48 BC – Pompey is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy upon arriving in Egypt.
235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He is exiled to the mines of Sardinia, along with Hippolytus of Rome.
351 – Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius.
365 – Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself emperor.
935 – Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia is murdered by a group of nobles led by his brother Boleslaus I, who succeeds him.
995 – Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia, kills most members of the rival Slavník dynasty.
1066 – William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman conquest.
1106 – King Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose.
1238 – King James I of Aragon conquers Valencia from the Moors. Shortly thereafter, he proclaims himself king of Valencia.
1322 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.
1538 – Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza.
1542 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California.
1779 – American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.
1781 – American Revolution: American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown.
1787 – The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly-written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval.
1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted. It will be made public on 13 October.
1844 – Oscar I of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
1867 – Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, having also been the capital of Ontario’s predecessors since 1796.
1868 – The Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.
1871 – The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves.
1889 – The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter.
1892 – The first night game for American football takes place in a contest between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield State Normal.
1893 – Foundation of the Portuguese football club FC Porto.
1901 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas kill more than forty American soldiers while losing 28 of their own.
1912 – The Ulster Covenant is signed by some 500,000 Ulster Protestant Unionists in opposition to the Third Irish Home Rule Bill.
1912 – Corporal Frank S. Scott of the United States Army becomes the first enlisted man to die in an airplane crash.
1918 – World War I: The Fifth Battle of Ypres begins.
1919 – Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska.
1924 – The first aerial circumnavigation is completed by a team from the US Army.
1928 – Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland.
1939 – World War II: The siege of Warsaw comes to an end.
1941 – World War II: The Drama uprising against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece begins.
1941 – Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better.
1944 – World War II: Soviet Army troops liberate Klooga concentration camp in Estonia.
1951 – CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.
1961 – A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.
1970 – Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser dies of a heart attack in Cairo.
1971 – The Parliament of the UK passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, banning the medicinal use of cannabis.
1973 – The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT’s alleged involvement in the coup d’état in Chile.
1975 – The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.
1986 – The Democratic Progressive Party becomes the first opposition party in Taiwan.
1991 – The Strategic Air Command stands down from alert all ICBMs scheduled for deactivation under START I, as well as its strategic bomber force.
1992 – A Pakistan International Airlines flight crashes into a hill in Nepal, killing all 167 passengers and crew.
1994 – The cruise ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.
1995 – Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of the Comoros in a coup.
1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
2000 – Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits Al-Aqsa Mosque known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
2008 – Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit.
2009 – The military junta leading Guinea attacks a protest rally, killing or wounding 1400 people.
2012 – Somali and African Union forces launch a coordinated assault on the Somali port of Kismayo to take back the city from al-Shabaab militants.
2014 – The 2014 Hong Kong protests begin in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing.
2016 – The 2016 South Australian blackout occurs, lasting up to three days in some areas.
2018 – The 7.5 Mw 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami, leaves 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.
2018 – On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the international project Tree of Peace was established (September, 28). One of the trees was planted personally by Zuzana Čaputová, President of the Slovak Republic.
Births on September 28
551 BC – Confucius, Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. (d. 479 BC)
616 – Javanshir, King of Caucasian Albania (d. 680)
1494 – Agnolo Firenzuola, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1545)
1555 – Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne, Marshal of France (d. 1623)
1573 – Théodore de Mayerne, Swiss physician (d. 1654)
1605 – Ismaël Bullialdus, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1694)
1681 – Johann Mattheson, German composer, lexicographer, and diplomat (d. 1764)
1705 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1774)
1705 – Johann Peter Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1772)
1735 – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1811)
1746 – William Jones, English-Welsh philologist and scholar (d. 1794)
1765 – Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (d. 1814)
1803 – Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist, historian, and author (d. 1870)
1809 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (d. 1899)
1819 – Narcís Monturiol, Spanish engineer and publisher (d. 1885)
1821 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American minister and politician (d. 1874)
1823 – Alexandre Cabanel, French painter and educator (d. 1889)
1824 – Francis Turner Palgrave, English poet and critic (d. 1897)
1836 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber, invented the ballcock (d. 1910)
1838 – Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian national saint (d. 1918)
1841 – Georges Clemenceau, French journalist, physician, and politician, 85th Prime Minister of France (d. 1929)
1844 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
1852 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
1852 – Isis Pogson, British astronomer and meteorologist (d. 1945)
1856 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author and educator (d. 1923)
1860 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French chemist and physicist (d. 1934)
1861 – Amélie of Orléans, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1951)
1867 – Hiranuma Kiichirō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1952)
1867 – James Edwin Campbell, American poet, editor, short story writer and educator (d. 1896)
1868 – Evelyn Beatrice Hall, English writer best known for her biography of Voltaire, and wrote under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre (d. 1956)
1877 – Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (d. 1940)
1878 – Joseph Ruddy, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1962)
1870 – Florent Schmitt, French composer and critic (d. 1958)
1881 – Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (d. 1950)
1882 – Mart Saar, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1963)
1885 – Emil Väre, Finnish wrestler, coach, and referee (d. 1974)
1887 – Avery Brundage, American businessman, 5th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1975)
1889 – Jack Fournier, American baseball player and coach (d. 1973)
1890 – Florence Violet McKenzie, Australian electrical engineer (d. 1982)
1892 – Elmer Rice, American playwright (d. 1967)
1893 – Hilda Geiringer, Austrian mathematician (d. 1973)
1893 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 1984)
1898 – Carl Clauberg, German Nazi physician (d. 1957)
1900 – Isabel Pell, American socialite, fought as part of the French Resistance during WWII (d. 1951)
1901 – William S. Paley, American broadcaster, founded CBS (d. 1990)
1901 – Ed Sullivan, American television host (d. 1974)
1903 – Haywood S. Hansell, American general (d. 1988)
1905 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (d. 2005)
1907 – Heikki Savolainen, Finnish gymnast and physician (d. 1997)
1907 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (d. 1931)
1909 – Al Capp, American author and illustrator (d. 1979)
1910 – Diosdado Macapagal, Filipino lawyer and politician, 9th President of the Philippines (d. 1997)
1910 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1942)
1913 – Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss illustrator (d. 2007)
1913 – Alice Marble, American tennis player (d. 1990)
1914 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American refugee and singer (d. 2014)
1915 – Ethel Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
1916 – Peter Finch, English-Australian actor (d. 1977)
1916 – Olga Lepeshinskaya, Ukrainian-Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2008)
1918 – Ángel Labruna, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
1918 – Arnold Stang, American actor (d. 2009)
1919 – Doris Singleton, American actress (d. 2012)
1922 – Larry Munson, American sportscaster (d. 2011)
1923 – Tuli Kupferberg, American singer, poet, and writer (d. 2010)
1923 – John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Selkirkshire (d. 2007)
1923 – William Windom, American actor (d. 2012)
1924 – Rudolf Barshai, Russian-Swiss viola player and conductor (d. 2010)
1924 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian-French actor and singer (d. 1996)
1925 – Seymour Cray, American computer scientist, founded the CRAY Computer Company (d. 1996)
1925 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (d. 1991)
1925 – Martin David Kruskal, American physicist and mathematician (d. 2006)
1926 – Jerry Clower, American soldier, comedian, and author (d. 1998)
1928 – Koko Taylor, American singer (d. 2009)
1929 – Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer and composer
1930 – Tommy Collins, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
1930 – Immanuel Wallerstein, American sociologist, author, and academic (d. 2019)
1932 – Jeremy Isaacs, Scottish screenwriter and producer
1932 – Víctor Jara, Chilean singer-songwriter, poet, and director (d. 1973)
1933 – Joe Benton, English soldier and politician
1933 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor and educator (d. 2006)
1933 – Johnny “Country” Mathis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
1934 – Brigitte Bardot, French actress
1935 – Bruce Crampton, Australian golfer
1935 – David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick, English diplomat, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations
1935 – Ronald Lacey, English actor (d. 1991)
1936 – Emmett Chapman, American guitarist, invented the Chapman Stick
1936 – Eddie Lumsden, Australian rugby league player (d. 2019)
1936 – Robert Wolders, Dutch television actor (d. 2018)
1937 – Alice Mahon, English trade union leader and politician
1937 – Glenn Sutton, American country music songwriter and record producer (d. 2007)
1938 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
1939 – Stuart Kauffman, American biologist and academic
1941 – David Lewis, American philosopher and academic (d. 2001)
1941 – Edmund Stoiber, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Bavaria
1942 – Pierre Clémenti, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
1942 – Edward “Little Buster” Forehand, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
1943 – Warren Lieberfarb, American businessman
1943 – George W. S. Trow, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 2006)
1943 – Nick St. Nicholas, German-Canadian bass player
1944 – Richie Karl, American golfer
1944 – Marcia Muller, American journalist and author
1945 – Marielle Goitschel, French skier
1945 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 2011)
1945 – Fusako Shigenobu, Japanese activist, founded the Japanese Red Army
1946 – Tom Bower, English journalist and author
1946 – Majid Khan, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
1947 – Bob Carr, Australian journalist and politician, 37th Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1947 – Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi politician, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
1947 – Jon Snow, English journalist and academic
1947 – Rhonda Hughes, American mathematician and academic
1949 – Jim Henshaw, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
1950 – Paul Burgess, English drummer
1950 – Christina Hoff Sommers, American author and philosopher
1950 – John Sayles, American novelist, director, and screenwriter
1951 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2015)
1952 – Christopher Buckley, American satirical novelist
1952 – Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou, Greek basketball player and coach
1952 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch model and actress (d. 2012)
1952 – Andy Ward, English drummer
1953 – Otmar Hasler, Liechtensteiner educator and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
1954 – Steve Largent, American football player and politician
1954 – George Lynch, American guitarist and songwriter
1954 – John Scott, English rugby player
1954 – Margot Wallström, Swedish politician and diplomat, 42nd Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
1955 – Stéphane Dion, Canadian sociologist and politician, 15th Canadian Minister of the Environment
1955 – Mercy Manci, Xhosa sangoma and HIV activist from South Africa
1955 – Kenny Kirkland, American pianist (d. 1998)
1956 – Martha Isabel Fandiño Pinilla, Colombian-Italian mathematician and author
1957 – Bill Cassidy, American politician and physician
1959 – Ron Fellows, Canadian race car driver
1959 – Laura Bruce, American artist
1960 – Gary Ayres, Australian footballer and coach
1960 – Tom Byrum, American golfer
1960 – Frank Hammerschlag, German footballer and manager
1960 – Gus Logie, Trinidadian cricketer
1960 – Kamlesh Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, English politician
1960 – Jennifer Rush, American singer-songwriter
1960 – Socrates Villegas, Filipino archbishop
1961 – Helen Grant, English lawyer and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
1961 – Gregory Jbara, American actor and singer
1961 – Quentin Kawānanakoa, American lawyer and politician
1961 – Anne White, American tennis player
1962 – Grant Fuhr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1962 – Laurie Rinker, American golfer
1962 – Dietmar Schacht, German footballer and manager
1962 – Chuck Taylor, American journalist
1963 – Steve Blackman, American wrestler and martial artist
1963 – Érik Comas, French race car driver
1963 – Greg Weisman, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
1964 – Claudio Borghi, Argentinian footballer and manager
1964 – Gregor Fisken, Scottish race car driver
1964 – Janeane Garofalo, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
1964 – Paul Jewell, English footballer and manager
1964 – Mārtiņš Roze, Latvian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
1966 – Scott Adams, American football player (d. 2013)
1966 – Maria Canals-Barrera, Cuban-American actress
1966 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Mira Sorvino, American actress
1967 – Moon Zappa, American actress and author
1968 – Francois Botha, South African boxer and mixed martial artist
1968 – Mika Häkkinen, Finnish race car driver
1968 – Trish Keenan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
1968 – Sean Levert, American R&B singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2008)
1968 – Rob Moroso, American race car driver (d. 1990)
1968 – Naomi Watts, English-Australian actress and producer
1969 – Kerri Chandler, electronic music producer and DJ
1969 – Marcel Dost, Dutch decathlete
1969 – Ben Greenman, American journalist and author
1969 – Piper Kerman, American author and memoirist
1969 – Éric Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1969 – Sascha Maassen, German race car driver
1969 – Angus Robertson, Scottish politician
1969 – Nico Vaesen, Belgian footballer
1970 – Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japanese tennis player
1970 – Mike DeJean, American baseball player
1970 – Gualter Salles, Brazilian race car driver
1971 – Joseph Arthur, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – George Eustice, English lawyer and politician
1971 – Braam van Straaten, South African rugby player
1971 – Alan Wright, English footballer and manager
1972 – Dita Von Teese, American model and dancer
1973 – Brian Rafalski, American ice hockey player
1974 – Marco Di Loreto, Italian footballer and manager
1974 – Mariya Kiselyova, Russian swimmer
1974 – Joonas Kolkka, Finnish footballer and coach
1974 – Shane Webcke, Australian rugby league player and coach
1975 – Stuart Clark, Australian cricketer and manager
1975 – Isamu Jordan, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
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)
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
30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.
1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
1571 – The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.
1620 – Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.
1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.
1759 – Seven Years’ War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.
1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
1849 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.
1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.
1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot’s test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator’s certificate.
1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.
1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff, and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.
1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as “Black Sunday”, was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.
1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
1950 – Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth as President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.
1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation’s first centralized military espionage organization.
1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
1965 – Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the “Green Line”, dividing Cyprus into two zones.
1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.
1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.
1988 – A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.
1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
1998 – The establishment of Muslim Medics, one of the largest student-led societies in Imperial College London that provides both academic and wellbeing support to medical students of all backgrounds.
2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.
2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.
Births on August 1
10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)
126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)
845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)
992 – Hyeonjong, Korean king (d. 1031)
1068 – Taizu, Chinese emperor (d. 1123)
1313 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (d. 1364)
1377 – Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (d. 1433)
1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)
1410 – Jan IV, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1475)
1492 – Wolfgang, German prince (d. 1566)
1520 – Sigismund II, Polish king (d. 1572)
1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)
1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)
1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)
1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)
1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)
1713 – Charles I, German duke and prince (d. 1780)
1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)
1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)
1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)
1778 – Mary Jefferson Eppes, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who died in childbirth (d. 1804)
1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)
1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)
1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)
1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)
1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)
1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)
1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)
1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)
1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)
1860 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (d. 1918)
1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
1865 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (d. 1917)
1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)
1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)
1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)
1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)
1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)
1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)
1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)
1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980)
1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)
1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)
1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)
1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)
1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)
1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
1910 – Gerda Taro, German war photographer (d. 1937)
1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)
1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)
1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)
1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)
1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)
1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)
1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009)
1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)
1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)
1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
1923 – Val Bettin, American actor
1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)
1924 – Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)
1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)
1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)
1926 – Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (d. 2018)
1927 – María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (d. 2006)
1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)
1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)
1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)
1929 – Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (d. 2018)
1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)
1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)
1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)
1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
1931 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)
1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)
1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2019)
1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)
1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)
1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer
1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)
1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)
1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)
1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic
1937 – Al D’Amato, American lawyer and politician
1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)
1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor
1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)
1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)
1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant
1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor
1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)
1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)
1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)
1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (d. 2011)
1946 – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic
1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author
1947 – Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist
1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios
1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player
1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)
1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan
1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)
1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)
1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach
1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author
1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)
1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author
1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager
1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)
1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach
1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter
1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)
1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer
1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor
1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor
1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer
1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer
1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician
1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator
1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer
1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer
1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author
1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach
1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter
1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach
1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter
1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager
1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout
1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist
1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player
1970 – David James, English footballer and manager
1970 – Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer
1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach
1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach
1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic
1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach
1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner
1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist
1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)
1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer
1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach
1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier
1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator
1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager
1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player
1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor
1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player
1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer
1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer
1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete
1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer
1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player
1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer
1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer
1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete
1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer
1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer
1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author
1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer
1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player
1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer
1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter
1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player
1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player
1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer
1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer
1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player
1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player
1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player
1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player
1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player
1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer
1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer
1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer
1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player
1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer
1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player
1987 – Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer
1987 – Karen Carney, English women’s football winger
1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer
1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer
1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer
1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player
1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
1989 – Tiffany Hwang, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress
1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player
1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer
1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player
1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer
1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player
1992 – Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress
1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player
1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer
1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player
1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer
1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player
2001 – Park Si-eun, South Korean actress
Deaths on August 1
30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)
371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)
527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)
873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia
946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)
946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)
953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)
984 – Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester
1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate
1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)
1146 – Vsevolod II of Kiev, Russian prince
1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)
1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)
1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)
1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)
1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)
1464 – Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)
1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)
1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)
1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)
1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)
1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)
1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)
1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)
1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)
1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)
1787 – Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)
1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)
1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)
1798 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)
1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)
1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)
1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)
1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)
1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)
1863 – Jind Kaur Majarani (Regent) of the Sikh Empire (b. 1817)
1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)
1869 – Peter Julian Eymard, French Priest and Founder Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (b. 1811)
1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)
1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)
1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)
1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)
1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)
1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)
1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)
1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)
1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)
1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)
1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)
1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)
1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)
1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)
1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)
1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)
1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)
1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)
1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)
1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)
1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)
2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)
2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)
2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)
2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)
2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)
2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)
2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)
2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)
2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)
2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)
2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)
2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)
2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)
2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)
2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)
2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)
2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)
2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)
2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)
2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)
2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)
2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)
2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)
2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)
2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)
2015 – Bernard d’Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)
2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)
2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)
2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on August 1
Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)
Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army (People’s Republic of China)
Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)
Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):
Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August. (Toronto)
Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)
Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)
Christian feast day:
Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori
Æthelwold of Winchester
Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder
Eusebius of Vercelli
Exuperius of Bayeux
Felix of Girona
Peter Apostle in Chains
Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
The Holy Maccabees
August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Canada)
Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or Frídagur verslunarmanna, can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)
Earliest day on which Constitution Day (Cook Islands) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
Earliest day on which Farmers’ Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Zambia)
Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August.
Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August. (United States)
Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)
Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)
Minden Day (United Kingdom)
National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)
Parents’ Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Statehood Day (Colorado)
Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):
Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)
Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)
Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)
The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)
30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian’s forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: 6th day of the 7th month of the 1st year of the Ten’o (天応) era).
1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.
1201 – Attempted usurpation by John Komnenos the Fat for the throne of Alexios III Angelos.
1423 – Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Cravant: The French army is defeated by the English at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.
1492 – The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
1588 – The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
1618 – Maurice, Prince of Orange disbands the waardgelders militia in Utrecht, a pivotal event in the Remonstrant/Counter-Remonstrant tensions.
1655 – Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.
1658 – Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India.
1703 – Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
1712 – Action of 31 July 1712 (Great Northern War): Danish and Swedish ships clash in the Baltic Sea; the result is inconclusive.
1715 – Seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain, 11 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure is salvaged from these wrecks.
1741 – Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.
1763 – Odawa Chief Pontiac’s forces defeat British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac’s War.
1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette “be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States.”
1790 – The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.
1865 – The first narrow-gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia.
1874 – Dr. Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University.
1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation.
1913 – The Balkan States sign an armistice in Bucharest.
1917 – World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.
1919 – German national assembly adopts the Weimar Constitution, which comes into force on August 14.
1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question.”
1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
1948 – USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.
1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
1972 – The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy.
1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
1975 – The Troubles: three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland.
1987 – A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Canada.
1988 – Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.
1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries’ stockpiles.
1992 – The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations.
1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon’s surface.
2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl.
2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
2012 – Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
2014 – Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.
Births on July 31
1143 – Emperor Nijō of Japan (d. 1165)
1396 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
1526 – Augustus, Elector of Saxony (d. 1586)
1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
1595 – Philipp Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1641)
1598 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
1686 – Charles of France, Duke of Berry (d. 1714)
1702 – Jean Denis Attiret, French missionary and painter (d. 1768)
1704 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1752)
1718 – John Canton, English physicist and academic (d. 1772)
1724 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (d. 1801)
1759 – Ignaz Anton von Indermauer, Austrian nobleman and government official (d. 1796)
1777 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (d. 1849)
1796 – Jean-Gaspard Deburau, Czech-French actor and mime (d. 1846)
1800 – Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist and academic (d. 1882)
1803 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, co-designed the USS Princeton and the Novelty Locomotive (d. 1889)
1816 – George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
1826 – William S. Clark, American colonel and politician (d. 1886)
1835 – Henri Brisson, French lawyer and politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (d. 1912)
1835 – Paul Du Chaillu, French-American anthropologist and explorer (d. 1903)
1836 – Vasily Sleptsov, Russian author and activist (d. 1878)
1837 – William Quantrill, American captain (d. 1865)
1839 – Ignacio Andrade, Venezuelan general and politician, 25th President of Venezuela (d. 1925)
1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and author (d. 1918)
1847 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1905)
1854 – José Canalejas, Spanish academic and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1912)
1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, English seismologist and geologist (d. 1936)
1858 – Marion Talbot, influential American educator (d. 1948)
1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American painter and illustrator (d. 1940)
1867 – S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (d. 1966)
1875 – Jacques Villon, French painter (d. 1963)
1877 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (d. 1970)
1880 – Premchand, Indian author and playwright (d. 1936)
1883 – Ramón Fonst, Cuban fencer (d. 1959)
1884 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, Polish-German economist and politician (d. 1945)
1886 – Salvatore Maranzano, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1931)
1886 – Fred Quimby, American animation producer (d. 1965)
1887 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1969)
1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist and publisher, founded Worldwide Church of God (d. 1986)
1892 – Joseph Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1959)
1894 – Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
1901 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
1902 – Gubby Allen, Australian-English cricketer and soldier (d. 1989)
1904 – Brett Halliday, American engineer, surveyor, and author (d. 1977)
1909 – Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian theorist and author (d. 1999)
1911 – George Liberace, American violinist (d. 1983)
1912 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American football player and journalist (d. 2003)
1913 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
1914 – Paul J. Christiansen, American conductor and composer (d. 1997)
1914 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1983)
1916 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (d. 1986)
1916 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
1916 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1979)
1918 – Paul D. Boyer, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1918 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2010)
1918 – Frank Renouf, New Zealand businessman and financier (d. 1998)
1919 – Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (d. 2006)
1919 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (d. 1987)
1920 – James E. Faust, American religious leader, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
1921 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer and activist, founded Amnesty International (d. 2005)
1921 – Donald Malarkey, American sergeant and author (d. 2017)
1921 – Whitney Young, American activist (d. 1971)
1922 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
1923 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American songwriter and producer, founded Atlantic Records (d. 2006)
1923 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer, invented Kevlar (d. 2014)
1924 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (d. 2015)
1925 – Carmel Quinn, Irish singer, actress and writer
1925 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (d. 1994)
1926 – Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (d. 2011)
1926 – Hilary Putnam, American mathematician, computer scientist, and philosopher (d. 2016)
1927 – Peter Nichols, English author and playwright (d. 2019)
1928 – Bill Frenzel, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
1929 – Lynne Reid Banks, English author
1929 – Gilles Carle, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
1929 – Don Murray, American actor
1929 – José Santamaría, Uruguayan footballer and manager
1931 – Nick Bollettieri, American tennis player and coach
1931 – Kenny Burrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1979)
1932 – John Searle, American philosopher and academic
1933 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch journalist, author, and poet
1935 – Yvon Deschamps, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer
1935 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1939 – Steuart Bedford, English pianist and conductor
1939 – Susan Flannery, American actress
1939 – France Nuyen, Vietnamese-French actress
1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (d. 2004)
1943 – William Bennett, American journalist and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
1943 – Lobo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress and screenwriter
1944 – Jonathan Dimbleby, English journalist and author
1944 – Sherry Lansing, American film producer
1944 – Robert C. Merton, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1944 – David Norris, Irish scholar and politician
1945 – William Weld, American lawyer and politician, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
1946 – Gary Lewis, American pop-rock musician
1947 – Karl Green, English bass player and songwriter (Herman’s Hermits)
1947 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (d. 2013)
1947 – Mumtaz, Indian actress
1947 – Hubert Védrine, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
1947 – Ian Beck, English children’s illustrator and author
1948 – Russell Morris, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Mike Jackson, American basketball player
1949 – Alan Meale, English journalist and politician
1950 – Richard Berry, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1951 – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player
1952 – Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
1952 – Alan Autry, American football player, actor, and politician, 23rd Mayor of Fresno, California
1952 – Helmuts Balderis, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
1952 – João Barreiros, Portuguese author and critic
1952 – Faye Kellerman, American author
1953 – Ted Baillieu, Australian architect and politician, 46th Premier of Victoria
1953 – Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer and coach
1953 – Hugh McDowell, English cellist
1954 – Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
1956 – Michael Biehn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Bill Callahan, American football player and coach
1956 – Ron Kuby, American lawyer and radio host
1956 – Deval Patrick, American lawyer and politician, 71st Governor of Massachusetts
1956 – Lynne Rae Perkins, American author and illustrator
1957 – Daniel Ash, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1957 – Mark Thompson, English business executive
1958 – Bill Berry, American drummer and songwriter
1958 – Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality
1958 – Suzanne Giraud, French music editor and composer
1959 – Stanley Jordan, American guitarist, pianist, and songwriter
1959 – Andrew Marr, Scottish journalist and author
1959 – Kim Newman, English journalist and author
1960 – Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1960 – Malcolm Ross, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
1961 – Frank Gardner, English captain and journalist
1961 – Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nigerian banker, royal
1962 – John Chiang, American lawyer and politician, 31st California State Controller
1962 – Kevin Greene, American football player and coach
1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer
1963 – Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), English DJ and musician
1963 – Fergus Henderson, English chef and author
1963 – Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1964 – Jim Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Urmas Hepner, Estonian footballer and coach
1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball player and coach
1965 – John Laurinaitis, American wrestler and producer
1965 – Ian Roberts, English-Australian rugby league player and actor
1965 – J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer
1966 – Dean Cain, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Tony Massenburg, American basketball player
1967 – Tim Wright, Welsh composer
1968 – Saeed-Al-Saffar, Emirati cricketer
1968 – Julian Richards, Welsh director and producer
1969 – Antonio Conte, Italian footballer and manager
1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
1969 – Kenneth D. Schisler, American lawyer and politician
1970 – Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian author and poet
1970 – Ben Chaplin, English actor
1970 – Andrzej Kobylański, Polish footballer and manager
1970 – Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
1971 – Gus Frerotte, American football player and coach
1973 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player and coach
1974 – Emilia Fox, English actress
1974 – Leona Naess, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1974 – Jonathan Ogden, American football player
1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball player and coach
1975 – Andrew Hall, South African cricketer
1975 – Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
1976 – Joshua Cain, American guitarist and producer
1976 – Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer and manager
1978 – Zac Brown, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 – Nick Sorensen, American football player and sportscaster
1978 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver (d. 2015)
1979 – Jaco Erasmus, South African-Italian rugby player
1979 – J.J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
1979 – Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
1979 – Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
1979 – B.J. Novak, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1980 – Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish race car driver
1980 – Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby player
1981 – Titus Bramble, English footballer
1981 – Vernon Carey, American football player
1981 – Paul Whatuira, New Zealand rugby league player
1981 – M. Shadows, American musician, lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold
1982 – Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player
1982 – DeMarcus Ware, American football player
1985 – Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer
1985 – Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist
1986 – Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Brian Orakpo, American football player
1987 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
1988 – Alex Glenn, New Zealand rugby league player
1989 – Victoria Azarenka, Belorussian tennis player
1991 – Réka Luca Jani, Hungarian tennis player
1992 – José Fernández, Cuban baseball player (d. 2016)
1992 – Ryan Johansen, Canadian ice hockey player
1992 – Kyle Larson, American race car driver
1994 – Lil Uzi Vert, American hip hop artist
Deaths on July 31
54 BC – Aurelia Cotta, Roman mother of Gaius Julius Caesar (b. 120 BC)
450 – Peter Chrysologus, Italian bishop and saint (b. 380)
910 – Feng Xingxi, Chinese warlord
975 – Fu Yanqing, Chinese general (b. 898)
1098 – Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
1358 – Étienne Marcel, French rebel leader (b. 1302)
1396 – William Courtenay, English archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
1508 – Na’od, Ethiopian emperor
1556 – Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish priest and theologian, founded the Society of Jesus (b. 1491)
1616 – Roger Wilbraham, Solicitor-General for Ireland (b. 1553)
1638 – Sibylla Schwarz, German poet (b. 1621)
1653 – Thomas Dudley, English soldier and politician, 3rd Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
1693 – Willem Kalf, Dutch still life painter (b. 1619)
1726 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (b. 1695)
1750 – John V, king of Portugal (b. 1689)
1762 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (b. 1711)
1781 – John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley, British parliamentarian (b. 1719)
1784 – Denis Diderot, French philosopher and critic (b. 1713)
1805 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian soldier (b. 1756)
1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (b. 1800)
1875 – Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
1884 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1869)
1886 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
1891 – Jean-Baptiste Capronnier, Belgian stained glass painter (b. 1814)
1913 – John Milne, British geologist and mining engineer. (b. 1850)
1914 – Jean Jaurès, French journalist and politician (b. 1859)
1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh language poet (b. 1887)
1917 – Francis Ledwidge, Irish soldier and poet (b. 1881)
1920 – Ion Dragoumis, Greek philosopher and diplomat (b. 1878)
1940 – Udham Singh, Indian activist (b. 1899)
1943 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1905)
1942 – Francis Younghusband, British Army Officer, explorer and spiritual writer (b.1863)
1944 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and poet (b. 1900)
1953 – Robert A. Taft, American soldier and politician (b. 1889)
1954 – Onofre Marimón, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1923)
1958 – Eino Kaila, Finnish philosopher and psychologist, attendant of the Vienna circle (b. 1890)
1964 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (b. 1923)
1966 – Bud Powell, American pianist (b. 1924)
1968 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
1971 – Walter P. Carter, American soldier and activist (b. 1923)
1972 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
1973 – Azumafuji Kin’ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 40th Yokozuna (b. 1921)
1979 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress and director (b. 1903)
1980 – Pascual Jordan, German physicist, author, and academic (b. 1902)
1980 – Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
1981 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (b. 1929)
1985 – Eugene Carson Blake, American religious leader (b. 1906)
1986 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
1987 – Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905)
1990 – Albert Leduc, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
1992 – Leonard Cheshire, English captain and pilot (b. 1917)
1992 – Md. Abdul Wajed Chowdhury, Bangladeshi politician.
1993 – Baudouin, King of Belgium (b. 1930)
2000 – William Keepers Maxwell Jr., American editor, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1908)
2001 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (b. 1914)
2001 – Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (b. 1910)
2003 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1933)
2004 – Virginia Grey, American actress (b. 1917)
2005 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, 1st President of the European Central Bank (b. 1935)
2009 – Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
2009 – Harry Alan Towers, English-Canadian screenwriter and producer (b. 1920)
2012 – Mollie Hunter, Scottish author and playwright (b. 1922)
2012 – Alfredo Ramos, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1924)
2012 – Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1925)
2012 – Tony Sly, American musician, singer-songwriter (b. 1970)
2013 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (b. 1922)
2013 – Michel Donnet, English-Belgian general and pilot (b. 1917)
2013 – John Graves, American captain and author (b. 1920)
2013 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (b. 1930)
2014 – Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (b. 1925)
2014 – Nabarun Bhattacharya, Indian journalist and author (b. 1948)
2014 – Jeff Bourne, English footballer (b. 1948)
2014 – Wilfred Feinberg, American lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
2015 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (b. 1940)
2015 – Howard W. Jones, American surgeon and academic (b. 1910)
2015 – Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1927)
2015 – Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (b. 1954)
2015 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (b. 1926)
2016 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (b. 1955)
2016 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (b. 1928)
2017 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (b. 1928)
2018 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor & businessman (b. 1939)
2019 – Harold Prince, noted Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on July 31
Christian feast day:
Abanoub
Germanus of Auxerre
Ignatius of Loyola
Neot
July 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which the Feast of Kamál (Perfection) can fall, while August 1 is the latest; observed on the first day of the eighth month of the Bahá’í calendar. (Bahá’í Faith)
End of the Trinity term (sitting of the High Court of Justice of England)
Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Day (Hawaii, United States), and its related observance:
Sovereignty Restoration Day (Hawaiian sovereignty movement)
Martyrdom Day of Shahid Udham Singh (Haryana and Punjab, India)
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)
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
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
1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland somewhere north of the Firth of Forth.
1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.
1202 – Georgian–Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum.
1214 – Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England’s Angevin Empire.
1299 – According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state.
1302 – Battle of Bapheus: Decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.
1549 – The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier’s ship reaches Japan.
1663 – The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland would be included in the Act.
1689 – Glorious Revolution: The Battle of Killiecrankie is a victory for the Jacobites.
1694 – A Royal charter is granted to the Bank of England.
1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Medical Department: The Second Continental Congress passes legislation establishing “an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men.”
1778 – American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
1789 – The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).
1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 “enemies of the Revolution”.
1816 – Battle of Negro Fort: The battle ends when a hot shot cannonball fired by US Navy Gunboat No. 154 explodes the Fort’s Powder Magazine, killing approximately 275. It is considered the deadliest single cannon shot in US history.
1857 – Siege of Arrah begins: Sixty-eight men hold out for eight days against a force of 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying sepoys and 8,000 irregular forces.
1865 – Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.
1866 – The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
1880 – Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.
1890 – Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.
1900 – Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, “Hun” would be a disparaging name for Germans.
1917 – World War I: The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.
1919 – The Chicago Race Riot erupts after a racial incident occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries over a five-day period.
1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.
1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.
1940 – The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
1942 – World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt.
1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.
1953 – Cessation of hostilities is achieved in the Korean War when the United States, China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice.
1955 – The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty.
1955 – El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people onboard are killed.
1959 – The Continental League is announced as baseball’s “3rd major league” in the United States.
1964 – Vietnam War: Five thousand more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.
1974 – Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.
1975 – Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead.
1976 – Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka is arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals.
1981 – While landing at Chihuahua International Airport, Aeromexico Flight 230 overshoots the runway. Thirty-two of the 66 passengers and crew on board the DC-9 are killed.[2]
1983 – Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days.
1987 – RMS Titanic Inc. begins the first expedited salvage of wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
1989 – While attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, Korean Air Flight 803 crashes just short of the runway. Seventy-five of the 199 passengers and crew and four people on the ground are killed, in the second accident involving a DC-10 in less than two weeks, the first being United Airlines Flight 232.
1990 – The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is moved to June 3.
1990 – The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d’état in Trinidad and Tobago.
1995 – The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
1997 – About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria.
2002 – Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring more than 500 others, making it the deadliest air show disaster in history.
2005 – After an incident during STS-114, NASA grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from the external fuel tank.
2015 – At least seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.
2016 – At a news conference in Florida, U.S. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump publicly appealed to Russia to find and release private emails from Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton; a Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) later alleged that Russian operatives began hacking into servers at the Democratic National Committee on that same day, leading to the July 13, 2018 indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers.[3]
Births on July 27
1452 – Ludovico Sforza, Italian son of Francesco I Sforza (d. 1508)
1452 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (d. 1508)
1502 – Francesco Corteccia, Italian composer (d. 1571)
1578 – Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond (d. 1639)
1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1640)
1625 – Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich (d. 1672)
1667 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1748)
1733 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (d. 1779)
1740 – Jeanne Baré, French explorer (d. 1803)
1741 – François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French-English violinist and composer (d. 1808)
1752 – Samuel Smith, American general and politician (d. 1839)
1768 – Charlotte Corday, French assassin of Jean-Paul Marat (d. 1793)
1768 – Joseph Anton Koch, Austrian painter (d. 1839)
1773 – Jacob Aall, Norwegian economist and politician (d. 1844)
1777 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish-French poet and academic (d. 1844)
1777 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (d. 1853)
1781 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1828)
1784 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (d. 1839)
1812 – Thomas Lanier Clingman, American general and politician (d. 1897)
1818 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (d. 1902)
1824 – Alexandre Dumas, fils, French novelist and playwright (d. 1895)
1833 – Thomas George Bonney, English geologist, mountaineer, and academic (d. 1923)
1834 – Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian admiral (d. 1879)
1835 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
1848 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (d. 1919)
1848 – Friedrich Ernst Dorn, German physicist (d.1916)
1853 – Vladimir Korolenko, Ukrainian journalist, author, and activist (d. 1921)
1853 – Elizabeth Plankinton, American philanthropist (d. 1923)
1854 – Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1936)
1857 – José Celso Barbosa, Puerto Rican physician, sociologist, and politician (d. 1921)
1857 – Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist (d.1934)
1858 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (d. 1938)
1866 – António José de Almeida, Portuguese physician and politician, 6th President of Portugal (d. 1929)
1867 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1916)
1870 – Hilaire Belloc, French-born British writer and historian (d. 1953)
1872 – Stanislav Binički, Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue. (d. 1942)
1879 – Francesco Gaeta, Italian poet (d. 1927)
1877 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
1881 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1945)
1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland, English pilot and engineer, founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company (d. 1965)
1886 – Ernst May, German architect and urban planner (d. 1970)
1889 – Vera Karalli, Russian ballerina, choreographer, and actress (d. 1972)
1890 – Benjamin Miessner, American radio engineer and inventor (d. 1976)
1890 – Armas Taipale, Finnish discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1976)
1891 – Jacob van der Hoeden, Dutch-Israeli veterinarian and academic (d. 1968)
1893 – Ugo Agostoni, Italian cyclist (d. 1941)
1894 – Mientje Kling, Dutch actress (d. 1966)
1896 – Robert George, Scottish air marshal and politician, 24th Governor of South Australia (d. 1967)
1896 – Henri Longchambon, French lawyer and politician (d. 1969)
1899 – Percy Hornibrook, Australian cricketer (d. 1976)
1902 – Yaroslav Halan, Ukrainian playwright and publicist (d. 1949)
1903 – Nikolay Cherkasov, Russian actor (d. 1966)
1903 – Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, President of Greece (d. 2002)
1903 – Mārtiņš Zīverts, Latvian playwright (d. 1990)
1904 – Lyudmila Rudenko, Soviet chess player (d. 1986)
1905 – Leo Durocher, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
1906 – Jerzy Giedroyc, Polish author and activist (d. 2000)
1906 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist and neurologist (d. 1999)
1907 – Ross Alexander, American stage and film actor (d. 1937)
1907 – Carl McClellan Hill, African American educator and academic administrator (d. 1995)
1907 – Irene Fischer, Austrian-American geodesist and mathematician (d. 2009)
1908 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
1910 – Julien Gracq, French author and critic (d. 2007)
1910 – Lupita Tovar, Mexican-American actress (d. 2016)
1911 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (d. 1981)
1912 – Vernon Elliott, English bassoon player, composer, and conductor (d. 1996)
1913 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2000)
1914 – August Sang, Estonian poet and translator (d. 1969)
1915 – Mario Del Monaco, Italian tenor (d. 1982)
1915 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (d. 1961)
1916 – Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer (d. 2007)
1916 – Skippy Williams, American saxophonist and arranger (d. 1994)
1916 – Keenan Wynn, American actor (d. 1986)
1918 – Leonard Rose, American cellist and educator (d. 1984)
1920 – Henry D. “Homer” Haynes, American comedian and musician (Homer and Jethro) (d. 1971)
1921 – Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (d. 2013)
1921 – Émile Genest, Canadian-American actor (d. 2003)
1922 – Adolfo Celi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
1922 – Norman Lear, American screenwriter and producer
1923 – Mas Oyama, South Korean-Japanese martial artist (d. 1994)
1924 – Vincent Canby, American historian and critic (d. 2000)
1924 – Otar Taktakishvili, Georgian composer and conductor (d. 1989)
1927 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (d. 2015)
1927 – Pierre Granier-Deferre, French director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
1927 – Will Jordan, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
1927 – C. Rajadurai, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Batticaloa
1927 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (d. 2014)
1928 – Joseph Kittinger, American colonel and pilot
1929 – Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist and philosopher (d. 2007)
1929 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
1929 – Jack Higgins, English author and academic
1929 – Marc Wilkinson, French-Australian composer and conductor
1930 – Joy Whitby, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1930 – Shirley Williams, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Education
1931 – Khieu Samphan, Cambodian academic and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Cambodia
1931 – Jerry Van Dyke, American actor (d. 2018)
1932 – Forest Able, American basketball player
1932 – Diane Webber, American model, dancer and actress
1933 – Nick Reynolds, American singer and bongo player (d. 2008)
1933 – Ted Whitten, Australian footballer and journalist (d. 1995)
1935 – Hillar Kärner, Estonian chess player
1935 – Billy McCullough, Northern Irish footballer
1936 – J. Robert Hooper, American businessman and politician (d. 2008)
1937 – Anna Dawson, English actress and singer
1937 – Don Galloway, American actor (d. 2009)
1937 – Robert Holmes à Court, South African-Australian businessman and lawyer (d. 1990)
1938 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (d. 2008)
1939 – William Eggleston, American photographer and academic
1939 – Michael Longley, Northern Irish poet and academic
1939 – Paulo Silvino, Brazilian comedian, composer and actor (d. 2017)
1940 – Pina Bausch, German dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
1941 – Christian Boesch, Austrian opera singer
1941 – Johannes Fritsch, German viola player and composer (d. 2010)
1942 – Édith Butler, Canadian singer-songwriter
1942 – John Pleshette, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1942 – Dennis Ralston, American tennis player
1943 – Jeremy Greenstock, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations
1944 – Bobbie Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Jean-Marie Leblanc, French cyclist and journalist
1944 – Barbara Thomson, English saxophonist and composer
1945 – Edmund M. Clarke, American computer scientist
1946 – Peter Reading, English poet and author (d. 2011)
1947 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (d. 2008)
1947 – Betty Thomas, American actress, director, and producer
1948 – Peggy Fleming, American figure skater and sportscaster
1948 – James Munby, English lawyer and judge
1948 – Henny Vrienten, Dutch singer-songwriter and bass player
1949 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (d. 2010)
1949 – André Dupont, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1949 – Rory MacDonald, Scottish singer-songwriter and bass player
1949 – Maureen McGovern, American singer and actress
1949 – Robert Rankin, English author and illustrator
1950 – Simon Jones, English actor
1951 – Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs
1951 – Bob Diamond, American-English banker and businessman
1951 – Rolf Thung, Dutch tennis player
1952 – Marvin Barnes, American basketball player (d. 2014)
1952 – Roxanne Hart, American actress
1953 – Chung Dong-young, South Korean journalist and politician, 31st South Korean Minister of Unification
1953 – Yahoo Serious, Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1954 – Philippe Alliot, French race car driver and sportscaster
1954 – G. S. Bali, Indian lawyer and politician
1954 – Ricardo Uceda, Peruvian journalist and author
1954 – Mark Stanway, English keyboard player Magnum
1955 – Cat Bauer, American journalist, author, and playwright
1955 – Allan Border, Australian cricketer and coach
1955 – John Howell, English journalist and politician
1955 – Bobby Rondinelli, American drummer
1956 – Carol Leifer, American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer
1957 – Bill Engvall, American comedian, actor, and producer
1958 – Christopher Dean, English figure skater and choreographer
1958 – Kimmo Hakola, Finnish composer
1959 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (d. 1986)
1959 – Hugh Green, American football player
1959 – Yiannos Papantoniou, French-Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of National Defence
1960 – Jo Durie, English tennis player and sportscaster
1960 – Conway Savage, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2018)
1960 – Emily Thornberry, English lawyer and politician
1961 – Ed Orgeron, American football coach[4]
1962 – Neil Brooks, Australian swimmer
1962 – Karl Mueller, American bass player (d. 2005)
1963 – Donnie Yen, Chinese-Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
1964 – Rex Brown, American bass player and songwriter
1965 – José Luis Chilavert, Paraguayan footballer
1966 – Steve Tilson, English footballer and manager
1967 – Rahul Bose, Indian journalist, actor, director, and screenwriter
1967 – Juliana Hatfield, American singer-songwriter and musician
1967 – Hans Mathisen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
1967 – Neil Smith, English cricketer
1967 – Craig Wolanin, Canadian ice hockey player
1968 – Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Italian actress and producer
1968 – Tom Goodwin, American baseball player and coach
1968 – Sabina Jeschke, Swedish-German engineer and academic
1968 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor and producer
1968 – Ricardo Rosset, Brazilian race car driver
1969 – Triple H, American wrestler and actor
1969 – Jonty Rhodes, South African cricketer and coach
1970 – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Danish actor and producer
1970 – David Davies, English-Welsh politician
1971 – Matthew Johns, Australian rugby league player, sportscaster and television host
1972 – Clint Robinson, Australian kayaker[5]
1972 – Maya Rudolph, American actress
1972 – Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysian surgeon and astronaut
1973 – Cassandra Clare, American journalist and author
1973 – Erik Nys, Belgian long jumper
1973 – Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player and coach
1974 – Eason Chan, Hong Kong singer, actor, and producer
1974 – Pete Yorn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1975 – Serkan Çeliköz, Turkish keyboard player and songwriter
1975 – Shea Hillenbrand, American baseball player
1975 – Fred Mascherino, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1975 – Alessandro Pistone, Italian footballer
1975 – Alex Rodriguez, American baseball player
1976 – Demis Hassabis, English computer scientist and academic
1976 – Scott Mason, Australian cricketer (d. 2005)
1977 – Foo Swee Chin, Singaporean illustrator
1977 – Björn Dreyer, German footballer
1977 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor
1978 – Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Irish hurler and manager
1979 – Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician, feminist, and human rights activist (d. 2018)
1979 – Jorge Arce, Mexican boxer
1979 – Sidney Govou, French footballer
1979 – Shannon Moore, American wrestler and singer
1980 – Allan Davis, Australian cyclist
1980 – Wesley Gonzales, Filipino basketball player
1981 – Susan King Borchardt, American basketball player
1981 – Collins Obuya, Kenyan cricketer
1981 – Dash Snow, American painter and photographer (d. 2009)
1981 – Christopher Weselek, German rugby player
1982 – Neil Harbisson, English-Catalan painter, composer, and activist
1983 – Lorik Cana, Albanian footballer
1983 – Martijn Maaskant, Dutch cyclist
1983 – Goran Pandev, Macedonian footballer
1983 – Soccor Velho, Indian footballer (d. 2013)
1984 – Antoine Bethea, American football player
1984 – Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Japanese baseball player
1984 – Max Scherzer, American baseball player
1984 – Taylor Schilling, American actress
1984 – Kenny Wormald, American actor, dancer, and choreographer
1985 – Husain Abdullah, American football player
1985 – Matteo Pratichetti, Italian rugby player
1985 – Ajmal Shahzad, English cricketer
1986 – DeMarre Carroll, American basketball player
1986 – Ryan Flaherty, American baseball player
1986 – Ryan Griffen, Australian footballer
1987 – Jacoby Ford, American football player
1987 – Marek Hamšík, Slovak footballer
1987 – Jordan Hill, American basketball player
1987 – Sarah Parsons, American ice hockey player
1988 – Adam Biddle, Australian footballer
1988 – Yoervis Medina, Venezuelan baseball player
1988 – Ryan Tannehill, American football player
1989 – Maya Ali, Pakistani actress
1990 – Nick Hogan, American race car driver and actor
1990 – Paolo Hurtado, Peruvian footballer
1990 – Cheyenne Kimball, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1990 – Stephen Li-Chung Kuo, Taiwanese-American figure skater
1990 – Kriti Sanon, Indian actress
1991 – Rena Matsui, Japanese actress and singer
1993 – Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Australian rugby league player
1993 – Max Power, English footballer
1993 – Jordan Spieth, American golfer
2001 – Shin Ki-joon, South Korean actor
Deaths on July 27
903 – Abdallah II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir
959 – Chai Rong, emperor of Later Zhou
1144 – Salomea of Berg, High Duchess consort of Poland[6]
1061 – Nicholas II, pope of the Catholic Church
1101 – Conrad II, king of Italy (b. 1074)
1101 – Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester (b. c. 1047)
1158 – Geoffrey VI, Count of Anjou (b. 1134)
1276 – James I of Aragon (b. 1208)
1365 – Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1339)
1382 – Joanna I of Naples (b. 1326)
1510 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian condottiere (b. 1466)
1469 – William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1423)
1656 – Salomo Glassius, German theologian and critic (b. 1593)
1675 – Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, French general (b. 1611)
1689 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (b. c. 1648)[7]
1759 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1698)
1770 – Robert Dinwiddie, Scottish merchant and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1693)
1841 – Mikhail Lermontov, Russian poet and painter (b. 1814)
1844 – John Dalton, English physicist, meteorologist, and chemist (b. 1776)
1863 – William Lowndes Yancey, American journalist and politician (b. 1813)
1865 – Jean-Joseph Dassy, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
1875 – Aleksander Kunileid, Estonian composer and educator (b. 1845)
1876 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American minister and author (b. 1811)
1883 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (b. 1813)
1916 – Charles Fryatt, English captain (b. 1872)
1916 – William Jonas, English footballer (d. 1890)
1917 – Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.
315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.
677 – Climax of the Siege of Thessalonica by the Slavs in a three-day assault on the city walls.
864 – The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings.
1137 – Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Prince Louis, later King Louis VII of France, at the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux.
1139 – Battle of Ourique: The Almoravids, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, are defeated by Prince Afonso Henriques who is proclaimed King of Portugal.
1261 – The city of Constantinople is recaptured by Nicaean forces under the command of Alexios Strategopoulos, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.
1278 – The naval Battle of Algeciras takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in a victory for the Emirate of Granada and the Maranid Dynasty over the Kingdom of Castile.
1467 – The Battle of Molinella: The first battle in Italy in which firearms are used extensively.
1536 – Sebastián de Belalcázar on his search of El Dorado founds the city of Santiago de Cali.
1538 – The city of Guayaquil is founded by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana and given the name Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil.
1547 – Henry II of France is crowned.
1554 – Mary I marries Philip II of Spain at Winchester Cathedral.
1567 – Don Diego de Losada founds the city of Santiago de Leon de Caracas, modern-day Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela.
1593 – Henry IV of France publicly converts from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.
1603 – James VI of Scotland is crowned king of England (James I of England), bringing the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.
1609 – The English ship Sea Venture, en route to Virginia, is deliberately driven ashore during a storm at Bermuda to prevent its sinking; the survivors go on to found a new colony there.
1693 – Ignacio de Maya founds the Real Santiago de las Sabinas, now known as Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Mexico.
1722 – Dummer’s War begins along the Maine-Massachusetts border.
1755 – British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council order the deportation of the Acadians.
1759 – French and Indian War: In Western New York, British forces capture Fort Niagara from the French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.
1783 – American Revolutionary War: The war’s last action, the Siege of Cuddalore, is ended by a preliminary peace agreement.
1788 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K550).
1792 – The Brunswick Manifesto is issued to the population of Paris promising vengeance if the French royal family is harmed.
1797 – Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain).
1799 – At Abu Qir in Egypt, Napoleon I of France defeats 10,000 Ottomans under Mustafa Pasha.
1814 – War of 1812: An American attack on Canada is repulsed.
1824 – Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua.
1837 – The first commercial use of an electrical telegraph is successfully demonstrated in London by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone.
1853 – Joaquin Murrieta, the famous Californio bandit known as the “Robin Hood of El Dorado”, is killed.
1861 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Crittenden–Johnson Resolution, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
1866 – The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to this rank.
1868 – The Wyoming Territory is established.
1869 – The Japanese daimyōs begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese Date: June 17, 1869).
1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War begins when the Japanese fire upon a Chinese warship.
1898 – In the Puerto Rican Campaign, the United States seizes Puerto Rico from Spain.
1908 – Ajinomoto is founded. Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in kombu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it.
1909 – Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from Calais to Dover, England, United Kingdom in 37 minutes.
1915 – RFC Captain Lanoe Hawker becomes the first British pursuit aviator to earn the Victoria Cross.
1917 – Sir Robert Borden introduces the first income tax in Canada as a “temporary” measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).
1925 – Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established.
1934 – The Nazis assassinate Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in a failed coup attempt.
1940 – General Henri Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.
1942 – The Norwegian Manifesto calls for nonviolent resistance to the German occupation.
1943 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is forced out of office by the Grand Council of Fascism and is replaced by Pietro Badoglio.
1944 – World War II: Operation Spring is one of the bloodiest days for the First Canadian Army during the war.
1946 – Nuclear weapons testing: Operation Crossroads: An atomic bomb is detonated underwater in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll.
1956 – Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51.
1957 – The Republic of Tunisia is proclaimed, under President Habib Bourguiba.
1958 – The African Regroupment Party (PRA) holds its first congress in Cotonou.
1961 – Cold War: In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.
1965 – Bob Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music.
1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the “Vietnamization” of the war.
1973 – Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched.
1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo.
1978 – Puerto Rican police shoot two nationalists in the Cerro Maravilla murders.
1978 – Birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
1979 – Another section of the Sinai Peninsula is peacefully returned by Israel to Egypt.
1983 – Black July: Thirty-seven Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by the fellow Sinhalese prisoners.
1984 – Salyut 7 cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to perform a space walk.
1993 – Israel launches a massive attack against Lebanon in what the Israelis call Operation Accountability, and the Lebanese call the Seven-Day War.
1993 – The Saint James Church massacre occurs in Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa.
1994 – Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, that formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948.
1995 – A gas bottle explodes in Saint Michel station of line B of the RER (Paris regional train network). Eight are killed and 80 wounded.
1996 – In a military coup in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya deposes Sylvestre Ntibantunganya.
2000 – Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 113 people.
2007 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India’s first female president.
2010 – WikiLeaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.
2018 – As-Suwayda attacks: Coordinated attacks occur in Syria.
2019 – National extreme heat records set this day in the UK, Belgium and Germany during the July 2019 European heatwave.
Births on July 25
975 – Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg (d. 1018)
1016 – Casimir I the Restorer, duke of Poland (d. 1058)
1109 – Afonso I, king of Portugal (d. 1185)
1165 – Ibn Arabi, Andalusian Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher (d. 1240)
1261 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312)
1291 – Hawys Gadarn, Welsh noblewoman (d. 1353)
1336 – Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1404)
1394 – James I, king of Scotland (d. 1437)
1404 – Philip I, Duke of Brabant (d. 1430)
1421 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (d. 1461)
1450 – Jakob Wimpfeling, Renaissance humanist (d. 1528)
1486 – Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1547)
1498 – Hernando de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza (d. 1575)
1532 – Alphonsus Rodriguez, Jesuit lay brother and saint (d. 1617)
1556 – George Peele, English translator, poet, and dramatist (d. 1596)
1562 – Katō Kiyomasa, Japanese warlord (d. 1611)
1573 – Christoph Scheiner, German astronomer and Jesuit (d. 1650)
1581 – Brian Twyne, English archivist (d. 1644)
1605 – Theodore Haak, German scholar (d. 1690)
1633 – Joseph Williamson, English politician (d. 1701)
1654 – Agostino Steffani, Italian composer and diplomat (d. 1728)
1657 – Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, German composer (d. 1714)
1658 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, Scottish general (d. 1703)
1683 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch playwright and poet (d. 1756)
1750 – Henry Knox, American general and politician, 1st United States Secretary of War (d. 1806)
1753 – Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, French-Spanish captain and politician, 10th Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (d. 1810)
1797 – Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1889)
1806 – Maria Weston Chapman, American abolitionist (d. 1885)
1839 – Francis Garnier, French captain and explorer (d. 1873)
1844 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, sculptor, and photographer (d. 1916)
1847 – Paul Langerhans, German pathologist, physiologist and biologist (d. 1888)
1848 – Arthur Balfour, Scottish-English lieutenant and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1930)
1857 – Frank J. Sprague, American naval officer and inventor (d. 1934)
1865 – Jac. P. Thijsse, Dutch botanist and conservationist (d. 1945)
1866 – Frederick Blackman, English physiologist and academic (d. 1947)
1867 – Max Dauthendey, German author and painter (d. 1918)
1867 – Alexander Rummler, American painter (d. 1959)
1869 – Platon, Estonian bishop and saint (d. 1919)
1870 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (d. 1966)
1875 – Jim Corbett, Indian hunter, environmentalist, and author (d. 1955)
1878 – Masaharu Anesaki, Japanese philosopher and scholar (d. 1949)
1882 – George S. Rentz, American commander (d. 1942)
1883 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1947)
1886 – Edward Cummins, American golfer (d. 1926)
1894 – Walter Brennan, American actor (d. 1974)
1894 – Gavrilo Princip, Bosnian Serb revolutionary (d. 1918)
1895 – Ingeborg Spangsfeldt, Danish actress (d. 1968)
1896 – Jack Perrin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1967)
1896 – Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (d. 1952)
1901 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (d. 1993)
1901 – Mohammed Helmy, Egyptian physician and Righteous Among the Nations (d.1982)
1901 – Lila Lee, American actress and singer (d. 1973)
1902 – Eric Hoffer, American philosopher and author (d. 1983)
1905 – Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-Swiss novelist, playwright, and memoirist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
1905 – Georges Grignard, French race car driver (d. 1977)
1905 – Denys Watkins-Pitchford, English author and illustrator (d. 1990)
1906 – Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1970)
1908 – Bill Bowes, English cricketer (d. 1987)
1908 – Ambroise-Marie Carré, French priest and author (d. 2004)
1908 – Jack Gilford, American actor (d. 1990)
1914 – Woody Strode, American football player and actor (d. 1994)
1915 – S. U. Ethirmanasingham, Sri Lankan businessman and politician
1915 – Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
1916 – Lucien Saulnier, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
1917 – Fritz Honegger, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
1918 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (d. 1986)
1920 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist, chemist, and academic (d. 1958)
1921 – Adolph Herseth, American soldier and trumpet player (d. 2013)
1921 – Lionel Terray, French mountaineer (d. 1965)
1923 – Estelle Getty, American actress (d. 2008)
1923 – Edgar Gilbert, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2013)
1923 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2007)
1924 – Frank Church, American lawyer and politician (d. 1984)
1924 – Scotch Taylor, South African cricketer and hockey player (d. 2004)
1925 – Benny Benjamin, American R&B drummer (The Funk Brothers) (d. 1969)
1925 – Jerry Paris, American actor and director (d. 1986)
1925 – Dick Passwater, American race car driver
1925 – Jutta Zilliacus, Finnish journalist and politician
1926 – Whitey Lockman, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2009)
1926 – Bernard Thompson, British television producer and director (d. 1998)
1926 – Beatriz Segall, Brazilian actress (d. 2018)
1927 – Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1927 – Midge Decter, American journalist and author
1927 – Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician, 10th Governor of Punjab (d. 2000)
1927 – Jean-Marie Seroney, Kenyan activist and politician (d. 1982)
1928 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (d. 2012)
1928 – Mario Montenegro, Filipino actor (d. 1988)
1928 – Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (d. 2008)
1929 – Judd Buchanan, Canadian businessman and politician, 36th Canadian Minister of Public Works
1929 – Somnath Chatterjee, Indian lawyer and politician, 14th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 2018)
1929 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1995)
1930 – Murray Chapple, New Zealand cricketer and manager (d. 1985)
1930 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian actress and singer (d. 2010)
1930 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-Canadian journalist and criminologist (d. 1990)
1930 – Herbert Scarf, American economist and academic (d. 2015)
1930 – Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress
1931 – James Butler, English sculptor and educator
1932 – Paul J. Weitz, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
1934 – Don Ellis, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1978)
1934 – Claude Zidi, French director and screenwriter
1935 – Barbara Harris, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
1935 – Adnan Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2017)
1935 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (d. 2009)
1935 – John Robinson, American football player and coach
1935 – Larry Sherry, American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
1935 – Lars Werner, Swedish lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1936 – Gerry Ashmore, English race car driver
1936 – Glenn Murcutt, English-Australian architect and academic
1937 – Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, English archaeologist and academic
1940 – Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (d. 2013)
1941 – Manny Charlton, Spanish-born Scottish rock musician and songwriter
1941 – Nate Thurmond, American basketball player (d. 2016)
1941 – Emmett Till, American lynching victim (d. 1955)
1942 – Bruce Woodley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1943 – Jim McCarty, English singer and drummer
1943 – Erika Steinbach, Polish-German politician
1944 – Sally Beauman, English journalist and author (d. 2016)
1946 – José Areas, Nicaraguan drummer
1946 – Nicole Farhi, French fashion designer and sculptor
1946 – John Gibson, American radio host
1946 – Rita Marley, Cuban-Jamaican singer
1946 – P. Selvarasa, Sri Lankan politician
1946 – Ljupka Dimitrovska, Macedonian-Croatian pop singer (d. 2016)
1948 – Steve Goodman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
1950 – Mark Clarke, English singer-songwriter and bass player
1951 – Jack Thompson, American lawyer and activist
1951 – Verdine White, American bass player and producer
1952 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese architect, designed the Estádio Municipal de Braga
1953 – Joseph A. Tunzi, Chicago based author, foremost expert on Elvis Presley
1953 – Robert Zoellick, American banker and politician, 14th United States Deputy Secretary of State
1954 – Ken Greer, Canadian guitarist, keyboard player, and producer
1954 – Sheena McDonald, Scottish journalist
1954 – Walter Payton, American football player and race car driver (d. 1999)
1954 – Jochem Ziegert, German footballer and manager
1955 – Iman, Somalian-English model and actress
1955 – Randall Bewley, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
1956 – Andy Goldsworthy, English-Scottish sculptor and photographer
1956 – Frances Arnold, American scientist and engineer
1957 – Mark Hunter, English politician
1957 – Steve Podborski, Canadian skier
1958 – Alexei Filippenko, American astrophysicist and academic
1958 – Thurston Moore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1959 – Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1959 – Geoffrey Zakarian, American chef and author
1960 – Alain Robidoux, Canadian snooker player
1960 – Justice Howard, American photographer
1960 – Māris Martinsons, Latvian film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor
1962 – Carin Bakkum, Dutch tennis player
1962 – Doug Drabek, American baseball player and coach
1963 – Denis Coderre, Canadian politician, 44th Mayor of Montreal
1963 – Julian Hodgson, Welsh chess player
1964 – Anne Applebaum, American journalist and author
1964 – Tony Granato, American ice hockey player and coach
1964 – Breuk Iversen, American designer and journalist
1965 – Marty Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1965 – Illeana Douglas, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
1965 – Dale Shearer, Australian rugby league player
1966 – Daryl Halligan, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster
1966 – Maureen Herman, American bass player
1966 – Diana Johnson, English politician
1967 – Matt LeBlanc, American actor and producer
1967 – Ruth Peetoom, Dutch minister and politician
1967 – Tommy Skjerven, Norwegian footballer and referee
1968 – Rudi Bryson, South African cricketer
1968 – Shi Tao, Chinese journalist and poet
1969 – Jon Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
1969 – Annastacia Palaszczuk, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Queensland
1971 – Roger Creager, American singer-songwriter
1971 – Tracy Murray, American basketball player
1971 – Billy Wagner, American baseball player and coach
1972 – David Penna, Australian rugby league player and coach
1973 – Dani Filth, English singer-songwriter
1973 – Kevin Phillips, English footballer
1973 – Igli Tare, Albanian footballer
1974 – Lauren Faust, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
1974 – Julia Laffranque, Estonian lawyer and judge
1974 – Kenzo Suzuki, Japanese rugby player and wrestler
1975 – Jody Craddock, English footballer and coach
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)