering, Jr., American author and educator
  • 1941 – Kamalesh Sharma, Indian academic and diplomat, 5th Commonwealth Secretary General
  • 1941 – Reine Wisell, Swedish race car driver
  • 1942 – Gus Dudgeon, English record producer (d. 2002)
  • 1942 – Frankie Lymon, American singer-songwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1943 – Johann Deisenhofer, German-American biochemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1943 – Marilyn McCoo, American singer
  • 1943 – Philip Moore, English organist and composer
  • 1943 – Ian Ogilvy, English-American actor, playwright, and author
  • 1944 – Diane Dufresne, Canadian singer and painter
  • 1944 – Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1944 – Red Robbins, American basketball player (d. 2009)
  • 1945 – Richard Edwin Hills, English astronomer and academic
  • 1945 – Ehud Olmert, Israeli lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Israel
  • 1946 – Fran Brill, American actress, singer, and puppeteer
  • 1946 – Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, English academic and politician, Leader of the House of Lords
  • 1946 – Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1946 – Jochen Mass, German race car driver
  • 1946 – Paul Sheahan, Australian cricketer and educator
  • 1946 – Claude Vorilhon, French journalist, founded Raëlism
  • 1947 – Marc Bolan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1977)
  • 1947 – Rula Lenska, English actress
  • 1948 – Craig Kusick, American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1950 – Laura Esquivel, Mexican author and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Victoria Tennant, English actress and dancer
  • 1951 – John Lloyd, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1951 – Barry Marshall, Australian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1951 – Simon White, English astrophysicist and academic
  • 1952 – John Lombardo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Matt Abts, American drummer
  • 1953 – Deborah Allen, American country music singer-songwriter, author, and actress
  • 1954 – Basia, Polish singer-songwriter and record producer
  • 1954 – Scott Fields, American guitarist and composer
  • 1954 – Patrice Rushen, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1955 – Andy Bechtolsheim, German engineer, co-founded Sun Microsystems
  • 1955 – Frankie Kennedy, Northern Irish flute player (d. 1994)
  • 1956 – Trevor Morgan, English footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Fran Drescher, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Marty Stuart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1959 – Ettore Messina, Italian basketball player and coach
  • 1960 – Julia Adamson, Canadian-English keyboard player, composer, and producer
  • 1960 – Nicola Griffith, English-American author
  • 1960 – Miki Howard, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1960 – Blanche Lincoln, American politician
  • 1961 – Gary Coyne, Australian rugby league player
  • 1961 – Eric Stoltz, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1961 – Mel Stride, English politician
  • 1961 – Eric van de Poele, Belgian race car driver
  • 1963 – David Barbe, American bass player and producer
  • 1964 – Trey Anastasio, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer
  • 1964 – Monica Bellucci, Italian actress and fashion model
  • 1965 – Omid Djalili, English comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1966 – Gary Armstrong, Scottish rugby player
  • 1966 – Markus Burger, German pianist, composer, and educator
  • 1967 – Emmanuelle Houdart, Swiss-French author and illustrator
  • 1969 – Gintaras Einikis, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1969 – Chris von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1991)
  • 1970 – Tony Hale, American actor and producer
  • 1970 – Damian Mori, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Jenna Elfman, American actress and producer
  • 1972 – Jamal Anderson, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Ari Behn, Danish-Norwegian author and playwright (d. 2019)
  • 1972 – John Campbell, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1972 – Mayumi Kojima, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1972 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (d. 2010)
  • 1974 – Jeremy Giambi, American baseball player
  • 1974 – Tom Greatrex, English politician
  • 1974 – Ben Phillips, English cricketer
  • 1974 – Daniel Wu, American–born Hong Kong actor, director, and producer
  • 1975 – Jay Asher, American author
  • 1975 – Marion Cotillard, French-American actress and singer
  • 1975 – Carlos Guillén, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1975 – Laure Pequegnot, French skier
  • 1975 – Christopher Jackson, American actor, singer, musician, and composer
  • 1976 – Georgie Bingham, British radio and television presenter
  • 1977 – Roy Carroll, Northern Irish goalkeeper and manager
  • 1977 – Nick Curran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1978 – Małgorzata Glinka-Mogentale, Polish female volleyball player
  • 1979 – Cameron Bruce, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1979 – Andy van der Meyde, Dutch footballer
  • 1980 – Martina Hingis, Czechoslovakia-born Swiss tennis player
  • 1980 – Milagros Sequera, Venezuelan tennis player
  • 1981 – Cecelia Ahern, Irish author
  • 1981 – Dominique Moceanu, American gymnast
  • 1982 – Lacey Chabert, American actress
  • 1982 – Ryane Clowe, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Yan Stastny, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Dmytro Boyko, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1983 – Boniek Forbes, Guinea-Bissau footballer
  • 1983 – Andreea Răducan, Romanian gymnast
  • 1984 – Georgios Eleftheriou, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – Adam Cooney, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – David Gower, Australian rugby league player
  • 1985 – Téa Obreht, Serbian-American author
  • 1985 – Cristian Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1985 – T-Pain, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1986 – Olivier Giroud, French footballer
  • 1986 – Martin Guptill, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1986 – Ben Lovett, Welsh musician and songwriter
  • 1986 – Cristián Zapata, Colombian footballer
  • 1987 – Aida Garifullina, Russian operatic soprano
  • 1988 – Eglė Staišiūnaitė, Lithuanian hurdler
  • 1989 – André Weis, German footballer
  • 1991 – Thomas Röhler, German javelin thrower
  • 1992 – Ezra Miller, American actor and singer
  • 1994 – Aliya Mustafina, Russian gymnast
  • 1996 – Jacob Host, Australian rugby league player
  • 1997 – Yana Kudryavtseva, Russian gymnast
  • 1997 – Max Verstappen, Dutch Formula One driver
  • 1998 – Trevor Moran, American youtuber and singer
  • 2002 – Maddie Ziegler, American dancer and actress
  • 2002 – Levi Miller, Australian actor and model

Deaths on September 30

  • 420 – Jerome, Roman priest, theologian, and saint (b. 347)
  • 653 – Honorius of Canterbury, Italian archbishop and saint
  • 940 – Fan Yanguang, Chinese general
  • 954 – Louis IV of France (b. 920)
  • 1101 – Anselm IV, Italian archbishop
  • 1246 – Yaroslav II of Vladimir (b. 1191)
  • 1288 – Leszek II the Black, Polish prince, Duke of Łęczyca, Sieradz, Kraków, Sandomierz (b. 1241)
  • 1440 – Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, Welsh soldier and politician (b. 1362)
  • 1487 – John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1400)
  • 1551 – Ōuchi Yoshitaka, Japanese daimyō (b. 1507)
  • 1560 – Melchior Cano, Spanish theologian (b. 1525)
  • 1572 – Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía, Spanish priest and saint, 3rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1510)
  • 1581 – Hubert Languet, French diplomat and reformer (b. 1518)
  • 1626 – Nurhaci, Chinese emperor (b. 1559)
  • 1628 – Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1554)
  • 1770 – Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1695)
  • 1770 – George Whitefield, English-American priest and theologian (b. 1714)
  • 1865 – Samuel David Luzzatto, Italian poet and scholar (b. 1800)
  • 1891 – Georges Ernest Boulanger, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1837)
  • 1897 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (b. 1873)
  • 1910 – Maurice Lévy, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1838)
  • 1942 – Hans-Joachim Marseille, German captain and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 1943 – Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (b. 1864)
  • 1946 – Takashi Sakai, Japanese general and politician, Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1887)
  • 1955 – James Dean, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 1959 – Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (b. 1877)
  • 1961 – Onésime Gagnon, Canadian scholar and politician, 20th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1888)
  • 1973 – Peter Pitseolak, Canadian photographer and author (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – Carlos Prats, Chilean general and politician, Chilean Minister of Defense (b. 1915)
  • 1977 – Mary Ford, American singer and guitarist (b. 1924)
  • 1978 – Edgar Bergen, American actor and ventriloquist (b. 1903)
  • 1985 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (b. 1900)
  • 1985 – Simone Signoret, French actress (b. 1921)
  • 1986 – Nicholas Kaldor, Hungarian-British economist (b. 1908)
  • 1987 – Alfred Bester, American author and screenwriter (b. 1913)
  • 1988 – Al Holbert, American race car driver (b. 1946)
  • 1989 – Virgil Thomson, American composer and critic (b. 1896)
  • 1990 – Rob Moroso, American race car driver (b. 1968)
  • 1990 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-Canadian journalist and author (b. 1930)
  • 1990 – Patrick White, Australian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
  • 1991 – Toma Zdravković, Serbian singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
  • 1994 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
  • 1998 – Marius Goring, English actor (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Dan Quisenberry, American baseball player and poet (b. 1953)
  • 1998 – Robert Lewis Taylor, American soldier and author (b. 1912)
  • 2002 – Göran Kropp, Swedish race car driver and mountaineer (b. 1966)
  • 2002 – Hans-Peter Tschudi, Swiss lawyer and politician, 63rd President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Yusuf Bey, American activist, founded Your Black Muslim Bakery (b. 1935)
  • 2003 – Ronnie Dawson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – Robert Kardashian, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1944)
  • 2004 – Gamini Fonseka, Sri Lankan actor, director, and politician (b. 1936)
  • 2004 – Jacques Levy, American director and songwriter (b. 1935)
  • 2004 – Michael Relph, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2008 – J. B. Jeyaretnam, Singaporean lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2010 – Stephen J. Cannell, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1941)
  • 2011 – Anwar al-Awlaki, American-Yemeni terrorist (b. 1971)
  • 2011 – Ralph M. Steinman, Canadian-American immunologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Turhan Bey, Austrian actor and producer (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Bobby Jaggers, American wrestler and engineer (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Clara Stanton Jones, American librarian (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian-American figure skater (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Boris Šprem, Croatian lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament (b. 1956)
  • 2013 – Janet Powell, Australian educator and politician (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Martin Lewis Perl, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Guido Altarelli, Italian-Swiss physicist and academic (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Claude Dauphin, French businessman (b. 1951)
  • 2015 – Göran Hägg, Swedish author and critic (b. 1947)
  • 2017 – Monty Hall, American game show host (b. 1921)
  • 2018 – Kim Larsen, Danish rock musician (b. 1945)
  • 2018 – Geoffrey Hayes, British television presenter and actor (b. 1942)
  • 2018 – Sonia Orbuch, Polish resistance fighter during the Second World War and Holocaust educator. (b. 1925)
  • 2019 – Victoria Braithwaite, British research scientist who proved fish feel pain (b. 1967)

Holidays and observances on September 30

  • Agricultural Reform (Nationalization) Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
  • Birth of Morelos (Mexico)
  • Boy’s Day (Poland)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Gregory the Illuminator
    • Honorius of Canterbury
    • Jerome
    • September 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Independence Day (Botswana) or Botswana Day, celebrates the independence of Botswana from United Kingdom in 1966.
  • International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)
  • Orange Shirt Day (Canada)

September 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day, Uncategorized

July 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian’s forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
  • 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: 6th day of the 7th month of the 1st year of the Ten’o (天応) era).
  • 1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.
  • 1201 – Attempted usurpation by John Komnenos the Fat for the throne of Alexios III Angelos.
  • 1423 – Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Cravant: The French army is defeated by the English at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
  • 1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.
  • 1492 – The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
  • 1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
  • 1588 – The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
  • 1618 – Maurice, Prince of Orange disbands the waardgelders militia in Utrecht, a pivotal event in the Remonstrant/Counter-Remonstrant tensions.
  • 1655 – Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.
  • 1658 – Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India.
  • 1703 – Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
  • 1712 – Action of 31 July 1712 (Great Northern War): Danish and Swedish ships clash in the Baltic Sea; the result is inconclusive.
  • 1715 – Seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain, 11 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure is salvaged from these wrecks.
  • 1741 – Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.
  • 1763 – Odawa Chief Pontiac’s forces defeat British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac’s War.
  • 1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette “be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States.”
  • 1790 – The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
  • 1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.
  • 1865 – The first narrow-gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia.
  • 1874 – Dr. Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University.
  • 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation.
  • 1913 – The Balkan States sign an armistice in Bucharest.
  • 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.
  • 1919 – German national assembly adopts the Weimar Constitution, which comes into force on August 14.
  • 1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
  • 1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
  • 1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
  • 1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question.”
  • 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
  • 1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
  • 1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
  • 1948 – USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.
  • 1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
  • 1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy.
  • 1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
  • 1975 – The Troubles: three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland.
  • 1987 – A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Canada.
  • 1988 – Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.
  • 1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries’ stockpiles.
  • 1992 – The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations.
  • 1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
  • 1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon’s surface.
  • 2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl.
  • 2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
  • 2012 – Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
  • 2014 – Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.

Births on July 31

  • 1143 – Emperor Nijō of Japan (d. 1165)
  • 1396 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
  • 1526 – Augustus, Elector of Saxony (d. 1586)
  • 1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
  • 1595 – Philipp Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1641)
  • 1598 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
  • 1686 – Charles of France, Duke of Berry (d. 1714)
  • 1702 – Jean Denis Attiret, French missionary and painter (d. 1768)
  • 1704 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1752)
  • 1718 – John Canton, English physicist and academic (d. 1772)
  • 1724 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (d. 1801)
  • 1759 – Ignaz Anton von Indermauer, Austrian nobleman and government official (d. 1796)
  • 1777 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (d. 1849)
  • 1796 – Jean-Gaspard Deburau, Czech-French actor and mime (d. 1846)
  • 1800 – Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist and academic (d. 1882)
  • 1803 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, co-designed the USS Princeton and the Novelty Locomotive (d. 1889)
  • 1816 – George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
  • 1826 – William S. Clark, American colonel and politician (d. 1886)
  • 1835 – Henri Brisson, French lawyer and politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (d. 1912)
  • 1835 – Paul Du Chaillu, French-American anthropologist and explorer (d. 1903)
  • 1836 – Vasily Sleptsov, Russian author and activist (d. 1878)
  • 1837 – William Quantrill, American captain (d. 1865)
  • 1839 – Ignacio Andrade, Venezuelan general and politician, 25th President of Venezuela (d. 1925)
  • 1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and author (d. 1918)
  • 1847 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1905)
  • 1854 – José Canalejas, Spanish academic and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1912)
  • 1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, English seismologist and geologist (d. 1936)
  • 1858 – Marion Talbot, influential American educator (d. 1948)
  • 1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American painter and illustrator (d. 1940)
  • 1867 – S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (d. 1966)
  • 1875 – Jacques Villon, French painter (d. 1963)
  • 1877 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (d. 1970)
  • 1880 – Premchand, Indian author and playwright (d. 1936)
  • 1883 – Ramón Fonst, Cuban fencer (d. 1959)
  • 1884 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, Polish-German economist and politician (d. 1945)
  • 1886 – Salvatore Maranzano, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1931)
  • 1886 – Fred Quimby, American animation producer (d. 1965)
  • 1887 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1969)
  • 1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist and publisher, founded Worldwide Church of God (d. 1986)
  • 1892 – Joseph Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
  • 1901 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
  • 1902 – Gubby Allen, Australian-English cricketer and soldier (d. 1989)
  • 1904 – Brett Halliday, American engineer, surveyor, and author (d. 1977)
  • 1909 – Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian theorist and author (d. 1999)
  • 1911 – George Liberace, American violinist (d. 1983)
  • 1912 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
  • 1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
  • 1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American football player and journalist (d. 2003)
  • 1913 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
  • 1914 – Paul J. Christiansen, American conductor and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1983)
  • 1916 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (d. 1986)
  • 1916 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1979)
  • 1918 – Paul D. Boyer, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2010)
  • 1918 – Frank Renouf, New Zealand businessman and financier (d. 1998)
  • 1919 – Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
  • 1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (d. 2006)
  • 1919 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1920 – James E. Faust, American religious leader, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer and activist, founded Amnesty International (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Donald Malarkey, American sergeant and author (d. 2017)
  • 1921 – Whitney Young, American activist (d. 1971)
  • 1922 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American songwriter and producer, founded Atlantic Records (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer, invented Kevlar (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Carmel Quinn, Irish singer, actress and writer
  • 1925 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (d. 1994)
  • 1926 – Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Hilary Putnam, American mathematician, computer scientist, and philosopher (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Peter Nichols, English author and playwright (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Bill Frenzel, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Lynne Reid Banks, English author
  • 1929 – Gilles Carle, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1929 – Don Murray, American actor
  • 1929 – José Santamaría, Uruguayan footballer and manager
  • 1931 – Nick Bollettieri, American tennis player and coach
  • 1931 – Kenny Burrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1979)
  • 1932 – John Searle, American philosopher and academic
  • 1933 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch journalist, author, and poet
  • 1935 – Yvon Deschamps, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1935 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Steuart Bedford, English pianist and conductor
  • 1939 – Susan Flannery, American actress
  • 1939 – France Nuyen, Vietnamese-French actress
  • 1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (d. 2004)
  • 1943 – William Bennett, American journalist and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
  • 1943 – Lobo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Jonathan Dimbleby, English journalist and author
  • 1944 – Sherry Lansing, American film producer
  • 1944 – Robert C. Merton, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1944 – David Norris, Irish scholar and politician
  • 1945 – William Weld, American lawyer and politician, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
  • 1946 – Gary Lewis, American pop-rock musician
  • 1947 – Karl Green, English bass player and songwriter (Herman’s Hermits)
  • 1947 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Mumtaz, Indian actress
  • 1947 – Hubert Védrine, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1947 – Ian Beck, English children’s illustrator and author
  • 1948 – Russell Morris, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1949 – Mike Jackson, American basketball player
  • 1949 – Alan Meale, English journalist and politician
  • 1950 – Richard Berry, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player
  • 1952 – Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
  • 1952 – Alan Autry, American football player, actor, and politician, 23rd Mayor of Fresno, California
  • 1952 – Helmuts Balderis, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1952 – João Barreiros, Portuguese author and critic
  • 1952 – Faye Kellerman, American author
  • 1953 – Ted Baillieu, Australian architect and politician, 46th Premier of Victoria
  • 1953 – Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer and coach
  • 1953 – Hugh McDowell, English cellist
  • 1954 – Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1956 – Michael Biehn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Bill Callahan, American football player and coach
  • 1956 – Ron Kuby, American lawyer and radio host
  • 1956 – Deval Patrick, American lawyer and politician, 71st Governor of Massachusetts
  • 1956 – Lynne Rae Perkins, American author and illustrator
  • 1957 – Daniel Ash, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Mark Thompson, English business executive
  • 1958 – Bill Berry, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1958 – Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality
  • 1958 – Suzanne Giraud, French music editor and composer
  • 1959 – Stanley Jordan, American guitarist, pianist, and songwriter
  • 1959 – Andrew Marr, Scottish journalist and author
  • 1959 – Kim Newman, English journalist and author
  • 1960 – Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1960 – Malcolm Ross, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
  • 1961 – Frank Gardner, English captain and journalist
  • 1961 – Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nigerian banker, royal
  • 1962 – John Chiang, American lawyer and politician, 31st California State Controller
  • 1962 – Kevin Greene, American football player and coach
  • 1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer
  • 1963 – Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), English DJ and musician
  • 1963 – Fergus Henderson, English chef and author
  • 1963 – Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1964 – Jim Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – Urmas Hepner, Estonian footballer and coach
  • 1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – John Laurinaitis, American wrestler and producer
  • 1965 – Ian Roberts, English-Australian rugby league player and actor
  • 1965 – J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer
  • 1966 – Dean Cain, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Tony Massenburg, American basketball player
  • 1967 – Tim Wright, Welsh composer
  • 1968 – Saeed-Al-Saffar, Emirati cricketer
  • 1968 – Julian Richards, Welsh director and producer
  • 1969 – Antonio Conte, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
  • 1969 – Kenneth D. Schisler, American lawyer and politician
  • 1970 – Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian author and poet
  • 1970 – Ben Chaplin, English actor
  • 1970 – Andrzej Kobylański, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Gus Frerotte, American football player and coach
  • 1973 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1974 – Emilia Fox, English actress
  • 1974 – Leona Naess, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Jonathan Ogden, American football player
  • 1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball player and coach
  • 1975 – Andrew Hall, South African cricketer
  • 1975 – Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
  • 1976 – Joshua Cain, American guitarist and producer
  • 1976 – Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Zac Brown, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Nick Sorensen, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver (d. 2015)
  • 1979 – Jaco Erasmus, South African-Italian rugby player
  • 1979 – J.J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
  • 1979 – Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
  • 1979 – B.J. Novak, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish race car driver
  • 1980 – Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1981 – Titus Bramble, English footballer
  • 1981 – Vernon Carey, American football player
  • 1981 – Paul Whatuira, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1981 – M. Shadows, American musician, lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold
  • 1982 – Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player
  • 1982 – DeMarcus Ware, American football player
  • 1985 – Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer
  • 1985 – Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist
  • 1986 – Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Brian Orakpo, American football player
  • 1987 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
  • 1988 – Alex Glenn, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1989 – Victoria Azarenka, Belorussian tennis player
  • 1991 – Réka Luca Jani, Hungarian tennis player
  • 1992 – José Fernández, Cuban baseball player (d. 2016)
  • 1992 – Ryan Johansen, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Kyle Larson, American race car driver
  • 1994 – Lil Uzi Vert, American hip hop artist

Deaths on July 31

  • 54 BC – Aurelia Cotta, Roman mother of Gaius Julius Caesar (b. 120 BC)
  • 450 – Peter Chrysologus, Italian bishop and saint (b. 380)
  • 910 – Feng Xingxi, Chinese warlord
  • 975 – Fu Yanqing, Chinese general (b. 898)
  • 1098 – Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
  • 1358 – Étienne Marcel, French rebel leader (b. 1302)
  • 1396 – William Courtenay, English archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
  • 1508 – Na’od, Ethiopian emperor
  • 1556 – Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish priest and theologian, founded the Society of Jesus (b. 1491)
  • 1616 – Roger Wilbraham, Solicitor-General for Ireland (b. 1553)
  • 1638 – Sibylla Schwarz, German poet (b. 1621)
  • 1653 – Thomas Dudley, English soldier and politician, 3rd Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
  • 1693 – Willem Kalf, Dutch still life painter (b. 1619)
  • 1726 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (b. 1695)
  • 1750 – John V, king of Portugal (b. 1689)
  • 1762 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (b. 1711)
  • 1781 – John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley, British parliamentarian (b. 1719)
  • 1784 – Denis Diderot, French philosopher and critic (b. 1713)
  • 1805 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian soldier (b. 1756)
  • 1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (b. 1800)
  • 1875 – Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
  • 1884 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1869)
  • 1886 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
  • 1891 – Jean-Baptiste Capronnier, Belgian stained glass painter (b. 1814)
  • 1913 – John Milne, British geologist and mining engineer. (b. 1850)
  • 1914 – Jean Jaurès, French journalist and politician (b. 1859)
  • 1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh language poet (b. 1887)
  • 1917 – Francis Ledwidge, Irish soldier and poet (b. 1881)
  • 1920 – Ion Dragoumis, Greek philosopher and diplomat (b. 1878)
  • 1940 – Udham Singh, Indian activist (b. 1899)
  • 1943 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1905)
  • 1942 – Francis Younghusband, British Army Officer, explorer and spiritual writer (b.1863)
  • 1944 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and poet (b. 1900)
  • 1953 – Robert A. Taft, American soldier and politician (b. 1889)
  • 1954 – Onofre Marimón, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1923)
  • 1958 – Eino Kaila, Finnish philosopher and psychologist, attendant of the Vienna circle (b. 1890)
  • 1964 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (b. 1923)
  • 1966 – Bud Powell, American pianist (b. 1924)
  • 1968 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
  • 1971 – Walter P. Carter, American soldier and activist (b. 1923)
  • 1972 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Azumafuji Kin’ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 40th Yokozuna (b. 1921)
  • 1979 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress and director (b. 1903)
  • 1980 – Pascual Jordan, German physicist, author, and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1980 – Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
  • 1981 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (b. 1929)
  • 1985 – Eugene Carson Blake, American religious leader (b. 1906)
  • 1986 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
  • 1987 – Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905)
  • 1990 – Albert Leduc, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
  • 1992 – Leonard Cheshire, English captain and pilot (b. 1917)
  • 1992 – Md. Abdul Wajed Chowdhury, Bangladeshi politician.
  • 1993 – Baudouin, King of Belgium (b. 1930)
  • 2000 – William Keepers Maxwell Jr., American editor, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1908)
  • 2001 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (b. 1914)
  • 2001 – Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (b. 1910)
  • 2003 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1933)
  • 2004 – Virginia Grey, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, 1st President of the European Central Bank (b. 1935)
  • 2009 – Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
  • 2009 – Harry Alan Towers, English-Canadian screenwriter and producer (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Mollie Hunter, Scottish author and playwright (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Alfredo Ramos, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Tony Sly, American musician, singer-songwriter (b. 1970)
  • 2013 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Michel Donnet, English-Belgian general and pilot (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – John Graves, American captain and author (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Nabarun Bhattacharya, Indian journalist and author (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Jeff Bourne, English footballer (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Wilfred Feinberg, American lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Howard W. Jones, American surgeon and academic (b. 1910)
  • 2015 – Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (b. 1955)
  • 2016 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (b. 1928)
  • 2017 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (b. 1928)
  • 2018 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor & businessman (b. 1939)
  • 2019 – Harold Prince, noted Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on July 31

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abanoub
    • Germanus of Auxerre
    • Ignatius of Loyola
    • Neot
    • July 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which the Feast of Kamál (Perfection) can fall, while August 1 is the latest; observed on the first day of the eighth month of the Bahá’í calendar. (Bahá’í Faith)
  • End of the Trinity term (sitting of the High Court of Justice of England)
  • Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Day (Hawaii, United States), and its related observance:
    • Sovereignty Restoration Day (Hawaiian sovereignty movement)
  • Martyrdom Day of Shahid Udham Singh (Haryana and Punjab, India)
  • Treasury Day (Poland)
  • Warriors’ Day (Malaysia)

July 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 762 – Baghdad is founded.
  • 1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council.
  • 1502 – Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage.
  • 1609 – Beaver Wars: At Ticonderoga (now Crown Point, New York), Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs on behalf of his native allies.
  • 1619 – In Jamestown, Virginia, the first Colonial European representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time.
  • 1626 – An earthquake in Naples, Italy, kills about 10,000 people.
  • 1635 – Eighty Years’ War: The Siege of Schenkenschans begins; Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, begins the recapture of the strategically important fortress from the Spanish Army.
  • 1656 – Swedish forces under the command of King Charles X Gustav defeat the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the Battle of Warsaw.
  • 1676 – Nathaniel Bacon issues the “Declaration of the People of Virginia”, beginning Bacon’s Rebellion against the rule of Governor William Berkeley.
  • 1729 – Founding of Baltimore, Maryland.
  • 1733 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States is constituted in Massachusetts.
  • 1756 – In Saint Petersburg, Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers.
  • 1811 – Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed by the Spanish in Chihuahua City, Mexico.
  • 1825 – Malden Island is discovered by captain George Byron, 7th Baron Byron.
  • 1859 – First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
  • 1863 – American Indian Wars: Representatives of the United States and tribal leaders including Chief Pocatello (of the Shoshone) sign the Treaty of Box Elder.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of the Crater: Union forces attempt to break Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia by exploding a large bomb under their trenches.
  • 1865 – The steamboat Brother Jonathan sinks off the coast of Crescent City, California, killing 225 passengers, the deadliest shipwreck on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. at the time.
  • 1866 – Armed Confederate veterans in New Orleans riot against a meeting of Radical Republicans, killing 48 people and injuring another 100.
  • 1871 – The Staten Island Ferry Westfield’s boiler explodes, killing over 85 people.
  • 1912 – Japan’s Emperor Meiji dies and is succeeded by his son Yoshihito, who is now known as the Emperor Taishō.
  • 1930 – In Montevideo, Uruguay wins the first FIFA World Cup.
  • 1932 – Premiere of Walt Disney’s Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award winning cartoon short.
  • 1945 – World War II: Japanese submarine I-58 sinks the USS Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen. Most die during the following four days, until an aircraft notices the survivors.
  • 1956 – A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto.
  • 1962 – The Trans-Canada Highway, the longest national highway in the world, is officially opened.
  • 1965 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
  • 1966 – England defeats West Germany to win the 1966 FIFA World Cup at Wembley Stadium after extra time.
  • 1969 – Vietnam War: US President Richard Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and U.S. military commanders.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 Mission: David Scott and James Irwin on the Apollo Lunar Module Falcon land on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.
  • 1971 – An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collide over Morioka, Iwate, Japan killing 162.
  • 1974 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • 1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again.
  • 1978 – The 730 (transport), Okinawa Prefecture changes its traffic on the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand side.
  • 1980 – Vanuatu gains independence.
  • 1980 – Israel’s Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law.
  • 1981 – As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, took to the streets in Łódź to protest food ration shortages in Communist Poland.
  • 1990 – Ian Gow, Conservative Member of Parliament, is assassinated at his home by IRA terrorists in a car bombing after he assured the group that the British government would never surrender to them.
  • 2003 – In Mexico, the last ‘old style’ Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.
  • 2006 – The world’s longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.
  • 2011 – Marriage of Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips to former rugby union footballer Mike Tindall.
  • 2012 – A train fire kills 32 passengers and injures 27 on the Tamil Nadu Express in Andhra Pradesh, India.
  • 2012 – A power grid failure in Delhi leaves more than 300 million people without power in northern India.
  • 2014 – One hundred and fifty people are trapped after a landslide in Maharashtra, India; 20 are killed.

Births on July 30

  • 1470 – Hongzhi, emperor of the Ming dynasty (d. 1505)
  • 1511 – Giorgio Vasari, Italian painter, historian, and architect (d. 1574)
  • 1549 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1609)
  • 1641 – Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1673)
  • 1751 – Maria Anna Mozart, Austrian pianist (d. 1829)
  • 1763 – Samuel Rogers, English poet and art collector (d. 1855)
  • 1809 – Charles Chiniquy, Canadian-American priest and theologian (d. 1899)
  • 1818 – Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet (d. 1848)
  • 1818 – Jan Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, 16th and 19th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1897)
  • 1825 – Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian engineer and author (d. 1893)
  • 1832 – George Lemuel Woods, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd Governor of Oregon (d. 1890)
  • 1855 – Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, German-Swiss businessman (d. 1919)
  • 1857 – Thorstein Veblen, American economist and sociologist (d. 1929)
  • 1859 – Henry Simpson Lunn, English minister and humanitarian, founded Lunn Poly (d. 1939)
  • 1862 – Nikolai Yudenich, Russian general (d. 1933)
  • 1863 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (d. 1947)
  • 1872 – Princess Clémentine of Belgium (d. 1955)
  • 1881 – Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1940)
  • 1890 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (d. 1975)
  • 1893 – Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani dentist and politician (d. 1967)
  • 1898 – Henry Moore, English sculptor and illustrator (d. 1986)
  • 1899 – Gerald Moore, English pianist (d. 1987)
  • 1901 – Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1955)
  • 1904 – Salvador Novo, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1974)
  • 1909 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (d. 1993)
  • 1910 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (d. 2003)
  • 1913 – Lou Darvas, American soldier and cartoonist (d. 1987)
  • 1914 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author, 6th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – Walter Schuck, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Grant Johannesen, American pianist and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Henry W. Bloch, American banker and businessman, co-founded H&R Block (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Stan Stennett, Welsh actor and trumpet player (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Alexander Trocchi, Scottish author and poet (d. 1984)
  • 1926 – Betye Saar, African American artist
  • 1927 – Richard Johnson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Pete Schoening, American mountaineer (d. 2004)
  • 1927 – Victor Wong, American actor (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – Joe Nuxhall, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Sid Krofft, Canadian-American puppeteer and producer
  • 1931 – Dominique Lapierre, French historian and author
  • 1934 – Bud Selig, 9th Major League Baseball Commissioner
  • 1936 – Buddy Guy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1936 – Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (d. 2020)
  • 1938 – Hervé de Charette, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1938 – Terry O’Neill, English photographer (d. 2019)
  • 1939 – Peter Bogdanovich, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Eleanor Smeal, American activist, founded the Feminist Majority Foundation
  • 1940 – Patricia Schroeder, American lawyer and politician
  • 1940 – Clive Sinclair, English businessman, founded Sinclair Radionics and Sinclair Research
  • 1941 – Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1942 – Pollyanna Pickering, English environmentalist and painter (d. 2018)
  • 1943 – Henri-François Gautrin, Canadian physicist and politician
  • 1944 – Gerry Birrell, Scottish race car driver (d. 1973)
  • 1944 – Peter Bottomley, English politician
  • 1944 – Frances de la Tour, English actress
  • 1945 – Patrick Modiano, French novelist and screenwriter, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1945 – David Sanborn, American saxophonist and composer
  • 1946 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 1994)
  • 1946 – Jeffrey Hammond, English bass player
  • 1947 – William Atherton, American actor and producer
  • 1947 – Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1947 – Jonathan Mann, American physician and author (d. 1998)
  • 1947 – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California
  • 1948 – Billy Paultz, American basketball player
  • 1948 – Jean Reno, Moroccan-French actor
  • 1948 – Otis Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (d. 2010)
  • 1949 – Duck Baker, American guitarist
  • 1949 – Sonia Proudman, English lawyer and judge
  • 1950 – Harriet Harman, English lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Frank Stallone, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1951 – Alan Kourie, South African cricketer
  • 1951 – Gerry Judah, Indian-English painter and sculptor
  • 1952 – Stephen Blackmore, English botanist and author
  • 1954 – Ken Olin, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1955 – Rat Scabies, English drummer and producer
  • 1955 – Christopher Warren-Green, English violinist and conductor
  • 1956 – Delta Burke, American actress
  • 1956 – Réal Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1956 – Anita Hill, American lawyer and academic
  • 1956 – Soraida Martinez, American painter and educator
  • 1957 – Antonio Adamo, Italian director and cinematographer
  • 1957 – Bill Cartwright, American basketball player and coach
  • 1957 – Clint Hurdle, American baseball player and manager
  • 1957 – Nery Pumpido, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1958 – Kate Bush, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1958 – Liz Kershaw, English radio broadcaster
  • 1958 – Daley Thompson, English decathlete and trainer
  • 1960 – Jennifer Barnes, American-English musicologist and academic
  • 1960 – Richard Linklater, American director and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Brillante Mendoza, Filipino independent film director
  • 1961 – Laurence Fishburne, American actor and producer
  • 1962 – Alton Brown, American chef, author, and producer
  • 1962 – Jay Feaster, American ice hockey player and manager
  • 1962 – Yakub Memon, Indian accountant and terrorist (d. 2015)
  • 1963 – Peter Bowler, English-Australian cricketer
  • 1963 – Lisa Kudrow, American actress and producer
  • 1963 – Antoni Martí, Andorran architect and politician
  • 1963 – Chris Mullin, American basketball player, coach, and executive
  • 1964 – Ron Block, American singer-songwriter and banjo player
  • 1964 – Vivica A. Fox, American actress
  • 1964 – Alek Keshishian, Lebanese-American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Jürgen Klinsmann, German footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Laine Randjärv, Estonian lawyer and politician, 6th Estonian Minister of Culture
  • 1965 – Tim Munton, English cricketer
  • 1966 – Kerry Fox, New Zealand actress and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Craig Gannon, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1966 – Allan Langer, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1966 – Louise Wener, English author and singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Terry Crews, American football player and actor
  • 1968 – Robert Korzeniowski, Polish race walker and coach
  • 1968 – Sean Moore, Welsh drummer and songwriter
  • 1969 – Simon Baker, Australian actor, director, and producer
  • 1969 – Errol Stewart, South African cricketer and lawyer
  • 1970 – Alun Cairns, Welsh businessman and politician
  • 1970 – Dean Edwards, American comedian, actor, and singer
  • 1970 – Christopher Nolan, English-American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Elvis Crespo, American-Puerto Rican singer
  • 1971 – Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor
  • 1972 – Jim McIlvaine, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Kenton Cool, English mountaineer
  • 1973 – Ümit Davala, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Anastasios Katsabis, Greek footballer
  • 1973 – Markus Näslund, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
  • 1973 – Sonu Nigam, Indian playback singer and actor
  • 1973 – Clementa C. Pinckney, American minister and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1974 – Radostin Kishishev, Bulgarian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Jason Robinson, English rugby league footballer, and rugby union footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Hilary Swank, American actress and producer
  • 1975 – Graham Nicholls, English author and activist
  • 1975 – Kate Starbird, American basketball player and computer scientist
  • 1977 – Diana Bolocco, Chilean model and journalist;
  • 1977 – Misty May-Treanor, American volleyball player and coach
  • 1977 – Jaime Pressly, American actress
  • 1977 – Bootsy Thornton, American basketball player
  • 1977 – Ian Watkins, Welsh singer-songwriter and child abuse convict
  • 1979 – Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rican basketball player and singer
  • 1979 – Chad Keegan, South African cricketer and coach
  • 1979 – Graeme McDowell, Northern Irish golfer
  • 1979 – Maya Nasser, Syrian journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1980 – Seth Avett, American folk-rock singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1980 – Justin Rose, South African-English golfer
  • 1981 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (d. 2017)
  • 1981 – Juan Smith, South African rugby union footballer
  • 1981 – Hope Solo, American soccer player
  • 1981 – Indrek Turi, Estonian decathlete
  • 1982 – Jehad Al-Hussain, Syrian footballer
  • 1982 – James Anderson, English cricketer
  • 1982 – Yvonne Strahovski, Australian actress
  • 1983 – Seán Dillon, Irish footballer
  • 1984 – Marko Asmer, Estonian race car driver
  • 1984 – Gabrielle Christian, American actress and singer
  • 1984 – Trudy McIntosh, Australian artistic gymnast
  • 1984 – Kevin Pittsnogle, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Chris Guccione, Australian tennis player
  • 1985 – Daniel Fredheim Holm, Norwegian footballer
  • 1985 – Luca Lanotte, Italian ice dancer
  • 1985 – Matthew Scott, Australian rugby league player
  • 1986 – Tiago Alencar, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – William Zillman, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Anton Fink, German footballer
  • 1987 – Sam Saunders, American golfer
  • 1988 – Wen Chean Lim, Malaysian rhythmic gymnast
  • 1989 – Aleix Espargaró, Spanish motorcycle racer
  • 1989 – Wayne Parnell, South African cricketer
  • 1990 – Chris Maxwell, Welsh footballer
  • 1991 – Diana Vickers, English singer-songwriter
  • 1992 – Hannah Cockroft, English wheelchair racer
  • 1993 – Jacob Faria, American baseball player
  • 1993 – André Gomes, Portuguese footballer
  • 1993 – Margarida Moura, Portuguese tennis player
  • 1994 – Nelydia Senrose, Malaysian actress
  • 1996 – Nina Stojanović, Serbian tennis player

Deaths on July 30

  • 578 – Jacob Baradaeus, Greek bishop
  • 579 – Pope Benedict I
  • 734 – Tatwine, English archbishop (b. 670)
  • 829 – Shi Xiancheng, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 1286 – Bar Hebraeus, Syrian scholar and historian (b. 1226)
  • 1393 – Alberto d’Este, Lord of Ferrara and Modena (b. 1347)
  • 1516 – Johann V of Nassau-Vianden-Dietz (b. 1455)
  • 1540 – Thomas Abel, English priest and martyr (b. 1497)
  • 1540 – Robert Barnes, English martyr and reformer (b. 1495)
  • 1550 – Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (b. 1505)
  • 1566 – Guillaume Rondelet, French doctor (b. 1507)
  • 1608 – Rory O’Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, last King of Tyrconnell (b. 1575)
  • 1624 – Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox, British nobleman (b. 1579)
  • 1652 – Charles Amadeus, Duke of Nemours (b. 1624)
  • 1680 – Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, Irish admiral and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1634)
  • 1683 – Maria Theresa of Spain (b. 1638)
  • 1691 – Daniel Georg Morhof, German scholar and academic (b. 1639)
  • 1700 – Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, English royal (b. 1689)
  • 1718 – William Penn, English businessman and philosopher, founded the Province of Pennsylvania (b. 1644)
  • 1771 – Thomas Gray, English poet (b. 1716)
  • 1811 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and soldier (b. 1753)
  • 1832 – Lê Văn Duyệt, Vietnamese general, mandarin (b. 1763-4)
  • 1870 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet and journalist (b. 1818)
  • 1875 – George Pickett, American general (b. 1825)
  • 1889 – Charlie Absolom, England cricketer (b. 1846)
  • 1898 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1815)
  • 1900 – Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1844)
  • 1912 – Emperor Meiji of Japan (b. 1852)
  • 1918 – Joyce Kilmer, American soldier, journalist, and poet (b. 1886)
  • 1920 – Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner (b. 1848)
  • 1930 – Joan Gamper, Swiss-Spanish footballer and businessman, founded FC Barcelona (b. 1877)
  • 1938 – John Derbyshire, English swimmer and water polo player (b. 1878)
  • 1941 – Hugo Celmiņš, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (b. 1877)
  • 1947 – Joseph Cook, English-Australian miner and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1860)
  • 1965 – Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, Japanese author and playwright (b. 1886)
  • 1970 – Walter Murdoch, Scottish-Australian academic (b. 1874)
  • 1970 – George Szell, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (b. 1897)
  • 1971 – Thomas Hollway, Australian politician, 36th Premier of Victoria (b. 1906)
  • 1975 – James Blish, American author and critic (b. 1921)
  • 1977 – Emory Holloway, American scholar, author, and educator (b. 1885)
  • 1983 – Howard Dietz, American songwriter and publicist (b. 1896)
  • 1983 – Lynn Fontanne, English actress (b. 1887)
  • 1985 – Julia Robinson, American mathematician and theorist (b. 1919)
  • 1989 – Lane Frost, American professional bull rider
  • 1990 – Ian Gow, British Member of Parliament who was assassinated by the IRA (b. 1937)
  • 1992 – Brenda Marshall, Filipino-American actress and singer (b. 1915)
  • 1992 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (b. 1914)
  • 1996 – Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (b. 1903)
  • 1997 – Bảo Đại, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1913)
  • 1998 – Buffalo Bob Smith, American television host (b. 1917)
  • 2001 – Anton Schwarzkopf, German engineer (b. 1924)
  • 2003 – Steve Hislop, Scottish motorcycle racer (b. 1962)
  • 2003 – Sam Phillips, American record producer, founded Sun Records (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (b. 1905)
  • 2005 – John Garang, Sudanese colonel and politician, 6th President of South Sudan (b. 1945)
  • 2006 – Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist and author(b. 1946)
  • 2006 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Murray Bookchin, American philosopher and author (b. 1921)
  • 2006 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (b. 1904)
  • 2006 – Akbar Mohammadi, Iranian activist (b. 1972)
  • 2007 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Teoctist Arăpașu, Romanian patriarch (b. 1915)
  • 2007 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – Bill Walsh, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Anne Armstrong, American businesswoman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1927)
  • 2009 – Mohammed Yusuf, Nigerian militant leader, founded Boko Haram (b. 1970)
  • 2009 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2011 – Bob Peterson, American basketball player (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Maeve Binchy, Irish author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – Bill Doss, American singer and guitarist (b. 1968)
  • 2012 – Stig Ossian Ericson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Les Green, English footballer and manager (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Jonathan Hardy, New Zealand-Australian actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – Bill Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1960)
  • 2012 – Mary Louise Rasmuson, American colonel (b. 1911)
  • 2013 – Cecil Alexander, American architect, designed the State of Georgia Building (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Berthold Beitz, German businessman (b. 1913)
  • 2013 – Robert Neelly Bellah, American sociologist and author (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Harry F. Byrd Jr., American lieutenant, publisher, and politician (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Ossie Schectman, American basketball player (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Benjamin Walker, Indian-English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1913)
  • 2014 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Harun Farocki, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2014 – Julio Grondona, Argentinian businessman (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Peter Hall, English geographer, author, and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Dick Smith, American make-up artist (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Dick Wagner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Lynn Anderson, American singer (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Endel Lippmaa, Estonian physicist (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Francis Paul Prucha, American historian and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Alena Vrzáňová, Czech figure skater (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1925)
  • 2018 – Michael A. Sheehan, American author, former government official and military officer (b. 1955)

Holidays and observances on July 30

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abdon and Sennen
    • Hatebrand
    • Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda
    • Peter Chrysologus
    • Robert Barnes (Lutheran)
    • Rufinus of Assisi
    • Tatwine
    • Ursus of Auxerre
    • Solanus Casey
    • July 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Feast of the Throne (Morocco)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Vanuatu from the United Kingdom and France in 1980.
  • International Day of Friendship (international), and its related observances:
    • Día del Amigo (Paraguay)
  • Martyrs Day (South Sudan)

July 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 29 

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

Deaths on July 29

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

Holidays and observances on July 29

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

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

On This Day

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

  • 1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina.
  • 1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
  • 1571 – La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.
  • 1635 – In the Eighty Years’ War the Spanish capture the strategic Dutch fortress of Schenkenschans.
  • 1656 – Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins.
  • 1778 – Constitution of the province of Cantabria ratified at the Assembly Hall in Bárcena la Puente, Reocín, Spain.
  • 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just are executed by guillotine in Paris, France.
  • 1808 – Mahmud II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
  • 1809 – Peninsular War: Battle of Talavera: Sir Arthur Wellesley’s British, Portuguese and Spanish army defeats a French force led by Joseph Bonaparte.
  • 1821 – José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain.
  • 1854 – USS Constellation (1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, is commissioned.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church: Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta, Georgia.
  • 1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
  • 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
  • 1896 – The city of Miami, Florida is incorporated.
  • 1914 – In the culmination of the July Crisis, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, igniting World War I.
  • 1915 – The United States begins a 19-year occupation of Haiti.
  • 1917 – The Silent Parade took place in New York City, in protest to murders, lynchings, and other violence directed towards African Americans.
  • 1932 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.
  • 1935 – First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
  • 1938 – Hawaii Clipper disappears between Guam and Manila as the first loss of an airliner in trans-Pacific China Clipper service.
  • 1939 – The Sutton Hoo helmet is discovered.
  • 1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227. In response to alarming German advances, all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so are to be tried in a military court, with punishment ranging from duty in a shtrafbat battalion, imprisonment in a Gulag, or execution.
  • 1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah: The Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg, Germany causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
  • 1945 – A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
  • 1957 – Heavy rain and a mudslide in Isahaya, western Kyushu, Japan, kills 992.
  • 1960 – The German Volkswagen Act came into force.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
  • 1973 – Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: Nearly 600,000 people attend a rock festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
  • 1974 – Spetsgruppa A, Russia’s elite special force, was formed.
  • 1976 – The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People’s Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
  • 1984 – The Summer Olympics officially known as the games of the XXIII were opened in Los Angeles.
  • 1996 – The remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick Man.
  • 2001 – Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championship.
  • 2002 – Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
  • 2002 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 crashes after takeoff from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing 14 of the 16 people on board.
  • 2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
  • 2010 – Airblue Flight 202 crashes into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people aboard. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan history and the first involving an Airbus A321.
  • 2011 – While flying from Seoul, South Korea to Shanghai, China, Asiana Airlines Flight 991 develops an in-flight fire in the cargo hold. The Boeing 747-400F freighter attempts to divert to Jeju International Airport, but crashes into the sea South-West of Jeju island, killing both crew members on board.
  • 2017 – Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for lifetime by Supreme Court of Pakistan founding him guilty of corruption charges.
  • 2018 – Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Births on July 28

  • 1347 – Margaret of Durazzo, Queen of Naples and Hungary (d. 1412)
  • 1516 – William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, German nobleman (d. 1592)
  • 1609 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
  • 1635 – Robert Hooke, English physicist and chemist (d. 1703)
  • 1645 – Marguerite Louise d’Orléans, French princess (d. 1721)
  • 1659 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (d. 1715)
  • 1746 – Thomas Heyward, Jr., American judge and politician (d. 1809)
  • 1750 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, playwright, and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1783 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (d. 1860)
  • 1796 – Ignaz Bösendorfer, Austrian businessman, founded the Bösendorfer Company (d. 1859)
  • 1804 – Ludwig Feuerbach, German anthropologist and philosopher (d. 1872)
  • 1815 – Stefan Dunjov, Bulgarian colonel (d. 1889)
  • 1844 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (d. 1889)
  • 1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940)
  • 1860 – Elias M. Ammons, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Colorado (d. 1925)
  • 1860 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1922)
  • 1863 – Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
  • 1866 – Beatrix Potter, English children’s book writer and illustrator (d. 1943)
  • 1866 – Albertson Van Zo Post, American fencer (d. 1938)
  • 1867 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American-Argentinian astronomer (d. 1951)
  • 1872 – Albert Sarraut, French journalist and politician, 106th Prime Minister of France (d. 1962)
  • 1874 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (d. 1945)
  • 1879 – Lucy Burns, American activist, co-founded the National Woman’s Party (d. 1966)
  • 1879 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter (d. 1944)
  • 1887 – Marcel Duchamp, French-American painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
  • 1887 – Willard Price, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 1983)
  • 1893 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (d. 1952)
  • 1896 – Barbara La Marr, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1926)
  • 1898 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (d. 1970)
  • 1901 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Rudy Vallée, American actor, singer, and saxophonist (d. 1986)
  • 1902 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (d. 1959)
  • 1902 – Sir Karl Popper, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1907 – Earl Tupper, American inventor and businessman, founded Tupperware Brands (d. 1983)
  • 1909 – Aenne Burda, German publisher (d. 2005)
  • 1909 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (d. 1957)
  • 1914 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (d. 1984)
  • 1915 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
  • 1915 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Frankie Yankovic, American polka musician (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – David Brown, American journalist and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – Andrew V. McLaglen, English-American director and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Jacques Piccard, Belgian-Swiss oceanographer and engineer (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Ray Ellis, American conductor and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1924 – Luigi Musso, Italian race car driver (d. 1958)
  • 1924 – C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist
  • 1925 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian bassist (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – John Ashbery, American poet (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist and socialite, 37th First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
  • 1929 – Shirley Ann Grau, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1930 – Firoza Begum, Bangladeshi singer (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Junior Kimbrough, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
  • 1930 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 2006)
  • 1930 – Ramsey Muir Withers, Canadian general (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Alan Brownjohn, English poet and author
  • 1931 – Johnny Martin, Australian cricketer (d. 1992)
  • 1932 – Natalie Babbitt, American author and illustrator (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, Brazilian colonel (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 2016)
  • 1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American dancer and choreographer
  • 1935 – Neil McKendrick, English historian and academic
  • 1936 – Russ Jackson, Canadian football player and coach
  • 1936 – Garfield Sobers, Barbadian cricketer
  • 1937 – Francis Veber, French director and screenwriter
  • 1938 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Arsen Dedić, Croatian singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian engineer, academic, and politician, 90th President of Peru
  • 1938 – Chuan Leekpai, Thai lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Thailand
  • 1939 – Richard Johns, English air marshal
  • 1940 – Philip Proctor, American voice actor and screenwriter
  • 1941 – Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor and educator
  • 1941 – Susan Roces, Filipino actress and producer
  • 1942 – Marty Brennaman, American sportscaster
  • 1942 – Tonia Marketaki, Greek director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
  • 1943 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1943 – Bill Bradley, American basketball player and politician
  • 1943 – Richard Wright, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2008)
  • 1945 – Jim Davis, American cartoonist, created Garfield
  • 1946 – Jonathan Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Linda Kelsey, American actress
  • 1946 – Fahmida Riaz, Pakistani poet and activist
  • 1947 – Peter Cosgrove, Australian general and politician, 26th Governor General of Australia
  • 1947 – Sally Struthers, American actress
  • 1948 – Gerald Casale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
  • 1948 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1949 – Vida Blue, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1949 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer and guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1949 – Simon Kirke, English drummer
  • 1949 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
  • 1949 – Randall Wallace, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1950 – Shahyar Ghanbari, Iranian singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Tapley Seaton, Kittitian politician, 4th Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • 1951 – Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect and engineer, designed the Athens Olympic Sports Complex
  • 1951 – Doug Collins, American basketball player and coach
  • 1951 – Gregg Giuffria, American rock musician and businessman
  • 1951 – Ray Kennedy, English footballer
  • 1952 – Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand
  • 1954 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Gerd Faltings, German mathematician and academic
  • 1954 – Steve Morse, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – Mikey Sheehy, Irish footballer
  • 1955 – Nikolay Zimyatov, Russian skier
  • 1956 – John Feinstein, American journalist and author
  • 1956 – Robert Swan, English explorer
  • 1958 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (d. 1981)
  • 1958 – Michael Hitchcock, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1959 – William T. Vollmann, American novelist, short story writer and journalist
  • 1960 – Luiz Fernando Carvalho, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Jon J. Muth, American author and illustrator
  • 1960 – Yōichi Takahashi, Japanese illustrator
  • 1961 – Yannick Dalmas, French race car driver
  • 1962 – Rachel Sweet, American singer, television writer, and actress
  • 1964 – Lori Loughlin, American actress
  • 1965 – Priscilla Chan, Hong Kong singer
  • 1966 – Sossina M. Haile, Ethiopian American chemist
  • 1966 – Miguel Ángel Nadal, Spanish footballer
  • 1966 – Jimmy Pardo, American stand-up comedian, actor, and host
  • 1966 – Shikao Suga, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Taka Hirose, Japanese bass player
  • 1969 – Garth Snow, American ice hockey player and manager
  • 1969 – Alexis Arquette, American actress (d. 2016)
  • 1970 – Michael Amott, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
  • 1970 – Isabelle Brasseur, Canadian figure skater
  • 1970 – Paul Strang, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
  • 1971 – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iraqi leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  • 1971 – Ludmilla Lacueva Canut, Andorran writer
  • 1971 – Stephen Lynch, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1971 – Annie Perreault, Canadian speed skater
  • 1972 – Robert Chapman, English cricketer
  • 1973 – Marc Dupré, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1973 – Steve Staios, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Alexis Tsipras, Greek engineer and politician, 186th Prime Minister of Greece
  • 1974 – Elizabeth Berkley, American actress
  • 1975 – Leonor Watling, Spanish actress
  • 1976 – Jacoby Shaddix, American singer-songwriter
  • 1977 – Aki Berg, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Manu Ginóbili, Argentinian basketball player
  • 1977 – Miyabiyama Tetsushi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1978 – Kārlis Vērdiņš, Latvian poet
  • 1978 – Hitomi Yaida, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Henrik Hansen, Danish footballer
  • 1979 – Birgitta Haukdal, Icelandic singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1979 – Lee Min-woo, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1979 – Alena Popchanka, Belarusian-French swimmer and coach
  • 1980 – Stephen Christian, American singer-songwriter
  • 1980 – Anthony Weaver, American football player
  • 1981 – Michael Carrick, English footballer
  • 1983 – Sam Dastyari, Iranian-Australian politician
  • 1983 – Cody Hay, Canadian figure skater
  • 1984 – Zach Parise, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Mathieu Debuchy, French footballer
  • 1985 – Dustin Milligan, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1985 – Darren Murphy, Irish footballer
  • 1986 – Alexandra Chando, American actress
  • 1986 – Lauri Korpikoski, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Dulquer Salmaan, Indian actor
  • 1987 – Yasser Corona, Mexican footballer
  • 1987 – Yevhen Khacheridi, Ukrainian-Greek footballer
  • 1987 – Pedro, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Greg Hardy, American football player
  • 1989 – Felipe Kitadai, Brazilian martial artist
  • 1990 – Soulja Boy, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1990 – Simone Pizzuti, Italian footballer
  • 1993 – Harry Kane, English footballer
  • 1993 – Moses Odubajo, English footballer
  • 1993 – Cher Lloyd, English singer-songwriter
  • 1995 – Josh Addo-Carr, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on July 28

  • 450 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (b. 401)
  • 938 – Thankmar, half-brother of Otto I (during Siege of Eresburg) (b. c. 908)
  • 942 – Shi Jingtang, emperor of Later Jin (b. 892)
  • 1057 – Victor II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1018)
  • 1128 – William Clito, English son of Sybilla of Conversano (b. 1102)
  • 1230 – Leopold VI, Duke of Austria (b. 1176)
  • 1271 – Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (b. 1220)
  • 1285 – Keran, Queen of Armenia
  • 1333 – Guy VIII of Viennois, Dauphin of Vienne (b. 1309)
  • 1345 – Sancia of Majorca, queen regent of Naples (b. c. 1285)
  • 1458 – John II, king of Cyprus and Armenia
  • 1488 – Edward Woodville, Lord Scales (at the Battle of St. Aubin-du-Cormier)
  • 1508 – Robert Blackadder, bishop of Glasgow
  • 1527 – Rodrigo de Bastidas, Spanish explorer, founded the city of Santa Marta (b. 1460)
  • 1540 – Thomas Cromwell, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1495)
  • 1585 – Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (b. 1527)
  • 1631 – Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, Spanish playwright (b. 1569)
  • 1655 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet and playwright (b. 1619)
  • 1667 – Abraham Cowley, English poet and author (b. 1618)
  • 1675 – Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer and politician (b. 1605)
  • 1685 – Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1618)
  • 1718 – Étienne Baluze, French scholar and academic (b. 1630)
  • 1741 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1678)
  • 1750 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1685)
  • 1762 – George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (b. 1691)
  • 1794 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Committee of Public Safety (b. 1758)
  • 1794 – Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French soldier and politician (b. 1767)
  • 1808 – Selim III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1761)
  • 1809 – Richard Beckett, English cricketer and captain (b.1772)
  • 1818 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1746)
  • 1835 – Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (b. 1768)
  • 1836 – Nathan Mayer Rothschild, German-English banker and financier (b. 1777)
  • 1842 – Clemens Brentano, German author and poet (b. 1778)
  • 1844 – Joseph Bonaparte, French diplomat and brother of Napoleon (b. 1768)
  • 1849 – Charles Albert of Sardinia (b. 1798)
  • 1869 – Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist and physiologist (b. 1787)
  • 1878 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician (b. 1820)
  • 1885 – Moses Montefiore, British philanthropist, sheriff and banker (b. 1784)
  • 1895 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (b. 1803)
  • 1930 – John DeWitt, American hammer thrower (b. 1881)
  • 1930 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist and optician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
  • 1933 – Nishinoumi Kajirō III, Japanese sumo wrestler, 30th yokozuna (b. 1890)
  • 1934 – Marie Dressler, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1868)
  • 1934 – Louis Tancred, South African cricketer and pilot (b. 1876)
  • 1935 – Meletius IV of Constantinople (b. 1871)
  • 1942 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1853)
  • 1946 – Saint Alphonsa, first woman of Indian origin to be Canonization as a saint by the Catholic Church (b. 1910)
  • 1957 – Edith Abbott, American economist, social worker, and educator (b. 1876)
  • 1957 – Isaac Heinemann, German-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1876)
  • 1965 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (b. 1894)
  • 1965 – Attallah Suheimat, Jordanian politician (b. 1875)
  • 1967 – Karl W. Richter, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1942)
  • 1968 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
  • 1969 – Ramón Grau, Cuban physician and politician, 6th President of Cuba (b. 1882)
  • 1969 – Frank Loesser, American composer (b. 1910)
  • 1971 – Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canadian colonel and diplomat (b. 1890)
  • 1971 – Myril Hoag, American baseball player (b. 1908)
  • 1971 – Charles E. Pont, French-American minister and painter (b. 1898)
  • 1972 – Helen Traubel, American soprano and actress (b. 1903)
  • 1979 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (b. 1902)
  • 1979 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (b. 1898)
  • 1980 – Rose Rand, Austrian-born American logician and philosopher (b. 1903)
  • 1981 – Stanley Rother, American priest and missionary (b. 1935)
  • 1982 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1953)
  • 1987 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, 31st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1909)
  • 1990 – Jill Esmond, English actress (b. 1908)
  • 1992 – Sulev Nõmmik, Estonian actor and director (b. 1931)
  • 1993 – Stanley Woods, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1903)
  • 1996 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1997 – Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Seni Pramoj, Thai lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1905)
  • 1998 – Zbigniew Herbert, Polish poet and author (b. 1924)
  • 1998 – Lenny McLean, English boxer, actor, and author (b. 1949)
  • 1998 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (b. 1911)
  • 1999 – Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
  • 2000 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist and historian (b. 1918)
  • 2001 – Ahmed Sofa, Bangladeshi poet, author, and critic (b. 1943)
  • 2002 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 2003 – Valerie Goulding, Irish activist and politician (b. 1918)
  • 2004 – Francis Crick, English biologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – Tiziano Terzani, Italian journalist and author (b. 1938)
  • 2006 – David Gemmell, English author (b. 1948)
  • 2007 – Karl Gotch, Belgian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – Jim LeRoy, American soldier and pilot (b. 1961)
  • 2009 – Jim Johnson, American football player and coach (b. 1941)
  • 2011 – Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan general (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Colin Horsley, New Zealand-English pianist and educator (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Sepp Mayerl, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – William F. Milliken Jr., American race car driver and engineer (b. 1911)
  • 2013 – Mustafa Adrisi, Ugandan general and politician, 3rd Vice President of Uganda (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Eileen Brennan, American actress and singer (b. 1932)
  • 2013. – Rita Reys, Dutch jazz singer (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – Ersilio Tonini, Italian cardinal (b. 1914)
  • 2014 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Alakbar Mammadov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Jan Kulczyk, Polish businessman (b. 1950)
  • 2015 – Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (b. 1949)
  • 2016 – Émile Derlin Zinsou, Beninese politician (b. 1918)
  • 2016 – Mahasweta Devi, Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (b. 1926)
  • 2018 – Wanny van Gils, Dutch footballer (b. 1959)

Holidays and observances on July 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
    • Botvid
    • Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, Henry Purcell (Episcopal Church commemoration)
    • Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz, George Frederick Handel (Lutheran commemoration)
    • Nazarius and Celsus
    • Pedro Poveda Castroverde
    • Pope Innocent I
    • Pope Victor I
    • Samson of Dol
    • July 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval (Canada)
  • Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, while August 3 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before the first Monday in August (Bermuda)
  • Fiestas Patrias, celebrates the independence of Peru from Spain by General José de San Martín in 1821.
  • Liberation Day (San Marino)
  • Ólavsøka Eve (Faroe Islands)
  • World Hepatitis Day

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

On This Day

July 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1132 – Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily.
  • 1148 – Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade.
  • 1304 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle: King Edward I of England takes the stronghold using the War Wolf.
  • 1411 – Battle of Harlaw, one of the bloodiest battles in Scotland, takes place.
  • 1412 – Behnam Hadloyo becomes Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Mardin.
  • 1487 – Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands, strike against a ban on foreign beer.
  • 1534 – French explorer Jacques Cartier plants a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula and takes possession of the territory in the name of Francis I of France.
  • 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and replaced by her 1-year-old son James VI.
  • 1701 – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founds the trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later becomes the city of Detroit.
  • 1783 – The Kingdom of Georgia and the Russian Empire sign the Treaty of Georgievsk.
  • 1814 – War of 1812: General Phineas Riall advances toward the Niagara River to halt Jacob Brown’s American invaders.
  • 1823 – Afro-Chileans are emancipated.
  • 1823 – In Maracaibo, Venezuela, the naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo takes place, where Admiral José Prudencio Padilla defeats the Spanish Navy, thus culminating the independence for the Gran Colombia.
  • 1847 – After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City.
  • 1847 – Richard March Hoe, American inventor, patented the rotary-type printing press.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Kernstown: Confederate General Jubal Early defeats Union troops led by General George Crook in an effort to keep them out of the Shenandoah Valley.
  • 1866 – Reconstruction: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.
  • 1901 – O. Henry is released from prison in Columbus, Ohio, after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank.
  • 1910 – The Ottoman Empire captures the city of Shkodër, putting down the Albanian Revolt of 1910.
  • 1911 – Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, “the Lost City of the Incas”.
  • 1915 – The passenger ship SS Eastland capsizes while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew are killed in the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.
  • 1922 – The draft of the British Mandate of Palestine was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations; it came into effect on 26 September 1923.
  • 1923 – The Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, is signed in Switzerland by Greece, Bulgaria and other countries that fought in World War I.
  • 1924 – Themistoklis Sofoulis becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
  • 1927 – The Menin Gate war memorial is unveiled at Ypres.
  • 1929 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, goes into effect (it is first signed in Paris on August 27, 1928, by most leading world powers).
  • 1935 – The Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109 °F (43 °C) in Chicago and 104 °F (40 °C) in Milwaukee.
  • 1937 – Alabama drops rape charges against the “Scottsboro Boys”.
  • 1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah begins: British and Canadian aeroplanes bomb Hamburg by night, and American planes bomb the city by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives will have killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.
  • 1950 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station begins operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket.
  • 1959 – At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a “Kitchen Debate”.
  • 1963 – The ship Bluenose II was launched in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The schooner is a major Canadian symbol.
  • 1966 – Michael Pelkey makes the first BASE jump from El Capitan along with Brian Schubert. Both came out with broken bones. BASE jumping has now been banned from El Cap.
  • 1967 – During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! (“Long live free Quebec!”); the statement angered the Canadian government and many Anglophone Canadians.
  • 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean.
  • 1974 – Watergate scandal: The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.
  • 1977 – End of a four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War.
  • 1980 – The Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia wins the men’s 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the event at Olympic level.
  • 1982 – Heavy rain causes a mudslide that destroys a bridge at Nagasaki, Japan, killing 299.
  • 1983 – The Black July anti-Tamil riots begin in Sri Lanka, killing between 400 and 3,000. Black July is generally regarded as the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
  • 1983 – George Brett batting for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, has a game-winning home run nullified in the “Pine Tar Incident”.
  • 1987 – US supertanker SS Bridgeton collides with mines laid by IRGC causing a 43-square-meter dent in the body of the oil tanker.
  • 1987 – Hulda Crooks, at 91 years of age, climbed Mt. Fuji. Crooks became the oldest person to climb Japan’s highest peak.
  • 1998 – Russell Eugene Weston Jr. bursts into the United States Capitol and opens fire killing two police officers. He is later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial.
  • 2001 – Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office.
  • 2001 – The Bandaranaike Airport attack is carried out by 14 Tamil Tiger commandos. Eleven civilian and military aircraft are destroyed and 15 are damaged. All 14 commandos are shot dead, while seven soldiers from the Sri Lanka Air Force are killed. In addition, three civilians and an engineer die. This incident slowed the Sri Lankan economy.
  • 2013 – A high-speed train derails in Spain rounding a curve with an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit at 190 km/h (120 mph), killing 78 passengers.
  • 2014 – Air Algérie Flight 5017 loses contact with air traffic controllers 50 minutes after takeoff. It was travelling between Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Algiers. The wreckage is later found in Mali. All 116 people onboard are killed.

Births on July 24

  • 1242 – Christina von Stommeln, German Roman Catholic mystic, ecstatic, and stigmatic (d. 1312)
  • 1468 – Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1524)
  • 1529 – Charles II, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (d. 1577)
  • 1561 – Maria of the Palatinate-Simmern (d. 1589)
  • 1574 – Thomas Platter the Younger, Swiss physician and author (d. 1628)
  • 1660 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1718)
  • 1689 – Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne of Great Britain and Prince George of Denmark (d. 1700)
  • 1725 – John Newton, English sailor and priest (d. 1807)
  • 1757 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Ukrainian-Russian painter (d. 1825)
  • 1783 – Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan commander and politician, 2nd President of Venezuela (d. 1830)
  • 1786 – Joseph Nicollet, French mathematician and explorer (d. 1843)
  • 1794 – Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish mineralogist and geologist (d. 1865)
  • 1802 – Alexandre Dumas, French novelist and playwright (d. 1870)
  • 1803 – Adolphe Adam, French composer and critic (d. 1856)
  • 1803 – Alexander J. Davis, American architect (d. 1892)
  • 1821 – William Poole, American boxer and gangster (d. 1855)
  • 1826 – Jan Gotlib Bloch, Polish theorist and activist (d. 1902)
  • 1851 – Friedrich Schottky, Polish-German mathematician and theorist (d. 1935)
  • 1856 – Émile Picard, French mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
  • 1857 – Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
  • 1857 – Juan Vicente Gómez, Venezuelan general and politician, 27th President of Venezuela (d. 1935)
  • 1860 – Princess Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1919)
  • 1860 – Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter and illustrator (d. 1939)
  • 1864 – Frank Wedekind, German actor and playwright (d. 1918)
  • 1867 – Vicente Acosta, Salvadoran journalist and poet (d. 1908)
  • 1867 – E. F. Benson, English archaeologist and author (d. 1940)
  • 1867 – Fred Tate, English cricketer and coach (d. 1943)
  • 1874 – Oswald Chambers, Scottish minister and author (d. 1917)
  • 1877 – Calogero Vizzini, Italian mob boss (d. 1954)
  • 1878 – Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1957)
  • 1880 – Ernest Bloch, Swiss-American composer and educator (d. 1959)
  • 1884 – Maria Caserini, Italian actress (d. 1969)
  • 1886 – Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, Japanese author (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – Arthur Richardson, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1973)
  • 1889 – Agnes Meyer Driscoll, American cryptanalyst (d. 1971)
  • 1895 – Robert Graves, English poet, novelist, critic (d. 1985)
  • 1897 – Amelia Earhart, American pilot and author (d. 1937)
  • 1899 – Chief Dan George, Canadian actor (d. 1981)
  • 1900 – Zelda Fitzgerald, American author and poet (d. 1948)
  • 1904 – Leo Arnaud, French-American trombonist, composer, and conductor (d. 1991)
  • 1904 – Richard B. Morris, American historian and academic (d. 1989)
  • 1904 – Delmer Daves, American screenwriter, director and producer (d. 1977)
  • 1909 – John William Finn, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2010)
  • 1910 – Harry Horner, American director and production designer (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Essie Summers, New Zealand author (d. 1998)
  • 1913 – Britton Chance, American biologist and sailor (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Frances Oldham Kelsey, Canadian pharmacologist and physician (d. 2015)
  • 1914 – Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2007)
  • 1914 – Alan Waddell, Australian walker (d. 2008)
  • 1915 – Enrique Fernando, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 13th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – John D. MacDonald, American colonel and author (d. 1986)
  • 1917 – Robert Farnon, Canadian trumpet player, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
  • 1917 – Jack Moroney, Australian cricketer (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Robert Marsden Hope, Australian lawyer and judge (d. 1999)
  • 1919 – Kenneth S. Kleinknecht, NASA manager (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – John Winkin, American baseball player, coach, and journalist (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Bella Abzug, American lawyer and politician (d. 1998)
  • 1920 – Constance Dowling, American model and actress (d. 1969)
  • 1921 – Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1921 – Billy Taylor, American pianist and composer (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Madeleine Ferron, Canadian radio host and author (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – Wilfred Josephs, English composer (d. 1997)
  • 1924 – Aris Poulianos, Greek anthropologist and archaeologist
  • 1927 – Alex Katz, American painter and sculptor
  • 1927 – Zara Mints, Russian-Estonian philologist and academic (d. 1990)
  • 1930 – Alfred Balk, American journalist and author (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Keshubhai Patel, Indian politician, 10th Chief Minister of Gujarat
  • 1931 – Ermanno Olmi, Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Éric Tabarly, French commander (d. 1998)
  • 1932 – Gustav Andreas Tammann, German astronomer and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1933 – Doug Sanders, American golfer (d. 2020)
  • 1934 – P. S. Soosaithasan, Sri Lankan accountant and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – Aaron Elkins, American author and academic
  • 1935 – Pat Oliphant, Australian cartoonist
  • 1935 – Mel Ramos, American painter, illustrator, and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Les Reed, English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
  • 1935 – Derek Varnals, South African cricketer
  • 1936 – Ruth Buzzi, American actress and comedian
  • 1936 – Mark Goddard, American actor
  • 1937 – Manoj Kumar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1937 – Quinlan Terry, English architect, designed the Brentwood Cathedral
  • 1938 – Alexis Jacquemin, Belgian economist and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1938 – Eugene J. Martin, American painter (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – John Sparling, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1939 – Walt Bellamy, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – David Simon, Baron Simon of Highbury, English businessman and politician
  • 1940 – Dan Hedaya, American actor
  • 1941 – John Bond, English banker and businessman
  • 1942 – Heinz, German-English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2000)
  • 1942 – David Miner, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1942 – Chris Sarandon, American actor
  • 1944 – Jim Armstrong, Northern Irish guitarist
  • 1945 – Frank Close, English physicist and academic
  • 1945 – Azim Premji, Indian businessman and philanthropist
  • 1945 – Hugh Ross, Canadian-American astrophysicist and astronomer
  • 1945 – Anthony Watts, English geologist, geophysicist, and academic
  • 1946 – Gallagher, American comedian and actor
  • 1946 – Friedhelm Haebermann, German footballer and manager
  • 1946 – Hervé Vilard, French singer-songwriter
  • 1947 – Zaheer Abbas, Pakistani cricketer and manager
  • 1947 – Geoff McQueen, English screenwriter and producer (d. 1994)
  • 1947 – Peter Serkin, American pianist and educator
  • 1949 – Michael Richards, American actor and comedian
  • 1950 – Jadranka Stojaković, Yugoslav singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1951 – Lynda Carter, American actress
  • 1951 – Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury, English politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
  • 1952 – Ian Cairns, Australian surfer
  • 1952 – Gus Van Sant, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1953 – Julian Brazier, English captain and politician
  • 1953 – Jon Faddis, American trumpet player, composer, and conductor
  • 1953 – Tadashi Kawamata, Japanese contemporary artist
  • 1953 – Claire McCaskill, American lawyer and politician
  • 1953 – James Newcome, English bishop
  • 1954 – Erdoğan Arıca, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Jorge Jesus, Portuguese footballer and manager
  • 1955 – Brad Watson, American author and academic
  • 1956 – Charlie Crist, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of Florida
  • 1957 – Pam Tillis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1958 – Jim Leighton, Scottish footballer and coach
  • 1960 – Catherine Destivelle, French rock climber and mountaineer
  • 1961 – Kerry Dixon, English footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Johnny O’Connell, American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Louis Armary, French rugby player
  • 1963 – Karl Malone, American basketball player and coach
  • 1964 – Barry Bonds, American baseball player
  • 1964 – Pedro Passos Coelho, Portuguese economist and politician, 118th Prime Minister of Portugal
  • 1964 – Urmas Kaljend, Estonian footballer
  • 1964 – John Rosengren, American journalist and author
  • 1965 – Andrew Gaze, Australian basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Kadeem Hardison, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Doug Liman, American director and producer
  • 1966 – Mo-Do, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1966 – Aminatou Haidar, Sahrawi human rights activist
  • 1966 – Martin Keown, English footballer and coach
  • 1968 – Kristin Chenoweth, American actress and singer
  • 1968 – Colleen Doran, American author and illustrator
  • 1968 – Malcolm Ingram, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Laura Leighton, American actress
  • 1969 – Rick Fox, Bahamian basketball player
  • 1969 – Jennifer Lopez, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1971 – Dino Baggio, Italian footballer
  • 1971 – Patty Jenkins, American film director and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Kaiō Hiroyuki, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1973 – Russell Bawden, Australian rugby league player
  • 1973 – Ana Cristina Oliveira, Portuguese model and actress
  • 1973 – Amanda Stretton, English race car driver and journalist
  • 1974 – Andy Gomarsall, English rugby player
  • 1975 – Tracey Crouch, English politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
  • 1975 – Jamie Langenbrunner, American ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Torrie Wilson, American model, fitness competitor, actress and professional wrestler
  • 1975 – Eric Szmanda, American actor
  • 1976 – Rafer Alston, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Tiago Monteiro, Portuguese race car driver and manager
  • 1978 – Andy Irons, American surfer (d. 2010)
  • 1979 – Rose Byrne, Australian actress
  • 1979 – Jerrod Niemann, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Valerio Scassellati, Italian race car driver
  • 1979 – Anne-Gaëlle Sidot, French tennis player
  • 1979 – Mark Andrew Smith, American author
  • 1979 – Ryan Speier, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Joel Stroetzel, American guitarist
  • 1981 – Doug Bollinger, Australian cricketer
  • 1981 – Summer Glau, American actress
  • 1981 – Mark Robinson, English footballer
  • 1982 – Trevor Matthews, Canadian actor and producer, founded Brookstreet Pictures
  • 1982 – Thiago Medeiros, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1982 – Mewelde Moore, American football player
  • 1982 – Elisabeth Moss, American actress
  • 1982 – Anna Paquin, Canadian-New Zealand actress
  • 1982 – Michael Poppmeier, South African-German rugby player
  • 1983 – Daniele De Rossi, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Asami Mizukawa, Japanese actress
  • 1984 – Patrick Harvey, Australian actor
  • 1984 – Tyler Kyte, Canadian singer and drummer
  • 1985 – Patrice Bergeron, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Aries Merritt, American hurdler
  • 1985 – Lukáš Rosol, Czech tennis player
  • 1985 – Eric Wright, American football player
  • 1986 – Natalie Tran, Australian actress, online producer
  • 1987 – Filipe Francisco dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Nathan Gerbe, American ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Zack Sabre Jr., English wrestler
  • 1988 – Han Seung-yeon, South Korean singer and dancer
  • 1988 – Nichkhun, Thai-American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1988 – Ricky Petterd, Australian footballer
  • 1989 – Maurkice Pouncey, American football player
  • 1989 – Kim Tae-hwan, South Korean footballer
  • 1990 – Daveigh Chase, American actress
  • 1990 – Travis Mahoney, Australian swimmer
  • 1991 – Manuel Fischnaller, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Emily Bett Rickards, Canadian actress
  • 1992 – Mikaël Kingsbury, Canadian skier
  • 1992 – Mitch Grassi, American singer and songwriter
  • 1994 – Alejandra Álvarez, Ecuadorian tennis player
  • 1994 – Phillip Lindsay, American football player
  • 1995 – Valentine Holmes, Australian rugby league player
  • 1995 – Kyle Kuzma, American basketball player
  • 1995 – Meisei Chikara, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1997 – Emre Mor, Turkish football player
  • 2002 – Nicole Pircio, Brazilian rhythmic gymnast

Deaths on July 24

  • 759 – Oswulf, king of Northumbria
  • 811 – Gao Ying, Chinese politician (b. 740)
  • 946 – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, Egyptian ruler (b. 882)
  • 1115 – Matilda of Tuscany (b. 1046)
  • 1129 – Emperor Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1053)
  • 1198 – Berthold of Hanover, Bishop of Livonia
  • 1345 – Jacob van Artevelde, Flemish statesman (b. 1290)
  • 1568 – Carlos, Prince of Asturias (b. 1545)
  • 1594 – John Boste, English martyr and saint (b. 1544)
  • 1601 – Joris Hoefnagel, Flemish painter (b. 1542)
  • 1612 – John Salusbury, Welsh politician and poet (b. 1567)
  • 1739 – Benedetto Marcello, Italian composer and educator (b. 1686)
  • 1768 – Nathaniel Lardner, English theologian and author (b. 1684)
  • 1862 – Martin Van Buren, American lawyer and politician, 8th President of the United States (b. 1782)
  • 1891 – Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (b. 1827)
  • 1908 – Vicente Acosta, Salvadoran journalist and poet (b. 1867)
  • 1910 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (b. 1841)
  • 1927 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese author (b. 1892)
  • 1957 – Sacha Guitry, French actor and director (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Wilfrid Noyce, English mountaineer and author (b. 1917)
  • 1965 – Constance Bennett, American actress and producer (b. 1904)
  • 1966 – Tony Lema, American golfer (b. 1934)
  • 1969 – Witold Gombrowicz, Polish author and playwright (b. 1904)
  • 1970 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman, philanthropist, and civil servant (b. 1897)
  • 1974 – James Chadwick, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
  • 1980 – Peter Sellers, English actor and comedian (b. 1925)
  • 1985 – Ezechiele Ramin, Italian missionary and martyr (b. 1953)
  • 1986 – Fritz Albert Lipmann, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
  • 1986 – Qudrat Ullah Shahab, Pakistani civil servant and author (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish-American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
  • 1992 – Arletty, French actress and singer (b. 1898)
  • 1992 – Sam Berger, Canadian lawyer and businessman (b. 1900)
  • 1994 – Helen Cordero, Cochiti Pueblo (Native American) Pueblo potter (b. 1915)
  • 1995 – George Rodger, English photographer and journalist (b. 1908)
  • 1996 – Alphonso Theodore Roberts, Vincentian cricketer and activist (b. 1937)
  • 1997 – William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and jurist (b. 1906)
  • 1997 – Saw Maung, Burmese general and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1928)
  • 2000 – Ahmad Shamloo, Iranian poet and journalist (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Georges Dor, Canadian author, playwright, and composer (b. 1931)
  • 2005 – Richard Doll, English physiologist and epidemiologist (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Albert Ellis, American psychologist and author (b. 1913)
  • 2007 – Nicola Zaccaria, Greek opera singer (b. 1923)
  • 2008 – Norman Dello Joio, American pianist and composer (b. 1913)
  • 2011 – Frank Dietrich, German politician (b. 1966)
  • 2011 – Dan Peek, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
  • 2011 – Harald Johnsen, Norwegian bassist and composer (b. 1970)
  • 2011 – David Servan-Schreiber, French physician, neuroscientist, and author (b. 1961)
  • 2011 – Skip Thomas, American football player (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Chad Everett, American actor and director (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Larry Hoppen, American singer and guitarist (b. 1951)
  • 2012 – Robert Ledley, American physiologist and physicist, invented the CT scanner (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Themo Lobos, Chilean author and illustrator (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, a President of Ghana (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Gregorio Peces-Barba, Spanish jurist and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Fred Dretske, American philosopher and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Virginia E. Johnson, American psychologist and sexologist (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Pius Langa, South African lawyer and jurist, 19th Chief Justice of South Africa (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Ik-Hwan Bae, Korean-American violinist and educator (b. 1956)
  • 2014 – Dale Schlueter, American basketball player (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Hans-Hermann Sprado, German journalist and author (b. 1956)
  • 2015 – Peg Lynch, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Ingrid Sischy, South African-American journalist and critic (b. 1952)
  • 2016 – Marni Nixon, American actress and singer (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Harshida Raval, Indian Gujarati playback singer

Holidays and observances on July 24

  • Carnival of Awussu (Tunisia)
  • Children’s Day (Vanuatu)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Charbel (Maronite Church/Catholic Church)
    • Christina the Astonishing
    • Christina of Bolsena
    • Declán of Ardmore
    • John Boste
    • Kinga (or Cunegunda) of Poland
    • Martyrs of Daimiel
    • Menefrida of Cornwall
    • Sigolena of Albi
    • July 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Pioneer Day (Utah)
  • Police Day (Poland)
  • Simón Bolívar Day (Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Bolivia)
    • Navy Day (Venezuela)

July 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 23

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

Deaths on July 23

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

Holidays and observances on July 23

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

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

On This Day

July 22- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids.
  • 1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem.
  • 1209 – Massacre at Béziers: The first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade.
  • 1298 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Falkirk: King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeat William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk.
  • 1342 – St. Mary Magdalene’s flood is the worst such event on record for central Europe.
  • 1443 – Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl in the Old Zürich War.
  • 1456 – Ottoman wars in Europe: Siege of Belgrade: John Hunyadi, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, defeats Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1484 – Battle of Lochmaben Fair: A 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas are defeated by Scots forces loyal to Albany’s brother James III of Scotland; Douglas is captured.
  • 1499 – Battle of Dornach: The Swiss decisively defeat the army of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1587 – Roanoke Colony: A second group of English settlers arrives on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony.
  • 1598 – William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, is entered on the Stationers’ Register. By decree of Queen Elizabeth, the Stationers’ Register licensed printed works, giving the Crown tight control over all published material.
  • 1686 – Albany, New York is formally chartered as a municipality by Governor Thomas Dongan.
  • 1706 – The Acts of Union 1707 are agreed upon by commissioners from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which, when passed by each countries’ Parliaments, led to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
  • 1793 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first recorded human to complete a transcontinental crossing of North America.
  • 1796 – Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company name an area in Ohio “Cleveland” after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the surveying party.
  • 1797 – Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Battle between Spanish and British naval forces during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Battle, Rear-Admiral Nelson is wounded in the arm and the arm had to be partially amputated.
  • 1802 – Emperor Gia Long conquers Hanoi and unified Viet Nam, which had experienced centuries of feudal warfare.
  • 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Cape Finisterre: An inconclusive naval action is fought between a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve of Spain and a British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder.
  • 1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Peninsular War: Battle of Salamanca: British forces led by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) defeat French troops near Salamanca, Spain.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Atlanta: Outside Atlanta, Confederate General John Bell Hood leads an unsuccessful attack on Union troops under General William T. Sherman on Bald Hill.
  • 1893 – Katharine Lee Bates writes “America the Beautiful” after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado.
  • 1894 – The first ever motor race is held in France between the cities of Paris and Rouen. The fastest finisher was the Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, but the ‘official’ victory was awarded to Albert Lemaître driving his 3 hp petrol engined Peugeot.
  • 1916 – Preparedness Day Bombing: In San Francisco, a bomb explodes on Market Street during a parade, killing ten and injuring 40.
  • 1921 – Rif War: The Spanish Army suffers its worst military defeat in modern times to the Berbers of the Rif region of Spanish Morocco.
  • 1933 – Aviator Wiley Post returns to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, completing the first solo flight around the world in seven days, 18 hours and 49 minutes.
  • 1937 – New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • 1942 – The United States government begins compulsory civilian gasoline rationing due to the wartime demands.
  • 1942 – The Holocaust in Poland: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto begins.
  • 1943 – World War II: Allied forces capture Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily.
  • 1943 – World War II: Axis occupation forces violently disperse a massive protest in Athens, killing 22.
  • 1944 – The Polish Committee of National Liberation publishes its manifesto, starting the period of Communist rule in Poland.
  • 1946 – King David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil administration and military headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, resulting in 91 deaths.
  • 1962 – Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed.
  • 1963 – Crown Colony of Sarawak gains self-governance.
  • 1976 – Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan’s conquest of the country in the Second World War.
  • 1977 – Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power.
  • 1983 – Martial law in Poland is officially revoked.
  • 1990 – Greg LeMond, an American road racing cyclist, wins his third Tour de France after leading the majority of the race. It was LeMond’s second consecutive Tour de France victory.
  • 1992 – Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradition to the United States.
  • 1993 – Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois rupture, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.
  • 1997 – The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.
  • 2003 – Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein’s sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay’s 14-year-old son, and a bodyguard.
  • 2005 – Jean Charles de Menezes is killed by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 London bombings.
  • 2011 – 2011 Norway attacks: first a bomb blast which targeted government buildings in central Oslo, followed by a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya.
  • 2013 – 2013 Dingxi earthquakes, a series of earthquakes in Dingxi, China, kills at least 89 people and injures more than 500 others.

Births on July 22

  • 1210 – Joan of England, Queen of Scotland (d. 1238)
  • 1437 – John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton, English Baron (d. 1498)
  • 1476 – Zhu Youyuan, Ming Dynasty politician (d. 1519)
  • 1478 – Philip I of Castile (d. 1506)
  • 1531 – Leonhard Thurneysser, scholar and elector of Brandenburg (d. 1595)
  • 1535 – Katarina Stenbock, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1621)
  • 1552 – Anthony Browne, Sheriff of Surrey and Kent (d. 1592)
  • 1552 – Mary Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton, Lady of English peer and others (d. 1607)
  • 1559 – Lawrence of Brindisi, Italian priest and saint (d. 1619)
  • 1615 – Marguerite of Lorraine, princess of Lorraine, duchess of Orléans (d. 1672)
  • 1618 – Johan Nieuhof, Dutch traveler (d. 1672)
  • 1621 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (d. 1683)
  • 1630 – Madame de Brinvilliers, French aristocrat (d. 1676)
  • 1647 – Margaret Mary Alacoque, French nun, mystic and saint (d. 1690)
  • 1651 – Ferdinand Tobias Richter, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1711)
  • 1711 – Georg Wilhelm Richmann, German-Russian physicist and academic (d. 1753)
  • 1713 – Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect, designed the Panthéon (d. 1780)
  • 1733 – Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and historian (d. 1790)
  • 1755 – Gaspard de Prony, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1839)
  • 1784 – Friedrich Bessel, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1846)
  • 1839 – Jakob Hurt, Estonian theologist and linguist (d. 1907)
  • 1844 – William Archibald Spooner, English priest and scholar (d. 1930)
  • 1848 – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1914)
  • 1849 – Emma Lazarus, American poet and educator (d. 1887)
  • 1856 – Octave Hamelin, French philosopher (d. 1907)
  • 1862 – Cosmo Duff-Gordon, Scottish fencer (d. 1931)
  • 1863 – Alec Hearne, English cricketer (d. 1952)
  • 1878 – Janusz Korczak, Polish pediatrician and author (d. 1942)
  • 1881 – Augusta Fox Bronner, American psychologist, specialist in juvenile psychology (d. 1966)
  • 1882 – Edward Hopper, American painter and etcher (d. 1967)
  • 1884 – Odell Shepard, American poet and politician, 66th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (d. 1967)
  • 1886 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author (d. 1954)
  • 1887 – Gustav Ludwig Hertz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
  • 1888 – Kirk Bryan, American geologist and academic (d. 1950)
  • 1888 – Selman Waksman, Jewish-American biochemist and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
  • 1889 – James Whale, English director (d. 1957)
  • 1890 – Rose Kennedy, American philanthropist (d. 1995)
  • 1892 – Jack MacBryan, English cricketer and field hockey player (d. 1983)
  • 1893 – Jesse Haines, American baseball player and coach (d. 1978)
  • 1893 – Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist and author (d. 1990)
  • 1895 – León de Greiff, Colombian poet, journalist, and diplomat (d. 1976)
  • 1898 – Stephen Vincent Benét, American poet, short story writer, and novelist (d. 1943)
  • 1899 – Sobhuza II of Swaziland (d. 1982)
  • 1908 – Amy Vanderbilt, American author (d. 1974)
  • 1909 – Licia Albanese, Italian-American soprano and actress (d. 2014)
  • 1909 – Dorino Serafini, Italian racing driver (d. 2000)
  • 1910 – Ruthie Tompson, American animator and artist
  • 1913 – Gorni Kramer, Italian bassist, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, Indian-Pakistani politician and diplomat (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Gino Bianco, Brazilian racing driver (d. 1984)
  • 1916 – Marcel Cerdan, French boxer (d. 1949)
  • 1921 – William Roth, American lawyer and politician (d. 2003)
  • 1923 – Bob Dole, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
  • 1923 – César Fernández Ardavín, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Jack Matthews, American author, playwright, and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Joseph Sargent, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Bryan Forbes, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Wolfgang Iser, German scholar, literary theorist (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Johan Ferner, Norwegian sailor (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Orson Bean, American actor (d. 2020)
  • 1928 – Jimmy Hill, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – John Barber, English racing driver (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Leonid Stolovich, Russian-Estonian philosopher and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Neil Welliver, American painter (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Baselios Thomas I, Indian bishop
  • 1931 – Leo Labine, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
  • 1932 – Oscar de la Renta, Dominican-American fashion designer (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Tom Robbins, American novelist
  • 1934 – Junior Cook, American saxophonist (d. 1992)
  • 1934 – Louise Fletcher, American actress
  • 1934 – Leon Rotman, Romanian canoeist
  • 1935 – Tom Cartwright, English-Welsh cricketer and coach (d. 2007)
  • 1936 – Don Patterson, American organist (d. 1988)
  • 1936 – Harold Rhodes, English cricketer
  • 1936 – Geraldine Claudette Darden, American mathematician
  • 1937 – Chuck Jackson, American R&B singer and songwriter
  • 1937 – Yasuhiro Kojima, Japanese-American wrestler and manager (d. 1999)
  • 1937 – John Price, English cricketer
  • 1937 – Vasant Ranjane, Indian cricketer (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Terence Stamp, English actor
  • 1940 – Judith Walzer Leavitt, American historian and academic
  • 1940 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host and producer
  • 1941 – Estelle Bennett, American singer (d. 2009)
  • 1941 – Vaughn Bodē, American illustrator (d. 1975)
  • 1941 – George Clinton, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1941 – David M. Kennedy, American historian and author
  • 1942 – Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, English-Australian politician (d. 2012)
  • 1942 – Peter Habeler, Austrian mountaineer and skier
  • 1942 – Les Johns, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1943 – Masaru Emoto, Japanese author and activist (d. 2014)
  • 1943 – Kay Bailey Hutchison, American lawyer and politician
  • 1943 – Bobby Sherman, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1944 – Rick Davies, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1944 – Sparky Lyle, American baseball player and manager
  • 1944 – Anand Satyanand, New Zealand lawyer, judge, and politician, 19th Governor-General of New Zealand
  • 1945 – Philip Cohen, English biochemist and academic
  • 1946 – Danny Glover, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1946 – Paul Schrader, American director and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Rolando Joven Tria Tirona, Filipino archbishop
  • 1946 – Johnson Toribiong, Palauan lawyer and politician, 7th President of Palau
  • 1947 – Albert Brooks, American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Gilles Duceppe, Canadian politician
  • 1947 – Don Henley, American singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1949 – Alan Menken, American pianist and composer
  • 1949 – Lasse Virén, Finnish runner and police officer
  • 1950 – S. E. Hinton, American author
  • 1951 – Richard Bennett, American guitarist and producer
  • 1951 – J. V. Cain, American football player (d. 1979)
  • 1951 – Patriarch Daniel of Romania
  • 1953 – Brian Howe, English singer-songwriter
  • 1954 – Al Di Meola, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1954 – Steve LaTourette, American lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1954 – Lonette McKee, American actress and singer
  • 1954 – Ingrid Daubechies, Belgian physicist and mathematician
  • 1955 – Richard J. Corman, American businessman, founded the R.J. Corman Railroad Group (d. 2013)
  • 1955 – Willem Dafoe, American actor
  • 1956 – Mick Pointer, English neo-progressive rock drummer (Marillion; Arena)
  • 1956 – Scott Sanderson, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Dave Stieb, American baseball player
  • 1958 – Tatsunori Hara, Japanese baseball player and coach
  • 1958 – David Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1984)
  • 1960 – Jon Oliva, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1961 – Calvin Fish, English racing driver and sportscaster
  • 1961 – Keith Sweat, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1962 – Alvin Robertson, American basketball player
  • 1962 – Martine St. Clair, Canadian singer and actress
  • 1963 – Emilio Butragueño, Spanish footballer
  • 1963 – Emily Saliers, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1964 – Will Calhoun, American rock drummer (Living Colour)
  • 1964 – Bonnie Langford, English actress and dancer
  • 1964 – John Leguizamo, Colombian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – David Spade, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Derrick Dalley, Canadian educator and politician
  • 1965 – Shawn Michaels, American wrestler, trainer, and actor
  • 1965 – Richard B. Poore, New Zealand humanitarian
  • 1965 – Doug Riesenberg, American football player and coach
  • 1966 – Tim Brown, American football player and manager
  • 1967 – Lauren Booth, English journalist and activist
  • 1967 – Rhys Ifans, Welsh actor
  • 1969 – Despina Vandi, German-Greek singer and actress
  • 1970 – Jason Becker, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1970 – Steve Carter, Australian rugby league player
  • 1970 – Sergei Zubov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1972 – Franco Battaini, Italian Motor Cycle racer
  • 1972 – Colin Ferguson, Canadian actor, director, and producer
  • 1972 – Seth Fisher, American illustrator (d. 2006)
  • 1972 – Keyshawn Johnson, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Brian Chippendale, American singer and drummer
  • 1973 – Mike Sweeney, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Ece Temelkuran, Turkish journalist and author
  • 1973 – Rufus Wainwright, American-Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1974 – Franka Potente, German actress
  • 1977 – Ezio Galon, Italian rugby player
  • 1977 – Ingo Hertzsch, German footballer
  • 1977 – Gustavo Nery, Brazilian footballer
  • 1978 – Runako Morton, Nevisian cricketer (d. 2012)
  • 1978 – Dennis Rommedahl, Danish footballer
  • 1979 – Lucas Luhr, German racing driver
  • 1979 – Yadel Martí, Cuban baseball player
  • 1980 – Dirk Kuyt, Dutch footballer
  • 1980 – Kate Ryan, Belgian singer-songwriter
  • 1980 – Tablo, South Korean-Canadian rapper
  • 1982 – Nuwan Kulasekara, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1983 – Aldo de Nigris, Mexican footballer
  • 1983 – Dries Devenyns, Belgian cyclist
  • 1983 – Steven Jackson, American football player
  • 1983 – Andreas Ulvo, Norwegian pianist
  • 1984 – Stewart Downing, English footballer
  • 1985 – Jessica Abbott, Australian swimmer
  • 1985 – Takudzwa Ngwenya, Zimbabwean-American rugby player
  • 1985 – Akira Tozawa, Japanese wrestler
  • 1986 – Stevie Johnson, American football player
  • 1987 – Denis Gargaud Chanut, French slalom canoeist
  • 1987 – Charlotte Kalla, Swedish skier
  • 1988 – William Buick, Norwegian-British flat jockey
  • 1988 – Paul Coutts, Scottish footballer
  • 1988 – Thomas Kraft, German footballer
  • 1988 – Sercan Temizyürek, Turkish footballer
  • 1989 – Keegan Allen, American actor, photographer and musician
  • 1991 – Matty James, English footballer
  • 1992 – Anja Aguilar, Filipino actress and singer
  • 1992 – Selena Gomez, American singer and actress
  • 1992 – Carolin Schnarre, German Paralympic equestrian
  • 1993 – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Kyrgyzstani-American terrorist
  • 1994 – Jaz Sinclair, American film and television actress
  • 1995 – Ezekiel Elliott, American football player
  • 1995 – Armaan Malik, Indian playback singer, composer and songwriter
  • 1996 – Skyler Gisondo, American actor
  • 2002 – Prince Felix of Denmark
  • 2013 – Prince George of Cambridge

Deaths on July 22

  • 698 – Wu Chengsi, nephew of Chinese sovereign Wu Zetian
  • 1258 – Meinhard I, Count of Gorizia-Tyrol (b. c. 1200)
  • 1274 – Henry I of Navarre, Count of Champagne and Brie and King of Navarre
  • 1298 – Sir John de Graham, Scottish soldier at the Battle of Falkirk
  • 1362 – Louis, Count of Gravina (b. 1324)
  • 1376 – Simon Langham, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1310)
  • 1387 – Frans Ackerman, Flemish politician (b. 1330)
  • 1461 – Charles VII of France (b. 1403)
  • 1525 – Richard Wingfield, English courtier and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1426)
  • 1540 – John Zápolya, Hungarian king (b. 1487)
  • 1550 – Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra (b. 1481)
  • 1581 – Richard Cox, English bishop (b. 1500)
  • 1619 – Lawrence of Brindisi, Italian priest and saint (b. 1559)
  • 1645 – Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Spanish statesman (b. 1587)
  • 1676 – Pope Clement X (b. 1590)
  • 1726 – Hugh Drysdale, English-American politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia
  • 1734 – Peter King, 1st Baron King, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1669)
  • 1789 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1715)
  • 1802 – Marie François Xavier Bichat, French anatomist and physiologist (b. 1771)
  • 1824 – Thomas Macnamara Russell, English admiral
  • 1826 – Giuseppe Piazzi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1746)
  • 1832 – Napoleon II, French emperor (b. 1811)
  • 1833 – Joseph Forlenze, Italian ophthalmologist and surgeon (b. 1757)
  • 1864 – James B. McPherson, American general (b. 1828)
  • 1869 – John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (b. 1806)
  • 1902 – Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski, Polish cardinal (b. 1822)
  • 1903 – Cassius Marcellus Clay, American publisher, lawyer, and politician, United States Ambassador to Russia (b. 1810)
  • 1904 – Wilson Barrett, English actor and playwright (b. 1846)
  • 1906 – William Snodgrass, Canadian minister and academic (b. 1827)
  • 1908 – Randal Cremer, English politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1828)
  • 1915 – Sandford Fleming, Scottish-Canadian engineer and inventor, developed Standard time (b. 1827)
  • 1916 – James Whitcomb Riley, American poet and author (b. 1849)
  • 1918 – Indra Lal Roy, Indian lieutenant and first Indian fighter aircraft pilot (b. 1898)
  • 1920 – William Kissam Vanderbilt, American businessman and horse breeder (b. 1849)
  • 1922 – Jōkichi Takamine, Japanese-American chemist and academic (b. 1854)
  • 1932 – J. Meade Falkner, English author and poet (b. 1858)
  • 1932 – Reginald Fessenden, Canadian inventor and academic (b. 1866)
  • 1932 – Errico Malatesta, Italian activist and author (b. 1853)
  • 1932 – Flo Ziegfeld, American actor and producer (b. 1867)
  • 1934 – John Dillinger, American gangster (b. 1903)
  • 1937 – Ted McDonald, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1891)
  • 1940 – George Fuller, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1861)
  • 1940 – Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (b. 1877)
  • 1948 – Rūdolfs Jurciņš, Latvian basketball player (b. 1909)
  • 1950 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian economist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
  • 1958 – Mikhail Zoshchenko, Ukrainian-Russian soldier and author (b. 1895)
  • 1967 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (b. 1878)
  • 1968 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist and cartoonist (b. 1908)
  • 1969 – Judy Garland, american actress, singer, dancer, and vaudevillian (b. 1922)
  • 1970 – George Johnston, Australian journalist and author (b. 1912)
  • 1974 – Wayne Morse, American lawyer and politician (b. 1900)
  • 1979 – J. V. Cain, American football player (b. 1951)
  • 1979 – Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1929)
  • 1986 – Floyd Gottfredson, American author and illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1986 – Ede Staal, Dutch singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
  • 1987 – Fahrettin Kerim Gökay, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1900)
  • 1990 – Manuel Puig, Argentinian author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1932)
  • 1990 – Eduard Streltsov, Soviet footballer (b. 1937)
  • 1992 – David Wojnarowicz, American painter, photographer, and activist (b. 1954)
  • 1995 – Harold Larwood, English-Australian cricketer (b. 1904)
  • 1996 – Rob Collins, English keyboard player (b. 1956)
  • 1998 – Fritz Buchloh, German footballer and coach (b. 1909)
  • 2000 – Eric Christmas, English-born Canadian actor (b. 1916)
  • 2000 – Carmen Martín Gaite, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1925)
  • 2000 – Raymond Lemieux, Canadian chemist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Claude Sautet, French director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2001 – Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (b. 1909)
  • 2004 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (b. 1933)
  • 2004 – Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Eugene Record, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1940)
  • 2006 – Dika Newlin, American composer, singer-songwriter, and pianist (d. 1923)
  • 2006 – José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountaineer (b. 1965)
  • 2007 – Mike Coolbaugh, American baseball player and coach (b. 1972)
  • 2007 – Jarrod Cunningham, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1968)
  • 2007 – László Kovács, Hungarian-American director and cinematographer (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Rollie Stiles, American baseball player (b. 1906)
  • 2008 – Estelle Getty, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Richard M. Givan, American lawyer and judge (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Peter Krieg, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Kenny Guinn, American banker and politician, 27th Governor of Nevada (b. 1936)
  • 2011 – Linda Christian, Mexican-American actress (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Cees de Wolf, Dutch footballer (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Ding Guangen, Chinese engineer and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – George Armitage Miller, American psychologist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Frank Pierson, American director and screenwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Natalie de Blois, American architect, co-designed the Lever House (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Dennis Farina, American policeman and actor (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – Lawrie Reilly, Scottish footballer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Rosalie E. Wahl, American lawyer and judge (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Johann Breyer, German SS officer (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Louis Lentin, Irish director and producer (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1971)
  • 2018 – Frank Havens, American canoeist (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances on July 22

  • Birthday of the Late King Sobhuza (Swaziland)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Abd-al-Masih
    • Joseph of Tiberias (or of Palestine)
    • Markella
    • Mary Magdalene
    • Nohra (Maronite Church)
    • July 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Parents’ Day can fall, while 28 July is the latest; celebrated on the fourth Sunday in July. (United States)
  • National Press Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Pi Approximation Day, see also March 14
  • Ratcatcher’s Day
  • Revolution Day (The Gambia)
  • Sarawak Self-government Day (Sarawak, Malaysia)

July 22- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 21

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

Deaths on July 21

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

Holidays and observances on July 21

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

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