Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by whitelisting our website.

360

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

On This Day /

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

July 26 in History

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

Births on July 26

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

Deaths on July 26

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

Holidays and observances on July 26

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

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

On This Day

July 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • AD 70 – The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple.
  • 927 – King Constantine II of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh and King Owain of the Cumbrians accepted the overlordship of King Æthelstan of England, leading to seven years of peace in the north.
  • 1191 – Third Crusade: Saladin’s garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two-year siege of Acre.
  • 1470 – The Ottomans capture Euboea.
  • 1493 – Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the best-documented early printed books, is published.
  • 1527 – Lê Cung Hoàng ceded the throne to Mạc Đăng Dung, ending the Lê dynasty and starting the Mạc dynasty.
  • 1543 – King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.
  • 1562 – Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatán, burns the sacred books of the Maya.
  • 1576 – Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Raj Mahal.
  • 1580 – The Ostrog Bible, one of the early printed Bibles in a Slavic language, is published.
  • 1691 – Battle of Aughrim (Julian calendar): The decisive victory of William III of England’s forces in Ireland.
  • 1776 – Captain James Cook begins his third voyage.
  • 1789 – In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later.
  • 1790 – The Civil Constitution of the Clergy is passed in France by the National Constituent Assembly.
  • 1799 – Ranjit Singh conquers Lahore and becomes Maharaja of the Punjab (Sikh Empire).
  • 1801 – British ships inflict heavy damage on Spanish and French ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras.
  • 1806 – At the insistence of Napoleon, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg and thirteen minor principalities leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine.
  • 1812 – The American Army of the Northwest briefly occupies the Upper Canadian settlement at what is now at Windsor, Ontario.
  • 1862 – The Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress.
  • 1913 – Serbian forces begin their siege of the Bulgarian city of Vidin; the siege is later called off when the war ends.
  • 1917 – The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona.
  • 1918 – The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi blows up at Shunan, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621.
  • 1920 – The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty is signed, by which Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania.
  • 1943 – German and Soviet forces engage in one of the largest armored engagements of all time.
  • 1948 – Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion orders the expulsion of Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramla.
  • 1960 – Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded.
  • 1961 – Indian city Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams, killing at least two thousand people.
  • 1962 – The Rolling Stones perform their first concert, at London’s Marquee Club.
  • 1963 – Pauline Reade, 16, disappears in Gorton, England, the first victim in the Moors murders.
  • 1967 – Riots begin in Newark, New Jersey.
  • 1971 – The Australian Aboriginal Flag is flown for the first time.
  • 1973 – A fire destroys the entire sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the United States.
  • 1975 – São Tomé and Príncipe declare independence from Portugal.
  • 1979 – The island nation of Kiribati becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
  • 1998 – The Ulster Volunteer Force attacked a house in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a petrol bomb, killing the Quinn brothers.
  • 2006 – The 2006 Lebanon War begins.
  • 2007 – U.S. Army Apache helicopters engage in airstrikes against civilians in Baghdad, Iraq; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet.
  • 2012 – Syrian Civil War: Government forces target the homes of rebels and activists in Tremseh and kill anywhere between 68 and 150 people.
  • 2012 – A tank truck explosion kills more than 100 people in Okobie, Nigeria.
  • 2013 – Six people are killed and 200 injured in a French passenger train derailment in Brétigny-sur-Orge.

Births on July 12

  • 100 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman politician and general (d. 44 BC)
  • 1394 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shōgun (d. 1441)
  • 1468 – Juan del Encina, Spanish poet, playwright, and composer (probable; d. 1530)
  • 1477 – Jacopo Sadoleto, Italian cardinal (d. 1547)
  • 1549 – Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (d. 1587)
  • 1628 – Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (d. 1684)
  • 1651 – Margaret Theresa of Spain (d. 1673)
  • 1675 – Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1742)
  • 1712 – Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, Colonial governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts Bay (d. 1779)
  • 1730 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (d. 1795)
  • 1803 – Peter Chanel, French priest and saint (d. 1841)
  • 1807 – Thomas Hawksley, English engineer and academic (d. 1893)
  • 1813 – Claude Bernard, French physiologist and academic (d. 1878)
  • 1817 – Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (d. 1862)
  • 1817 – Alvin Saunders, Territorial Governor and Senator from Nebraska (d. 1899)
  • 1821 – D. H. Hill, American general and academic (d. 1889)
  • 1824 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (d. 1898)
  • 1828 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (d. 1889)
  • 1849 – William Osler, Canadian physician and author (d. 1919)
  • 1850 – Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist and academic (d. 1912)
  • 1852 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 19th President of Argentina (d. 1933)
  • 1854 – George Eastman, American businessman, founded Eastman Kodak (d. 1933)
  • 1855 – Ned Hanlan, Canadian rower, academic, and businessman (d. 1908)
  • 1857 – George E. Ohr, American potter (d. 1918)
  • 1861 – Anton Arensky, Russian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1906)
  • 1863 – Albert Calmette, French physician, bacteriologist, and immunologist (d. 1933)
  • 1863 – Paul Drude, German physicist and academic (d. 1906)
  • 1868 – Stefan George, German poet and translator (d. 1933)
  • 1870 – Louis II, Prince of Monaco (d. 1949)
  • 1872 – Emil Hácha, Czech lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – Max Jacob, French poet, painter, and critic (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Alphaeus Philemon Cole, American artist, engraver and etcher (d. 1988)
  • 1878 – Peeter Põld, Estonian scientist and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Education (d. 1930)
  • 1879 – Margherita Piazzola Beloch, Italian mathematician (d. 1976)
  • 1879 – Han Yong-un, Korean poet (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – Tod Browning, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1962)
  • 1884 – Louis B. Mayer, Russian-born American film producer, co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (d. 1957)
  • 1884 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1920)
  • 1886 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (d. 1956)
  • 1892 – Bruno Schulz, Ukrainian-Polish author and painter (d. 1942)
  • 1895 – Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian soprano (d. 1962)
  • 1895 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect and engineer, designed the Montreal Biosphère (d. 1983)
  • 1895 – Oscar Hammerstein II, American director, producer, and songwriter (d. 1960)
  • 1899 – E.D. Nixon, American civil rights leader (d. 1987)
  • 1902 – Günther Anders, German philosopher and journalist (d. 1992)
  • 1902 – Tony Lovink, Dutch politician; Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1995)
  • 1902 – Vic Armbruster, Australian rugby league player (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
  • 1907 – Weary Dunlop, Australian colonel and surgeon (d. 1993)
  • 1908 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (d. 2002)
  • 1908 – Alain Cuny, French actor (d. 1994)
  • 1908 – Paul Runyan, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
  • 1909 – Joe DeRita, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1909 – Motoichi Kumagai, Japanese photographer and illustrator (d. 2010)
  • 1909 – Fritz Leonhardt, German engineer, designed Fernsehturm Stuttgart (d. 1999)
  • 1909 – Herbert Zim, American naturalist, author, and educator (d. 1994)
  • 1911 – Evald Mikson, Estonian footballer (d. 1993)
  • 1913 – Willis Lamb, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
  • 1914 – Mohammad Moin, Iranian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1971)
  • 1915 – Emanuel Papper, American anesthesiologist, professor, and author (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Princess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia, (d. 2007)
  • 1916 – Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ukrainian-Russian soldier and sniper (d. 1974)
  • 1917 – Luigi Gorrini, Italian soldier and pilot (d. 2014)
  • 1917 – Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Indian statesman (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Andrew Wyeth, American artist (d. 2009)
  • 1918 – Mary Glen-Haig, English fencer (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Vivian Mason, American actress (d. 2009)
  • 1918 – Doris Grumbach, American novelist, memoirist, biographer, literary critic, and essayist
  • 1918 – Rusty Dedrick, American swing and bebop jazz trumpeter (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Pierre Berton, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – Bob Fillion, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Paul Gonsalves, American saxophonist (d. 1974)
  • 1920 – Randolph Quirk, Manx linguist and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1920 – Beah Richards, American actress (d. 2000)
  • 1922 – Mark Hatfield, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Oregon (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – James E. Gunn, American science fiction author
  • 1924 – Faidon Matthaiou, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Albert Lance, Australian-French tenor (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Roger Smith, American businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Françoys Bernier, Canadian pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1993)
  • 1927 – Conte Candoli, American trumpet player (d. 2001)
  • 1927 – Jack Harshman, American baseball player (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Harley Hotchkiss, Canadian businessman (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Alastair Burnet, English journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Elias James Corey, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1928 – Imero Fiorentino, American lighting designer (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1930 – Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
  • 1931 – Eric Ives, English historian and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Rene Goulet, Canadian retired professional wrestler (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Monte Hellman, American director and producer
  • 1932 – Otis Davis, American sprinter
  • 1933 – Victor Poor, American engineer, developed the Datapoint 2200 (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Donald E. Westlake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1934 – Thomas Charlton, American competition rower and Olympic champion
  • 1934 – Van Cliburn, American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Satoshi Ōmura, Japanese biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1936 – Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1937 – Bill Cosby, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1937 – Mickey Edwards, American lawyer and politician
  • 1937 – Lionel Jospin, French civil servant and politician, 165th Prime Minister of France
  • 1937 – Robert McFarlane, American colonel and diplomat, 13th United States National Security Advisor
  • 1937 – Guy Woolfenden, English composer and conductor (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Ron Fairly, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1938 – Wieger Mensonides, Dutch swimmer
  • 1938 – Eiko Ishioka, Japanese art director and graphic designer (d. 2012)
  • 1939 – Phillip Adams, Australian journalist and producer
  • 1939 – Arlen Ness, American motorcycle designer and entrepreneur
  • 1941 – Benny Parsons, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2007)
  • 1942 – Swamp Dogg, American R&B singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1942 – Roy Palmer, English cricketer and umpire
  • 1942 – Billy Smith, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1942 – Steve Young, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
  • 1943 – Christine McVie, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1943 – Paul Silas, American basketball player and coach
  • 1944 – Simon Blackburn, English philosopher and academic
  • 1944 – Delia Ephron, American author, playwright, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Pat Woodell, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Butch Hancock, American country-folk singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1947 – Gareth Edwards, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1947 – Wilko Johnson, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1947 – Richard C. McCarty, American psychologist and academic
  • 1948 – Ben Burtt, American director, screenwriter, and sound designer
  • 1948 – Walter Egan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Richard Simmons, American fitness trainer and actor
  • 1949 – Simon Fox, English drummer
  • 1949 – Rick Hendrick, American businessman, founded Hendrick Motorsports
  • 1950 – Eric Carr, American drummer and songwriter (d. 1991)
  • 1950 – Gilles Meloche, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1951 – Joan Bauer, American author
  • 1951 – Brian Grazer, American screenwriter and producer, founded Imagine Entertainment
  • 1951 – Cheryl Ladd, American actress
  • 1951 – Piotr Pustelnik, Polish mountaineer
  • 1951 – Jamey Sheridan, American actor
  • 1952 – Voja Antonić, Serbian computer scientist and journalist, designed the Galaksija computer
  • 1952 – Irina Bokova, Bulgarian politician, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1952 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (d. 1995)
  • 1954 – Eric Adams, American singer-songwriter
  • 1954 – Robert Carl, American pianist and composer
  • 1954 – Wolfgang Dremmler, German footballer and coach
  • 1955 – Timothy Garton Ash, English historian and author
  • 1955 – Jimmy LaFave, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
  • 1956 – Mel Harris, American actress
  • 1956 – Sandi Patty, American singer and pianist
  • 1956 – Mario Soto, Dominican baseball player
  • 1957 – Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
  • 1957 – Dave Semenko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2017)
  • 1958 – J. D. Hayworth, American politician and radio host
  • 1958 – Tonya Lee Williams, English-Canadian actress and producer
  • 1959 – David Brown, Australian meteorologist
  • 1959 – Tupou VI, King of Tonga
  • 1959 – Karl J. Friston, English psychiatrist and neuroscientist
  • 1959 – Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
  • 1961 – Heikko Glöde, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Shiva Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1962 – Julio César Chávez, Mexican boxer
  • 1962 – Luc De Vos, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
  • 1962 – Joanna Shields, American-English businesswoman
  • 1962 – Dean Wilkins, English footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Gaby Roslin, English television host and actress
  • 1965 – Sanjay Manjrekar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Robin Wilson, American singer and guitarist
  • 1966 – Jeff Bucknum, American race car driver
  • 1966 – Annabel Croft, English tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Taiji, Japanese bass player and songwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1967 – Richard Herring, English comedian and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Mac McCaughan, American singer and guitarist
  • 1967 – John Petrucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Bruny Surin, Canadian sprinter
  • 1968 – Catherine Plewinski, French swimmer
  • 1969 – Lisa Nicole Carson, American actress
  • 1969 – Chantal Jouanno, French politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
  • 1969 – Alan Mullally, English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Anne-Sophie Pic, French chef
  • 1969 – Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1970 – Aure Atika, Portuguese-French actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Lee Byung-hun, South Korean actor, singer, and dancer
  • 1971 – Joel Casamayor, Cuban American former professional boxer
  • 1971 – Andriy Kovalenco, Ukrainian-Spanish rugby player
  • 1971 – Loni Love, American comedian, actress, and talk show host
  • 1971 – Kristi Yamaguchi, American figure skater
  • 1972 – Travis Best, American basketball player
  • 1972 – Jake Wood, English actor
  • 1973 – Christian Vieri, Italian footballer
  • 1974 – Sharon den Adel, Dutch singer-songwriter
  • 1974 – Stelios Giannakopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Gregory Shane Helms, American professional wrestler
  • 1975 – Phil Lord, American filmmaker
  • 1976 – Dan Boyle, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Anna Friel, English actress
  • 1976 – Tracie Spencer, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1977 – Neil Harris, English footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Steve Howey, American actor
  • 1977 – Brock Lesnar, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
  • 1977 – Francesca Lubiani, Italian tennis player
  • 1978 – Topher Grace, American actor
  • 1978 – Michelle Rodriguez, American actress
  • 1979 – Brooke Baldwin, American journalist and television news anchor
  • 1979 – Nikos Barlos, Greek basketball player
  • 1979 – Maya Kobayashi, Japanese journalist
  • 1980 – Kristen Connolly, American actress
  • 1981 – Adrienne Camp, South African singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Pradeepan Raveendran, Sri Lankan director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1982 – Antonio Cassano, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Gareth Gates, English singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Jonathan Lewis, American football player
  • 1984 – Natalie Martinez, American actress
  • 1984 – Michael McGovern, Irish footballer
  • 1984 – Sami Zayn, Canadian professional wrestler
  • 1985 – Paulo Vitor Barreto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1985 – Gianluca Curci, Italian footballer
  • 1985 – Keven Lacombe, Canadian cyclist
  • 1985 – Ismael Londt, Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer
  • 1986 – 360, Australian rapper
  • 1986 – Didier Digard, French footballer
  • 1986 – Hannaliis Jaadla, Estonian footballer
  • 1986 – JP Pietersen, South African rugby player
  • 1986 – Simone Laudehr, German footballer
  • 1988 – LeSean McCoy, American football player
  • 1988 – Inbee Park, South Korean golfer
  • 1989 – Nick Palmieri, American ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Bebé, Portuguese footballer
  • 1990 – Rachel Brosnahan, American actress
  • 1990 – Chasen Shreve, American baseball player
  • 1991 – Salih Dursun, Turkish footballer
  • 1991 – James Rodríguez, Colombian footballer
  • 1992 – Bartosz Bereszyński, Polish footballer
  • 1993 – Kurt Capewell, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Kanako Momota, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1995 – Luke Shaw, English footballer
  • 1995 – Jordyn Wieber, American gymnast
  • 1996 – Moussa Dembélé, French footballer
  • 1996 – Jordan Romero, American mountaineer
  • 1997 – Daniel Lawrence, English cricketer
  • 1997 – Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani-English activist, Nobel Prize laureate

Deaths on July 12

  • 524 – Viventiolus, archbishop of Lyon (b. 460)
  • 783 – Bertrada of Laon, Frankish queen (b. 720)
  • 965 – Meng Chang, emperor of Later Shu (b. 919)
  • 981 – Xue Juzheng, Chinese scholar-official and historian
  • 1067 – John Komnenos, Byzantine general
  • 1441 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shōgun (b. 1394)
  • 1441 – Kyōgoku Takakazu, Japanese nobleman
  • 1489 – Bahlul Lodi, sultan of Delhi
  • 1536 – Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch priest and philosopher (b. 1466)
  • 1584 – Steven Borough, English navigator and explorer (b. 1525)
  • 1623 – William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath (b. 1557)
  • 1664 – Stefano della Bella, Italian illustrator and engraver (b. 1610)
  • 1682 – Jean Picard, French priest and astronomer (b. 1620)
  • 1691 – Marquis de St Ruth, French general
  • 1693 – John Ashby, English admiral (b. 1640)
  • 1712 – Richard Cromwell, English academic and politician (b. 1626)
  • 1742 – Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1675)
  • 1749 – Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois, French navy officer and politician, Governor General of New France (b. 1671)
  • 1773 – Johann Joachim Quantz, German flute player and composer (b. 1697)
  • 1804 – Alexander Hamilton, American general, economist, and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1755)
  • 1845 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian linguist, poet, and playwright (b. 1808)
  • 1850 – Robert Stevenson, Scottish engineer (b. 1772)
  • 1855 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (b. 1802)
  • 1870 – John A. Dahlgren, American admiral (b. 1809)
  • 1892 – Alexander Cartwright, American firefighter, invented baseball (b. 1820)
  • 1910 – Charles Rolls, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited (b. 1887)
  • 1926 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and spy (b. 1868)
  • 1926 – Charles Wood Irish composer (b. 1866)
  • 1929 – Robert Henri, American painter and educator (b. 1865)
  • 1931 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
  • 1934 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American inventor and businessman, invented the outboard motor (b. 1877)
  • 1935 – Alfred Dreyfus, French colonel (b. 1859)
  • 1944 – Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., American general and politician, Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1887)
  • 1945 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (b. 1871)
  • 1945 – Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, German field marshal (b. 1895)
  • 1946 – Ray Stannard Baker, American journalist and author (b. 1870)
  • 1947 – Jimmie Lunceford, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1902)
  • 1949 – Douglas Hyde, Irish scholar and politician, 1st President of Ireland (b. 1860)
  • 1950 – Elsie de Wolfe, American actress, author, and interior decorator (b. 1865)
  • 1956 – John Hayes, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1868)
  • 1961 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1879)
  • 1962 – Roger Wolfe Kahn, American composer and bandleader (b. 1907)
  • 1965 – Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (b. 1898)
  • 1966 – D. T. Suzuki, Japanese philosopher and author (b. 1870)
  • 1969 – Henry George Lamond, Australian farmer and author (b. 1885)
  • 1971 – Yvon Robert, Canadian wrestler (b. 1914)
  • 1973 – Lon Chaney, Jr., American actor (b. 1906)
  • 1975 – James Ormsbee Chapin, American painter and illustrator (b. 1887)
  • 1979 – Olive Morris, Jamaican-English civil rights activist (d. 1979)
  • 1979 – Minnie Riperton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
  • 1982 – Kenneth More, English actor (b. 1914)
  • 1983 – Chris Wood, English saxophonist (b. 1944)
  • 1990 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, manager, and journalist (b. 1917)
  • 1992 – Caroline Pafford Miller, American journalist and author (b. 1903)
  • 1993 – Dan Eldon, English photographer and journalist (b. 1970)
  • 1994 – Eila Campbell, English geographer and cartographer (b. 1915)
  • 1996 – John Chancellor, American journalist (b. 1927)
  • 1997 – François Furet, French historian and author (b. 1927)
  • 1998 – Jimmy Driftwood, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1907)
  • 1998 – Arkady Ostashev, Soviet/Russian scientist and engineer (b. 1925)
  • 1998 – Serge Lemoyne, Canadian painter (b. 1941)
  • 1999 – Rajendra Kumar, Bollywood actor, (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – Charles Merritt, Canadian colonel and politician, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1908)
  • 2001 – Fred Marcellino, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – Benny Carter, American trumpet player, saxophonist, and composer (b. 1907)
  • 2003 – Mark Lovell, English race car driver (b. 1960)
  • 2004 – Betty Oliphant, English-Canadian ballerina, co-founded the National Ballet School of Canada (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – John King, Baron King of Wartnaby, English businessman (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Robert Burås, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1975)
  • 2007 – Stan Zemanek, Australian radio and television host (b. 1947)
  • 2008 – Bobby Murcer, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
  • 2008 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (b. 1955)
  • 2010 – Olga Guillot, Cuban-American singer (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – James P. Hogan, English-American author (b. 1941)
  • 2010 – Paulo Moura, Brazilian clarinetist and saxophonist (b. 1932)
  • 2010 – Pius Njawé, Cameroonian journalist (b. 1957)
  • 2010 – Harvey Pekar, American author and critic (b. 1939)
  • 2011 – Sherwood Schwartz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Alimuddin, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Dara Singh, Indian wrestler, actor, and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Eddy Brown, English footballer and manager (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Else Holmelund Minarik, Danish-American author and illustrator (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Roger Payne, English mountaineer (b. 1956)
  • 2012 – Hamid Samandarian, Iranian director and playwright (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – George C. Stoney, American director and producer (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Amar Bose, American businessman, founded the Bose Corporation (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Takako Takahashi, Japanese author (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Elaine Morgan, Welsh writer (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Alan Whicker, Egyptian-English journalist (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Jamil Ahmad, Pakistani author (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Nestor Basterretxea, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Emil Bobu, Romanian politician (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist and author (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Kenneth J. Gray, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (b. 1950)
  • 2015 – D’Army Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and actor (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Chenjerai Hove, Zimbabwean journalist, author, and poet (b. 1956)
  • 2015 – Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, Tibetan monk and activist (b. 1950)
  • 2015 – Cheng Siwei, Chinese engineer, economist, and politician (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Goran Hadžić, Serbian politician (b. 1958)
  • 2018 – Dada J. P. Vaswani, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1918)

Holidays and observances on July 12

  • Birthday of the Heir to the Crown of Tonga (Tonga)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Eastern Orthodox)
    • Hermagoras and Fortunatus
    • Jason of Thessalonica (Catholic Church)
    • John Gualbert
    • Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin
    • Nabor and Felix
    • Nathan Söderblom (Lutheran, Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Veronica
    • Viventiolus
    • July 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kiribati from the United Kingdom in 1979.
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of São Tomé and Príncipe from Portugal in 1975.
  • The second day of Naadam (Mongolia)
  • The Twelfth, also known as Orangemen’s Day (Northern Ireland, Scotland, Newfoundland and Labrador)

July 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

July 3 in History

  • 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium.
  • 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.
  • 1035 – William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy, reigns until 1087.
  • 1608 – Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
  • 1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
  • 1767 – Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret.
  • 1767 – Norway’s oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Iroquois allied to Britain kill 360 people in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
  • 1819 – The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
  • 1839 – The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today’s Framingham State University, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with three students.
  • 1844 – The last pair of great auks is killed.
  • 1848 – Governor-General Peter von Scholten emancipates all remaining slaves in the Danish West Indies.
  • 1849 – France invades the Roman Republic and restores the Papal States.
  • 1852 – Congress establishes the United States’ 2nd mint in San Francisco.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett’s Charge.
  • 1866 – Austro-Prussian War is decided at the Battle of Königgrätz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
  • 1884 – Dow Jones & Company publishes its first stock average.
  • 1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile.
  • 1886 – The New-York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
  • 1890 – Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
  • 1898 – A Spanish squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is defeated by an American squadron under William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.
  • 1913 – Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett’s Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
  • 1938 – World speed record for a steam locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 125.88 miles per hour (202.58 km/h).
  • 1938 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Royal Navy attacks the French naval squadron in Algeria, to ensure that it will not fall under German control. Of the four French battleships present, one is sunk, two are damaged, and one escapes back to France.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Minsk Offensive clears German troops from the city.
  • 1952 – The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the United States Congress.
  • 1952 – The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary.
  • 1967 – The Aden Emergency: The Battle of the Crater in which the British Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders retake the Crater district following the Arab Police mutiny.
  • 1969 – Space Race: The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
  • 1970 – The Troubles: The “Falls Curfew” begins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
  • 1970 – Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashes into the Les Agudes mountain in the Montseny Massif near the village of Arbúcies in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard.
  • 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
  • 1988 – United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
  • 1988 – The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus.
  • 1996 – British Prime Minister John Major announced the Stone of Scone would be returned to Scotland.
  • 2013 – Egyptian coup d’état: President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is overthrown by the military after four days of protests all over the country calling for Morsi’s resignation, to which he did not respond. President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Adly Mansour is declared acting president.

Births on July 3

  • 321 – Valentinian I, Roman emperor (d. 375)
  • 1423 – Louis XI of France (d. 1483)
  • 1442 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)
  • 1518 – Li Shizhen, Chinese physician and mineralogist (d. 1593)
  • 1530 – Claude Fauchet, French historian and author (d. 1601)
  • 1534 – Myeongjong of Joseon, Ruler of Korea (d. 1567)
  • 1550 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (d. 1591)
  • 1569 – Thomas Richardson, English politician and judge (d. 1635)
  • 1683 – Edward Young, English poet, dramatist and literary critic (Night-Thoughts) (d. 1765)
  • 1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (d. 1768)
  • 1728 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect, designed Culzean Castle (d. 1792)
  • 1738 – John Singleton Copley, American painter (d. 1815)
  • 1778 – Carl Ludvig Engel, German architect (d. 1840)
  • 1789 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck, German-Italian painter and engraver (d. 1869)
  • 1814 – Ferdinand Didrichsen, Danish botanist and physicist (d. 1887)
  • 1823 – Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Greek-Ottoman statesman, diplomat, playwright, and translator (d. 1891)
  • 1844 – Dankmar Adler, German-born American architect and engineer (d. 1900)
  • 1846 – Achilles Alferaki, Russian composer and politician, Governor of Taganrog (d. 1919)
  • 1851 – Charles Bannerman, English-Australian cricketer and umpire (d. 1930)
  • 1854 – Leoš Janáček, Czech composer and theorist (d. 1928)
  • 1860 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American sociologist and author (d. 1935)
  • 1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1906)
  • 1869 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (d. 1933)
  • 1870 – R. B. Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
  • 1871 – William Henry Davies, Welsh poet and writer (d.1940)
  • 1874 – Jean Collas, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1928)
  • 1875 – Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon and academic (d. 1951)
  • 1876 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1878 – George M. Cohan, American songwriter, actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1942)
  • 1879 – Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American mathematician, linguist, and philosopher (d. 1950)
  • 1880 – Carl Schuricht, Polish-German conductor (d. 1967)
  • 1883 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian author (d. 1924)
  • 1886 – Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (d. 1969)
  • 1888 – Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1963)
  • 1889 – Richard Cramer, American actor (d. 1960)
  • 1893 – Sándor Bortnyik, Hungarian painter and graphic designer (d. 1976)
  • 1896 – Doris Lloyd, English actress (d. 1968)
  • 1897 – Jesse Douglas, American mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
  • 1898 – Stefanos Stefanopoulos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1982)
  • 1900 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1901 – Ruth Crawford Seeger, American composer (d. 1953)
  • 1903 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1992)
  • 1905 – Johnny Gibson, American hurdler and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1906 – George Sanders, Russian-born British actor (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – M. F. K. Fisher, American author (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1990)
  • 1909 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping magnate (d.1996)
  • 1910 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1954)
  • 1911 – Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricketer (d. 1990)
  • 1913 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist, actress, and author (d. 1965)
  • 1916 – John Kundla, American basketball player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1917 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, manager, and journalist (d. 1990)
  • 1918 – S. V. Ranga Rao, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1974)
  • 1918 – Johnny Palmer, American golfer (d. 2006)
  • 1919 – Cecil FitzMaurice, 8th Earl of Orkney (d. 1998)
  • 1919 – Gerald W. Thomas, American soldier and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Paul O’Dea, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
  • 1921 – Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952)
  • 1921 – François Reichenbach, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1922 – Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Theo Brokmann Jr., Dutch football player (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Amalia Aguilar, Cuban-Mexican film actress and dancer
  • 1924 – S. R. Nathan, 6th President of Singapore (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Terry Moriarty, Australian rules footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Danny Nardico, American professional boxer (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Philip Jamison, American artist
  • 1926 – Johnny Coles, American trumpet player (d. 1997)
  • 1926 – Rae Allen, American actress, singer, and director
  • 1926 – Laurence Street, Australian jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Tim O’Connor, American actor (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Evelyn Anthony, English author (d. 2018)
  • 1929 – Clément Perron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Joanne Herring, American socialite, businesswoman, political activist, philanthropist, diplomat, and television talk show host
  • 1930 – Pete Fountain, American clarinet player (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Carlos Kleiber, German-Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1930 – Tommy Tedesco, American guitarist (d. 1997)
  • 1932 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Edward Brandt, Jr., American physician and mathematician (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – Cheo Feliciano, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Harrison Schmitt, American geologist, astronaut, and politician
  • 1936 – Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, English lawyer and politician
  • 1936 – Baard Owe, Norwegian-Danish actor
  • 1937 – Nicholas Maxwell, English philosopher and academic
  • 1937 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
  • 1938 – Jean Aitchison, English linguist and academic
  • 1939 – Brigitte Fassbaender, German soprano and director
  • 1939 – László Kovács, Hungarian politician and diplomat, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1939 – Coco Laboy, Puerto Rican baseball player
  • 1940 – Lamar Alexander, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Education
  • 1940 – Jerzy Buzek, Polish engineer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Poland
  • 1940 – Lance Larson, American swimmer
  • 1940 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1994)
  • 1941 – Gloria Allred, American lawyer and activist
  • 1941 – Liamine Zéroual, Algerian politician, 4th President of Algeria
  • 1942 – Eddy Mitchell, French singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – Gary Waldhorn, British actor
  • 1943 – Judith Durham, Australian folk-pop singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1943 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
  • 1943 – Norman E. Thagard, American astronaut
  • 1945 – Michael Cole, American actor
  • 1945 – Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, Scottish politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 2018)
  • 1946 – Johnny Lee, American singer and guitarist
  • 1946 – Leszek Miller, Polish political scientist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Poland
  • 1946 – Michael Shea, American author (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Dave Barry, American journalist and author
  • 1947 – Betty Buckley, American actress and singer
  • 1947 – Mike Burton, American swimmer
  • 1948 – Paul Barrere, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish author and illustrator
  • 1949 – Susan Penhaligon, English actress
  • 1949 – John Verity, English guitarist
  • 1949 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (d. 2006)
  • 1949 – Bo Xilai, Chinese politician, Chinese Minister of Commerce
  • 1950 – Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1950 – James Hahn, American judge and politician, 40th Mayor of Los Angeles
  • 1951 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti (d. 2014)
  • 1951 – Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and footballer
  • 1952 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1952 – Lu Colombo, Italian singer
  • 1952 – Andy Fraser, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2015)
  • 1952 – Carla Olson, American singer-songwriter and music producer
  • 1952 – Wasim Raja, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1952 – Amit Kumar, Indian film playback singer, actor, director, music director and musician
  • 1953 – Lotta Sollander, Swedish alpine skier
  • 1954 – Les Cusworth, English rugby player
  • 1955 – Claude Rajotte, Canadian radio and television host
  • 1956 – Montel Williams, American talk show host and television personality
  • 1957 – Poly Styrene, British musician (d. 2011)
  • 1958 – Matthew Fraser, Canadian-English journalist and academic
  • 1958 – Charlie Higson, English actor, singer, and author
  • 1958 – Siân Lloyd, Welsh meteorologist and journalist
  • 1958 – Didier Mouron, Swiss-Canadian painter
  • 1958 – Aaron Tippin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1959 – Julie Burchill, English journalist and author
  • 1959 – Ian Maxtone-Graham, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1959 – Stephen Pearcy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1959 – David Shore, Canadian screenwriter and producer
  • 1960 – Vince Clarke, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1962 – Scott Borchetta, American record executive and entrepreneur
  • 1962 – Tom Cruise, American actor and producer
  • 1964 – Yeardley Smith, American actress, voice actress, comedian and writer
  • 1965 – Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese wrestler (d. 2005)
  • 1965 – Connie Nielsen, Danish-American actress
  • 1965 – Komsan Pohkong, Thai lawyer and academic
  • 1965 – Christophe Ruer, French pentathlete (d. 2007)
  • 1966 – Moisés Alou, American baseball player
  • 1967 – Katy Clark, Scottish lawyer and politician
  • 1968 – Ramush Haradinaj, Kosovo-Albanian soldier and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Kosovo
  • 1970 – Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian cyclist
  • 1970 – Audra McDonald, American actress and singer
  • 1970 – Teemu Selänne, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher, and activist, founded WikiLeaks
  • 1973 – Paul Rauhihi, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1973 – Ólafur Stefánsson, Icelandic handball player
  • 1973 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1976 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
  • 1976 – Henry Olonga, Zimbabwean cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Wanderlei Silva, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist
  • 1976 – Bobby Skinstad, Zimbabwean-South African rugby union player
  • 1977 – David Bowens, American football player
  • 1978 – Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese runner
  • 1979 – Jamie Grove, English cricketer
  • 1980 – Mazharul Haque, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2013)
  • 1980 – Roland Schoeman, South African swimmer
  • 1980 – Harbhajan Singh, Indian cricketer
  • 1983 – Edinson Vólquez, Dominican baseball player
  • 1984 – Manny Lawson, American football player
  • 1984 – Churandy Martina, Dutch sprinter
  • 1984 – Corey Sevier, Canadian actor and producer
  • 1986 – Marco Antônio de Mattos Filho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Kisenosato Yutaka, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1987 – Sebastian Vettel, German race car driver
  • 1988 – Winston Reid, New Zealand-Danish footballer
  • 1988 – Vladislav Sesganov, Russian figure skater
  • 1988 – James Troisi, Australian footballer
  • 1989 – Mitchell Dodds, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Elle King, American singer, songwriter, and actress
  • 1990 – Nathan Gardner, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Bobby Hopkinson, English footballer
  • 1990 – Lucas Mendes, Brazilian footballer
  • 1991 – Alison Howie, Scottish field hockey player
  • 1991 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russian tennis player
  • 1992 – Will Smith, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Ben Winchell, American actor

Deaths on July 3

  • 458 – Anatolius of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch and saint (b. 449)
  • 710 – Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (b. 656)
  • 896 – Dong Chang, Chinese warlord
  • 964 – Henry I, Frankish nobleman and archbishop
  • 1090 – Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen (b. c. 1060)
  • 1288 – Stephen de Fulbourn, English-born Irish cleric and politician
  • 1503 – Pierre d’Aubusson, Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (b. 1423)
  • 1570 – Aonio Paleario, Italian academic and reformer (b. 1500)
  • 1642 – Marie de’ Medici, French queen consort and regent (b. 1573)
  • 1672 – Francis Willughby, English ornithologist and ichthyologist (b. 1635)
  • 1749 – William Jones, Welsh-English mathematician and academic (b. 1675)
  • 1790 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l’Isle, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1736)
  • 1795 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French scholar and author (b. 1714)
  • 1795 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general, astronomer, and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
  • 1809 – Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (b. 1746)
  • 1863 – George Hull Ward, American general (b. 1826)
  • 1863 – Little Crow, American tribal leader (b. 1810)
  • 1881 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1811)
  • 1887 – Clay Allison, American rancher (b. 1841)
  • 1888 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and author (b. 1822)
  • 1904 – Édouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
  • 1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist and playwright (b. 1860)
  • 1908 – Joel Chandler Harris, American journalist and author (b. 1845)
  • 1916 – Hetty Green, American businesswoman and financier (b. 1834)
  • 1918 – Mehmed V, Ottoman sultan (b. 1844)
  • 1921 – James Mitchel, Irish-American weight thrower (b. 1864)
  • 1927 – Gérard de Courcelles, French race car driver
  • 1933 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian educator and politician, 19th President of Argentina (b. 1852)
  • 1935 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded the Citroën Company (b. 1878)
  • 1937 – Jacob Schick, American-Canadian captain and businessman, invented the electric razor (b. 1877)
  • 1940 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (b. 1882)
  • 1941 – Friedrich Akel, Estonian physician and politician, Head of State of Estonia (b. 1871)
  • 1954 – Siegfried Handloser, German physician and general (b. 1895)
  • 1954 – Reginald Marsh, French-American painter, illustrator, and academic (b. 1898)
  • 1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
  • 1957 – Richard Mohaupt, German composer and Kapellmeister (b. 1904)
  • 1958 – Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe, English politician, 4th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1867)
  • 1969 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1942)
  • 1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
  • 1974 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet and critic (b. 1888)
  • 1977 – Alexander Volkov, Russian mathematician and author (b. 1891)
  • 1978 – James Daly, American actor (b. 1918)
  • 1979 – Louis Durey, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
  • 1981 – Ross Martin, American actor and director (b. 1920)
  • 1985 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1893)
  • 1986 – Rudy Vallée, American singer, saxophonist, and actor (b. 1901)
  • 1989 – Jim Backus, American actor and voice artist (b. 1913)
  • 1993 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
  • 1994 – Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player and coach (b. 1934)
  • 1995 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (b. 1928)
  • 1995 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
  • 1998 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (b. 1949)
  • 1999 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1952)
  • 1999 – Pelageya Polubarinova-Kochina, Russian mathematician (b. 1899)
  • 1999 – Manoj Kumar Pandey,Param Vir ChakraIndian army personnel
  • 2001 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2001 – Johnny Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
  • 2004 – Andriyan Nikolayev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Alberto Lattuada, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
  • 2005 – Gaylord Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1916)
  • 2006 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist, developed the OBJ programming language (b. 1941)
  • 2007 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
  • 2008 – Clive Hornby, English actor and drummer (b. 1944)
  • 2008 – Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
  • 2009 – Alauddin Al-Azad, Bangladeshi author and poet (b.1932)
  • 2009 – John Keel, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Abu Daoud, Palestinian terrorist, planned the Munich massacre (b. 1937)
  • 2011 – Ali Bahar, Bahraini singer and guitarist (b. 1960)
  • 2012 – Nguyễn Hữu Có, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Yvonne B. Miller, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Sergio Pininfarina, Italian engineer and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Richard Alvin Tonry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Roman Bengez, Slovenian footballer and manager (b. 1964)
  • 2013 – Francis Ray, American author (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – PJ Torokvei, Canadian actress and screenwriter (b. 1951)
  • 2013 – Radu Vasile, Romanian historian and politician, 57th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Bernard Vitet, French trumpet player and composer (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Snoo Wilson, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Jini Dellaccio, American photographer (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Tim Flood, Irish hurler and coach (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Ira Ruskin, American politician (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Ukrainian-American rabbi and author (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Boyd K. Packer, American religious leader and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Wayne Townsend, American farmer and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Phil Walsh, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1960)
  • 2020 – Saroj Khan, Indian dance choreographer, known as “The Mother of Dance/Choreography in India”.(b. 1948)

Holidays and observances on July 3

  • Christian feast day:
    • Anatolius of Constantinople
    • Anatolius of Laodicea
    • Dathus
    • Germanus of Man
    • Gurthiern
    • Heliodorus of Altino
    • Mucian
    • Peregrina Mogas Fontcuberta
    • Pope Leo II
    • Thomas the Apostle
    • July 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Emancipation Day (United States Virgin Islands)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation by Soviet troops in 1944 (Belarus)
  • The start of the Dog Days according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac but not according to established meaning in most European cultures
  • Women’s Day (Myanmar)

July 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /

It is the last day of the first half of the year. The end of this day marks the halfway point of a leap year. It also falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in a leap year. The midpoint of the year for southern hemisphere DST countries occurs at 11:00 p.m.

  • AD 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
  • 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king, Totila, is mortally wounded.
  • 1097 – Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I.
  • 1431 – The Battle of La Higueruela takes place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.
  • 1520 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall.
  • 1523 – Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos become the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels.
  • 1569 – Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirm a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations.
  • 1643 – First meeting of the Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians (“divines”) and members of the Parliament of England appointed to restructure the Church of England, at Westminster Abbey in London.
  • 1690 – Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the Julian calendar).
  • 1766 – François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire’s Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France.
  • 1770 – Lexell’s Comet is seen closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 astronomical units (2,180,000 km; 1,360,000 mi).
  • 1782 – Raid on Lunenburg: American privateers attack the British settlement of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
  • 1819 – Johann Georg Tralles discovers the Great Comet of 1819, (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by François Arago.
  • 1837 – A system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths is established in England and Wales.
  • 1855 – Signing of the Quinault Treaty: The Quinault and the Quileute cede their land to the United States.
  • 1858 – Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society of London.
  • 1862 – The Russian State Library is founded as the Library of the Moscow Public Museum.
  • 1862 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, marries Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill takes place. It is the last of the Seven Days Battles, part of George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.
  • 1863 – Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) in Suriname, marking the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg begins.
  • 1867 – The British North America Act takes effect as the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia join into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.
  • 1870 – The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence.
  • 1873 – Prince Edward Island joins into Canadian Confederation.
  • 1874 – The Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, goes on sale.
  • 1878 – Canada joins the Universal Postal Union.
  • 1879 – Charles Taze Russell publishes the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower.
  • 1881 – The world’s first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.
  • 1881 – General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, comes into effect.
  • 1885 – The United States terminates reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.
  • 1885 – The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
  • 1890 – Canada and Bermuda are linked by telegraph cable.
  • 1898 – Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
  • 1903 – Start of first Tour de France bicycle race.
  • 1908 – SOS is adopted as the international distress signal.
  • 1911 – Germany despatches the gunship SMS Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis.
  • 1915 – Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Deutsches Heer’s Fliegertruppe army air service achieves the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker.
  • 1916 – World War I: First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded.
  • 1922 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States.
  • 1923 – The Parliament of Canada suspends all Chinese immigration.
  • 1931 – United Airlines begins service (as Boeing Air Transport).
  • 1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty become the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engined monoplane aircraft.
  • 1932 – Australia’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed.
  • 1935 – Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambush strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.
  • 1942 – World War II: First Battle of El Alamein.
  • 1942 – The Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished.
  • 1943 – The City of Tokyo and the Prefecture of Tokyo are both replaced by the Tokyo Metropolis.
  • 1947 – The Philippine Air Force is established.
  • 1948 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurates Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan.
  • 1949 – The merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin royal family.
  • 1957 – The International Geophysical Year begins.
  • 1958 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave.
  • 1958 – Flooding of Canada’s Saint Lawrence Seaway begins.
  • 1959 – Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the US, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.
  • 1960 – Independence of Somalia.
  • 1960 – Ghana becomes a republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceases to be its head of state.
  • 1962 – Independence of Rwanda and Burundi.
  • 1963 – ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail.
  • 1963 – The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent.
  • 1966 – The first color television transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto.
  • 1967 – Merger Treaty: The European Community is formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission.
  • 1968 – The United States Central Intelligence Agency’s Phoenix Program is officially established.
  • 1968 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.
  • 1968 – Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States.
  • 1972 – The first Gay pride march in England takes place.
  • 1976 – Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira.
  • 1978 – The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government.
  • 1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.
  • 1980 – “O Canada” officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.
  • 1983 – A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.
  • 1984 – The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA.
  • 1987 – The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world’s first all-sports radio station.
  • 1990 – German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.
  • 1991 – Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague.
  • 1997 – China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Charles, Prince of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
  • 1999 – The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers are officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. In Wales, the powers of the Welsh Secretary are transferred to the National Assembly.
  • 2002 – The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
  • 2002 – Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154, and DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757, collide in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board both planes.
  • 2003 – Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong.
  • 2004 – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC.
  • 2006 – The first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway is conducted in China.
  • 2007 – Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces.
  • 2008 – Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections.
  • 2013 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.

Births on July 1

  • 1311 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, statesman and poet (d. 1375)
  • 1464 – Clara Gonzaga, Italian noble (d. 1503)
  • 1481 – Christian II of Denmark (d. 1559)
  • 1506 – Louis II of Hungary (d. 1526)
  • 1534 – Frederick II of Denmark (d. 1588)
  • 1553 – Peter Street, English carpenter and builder (d. 1609)
  • 1574 – Joseph Hall, English bishop and mystic (d. 1656)
  • 1586 – Claudio Saracini, Italian lute player and composer (d. 1630)
  • 1633 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1698)
  • 1646 – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1716)
  • 1663 – Franz Xaver Murschhauser, German composer and theorist (d. 1738)
  • 1725 – Rhoda Delaval, English painter and aristrocrat (d. 1757)
  • 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (d. 1807)
  • 1731 – Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Scottish-English admiral (d. 1804)
  • 1742 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (d. 1799)
  • 1771 – Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer and conductor (d. 1839)
  • 1788 – Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1867)
  • 1804 – Charles Gordon Greene, American journalist and politician (d. 1886)
  • 1804 – George Sand, French author and playwright (d. 1876)
  • 1807 – Thomas Green Clemson, American politician and educator, founded Clemson University (d. 1888)
  • 1808 – Ygnacio del Valle, Mexican-American landowner (d. 1880)
  • 1814 – Robert Torrens, Irish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1884)
  • 1818 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian-Austrian physician and obstetrician (d. 1865)
  • 1818 – Karl von Vierordt, German physician, psychologist and academic (d. 1884)
  • 1822 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and activist (d. 1888)
  • 1834 – Jadwiga Łuszczewska, Polish poet and author (d. 1908)
  • 1850 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (d. 1927)
  • 1858 – Willard Metcalf, American painter (d. 1925)
  • 1858 – Velma Caldwell Melville, American editor and writer of prose and poetry (d. 1924)
  • 1863 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (d. 1892)
  • 1869 – William Strunk Jr., American author and educator (d. 1946)
  • 1872 – Louis Blériot, French pilot and engineer (d. 1936)
  • 1872 – William Duddell, English physicist and engineer (d. 1917)
  • 1873 – Alice Guy-Blaché, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1873 – Andrass Samuelsen, Faroese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1954)
  • 1875 – Joseph Weil, American con man (d. 1976)
  • 1876 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (d. 1921)
  • 1878 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (d. 1944)
  • 1879 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
  • 1881 – Edward Battersby Bailey, English geologist (d. 1965)
  • 1882 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1962)
  • 1883 – Arthur Borton, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1933)
  • 1885 – Dorothea Mackellar, Australian author and poet (d. 1968)
  • 1887 – Amber Reeves, New Zealand-English author and scholar (d. 1981)
  • 1892 – James M. Cain, American author and journalist (d. 1977)
  • 1892 – László Lajtha, Hungarian composer and conductor (d. 1963)
  • 1899 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
  • 1899 – Charles Laughton, English-American actor and director (d. 1962)
  • 1899 – Konstantinos Tsatsos, Greek scholar and politician, President of Greece (d. 1987)
  • 1901 – Irna Phillips, American screenwriter (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – William Wyler, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1903 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (d. 1941)
  • 1903 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress (d. 1979)
  • 1906 – Jean Dieudonné, French mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1906 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded the Estée Lauder Companies (d. 2004)
  • 1907 – Norman Pirie, Scottish-English biochemist and virologist (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Emmett Toppino, American sprinter (d. 1971)
  • 1910 – Glenn Hardin, American hurdler (d. 1975)
  • 1911 – Arnold Alas, Estonian landscape architect and artist (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Sergey Sokolov, Russian marshal and politician, Soviet Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
  • 1912 – David Brower, American environmentalist, founded Sierra Club Foundation (d. 2000)
  • 1912 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (d. 1989)
  • 1913 – Frank Barrett, American baseball player (d. 1998)
  • 1913 – Lee Guttero, American basketball player (d. 2004)
  • 1913 – Vasantrao Naik, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 1979)
  • 1914 – Thomas Pearson, British Army officer (d. 2019)
  • 1914 – Christl Cranz, German alpine skier (d. 2004)
  • 1914 – Bernard B. Wolfe, American politician (d. 2016)
  • 1915 – Boots Poffenberger, American baseball player (d. 1999)
  • 1915 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter, bass player, guitarist and producer (d. 1992)
  • 1915 – Joseph Ransohoff, American soldier and neurosurgeon (d. 2001)
  • 1915 – Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme, British peer (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Nguyễn Văn Linh, Vietnamese politician (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Olivia de Havilland, British-American actress
  • 1916 – Iosif Shklovsky, Ukrainian astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1985)
  • 1916 – George C. Stoney, American director and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1917 – Humphry Osmond, English-American lieutenant and psychiatrist (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Álvaro Domecq y Díez, Spanish aristocrat (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Ralph Young, American singer and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Ahmed Deedat, South African writer and public speaker (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Pedro Yap, Filipino lawyer (d. 2003)
  • 1919 – Arnold Meri, Estonian colonel (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Malik Dohan al-Hassan, Iraqi politician
  • 1919 – Gerald E. Miller, American vice admiral (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Henri Amouroux, French historian and journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Harold Sakata, Japanese-American wrestler and actor (d. 1982)
  • 1920 – Joseph G. Williams, American musician
  • 1920 – George I. Fujimoto, American-Japanese chemist
  • 1921 – Seretse Khama, Batswana lawyer and politician, 1st President of Botswana (d. 1980)
  • 1921 – Michalina Wisłocka, Polish gynecologist and sexologist (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Arthur Johnson, Canadian canoeist (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – Toshi Seeger, German-American activist, co-founded the Clearwater Festival (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Mordechai Bibi, Israeli politician
  • 1923 – Scotty Bowers, American Marine, author and pimp (d. 2019)
  • 1924 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Florence Stanley, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Georges Rivière, French actor
  • 1925 – Farley Granger, American actor (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Art McNally, American football referee
  • 1926 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Carl Hahn, German businessman
  • 1926 – Mohamed Abshir Muse, Somali general (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Hans Werner Henze, German composer and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – Alan J. Charig, English paleontologist and author (d. 1997)
  • 1927 – Joseph Martin Sartoris, American bishop
  • 1927 – Chandra Shekhar, 8th Prime Minister of India (d. 2007)[27]
  • 1929 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American director and producer (d. 2005)
  • 1930 – Carol Chomsky, American linguist and academic (d. 2008)
  • 1931 – Leslie Caron, French actress and dancer
  • 1932 – Ze’ev Schiff, French-Israeli journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1933 – C. Scott Littleton, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1934 – Jamie Farr, American actor
  • 1934 – Jean Marsh, English actress and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1935 – James Cotton, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – David Prowse, English actor
  • 1936 – Wally Amos, American entrepreneur and founder of Famous Amos
  • 1938 – Craig Anderson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1938 – Hariprasad Chaurasia, Indian flute player and composer
  • 1939 – Karen Black, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Delaney Bramlett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1940 – Craig Brown, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1940 – Ela Gandhi, South African activist and politician
  • 1940 – Cahit Zarifoğlu, Turkish poet and author (d. 1987)
  • 1941 – Rod Gilbert, Canadian-American ice hockey player
  • 1941 – Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Myron Scholes, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Twyla Tharp, American dancer and choreographer
  • 1942 – Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Iraqi field marshal and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress
  • 1942 – Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer and pastor (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Julia Higgins, English chemist and academic
  • 1943 – Philip Brunelle, American conductor and organist
  • 1943 – Peeter Lepp, Estonian politician, 37th Mayor of Tallinn
  • 1943 – Jeff Wayne, American composer, musician and lyricist
  • 1945 – Mike Burstyn, American actor and singer
  • 1945 – Debbie Harry, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1946 – Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1946 – Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish sergeant and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1947 – Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Japanese race car driver
  • 1947 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1948 – John Ford, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1949 – Néjia Ben Mabrouk, Tunisian-Belgian director and screenwriter
  • 1949 – John Farnham, English-Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1949 – David Hogan, American composer and educator (d. 1996)
  • 1949 – Venkaiah Naidu, Indian lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – David Duke, American white supremacist, politician and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard
  • 1951 – Trevor Eve, English actor and producer
  • 1951 – Anne Feeney, American singer-songwriter and activist
  • 1951 – Julia Goodfellow, English physicist and academic
  • 1951 – Klaus-Peter Justus, German runner
  • 1951 – Tom Kozelko, American basketball player
  • 1951 – Terrence Mann, American actor, singer and dancer
  • 1951 – Fred Schneider, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1951 – Victor Willis, American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor
  • 1952 – Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, producer and screenwriter
  • 1952 – David Arkenstone, American composer and performer
  • 1952 – David Lane, English oncologist and academic
  • 1952 – Steve Shutt, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)
  • 1953 – Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Malta
  • 1953 – Jadranka Kosor, Croatian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Croatia
  • 1954 – Keith Whitley, American singer and guitarist (d. 1989)
  • 1955 – Nikolai Demidenko, Russian pianist and educator
  • 1955 – Li Keqiang, Chinese economist and politician, 7th Premier of the People’s Republic of China
  • 1955 – Lisa Scottoline, American lawyer and author
  • 1957 – Lisa Blount, American actress and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1957 – Hannu Kamppuri, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1957 – Sean O’Driscoll, English footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Jack Dyer Crouch II, American diplomat, United States Deputy National Security Advisor
  • 1960 – Michael Beattie, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1960 – Lynn Jennings, American runner
  • 1960 – Evelyn “Champagne” King, American soul/disco singer
  • 1960 – Kevin Swords, American rugby player
  • 1961 – Malcolm Elliott, English cyclist
  • 1961 – Ivan Kaye, English actor
  • 1961 – Carl Lewis, American long jumper and runner
  • 1961 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
  • 1961 – Michelle Wright, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Andre Braugher, American actor and producer
  • 1962 – Mokhzani Mahathir, Malaysian businessman
  • 1963 – Roddy Bottum, American singer and keyboard player
  • 1963 – Nick Giannopoulos, Australian actor
  • 1963 – David Wood, American lawyer and environmentalist (d. 2006)
  • 1964 – Bernard Laporte, French rugby player and coach
  • 1965 – Carl Fogarty, English motorcycle racer
  • 1965 – Garry Schofield, English rugby player and coach
  • 1965 – Harald Zwart, Norwegian director and producer
  • 1966 – Enrico Annoni, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1966 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2013)
  • 1967 – Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American model and actress
  • 1969 – Séamus Egan, American-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1971 – Missy Elliott, American rapper, producer, dancer and actress
  • 1971 – Julianne Nicholson, American actress
  • 1974 – Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian race walker
  • 1975 – Sean Colson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1976 – Hannu Tihinen, Finnish footballer
  • 1976 – Albert Torrens, Australian rugby league player
  • 1976 – Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Szymon Ziółkowski, Polish hammer thrower
  • 1977 – Tom Frager, Senegalese-French singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Keigo Hayashi, Japanese musician
  • 1977 – Jarome Iginla, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial artist and actor
  • 1981 – Carlo Del Fava, South African-Italian rugby player
  • 1981 – Tadhg Kennelly, Irish-Australian footballer
  • 1982 – Justin Huber, Australian baseball player
  • 1982 – Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player
  • 1982 – Adrian Ward, American football player
  • 1982 – Hilarie Burton, American actress
  • 1984 – Donald Thomas, Bahamian high jumper
  • 1985 – Chris Perez, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Charlie Blackmon, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Andrew Lee, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Julian Prochnow, German footballer
  • 1987 – Michael Schrader, German decathlete
  • 1988 – Dedé, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Aleksander Lesun, Russian modern pentathlete
  • 1989 – Kent Bazemore, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Daniel Ricciardo, Australian race car driver
  • 1990 – Ben Coker, English footballer
  • 1991 – Michael Wacha, American baseball player
  • 1992 – Aaron Sanchez, American baseball player
  • 1995 – Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Belgian footballer
  • 1995 – Savvy Shields, Miss America 2017
  • 1996 – Adelina Sotnikova, Russian figure skater
  • 1998 – Aleksandra Golovkina, Lithuanian figure skater
  • 2000 – Lalu Muhammad Zohri, Indonesian sprinter
  • 2001 – Chosen Jacobs, American entertainer

Deaths on July 1

  • 552 – Totila, Ostrogoth king
  • 992 – Heonjeong, Korean queen (b. 966)
  • 1109 – Alfonso VI, king of León and Castile (b. 1040)
  • 1224 – Hōjō Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan (b. 1163)
  • 1242 – Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1183)
  • 1277 – Baibars, Egyptian sultan (b. 1223)
  • 1321 – María de Molina, queen of Castile and León
  • 1348 – Joan, English princess
  • 1555 – John Bradford, English reformer, prebendary of St. Paul’s (b. 1510)
  • 1589 – Lady Saigō, Japanese concubine (b. 1552)
  • 1592 – Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, Italian composer and educator (b. 1535)
  • 1614 – Isaac Casaubon, French philologist and scholar (b. 1559)
  • 1622 – William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, English politician (b. 1575)
  • 1681 – Oliver Plunkett, Irish archbishop and saint (b. 1629)
  • 1736 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1673)
  • 1774 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1705)
  • 1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1730)
  • 1784 – Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1710)
  • 1787 – Charles de Rohan, French marshal (b. 1715)
  • 1819 – the Public Universal Friend, American evangelist (b. 1752)
  • 1839 – Mahmud II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1785)
  • 1860 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (b. 1800)
  • 1863 – John F. Reynolds, American general (b. 1820)
  • 1884 – Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American detective and spy (b. 1819)
  • 1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist (b. 1811)
  • 1905 – John Hay, American journalist and politician, 37th United States Secretary of State (b. 1838)
  • 1912 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (b. 1875)
  • 1925 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (b. 1866)
  • 1934 – Ernst Röhm, German paramilitary commander (b. 1887)
  • 1942 – Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich, Irish writer (b. 1857)
  • 1943 – Willem Arondeus, Dutch artist, author, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter (b. 1894)
  • 1944 – Carl Mayer, Austrian-English screenwriter (b. 1894)
  • 1944 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian author (b. 1930)
  • 1948 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (b. 1904)
  • 1950 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (b. 1865)
  • 1950 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish-American architect, co-designed the National Museum of Finland (b. 1873)
  • 1951 – Tadeusz Borowski, Polish poet, novelist and journalist (b. 1922)
  • 1961 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (b. 1894)
  • 1962 – Purushottam Das Tandon, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
  • 1962 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1882)
  • 1964 – Pierre Monteux, French-American viola player and conductor (b. 1875)
  • 1965 – Wally Hammond, English cricketer (b. 1903)
  • 1965 – Robert Ruark, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 1966 – Frank Verner, American runner (b. 1883)
  • 1967 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (b. 1888)
  • 1968 – Fritz Bauer, German judge and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1971 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
  • 1971 – Learie Constantine, Trinidadian-English cricketer, lawyer, and politician (b. 1901)
  • 1974 – Juan Perón, Argentinian general and politician, President of Argentina (b. 1895)
  • 1978 – Kurt Student, German general and pilot (b. 1890)
  • 1981 – Carlos de Oliveira, Portuguese author and poet (b. 1921)
  • 1983 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect, designed the Montreal Biosphère (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1991 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1936)
  • 1992 – Franco Cristaldi, Italian screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
  • 1994 – Merriam Modell, American author (b. 1908)
  • 1995 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (b. 1938)
  • 1995 – Ian Parkin, English guitarist (Be-Bop Deluxe) (b. 1950)
  • 1996 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1904)
  • 1996 – Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (b. 1954)
  • 1996 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American author and screenwriter (b. 1942)
  • 1997 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 1997 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (b. 1909)
  • 1999 – Edward Dmytryk, Canadian-American director and producer (b. 1908)
  • 1999 – Forrest Mars Sr., American businessman, created M&M’s and the Mars bar (b. 1904)
  • 1999 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist (b. 1935)
  • 2000 – Walter Matthau, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2001 – Nikolay Basov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
  • 2001 – Jean-Louis Rosier, French race car driver (b. 1925)
  • 2003 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and saxophonist (b. 1930)
  • 2004 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (Four Tops) (b. 1936)
  • 2005 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (b. 1951)
  • 2006 – Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japanese politician, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Robert Lepikson, Estonian race car driver and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (b. 1952)
  • 2006 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Mel Galley, English guitarist (b. 1948)
  • 2009 – Karl Malden, American actor (b. 1912)
  • 2009 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Arnold Friberg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1913)
  • 2010 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Peter E. Gillquist, American priest and author (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Ossie Hibbert, Jamaican-American keyboard player and producer (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Alan G. Poindexter, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
  • 2012 – Jack Richardson, American author and playwright (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Charles Foley, American game designer, co-created Twister (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – William H. Gray, American minister and politician (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founded The Farm (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Bob Jones, English lawyer and politician (b. 1955)
  • 2014 – Anatoly Kornukov, Ukrainian-Russian general (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Walter Dean Myers, American author and poet (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Val Doonican, Irish singer and television host (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Czesław Olech, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Nicholas Winton, English lieutenant and humanitarian (b. 1909)
  • 2016 – Robin Hardy, English author and film director (b. 1929)
  • 2020 – Georg Ratzinger, German Roman Catholic priest and musician (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances on July 1

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aaron (Syriac Christianity)
    • Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
    • Felix of Como
    • Junípero Serra
    • Julius and Aaron
    • Leontius of Autun
    • Servanus
    • Veep
    • July 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Feast of the Most Precious Blood (removed from official Roman Catholic calendar since 1969)
  • Earliest day on which Alexanderson Day can fall, celebrated on the Sunday closest to July 2. (Sweden)
  • Earliest day on which CARICOM Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Guyana)
  • Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Cayman Islands)
  • Earliest day on which Día del Amigo can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July. (Peru)
  • Earliest day on which Fishermen’s Holiday, celebrated on the first Friday of July (Marshall Islands)
  • Earliest day on which Heroes’ Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Zambia)
  • Earliest day on which International Co-operative Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
  • Earliest day on which International Free Hugs Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
  • Earliest day on which Navy Day can fall, celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Ukraine)
  • Earliest day on which Navy Days can fall, celebrated First Saturday and Sunday. (Netherlands)
  • Earliest day on which Youth Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Singapore)
  • Armed Forces Day (Singapore)
  • Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day (Canada)
  • Children’s Day (Pakistan)
  • Communist Party of China Founding Day (China)
  • Day of Officials and Civil Servants (Hungary)
  • Doctors’ Day (India)
  • Emancipation Day (Netherlands Antilles)
  • Engineer’s Day (Bahrain, Mexico)
  • Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Hong Kong, China)
  • Independence Day (Burundi), celebrates the independence of Burundi from Belgium in 1962.
  • Independence Day (Rwanda)
  • Independence Day (Somalia)
  • International Tartan Day
  • July Morning (Bulgaria)
  • Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) (Suriname)
  • Madeira Day (Madeira, Portugal)
  • Moving Day (Quebec) (Canada)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador Memorial Day
  • Republic Day (Ghana)
  • Sir Seretse Khama Day (Botswana)
  • Territory Day (British Virgin Islands)
  • The first day of Van Mahotsav, celebrated until July 7. (India)

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

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 495 BC – A newly constructed temple in honour of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. To spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius.
  • 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
  • 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.
  • 589 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.
  • 908 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople.
  • 1252 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
  • 1525 – Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants’ War in the Holy Roman Empire.
  • 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
  • 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband.
  • 1618 – Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
  • 1648 – The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty.
  • 1718 – James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world’s first machine gun.
  • 1776 – American Revolution: The Fifth Virginia Convention instructs its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.
  • 1791 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.
  • 1792 – War of the First Coalition: France declares war on Kingdom of Sardinia.
  • 1793 – Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for “about 360 meters”, at a height of 5–6 meters, during one of the first attempted manned flights.
  • 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.
  • 1800 – King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity.
  • 1817 – Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
  • 1836 – Francis Baily observes “Baily’s beads” during an annular eclipse.
  • 1849 – The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.
  • 1850 – The Bloody Island massacre takes place in Lake County, California, in which a large number of Pomo Indians are slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry.
  • 1850 – The Arana–Southern Treaty is ratified, ending “the existing differences” between Great Britain and Argentina.
  • 1851 – The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.
  • 1858 – Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
  • 1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.
  • 1867 – Canadian Bank of Commerce opens for business in Toronto, Ontario. The bank would later merge with Imperial Bank of Canada to become what is CIBC in 1961.
  • 1869 – Women’s suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
  • 1891 – Pope Leo XIII defends workers’ rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.
  • 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian minelayer Amur lays a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur and sinks Japan’s battleships Hatsuse, 15,000 tons, with 496 crew and Yashima.
  • 1905 – Las Vegas is founded when 110 acres (0.45 km2), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
  • 1911 – In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an “unreasonable” monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.
  • 1911 – More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.
  • 1914 – During a poker game at the Gaiety Theatre in Galesburg, Illinois, comedian Art Fisher nicknames Chicko, Harpo, Groucho, and Gummo Marx.
  • 1919 – The Winnipeg general strike begins. By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.
  • 1919 – Greek occupation of Smyrna. During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades.
  • 1925 – Al-Insaniyyah, the first Arabic communist newspaper, is founded.
  • 1928 – Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, “Plane Crazy”.
  • 1929 – A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
  • 1932 – In an attempted coup d’état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated.
  • 1933 – All military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany were officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military’s air arm, the Luftwaffe.
  • 1934 – Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia.
  • 1940 – USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus.
  • 1940 – World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
  • 1940 – Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald’s restaurant.
  • 1941 – First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
  • 1941 – Joe DiMaggio begins a 56-game hitting streak.
  • 1942 – World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
  • 1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
  • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
  • 1948 – Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
  • 1957 – At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
  • 1958 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
  • 1960 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.
  • 1963 – Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
  • 1966 – After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ of South Vietnam’s ruling junta launches a military attack on the forces of General Tôn Thất Đính, forcing him to abandon his command.
  • 1969 – People’s Park: California Governor Ronald Reagan has an impromptu student park owned by the University of California at Berkeley fenced off from student anti-war protestors, sparking a riot.
  • 1970 – President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army generals.
  • 1970 – Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green are killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests.
  • 1972 – The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
  • 1972 – In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while he is campaigning to become president.
  • 1974 – Ma’alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
  • 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes in Viktorovka, Chernihiv Raion, killing all 52 people on board.
  • 1987 – The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit.
  • 1988 – Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
  • 1991 – Édith Cresson becomes France’s first female Prime Minister.
  • 1997 – The United States government acknowledges the existence of the “Secret War” in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other “Secret War” veterans.
  • 1997 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
  • 2004 – Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C with the right to claim the title “The Invincibles”.
  • 2008 – California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state’s own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
  • 2010 – Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
  • 2013 – An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.

Births on May 15

  • 1397 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (d. 1450)
  • 1531 – Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (d. 1581)
  • 1565 – Hendrick de Keyser, Dutch sculptor and architect (d. 1621)
  • 1567 – Claudio Monteverdi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1643)
  • 1655 – Pope Innocent XIII (d. 1724)
  • 1608 – René Goupil, French-American missionary and saint (d. 1642)
  • 1633 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French noble (d. 1707)
  • 1645 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, British judge (d. 1689)
  • 1689 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (d. 1762)
  • 1720 – Maximilian Hell, Hungarian priest and astronomer (d. 1792)
  • 1749 – Levi Lincoln Sr., American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Attorney General (d. 1820)
  • 1759 – Maria Theresia von Paradis, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1824)
  • 1770 – Ezekiel Hart, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1843)
  • 1773 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (d. 1859)
  • 1786 – Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek general and politician (d. 1864)
  • 1803 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (d. 1869)
  • 1805 – Samuel Carter, Early English railway solicitor and MP (d. 1878)
  • 1808 – Michael William Balfe, Irish composer and conductor (d. 1870)
  • 1817 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (d. 1905)
  • 1841 – Clarence Dutton, American commander and geologist (d. 1912)
  • 1845 – Élie Metchnikoff, Russian zoologist (d. 1916)
  • 1848 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1926)
  • 1854 – Ioannis Psycharis, Ukrainian-French philologist and author (d. 1929)
  • 1856 – L. Frank Baum, American novelist (d. 1919)
  • 1856 – Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (d. 1917)
  • 1857 – Williamina Fleming, Scottish-American astronomer and academic (d. 1911)
  • 1859 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
  • 1862 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (d. 1931)
  • 1863 – Frank Hornby, English businessman and politician, invented Meccano (d. 1936)
  • 1869 – Paul Probst, Swiss target shooter (d. 1945)
  • 1869 – John Storey, Australian politician, 20th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1921)
  • 1882 – Walter White, Scottish international footballer (d. 1950)
  • 1890 – Katherine Anne Porter, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist (d. 1980)
  • 1891 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (d. 1940)
  • 1891 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (d. 1971)
  • 1892 – Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral (d. 1977)
  • 1892 – Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (d. 1969)
  • 1893 – José Nepomuceno, Filipino filmmaker, founder of Philippine cinema (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Feg Murray, American hurdler and cartoonist (d. 1973)
  • 1895 – Prescott Bush, American captain, banker, and politician (d. 1972)
  • 1895 – William D. Byron, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1941)
  • 1898 – Arletty, French model, actress, and singer (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Jean Étienne Valluy, French general (d. 1970)
  • 1900 – Ida Rhodes, American mathematician, pioneer in computer programming (d. 1986)
  • 1901 – Xavier Herbert, Australian author (d. 1984)
  • 1901 – Luis Monti, Argentinian-Italian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
  • 1902 – Richard J. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 48th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1976)
  • 1902 – Sigizmund Levanevsky, Soviet aircraft pilot of Polish origin (d. 1937)
  • 1903 – Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (d. 1998)
  • 1904 – Clifton Fadiman, American game show host and author (d. 1999)
  • 1905 – Joseph Cotten, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1905 – Albert Dubout, French cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor (d. 1976)
  • 1905 – Abraham Zapruder, American businessman and amateur photographer, filmed the Zapruder film (d. 1970)
  • 1907 – Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (d. 1931)
  • 1909 – James Mason, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1909 – Clara Solovera, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1910 – Constance Cummings, British-based American actress (d. 2005)
  • 1911 – Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (d. 1991)
  • 1911 – Herta Oberheuser, German physician (d. 1978)
  • 1912 – Arthur Berger, American composer and educator (d. 2003)
  • 1914 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
  • 1914 – Angus MacLean, Canadian farmer and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Norrie Paramor, English composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1979)
  • 1915 – Hilda Bernstein, English-South African author and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1915 – Paul Samuelson, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
  • 1915 – Henrik Sandberg, Danish production manager and producer (d. 1993)
  • 1916 – Vera Gebuhr, Danish actress (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (d. 2015)
  • 1918 – Joseph Wiseman, Canadian-American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Michel Audiard, French director and screenwriter (d. 1985)
  • 1922 – Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese nun and author
  • 1923 – Richard Avedon, American sailor and photographer (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Maria Koepcke, German-Peruvian ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1971)
  • 1925 – Andrei Eshpai, Russian pianist and composer (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Mary F. Lyon, English geneticist and biologist (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Carl Sanders, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 74th Governor of Georgia (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Roy Stewart, Jamaican-English actor and stuntman (d. 2008)
  • 1926 – Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Anthony Shaffer, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Jasper Johns, American painter and sculptor
  • 1931 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Don Bragg, American pole vaulter
  • 1935 – Ted Dexter, Italian-English cricketer
  • 1935 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
  • 1935 – Akihiro Miwa, Japanese singer, actor, director, composer, author and drag queen
  • 1936 – Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-American actress and singer
  • 1936 – Mart Laga, Estonian basketball player (d. 1977)
  • 1936 – Ralph Steadman, English painter and illustrator
  • 1936 – Paul Zindel, American playwright and novelist (d. 2003)
  • 1937 – Madeleine Albright, Czech-American politician and diplomat, 64th United States Secretary of State
  • 1937 – Karin Krog, Norwegian singer
  • 1937 – Trini Lopez, American singer, guitarist, and actor
  • 1938 – Mireille Darc, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1938 – Nancy Garden, American author (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Dorothy Shirley, English high jumper and educator
  • 1940 – Roger Ailes, American businessman (d. 2017)
  • 1940 – Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
  • 1940 – Don Nelson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1941 – Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded the Rip Off Press (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Lois Johnson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian businessman and politician, 10th Vice President of Indonesia
  • 1942 – Doug Lowe, Australian politician, 35th Premier of Tasmania
  • 1942 – K. T. Oslin, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1943 – Paul Bégin, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1943 – Freddie Perren, American songwriter, producer, and conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1944 – Bill Alter, American police officer and politician
  • 1944 – Ulrich Beck, German sociologist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Michael Dexter, English hematologist and academic
  • 1945 – Jerry Quarry, American boxer (d. 1999)
  • 1946 – Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Vietnamese priest and activist
  • 1947 – Graeham Goble, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
  • 1948 – Kate Bornstein, American author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist
  • 1948 – Yutaka Enatsu, Japanese baseball player
  • 1948 – Brian Eno, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1948 – Kathleen Sebelius, American politician, 44th Governor of Kansas
  • 1949 – Frank L. Culbertson Jr., American captain, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1949 – Robert S.J. Sparks, English geologist and academic
  • 1950 – Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (d. 2004)
  • 1950 – Jim Simons, American golfer (d. 2005)
  • 1951 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1951 – Chris Ham, English political scientist and academic
  • 1951 – Frank Wilczek, American mathematician and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1952 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1953 – George Brett, American baseball player and coach
  • 1953 – Athene Donald, English physicist and academic
  • 1953 – Mike Oldfield, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1954 – Diana Liverman, English-American geographer and academic
  • 1954 – Caroline Thomson, English journalist and broadcaster
  • 1955 – Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1955 – Lia Vissi, Cypriot singer-songwriter and politician
  • 1956 – Andreas Loverdos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Labour
  • 1956 – Dan Patrick, American television anchor and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Kevin Greenaugh, American nuclear engineer
  • 1957 – Meg Gardiner, American-English author and academic
  • 1957 – Juan José Ibarretxe, Spanish politician
  • 1957 – Kevin Von Erich, American football player and wrestler
  • 1958 – Jason Graae, American musical theater actor
  • 1958 – Ruth Marcus, American journalist
  • 1958 – Ron Simmons, American football player and wrestler
  • 1959 – Khaosai Galaxy, Thai boxer and politician
  • 1959 – Luis Pérez-Sala, Spanish race car driver
  • 1959 – Beverly Jo Scott, American-Belgian singer-songwriter
  • 1960 – Rhonda Burchmore, Australian actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1960 – Rob Bowman, American director and producer
  • 1960 – R. Kuhaneswaran, Sri Lankan politician
  • 1960 – Rimas Kurtinaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
  • 1961 – Giselle Fernández, Mexican-American television journalist.
  • 1962 – Lisa Curry, Australian swimmer
  • 1963 – Gavin Nebbeling, South African footballer
  • 1964 – Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Danish lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Denmark
  • 1965 – André Abujamra, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Scott Tronc, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Jiří Němec, Czech footballer
  • 1967 – Simen Agdestein, Norwegian chess grandmaster and football player
  • 1967 – Laura Hillenbrand, American journalist and author
  • 1967 – John Smoltz, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress
  • 1968 – Cecilia Malmström, Swedish academic and politician, 15th European Commissioner for Trade
  • 1968 – Sophie Raworth, English journalist and broadcaster
  • 1969 – Hideki Irabu, Japanese-American baseball player (d. 2011)
  • 1969 – Emmitt Smith, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Frank de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Ronald de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Desmond Howard, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Alison Jackson, English photographer, director, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Rod Smith, American football player
  • 1970 – Ben Wallace, English captain and politician
  • 1971 – Karin Lušnic, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1972 – Danny Alexander, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1972 – David Charvet, French actor and singer
  • 1974 – Vasilis Kikilias, Greek basketball player and politician
  • 1974 – Matthew Sadler, English chess player and author
  • 1974 – Marko Tredup, German footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Ahmet Zappa, American musician and writer
  • 1975 – Ray Lewis, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Ales Michalevic, Belarusian lawyer and politician
  • 1976 – Torraye Braggs, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Mark Kennedy, Irish footballer
  • 1976 – Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer
  • 1976 – Ryan Leaf, American football player and coach
  • 1976 – Anže Logar, Slovenian politician
  • 1976 – Tyler Walker, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Amy Chow, American gymnast and pediatrician
  • 1978 – Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian soccer player
  • 1978 – Edu, Brazilian footballer
  • 1978 – David Krumholtz, American actor
  • 1979 – Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer
  • 1979 – Daniel Caines, English sprinter
  • 1979 – Chris Masoe, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1979 – Ryan Max Riley, American skier
  • 1979 – Robert Royal, American football player
  • 1979 – Dominic Scott, Irish guitarist
  • 1980 – Josh Beckett, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Patrice Evra, French footballer
  • 1981 – Paul Konchesky, English international footballer
  • 1981 – Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
  • 1981 – Zara Phillips, English equestrian
  • 1981 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress and singer
  • 1982 – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1982 – Segundo Castillo, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1982 – Rafael Pérez, Dominican baseball player
  • 1982 – Layal Abboud, Lebanese singer
  • 1984 – Jeff Deslauriers, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Sérgio Jimenez, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1984 – Samantha Noble, Australian actress
  • 1984 – Beau Scott, Australian rugby league player
  • 1984 – Mr Probz, Dutch singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and record producer
  • 1985 – Cristiane, Brazilian footballer
  • 1985 – Tania Cagnotto, Italian diver
  • 1985 – Laura Harvey, English football coach
  • 1985 – Tathagata Mukherjee, Indian actor
  • 1985 – Denis Onyango, Ugandan goalkeeper
  • 1985 – Justine Robbeson, South African javelin thrower
  • 1986 – Thomas Brown, American football player
  • 1986 – Matías Fernández, Chilean footballer
  • 1986 – Adam Moffat, Scottish footballer
  • 1987 – David Adams, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Michael Brantley, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Brian Dozier, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Mark Fayne, American ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Ersan İlyasova, Turkish basketball player
  • 1987 – Leonardo Mayer, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1987 – Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player
  • 1988 – Indrek Kajupank, Estonian basketball player
  • 1988 – Scott Laird, English footballer
  • 1989 – Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, French footballer
  • 1990 – Jordan Eberle, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Lee Jong-hyun, Korean guitarist
  • 1990 – Stella Maxwell, New Zealand model
  • 1993 – Jeremy Hawkins, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1993 – Tomáš Kalas, Czech international footballer
  • 1996 – Birdy, English singer-songwriter
  • 1997 – Ousmane Dembélé, French footballer

Deaths on May 15

  • 392 – Valentinian II, Roman emperor (b. 371)
  • 558 – Hilary of Galeata, Christian monk (b. 476)
  • 884 – Narinus I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 830)
  • 913 – Hatto I, German archbishop (b. 850)
  • 926 – Zhuang Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 885)
  • 973 – Byrhthelm, bishop of Wells
  • 1036 – Go-Ichijō, emperor of Japan (b. 1008)
  • 1157 – Yuri Dolgorukiy, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1099)
  • 1175 – Mleh, prince of Armenia
  • 1174 – Nur ad-Din, Seljuk emir of Syria (b. 1118)
  • 1268 – Peter II, count of Savoy (b. 1203)
  • 1461 – Domenico Veneziano, Italian painter (b. c. 1410)
  • 1464 – Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (b. 1436)
  • 1470 – Charles VIII, king of Sweden (b. 1409)
  • 1585 – Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (b. 1535)
  • 1609 – Giovanni Croce, Italian composer and educator (b. 1557)
  • 1615 – Henry Bromley, English politician (b. 1560)
  • 1634 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (b. 1585)
  • 1698 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (b. 1642)
  • 1699 – Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1631)
  • 1700 – John Hale, American minister (b. 1636)
  • 1740 – Ephraim Chambers, English publisher (b. 1680)
  • 1773 – Alban Butler, English priest and hagiographer (b. 1710)
  • 1845 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, Head of State of Costa Rica (b. 1800)
  • 1879 – Gottfried Semper, German architect and educator, designed the Semper Opera House (b. 1803)
  • 1886 – Emily Dickinson, American poet and author (b. 1830)
  • 1914 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (b. 1863)
  • 1919 – Hasan Tahsin, Turkish journalist (b. 1888)
  • 1924 – Paul-Henri-Benjamin d’Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1926 – Joseph James Fletcher, Australian biologist (b. 1850)
  • 1928 – Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (b. 1845)
  • 1935 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian-Russian painter and theoretician (b. 1878)
  • 1937 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1864)
  • 1945 – Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (b. 1881)
  • 1945 – Charles Williams, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1886)
  • 1948 – Edward J. Flanagan, Irish-American priest, founded Boys Town (b. 1886)
  • 1954 – William March, American soldier and author (b. 1893)
  • 1956 – Austin Osman Spare, English painter and magician (b. 1886)
  • 1957 – Keith Andrews, American race car driver (b. 1920)
  • 1957 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1892)
  • 1963 – John Aglionby, English-born Bishop of Accra and soldier (b. 1884)
  • 1964 – Vladko Maček, Croatian lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
  • 1965 – Pio Pion, Italian businessman (b. 1887)
  • 1967 – Edward Hopper, American painter (b. 1882)
  • 1967 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (b. 1892)
  • 1969 – Joe Malone, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1890)
  • 1971 – Tyrone Guthrie, English director, producer, and playwright (b. 1900)
  • 1978 – Robert Menzies, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
  • 1980 – Gordon Prange, American historian and author (b. 1910)
  • 1982 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (b. 1946)
  • 1984 – Francis Schaeffer, American pastor, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1912)
  • 1985 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and writer (b. 1947)
  • 1986 – Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
  • 1986 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (b. 1915)
  • 1989 – Johnny Green, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
  • 1989 – Luc Lacourcière, Canadian ethnographer and author (b. 1910)
  • 1991 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1956)
  • 1991 – Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Malian ethnologist and author (b. 1901)
  • 1991 – Fritz Riess, German race car driver (b. 1922)
  • 1993 – Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese poet and diplomat (b. 1933)
  • 1994 – Gilbert Roland, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1995 – Eric Porter, English actor (b. 1928)
  • 1996 – Charles B. Fulton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1910)
  • 1998 – Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
  • 1998 – Naim Talu, Turkish economist, banker, politician, 15th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1919)
  • 2003 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (b. 1929)
  • 2006 – Nizar Abdul Zahra, Iraqi footballer (b. 1961)
  • 2007 – Jerry Falwell, American pastor, founded Liberty University (b. 1933)
  • 2008 – Tommy Burns, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1956)
  • 2008 – Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
  • 2008 – Will Elder, American illustrator (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Bud Tingwell, Australian actor, director, and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (b. 1964)
  • 2010 – Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (b. 1987)
  • 2010 – Loris Kessel, Swiss race car driver (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Arno Lustiger, German historian and author (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian soldier and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Noribumi Suzuki, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Elisabeth Bing, German-American physical therapist and author (b. 1914)
  • 2015 – Jackie Brookner, American sculptor and educator (b. 1945)
  • 2015 – Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-American football player (b. 1944)
  • 2020 – Fred Willard, American actor, comedian, and writer (b. 1933)[19]

Holidays and observances on May 15

  • Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)
  • Army Day (Slovenia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Achillius of Larissa
    • Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church)
    • Dymphna
    • Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Hesychius of Cazorla
    • Hilary of Galeata
    • Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid.
    • Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Reticius (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Sophia of Rome (Roman Catholic church)
    • May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania)
  • Earliest date on which Armed Forces Day (United States) can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Saturday of May.
  • Independence Day (Paraguay), celebrates the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, May 14.
  • International Conscientious Objectors Day
  • International Day of Families (International)
  • La Corsa dei Ceri begins on the eve of the feast day of Saint Ubaldo. (Gubbio)
  • Mother’s Day (Paraguay)
  • Nakba Day (Palestinian communities)
  • Peace Officers Memorial Day (United States)
  • Republic Day (Lithuania)
  • Teachers’ Day (Colombia, Mexico and South Korea)

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

On This Day

April 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 451 – Attila the Hun sacks the town of Metz and attacks other cities in Gaul.
  • 529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
  • 611 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico.
  • 1141 – Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England, adopting the title ‘Lady of the English’.
  • 1348 – Charles University is founded in Prague.
  • 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
  • 1541 – Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
  • 1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion, BWV 245, at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
  • 1767 – End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67).
  • 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward.
  • 1788 – American pioneers to the Northwest Territory establish Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
  • 1789 – Selim III became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
  • 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.
  • 1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.
  • 1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
  • 1827 – John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match that he had invented the previous year.
  • 1829 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.
  • 1831 – Emperor Pedro I of Brazil resigns. He goes to his native Portugal to become King Pedro IV.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Union’s Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee.
  • 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation, is assassinated by a Fenian activist.
  • 1890 – Completion of the first Lake Biwa Canal.
  • 1906 – Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
  • 1906 – The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
  • 1922 – The United States Secretary of the Interior leases federal petroleum reserves to private oil companies on excessively generous terms.
  • 1927 – The first long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
  • 1933 – Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.)
  • 1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
  • 1943 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches.
  • 1943 – Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation.
  • 1945 – World War II: The battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by American aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.
  • 1945 – World War II: Visoko is liberated by the 7th, 9th, and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.
  • 1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
  • 1949 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opened on Broadway; it would run for 1,925 performances and win ten Tony Awards.
  • 1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his “domino theory” speech during a news conference.
  • 1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
  • 1964 – IBM announces the System/360.
  • 1964 – A bulldozer kills Rev. Bruce W. Klunder, a civil rights activist, during a school segregation protest in Cleveland, Ohio, sparking a riot.
  • 1965 – Representatives of the National Congress of American Indians testify before members of the US Senate against the termination of the Colville tribe in Washington DC.
  • 1968 – Motor racing world champion Jim Clark is killed in an accident during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim.
  • 1969 – The Internet’s symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1.
  • 1971 – President Richard Nixon announces his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization.
  • 1976 – Member of Parliament and suspected spy John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party (UK) after being arrested for faking his own death.
  • 1977 – German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.
  • 1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.
  • 1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran.
  • 1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.
  • 1989 – Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.
  • 1990 – Iran–Contra affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).
  • 1990 – A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry Scandinavian Star, killing 159 people.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.
  • 1994 – Auburn Calloway attempts to destroy Federal Express Flight 705 in order to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy.
  • 1995 – First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
  • 1999 – The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.
  • 2001 – Mars Odyssey is launched.
  • 2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein’s regime falls two days later.
  • 2009 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
  • 2009 – Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.
  • 2017 – A man deliberately drives a hijacked truck into a crowd of people, killing five people and injuring fifteen others.

Births on April 7

  • 1206 – Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1253)
  • 1330 – John, 3rd Earl of Kent, English nobleman (d. 1352)
  • 1470 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (d. 1498)
  • 1506 – Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary and saint, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
  • 1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 1584)
  • 1613 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
  • 1644 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (d. 1730)
  • 1648 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1721)
  • 1652 – Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
  • 1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1801)
  • 1718 – Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (d. 1800)
  • 1727 – Michel Adanson, French botanist, entomologist, and mycologist (d. 1806)
  • 1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (d. 1846)
  • 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
  • 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher and author (d. 1837)
  • 1780 – William Ellery Channing, American preacher and theologian (d. 1842)
  • 1803 – James Curtiss, American journalist and politician, 11th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
  • 1803 – Flora Tristan, French author and activist (d. 1844)
  • 1811 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1881)
  • 1817 – Francesco Selmi, Italian chemist and patriot (d. 1881)
  • 1848 – Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (d. 1930)
  • 1859 – Walter Camp, American football player and coach (d. 1925)
  • 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (d. 1951)
  • 1867 – Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1870 – Gustav Landauer, Jewish-German theorist and activist (d. 1919)
  • 1871 – Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino jurist, historian, and scholar (d. 1927)
  • 1873 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
  • 1874 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, German-American painter (d. 1939)
  • 1876 – Fay Moulton, American sprinter, football player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1945)
  • 1882 – Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricketer (d. 1971)
  • 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
  • 1883 – Gino Severini, Italian-French painter and author (d. 1966)
  • 1884 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (d. 1963)
  • 1886 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1971)
  • 1889 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1890 – Paul Berth, Danish footballer (d. 1969)
  • 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and activist (d. 1998)
  • 1891 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded the Lego Group (d. 1958)
  • 1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – John Flannagan, American soldier and sculptor (d. 1942)
  • 1895 – Margarete Schön, German actress (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – Frits Peutz, Dutch architect, designed the Glaspaleis (d. 1974)
  • 1897 – Erich Löwenhardt, Polish-German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1918)
  • 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (d. 1972)
  • 1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Adolf Dymsza, Polish actor (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Eduard Eelma, Estonian footballer (d. 1941)
  • 1903 – M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
  • 1903 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Roland Wilson, Australian economist and statistician (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
  • 1908 – Pete Zaremba, American hammer thrower (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (d. 1978)
  • 1913 – Louise Currie, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1913 – Charles Vanik, American soldier, judge, and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1914 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1959)
  • 1915 – Henry Kuttner, American author (d. 1958)
  • 1916 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1917 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – Bobby Doerr, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1919 – Roger Lemelin, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1919 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian-English author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1925 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian trade union leader and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian-American drummer, educator, and activist (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Leonid Shcherbakov, Russian triple jumper
  • 1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Alan J. Pakula, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1928 – James White, Northern Irish author and educator (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Bob Denard, French soldier (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (d. 1972)
  • 1930 – Jane Priestman, English interior designer
  • 1930 – Yves Rocher, French businessman, founded the Yves Rocher Company (d. 2009)
  • 1930 – Andrew Sachs, German-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Roger Vergé, French chef and restaurateur (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author
  • 1932 – Cal Smith, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – Ian Richardson, Scottish-English actor (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1935 – Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
  • 1937 – Charlie Thomas, American singer
  • 1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California
  • 1938 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Iris Johansen, American author
  • 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (d. 1977)
  • 1939 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – Marju Lauristin, Estonian academic and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1941 – James Di Pasquale, American composer
  • 1941 – Peter Fluck, English puppet maker and illustrator
  • 1941 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (d. 2017)
  • 1942 – Jeetendra, Indian actor, TV and film producer
  • 1943 – Mick Abrahams, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Dennis Amiss, English cricketer and manager
  • 1944 – Shel Bachrach, American insurance broker, investor, businessman and philanthropist
  • 1944 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Oshik Levi, Israeli singer and actor
  • 1944 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (d. 2002)
  • 1944 – Gerhard Schröder, German lawyer and politician, 7th Chancellor of Germany
  • 1944 – Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
  • 1945 – Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Gerry Cottle, English businessman
  • 1945 – Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic
  • 1945 – Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author
  • 1945 – Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (d. 2018)
  • 1945 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1945 – Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer
  • 1946 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player
  • 1946 – Colette Besson, French runner and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1946 – Herménégilde Chiasson, Canadian poet, playwright, and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
  • 1946 – Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian politician and diplomate
  • 1946 – Stan Winston, American special effects designer and makeup artist (d. 2008)
  • 1947 – Patricia Bennett, American singer
  • 1947 – Florian Schneider, German singer and drummer (d. 2020)
  • 1947 – Michèle Torr, French singer and author
  • 1948 – John Oates, American singer-songwriter guitarist, and producer
  • 1949 – Mitch Daniels, American academic and politician, 49th Governor of Indiana
  • 1950 – Brian J. Doyle, American press secretary
  • 1951 – Bruce Gary, American drummer (d. 2006)
  • 1951 – Janis Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – David Baulcombe, English geneticist and academic
  • 1952 – Jane Frederick, American hurdler and heptathlete
  • 1952 – Gilles Valiquette, Canadian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1952 – Dennis Hayden, American actor
  • 1953 – Santa Barraza, American mixed media artist
  • 1953 – Douglas Kell, English biochemist and academic
  • 1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Tony Dorsett, American football player
  • 1955 – Tim Cochran, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1955 – Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer and journalist
  • 1956 – Annika Billström, Swedish businesswoman and politician, 16th Mayor of Stockholm
  • 1956 – Christopher Darden, American lawyer and author
  • 1956 – Georg Werthner, Austrian decathlete
  • 1957 – Kim Kap-soo, South Korean actor
  • 1957 – Thelma Walker, British politician
  • 1958 – Brian Haner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Hindrek Kesler, Estonian architect
  • 1960 – Buster Douglas, American boxer and actor
  • 1960 – Sandy Powell, English costume designer
  • 1961 – Thurl Bailey, American basketball player and actor
  • 1961 – Pascal Olmeta, French footballer
  • 1961 – Brigitte van der Burg, Tanzanian-Dutch geographer and politician
  • 1962 – Jon Cruddas, English lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Andrew Hampsten, American cyclist
  • 1963 – Jaime de Marichalar, Spanish businessman
  • 1963 – Nick Herbert, English businessman and politician, Minister for Policing
  • 1963 – Dave Johnson, American decathlete and educator
  • 1964 – Jace Alexander, American actor and director
  • 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand-Australian actor
  • 1964 – Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Bill Bellamy, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1965 – Rozalie Hirs, Dutch composer and poet
  • 1965 – Alison Lapper, English painter and photographer
  • 1965 – Nenad Vučinić, Serbian-New Zealand basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Richard Gomez, Filipino actor and politician
  • 1966 – Zvika Hadar, Israeli entertainer
  • 1966 – Béla Mavrák, Hungarian tenor singer
  • 1966 – Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player
  • 1967 – Artemis Gounaki, Greek-German singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Bodo Illgner, German footballer
  • 1967 – Simone Schilder, Dutch tennis player
  • 1968 – Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Jennifer Lynch, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Jože Možina, Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist
  • 1968 – Vasiliy Sokov, Russian triple jumper
  • 1969 – Ricky Watters, American football player
  • 1970 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist and educator
  • 1971 – Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (d. 2008)
  • 1971 – Victor Kraatz, German-Canadian figure skater
  • 1972 – Tim Peake, British astronaut
  • 1973 – Marco Delvecchio, Italian footballer
  • 1973 – Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence
  • 1973 – Carole Montillet, French skier
  • 1973 – Christian O’Connell, British radio DJ and presenter
  • 1973 – Brett Tomko, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Karin Dreijer Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1975 – Ronde Barber, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Tiki Barber, American football player and journalist
  • 1975 – Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player
  • 1975 – John Cooper, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1975 – Simon Woolford, Australian rugby league player
  • 1976 – Kevin Alejandro, American actor and producer
  • 1976 – Martin Buß, German high jumper
  • 1976 – Jessica Lee, English lawyer and politician
  • 1976 – Aaron Lohr, American actor
  • 1976 – Barbara Jane Reams, American actress
  • 1976 – Gang Qiang, Chinese anchor
  • 1978 – Jo Appleby, English soprano
  • 1978 – Duncan James, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1978 – Lilia Osterloh, American tennis player
  • 1979 – Adrián Beltré, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1979 – Patrick Crayton, American football player
  • 1979 – Pascal Dupuis, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Danny Sandoval, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1980 – Dragan Bogavac, Montenegrin footballer
  • 1980 – Tetsuji Tamayama, Japanese actor
  • 1981 – Hitoe Arakaki, Japanese singer
  • 1981 – Kazuki Watanabe, Japanese songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
  • 1981 – Vanessa Olivarez, American singer-songwriter, and actress
  • 1981 – Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
  • 1982 – Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
  • 1982 – Sonjay Dutt, American wrestler
  • 1982 – Kelli Young, English singer
  • 1983 – Hamish Davidson, Australian musician
  • 1983 – Franck Ribéry, French footballer
  • 1983 – Jon Stead, English footballer
  • 1983 – Jakub Smrž, Czech motorcycle rider
  • 1983 – Janar Talts, Estonian basketball player
  • 1984 – Hiroko Shimabukuro, Japanese singer
  • 1985 – KC Concepcion, Filipino actress and singer
  • 1985 – Humza Yousaf, Scottish politician
  • 1986 – Brooke Brodack, American comedian
  • 1986 – Jack Duarte, Mexican actor, singer, and guitarist
  • 1986 – Andi Fraggs, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1986 – Christian Fuchs, Austrian footballer
  • 1987 – Martín Cáceres, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1987 – Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch decathlete
  • 1987 – Jamar Smith, American football player
  • 1988 – Antonio Piccolo, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Ed Speleers, English actor and producer
  • 1989 – Alexa Demara, American actress, model and writer
  • 1989 – Franco Di Santo, Argentinian footballer
  • 1989 – Mitchell Pearce, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Teddy Riner, French judoka
  • 1990 – Nickel Ashmeade, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1990 – Anna Bogomazova, Russian-American kick-boxer, martial artist, and wrestler
  • 1990 – Sorana Cîrstea, Romanian tennis player
  • 1990 – Trent Cotchin, Australian footballer
  • 1991 – Luka Milivojević, Serbian footballer
  • 1991 – Anne-Marie, English singer-songwriter
  • 1992 – Andreea Acatrinei, Romanian gymnast
  • 1992 – Guilherme Negueba, Brazilian footballer
  • 1993 – Ichinojō Takashi, Mongolian sumo wrestler
  • 1994 – Johanna Allik, Estonian figure skater
  • 1994 – Aaron Gray, Australian rugby league player
  • 1996 – Emerson Hyndman, American international soccer player[5]
  • 1997 – Rafaela Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player

Deaths on April 7

  • AD 30 – Jesus Christ, (possible date of the crucifixion) (b. circa 4 BC)
  • 821 – George the Standard-Bearer, archbishop of Mytilene (b. c. 776)
  • 924 – Berengar I of Italy (b. 845)
  • 1206 – Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine
  • 1340 – Bolesław Jerzy II of Mazovia (b. 1308)
  • 1498 – Charles VIII of France (b. 1470)
  • 1499 – Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola (b. 1442)
  • 1501 – Minkhaung II, king of Ava (b. 1446)
  • 1606 – Edward Oldcorne, English martyr (b. 1561)
  • 1614 – El Greco, Greek-Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1541)
  • 1638 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese daimyō (b. 1576)
  • 1651 – Lennart Torstensson, Swedish field marshal and engineer (b. 1603)
  • 1658 – Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic and philosopher (b. 1595)
  • 1661 – Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English commander and politician (b. 1604)
  • 1663 – Francis Cooke, English-American settler (b. 1583)
  • 1668 – William Davenant, English poet and playwright (b. 1606)
  • 1719 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint, founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (b. 1651)
  • 1739 – Dick Turpin, English criminal (b. 1705)
  • 1747 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (b. 1676)
  • 1761 – Thomas Bayes, English minister and mathematician (b. 1701)
  • 1766 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (b. 1685)
  • 1767 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and director (b. 1715)
  • 1782 – Taksin, Thai king (b. 1734)
  • 1789 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1725)
  • 1789 – Petrus Camper, Dutch physician, anatomist, and physiologist (b. 1722)
  • 1801 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (b. 1724)
  • 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (b. 1743)
  • 1811 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (b. 1757)
  • 1823 – Jacques Charles, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1746)
  • 1833 – Antoni Radziwiłł, Lithuanian composer and politician (b. 1775)
  • 1836 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (b. 1756)
  • 1849 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (b. 1777)
  • 1850 – William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (b. 1762)
  • 1858 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer and publisher (b. 1781)
  • 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist, activist, and politician (b. 1825)
  • 1879 – Begum Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (b. 1820)
  • 1885 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (b. 1804)
  • 1889 – Youssef Bey Karam, Lebanese soldier and politician (b. 1823)
  • 1889 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician and president, 1872-1876 (b. 1823)
  • 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman and politician, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1810)
  • 1917 – Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer and playwright (b. 1861)
  • 1918 – David Kolehmainen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1885)
  • 1918 – George E. Ohr, American potter (b. 1857)
  • 1920 – Karl Binding, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1841)
  • 1922 – James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1855)
  • 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1873)
  • 1932 – Grigore Constantinescu, Romanian priest and journalist (b. 1875)
  • 1938 – Suzanne Valadon, French painter (b. 1865)
  • 1939 – Joseph Lyons, Australian educator and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
  • 1943 – Jovan Dučić, Serbian-American poet and diplomat (b. 1871)
  • 1943 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (b. 1859)
  • 1947 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863)
  • 1949 – John Gourlay, Canadian soccer player (b. 1872)
  • 1950 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1883)
  • 1955 – Theda Bara, American actress (b. 1885)
  • 1956 – Fred Appleby, English runner (b. 1879)
  • 1960 – Henri Guisan, Swiss general (b. 1874)
  • 1965 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
  • 1966 – Walt Hansgen, American race car driver (b. 1919)
  • 1968 – Edwin Baker, Canadian co-founder of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) (b. 1893)
  • 1968 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (b. 1936)
  • 1972 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (b. 1929)
  • 1972 – Abeid Karume, Tanzanian politician, 1st President of Zanzibar (b. 1905)
  • 1981 – Kit Lambert, English record producer and manager (b. 1935)
  • 1981 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (b. 1899)
  • 1982 – Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver and journalist (b. 1948)
  • 1984 – Frank Church, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1924)
  • 1985 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (b. 1888)
  • 1986 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist (b. 1912)
  • 1990 – Ronald Evans, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 1991 – Memduh Ünlütürk, Turkish general (b. 1913)
  • 1992 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1903)
  • 1992 – Antonis Tritsis, Greek high jumper and politician, 71st Mayor of Athens (b. 1937)
  • 1994 – Lee Brilleaux, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer, manager, and politician (b. 1923)
  • 1994 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (b. 1909)
  • 1994 – Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwandan chemist, academic, and politician, Prime Minister of Rwanda (b. 1953)
  • 1995 – Philip Jebb, English architect and politician (b. 1927)
  • 1997 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1923)
  • 1997 – Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1935)
  • 1998 – Alex Schomburg, Puerto Rican-American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)
  • 2001 – Beatrice Straight, American actress (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – John Agar, American actor (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French pianist and author (b. 1903)
  • 2003 – David Greene, English-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2004 – Victor Argo, American actor (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (b. 1901)
  • 2005 – Cliff Allison, English race car driver (b. 1932)
  • 2005 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Bob Kennedy, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Melih Kibar, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1951)
  • 2007 – Johnny Hart, American author and illustrator (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Barry Nelson, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Ludu Daw Amar, Burmese journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2009 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1947)
  • 2011 – Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (b. 1984)
  • 2012 – Satsue Mito, Japanese zoologist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – David E. Pergrin, American colonel and engineer (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Bashir Ahmed Qureshi, Pakistani politician (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Mike Wallace, American television news journalist (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Marty Blake, American businessman (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Les Blank, American director and producer (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Andy Johns, English-American record producer (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Lilly Pulitzer, American fashion designer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Irma Ravinale, Italian composer and educator (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Mickey Rose, American screenwriter (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Carl Williams, American boxer (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – George Dureau, American painter and photographer (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – James Alexander Green, American-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – John Shirley-Quirk, English opera singer (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – George Shuffler, American guitarist (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Tim Babcock, American soldier and politician, 16th Governor of Montana (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – José Capellán, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1981)
  • 2015 – Stan Freberg, American puppeteer, voice actor, and singer (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Richard Henyekane, South African footballer (b. 1983)
  • 2015 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Blackjack Mulligan, American professional wrestler (b. 1942)
  • 2019 – Seymour Cassel, American actor (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances on April 7

  • Christian feast days:
    • Aibert of Crespin
    • Blessed Alexander Rawlins
    • Blessed Edward Oldcorne and Blessed Ralph Ashley
    • Blessed Notker the Stammerer
    • Brynach
    • Hegesippus
    • Henry Walpole
    • Hermann Joseph
    • Jean-Baptiste de La Salle
    • Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow (Eastern Orthodox Church, Episcopal Church (USA))
    • April 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Flag Day (Slovenia)
  • Genocide Memorial Day (Rwanda), and its related observance:
    • International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (United Nations)
  • Motherhood and Beauty Day (Armenia)
  • National Beer Day (United States)
  • Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume Day (Tanzania)
  • Women’s Day (Mozambique)
  • World Health Day (International observance)

April 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /

In astrology, the day of the equinox is the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year. In the 21st century, the equinox usually occurs on March 19 or 20; it occurred on March 21 only in 2003 and 2007. The next year in which the equinox occurs on March 21 will be 2102.

March 21 in History

  • 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.
  • 630 – Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.
  • 717 – Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
  • 1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
  • 1188 – Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
  • 1556 – On the day of his execution in Oxford, former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, “And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.”
  • 1788 – A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
  • 1800 – With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
  • 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt.
  • 1804 – Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
  • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
  • 1844 – The Bahá’í calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Bahá’í calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Bahá’í Faith as the Bahá’í New Year or Náw-Rúz.
  • 1861 – Alexander Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech.
  • 1871 – Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
  • 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
  • 1913 – Over 360 are killed and 20,000 homes destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
  • 1918 – World War I: The first phase of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins.
  • 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
  • 1921 – The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism.
  • 1925 – The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee.
  • 1925 – Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
  • 1928 – Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
  • 1935 – Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.
  • 1937 – Ponce massacre: Nineteen people in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police acting on orders of the US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
  • 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.
  • 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.
  • 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians.
  • 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes.
  • 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.
  • 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • 1960 – Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
  • 1963 – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (in California) closes.
  • 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.
  • 1965 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
  • 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO.
  • 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.
  • 1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War.
  • 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic.
  • 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships
  • 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
  • 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force.
  • 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
  • 2000 – Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.
  • 2006 – The social media site Twitter is founded.
  • 2009 – Four police officers are shot and killed and a fifth is wounded in two shootings at Oakland, California.
  • 2019 – The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others.

Births on March 21

  • 927 – Emperor Taizu of Song (d. 976)
  • 1474 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint (d. 1540)
  • 1501 – Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham, English noble (d. 1558)
  • 1521 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)
  • 1527 – Hermann Finck, German composer and educator (d. 1558)
  • 1555 – John Leveson, English politician (d. 1615)
  • 1557 – Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel, English countess and poet (d. 1630)
  • 1626 – Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish saint and missionary (d. 1667)
  • 1672 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (d. 1742)
  • 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer and musician (d. 1750)
  • 1713 – Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (d. 1803)
  • 1716 – Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1782)
  • 1752 – Mary Dixon Kies, American inventor (d. 1837)
  • 1763 – Jean Paul, German journalist and author (d. 1825)
  • 1768 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1830)
  • 1806 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 25th President of Mexico (d. 1872)
  • 1811 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (d. 1891)
  • 1825 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier and engineer (d. 1890)
  • 1835 – Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1876)
  • 1839 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1881)
  • 1854 – Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1924)
  • 1857 – Alice Henry, Australian journalist and activist (d. 1943)
  • 1859 – Daria Pratt, American golfer (d. 1938)
  • 1865 – George Owen Squier, American general (d. 1934)
  • 1866 – Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1952)
  • 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (d. 1932)
  • 1869 – David Robertson, Scottish-English golfer and rugby player (d. 1937)
  • 1874 – Alfred Tysoe, English runner (d. 1901)
  • 1876 – Walter Tewksbury, American runner and hurdler (d. 1968)
  • 1877 – Maurice Farman, French race car driver and pilot (d. 1964)
  • 1878 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1971)
  • 1880 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1882 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – George David Birkhoff, American mathematician (d. 1944)
  • 1885 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (d. 1952)
  • 1886 – Walter Dray, American pole vaulter (d. 1973)
  • 1887 – Clarice Beckett, Australian painter (d. 1935)
  • 1887 – Lajos Kassák, Hungarian poet, novelist and painter (d. 1967)
  • 1887 – M. N. Roy, Indian philosopher and politician (d. 1954)
  • 1889 – Jock Sutherland, American football player and coach (d. 1948)
  • 1896 – Friedrich Waismann, Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1959)
  • 1897 – Sim Gokkes, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1943)
  • 1897 – Salvador Lutteroth, Mexican wrestling promoter, founded Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (d. 1987)
  • 1899 – Panagiotis Pipinelis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1970)
  • 1901 – Karl Arnold, German businessman and politician, President of the German Bundesrat (d. 1958)
  • 1902 – Son House, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – Jehane Benoît, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1904 – Forrest Mars, Sr., American candy maker, created M&M’s and Mars bar (d. 1999)
  • 1904 – Nikos Skalkottas, Greek violinist and composer (d. 1949)
  • 1905 – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – Jim Thompson, American businessman (d. 1967)
  • 1906 – André Filho, Brazilian musician and songwriter (d. 1974)
  • 1907 – Zoltán Kemény, Hungarian sculptor (d. 1965)
  • 1909 – Harry Lane, English footballer (d. 1977)
  • 1910 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (d. 1993)
  • 1910 – Muhammad Siddiq Khan, Bangladeshi librarian and educator (d. 1978)
  • 1911 – Walter Lincoln Hawkins, African-American scientist and inventor (d. 1992)
  • 1912 – André Laurendeau, Canadian journalist, playwright, and politician (d. 1968)
  • 1913 – George Abecassis, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1991)
  • 1913 – Guillermo Haro, Mexican astronomer (d. 1988)
  • 1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (d. 1990)
  • 1916 – Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Ken Wharton, English race car driver (d. 1957)
  • 1917 – Frank Hardy, Australian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – Patrick Lucey, American captain and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Charles Thompson, American pianist and composer (d. 2016)
  • 1919 – Douglas Warren, Australian bishop (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1970)
  • 1920 – Éric Rohmer, French director, film critic, journalist, novelist and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist and pianist (d. 1986)
  • 1921 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Louis-Edmond Hamelin, Canadian geographer, author, and academic (d. 2020)
  • 1923 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet, publisher, and diplomat (d. 1998)
  • 1923 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Rezső Nyers, Hungarian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1924 – Dov Shilansky, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and politician (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Harold Ashby, American saxophonist (d. 2003)
  • 1925 – Peter Brook, English-French director and producer
  • 1925 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
  • 1926 – André Delvaux, Belgian director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1927 – Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Maurice Catarcio, American wrestler (d. 2005)
  • 1930 – James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1930 – Otis Spann, American blues pianist, singer and composer (d. 1970)
  • 1931 – Toyonobori, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1998)
  • 1931 – Clark L. Brundin, American-English engineer and academic
  • 1931 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (d. 2010)
  • 1932 – Walter Gilbert, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1932 – Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – John Hall, English businessman
  • 1933 – Michael Heseltine, Welsh businessman and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1934 – Al Freeman, Jr., American actor and director (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
  • 1936 – Ed Broadbent, Canadian pilot and politician
  • 1936 – Mike Westbrook, English pianist and composer
  • 1937 – Ann Clwyd, Welsh journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1937 – Tom Flores, American football player and coach
  • 1937 – Pierre-Jean Rémy, French diplomat and author (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Michael Foreman, English author and illustrator
  • 1938 – Grahame Thomas, Australian cricketer
  • 1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, American actress
  • 1940 – Solomon Burke, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1940 – Andrea Elle, German bicyclist
  • 1942 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
  • 1942 – Kostas Politis, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1942 – Amina Claudine Myers, African-American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1942 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, India metallurgist, educator and administrator (d. 2010)
  • 1943 – István Gyulai, Hungarian sprinter and sportscaster (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
  • 1943 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter (d. 1995)
  • 1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
  • 1944 – Janet Daley, American-English journalist and author
  • 1944 – Hideki Ishima, Japanese guitarist
  • 1944 – Mike Jackson, English general
  • 1944 – David Lindley, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1944 – Gaye Adegbalola, African-American singer and guitarist
  • 1945 – Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, English lawyer
  • 1945 – Charles Greene, American sprinter and coach
  • 1945 – Rose Stone, African-American R&B singer and keyboard player
  • 1946 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
  • 1946 – Ray Dorset, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Japanese cardinal
  • 1947 – George Johnston. Scottish footballer, forward
  • 1948 – Scott Fahlman, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1949 – Alvin Kallicharran, Guyanese cricketer and coach
  • 1949 – Andy Love, Scottish-English politician
  • 1949 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
  • 1949 – Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher, and academic
  • 1950 – Roger Hodgson, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1950 – Ron Oden, American minister and politician, 19th Mayor of Palm Springs
  • 1950 – Sergey Lavrov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1951 – Conrad Lozano, American bass player
  • 1951 – Russell Thompkins Jr., American soul singer
  • 1953 – Steve Furber, English computer scientist and academic
  • 1953 – Paul Martin Lester, American photographer, author, and educator
  • 1953 – David Wisniewski, English-American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
  • 1955 – Fadi Abboud, Lebanese economist and politician
  • 1955 – Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian politician and retired military officer, 38th President of Brazil
  • 1955 – Bob Bennett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Greek politician
  • 1955 – Bärbel Wöckel, East German sprinter
  • 1956 – Dick Beardsley, American runner
  • 1956 – Guy Chadwick, German-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Richard H. Kirk, English guitarist, keyboard player, composer, and producer
  • 1956 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
  • 1958 – Marlies Göhr, German sprinter
  • 1958 – Brad Hall, American comedian, director, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician and author
  • 1959 – Sarah Jane Morris, English singer-songwriter
  • 1959 – Yuval Rotem, Israeli diplomat
  • 1959 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese keyboard player and composer
  • 1960 – Marwan Farhat, Syrian actor and voice actor
  • 1960 – Benito T. de Leon, Filipino general
  • 1960 – Raivo Puusepp, Estonian architect
  • 1960 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1960 – Robert Sweet, American drummer and producer
  • 1961 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Gary O’Reilly, English footballer, defender
  • 1961 – Kassie DePaiva, American actress
  • 1961 – Slim Jim Phantom, American rock drummer
  • 1961 – Kim Turner, American hurdler
  • 1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
  • 1962 – Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress, producer, and talk show host
  • 1962 – Mark Waid, American author
  • 1963 – Shawon Dunston, American baseball player
  • 1963 – Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1963 – Share Pedersen, American bass player
  • 1964 – Ieuan Evans, Welsh rugby player
  • 1964 – Jesper Skibby, Danish cyclist
  • 1965 – Xavier Bertrand, French businessman and politician, French Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1965 – Thomas Frank, American author, historian and political analyst
  • 1966 – Benito Archundia, Mexican footballer, referee, lawyer, and economist
  • 1966 – Hauke Fuhlbrügge, German runner
  • 1966 – Matthew Maynard, English cricketer and coach
  • 1966 – Moa Matthis, Swedish author
  • 1967 – Carwyn Jones, Welsh lawyer and politician, First Minister of Wales
  • 1967 – Mirela Rupic, American costume and fashion designer
  • 1968 – Cameron Clyne, Australian businessman
  • 1968 – Andrew Copeland, American singer and guitarist
  • 1968 – Gary Walsh, English football coach and former footballer
  • 1968 – Greg Ellis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Tolunay Kafkas, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Scott Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Jonah Goldberg, American journalist and author
  • 1970 – Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (d. 2000)
  • 1970 – Cenk Uygur, Turkish-American political activist
  • 1971 – Zsolt Kürtösi, Hungarian decathlete
  • 1972 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (d. 2005)
  • 1972 – Balázs Kiss, Hungarian hammer thrower
  • 1972 – Derartu Tulu, Ethiopian runner
  • 1972 – Graeme Welch, English cricketer
  • 1973 – Ananda Lewis, American television host
  • 1973 – Stuart Nethercott, English footballer, defender and manager
  • 1973 – Large Professor, American rapper and producer
  • 1974 – Rhys Darby, New Zealand comedian and actor
  • 1974 – Dejima Takeharu, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1974 – Edsel Dope, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Ted Kravitz, British presenter and Formula One pit-lane reporter
  • 1974 – Kevin Leahy, American drummer
  • 1974 – Conor Woodman, Irish journalist and author
  • 1975 – Yacoub Al-Mohana, Kuwaiti director and producer
  • 1975 – Corne Krige, South African rugby player
  • 1975 – Fabricio Oberto, Argentinian-Italian basketball player
  • 1975 – Vitaly Potapenko, Ukrainian basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
  • 1976 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress and singer
  • 1976 – Bamboo Mañalac, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Tekin Sazlog, German-Turkish footballer
  • 1977 – Bruno Cirillo, Italian footballer
  • 1977 – Jamie Delgado, English tennis player
  • 1978 – Sally Barsosio, Kenyan runner
  • 1978 – Joyce Jimenez, Filipino movie and TV actress
  • 1978 – Charmaine Dragun, Australian journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1978 – Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
  • 1978 – Mohammad Rezaei, Iranian wrestler
  • 1980 – Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian skier
  • 1980 – Lee Jin, South Korean singer and actress
  • 1980 – Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1981 – Germano Borovicz Cardoso Schweger, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – Sébastien Chavanel, French cyclist
  • 1981 – Glenn Hall, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Jason King, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Todd Polglase, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Maria Elena Camerin, Italian tennis player
  • 1982 – Ejegayehu Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
  • 1982 – Aaron Hill, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Colin Turkington, Northern Irish race car driver
  • 1983 – Lucila Pascua, Spanish basketball player
  • 1983 – Jean Ondoa, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1984 – Tiago dos Santos Roberto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1984 – Guillermo Daniel Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1985 – Ryan Callahan, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Adrian Peterson, American football player
  • 1986 – Scott Eastwood, American actor
  • 1986 – Michu, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Romanos Alyfantis, Greek swimmer
  • 1986 – Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Greek pole vaulter
  • 1987 – Carlos Carrasco, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
  • 1988 – Kateřina Čechová, Czech sprinter
  • 1988 – Erik Johnson, American ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Eric Krüger, German sprinter
  • 1988 – Michael Madl, Austrian footballer, defender
  • 1989 – Jordi Alba, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Nicolás Lodeiro, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1990 – Mandy Capristo, German singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1990 – Ryann Krais, American runner and heptathlete
  • 1990 – Alex Nimo, Liberian-American soccer player
  • 1991 – Luke Chapman, English footballer
  • 1991 – Antoine Griezmann, French footballer
  • 1992 – Lehlogonolo Masalesa, South African footballer
  • 1992 – Karolína Plíšková, Czech tennis player
  • 1993 – Jake Bidwell, English footballer
  • 1993 – Jesse Joronen, Finnish footballer
  • 1994 – Margaret Lu, American fencer
  • 1997 – Martina Stoessel, Argentine actress
  • 2000 – Jace Norman, American actor

Deaths on March 21

  • 543 or 547 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian saint (b. 480)
  • 867 – Ælla, king of Northumbria
  • 867 – Osberht, king of Northumbria
  • 1034 – Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (b. 955)
  • 1063 – Richeza of Lotharingia (b. 995)
  • 1076 – Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1011)
  • 1201 – Absalon, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1128)
  • 1306 – Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1248)
  • 1372 – Rudolf VI, Margrave of Baden
  • 1487 – Nicholas of Flüe, Swiss monk and saint (b. 1417)
  • 1540 – John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, English peer and courtier (b. c. 1482)
  • 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (b. 1489)
  • 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal and Protestant (b. 1517)
  • 1617 – Pocahontas, Algonquian Indigenous princess (b. c. 1595)
  • 1653 – Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha, Albanian politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
  • 1656 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop (b. 1581)
  • 1676 – Henri Sauval, French historian and author (b. 1623)
  • 1729 – John Law, Scottish-French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1671)
  • 1729 – Elżbieta Sieniawska, politically influential Polish magnate (b. 1669)
  • 1734 – Robert Wodrow, Scottish historian and author (b. 1679)
  • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (b. 1706)
  • 1752 – Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (b. 1698)
  • 1762 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French priest, astronomer, and academic (b. 1713)
  • 1772 – Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1703)
  • 1795 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian miner and geologist (b. 1714)
  • 1801 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer and educator (b. 1741)
  • 1804 – Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (b. 1772)
  • 1843 – Robert Southey, English poet, historian, and translator (b. 1774)
  • 1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general and politician, 1st President of Mexico (b. 1786)
  • 1854 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (b. 1795)
  • 1863 – Edwin Vose Sumner, American general (b. 1797)
  • 1869 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (b. 1803)
  • 1884 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (b. 1819)
  • 1891 – Joseph E. Johnston, American general (b. 1807)
  • 1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American golfer, tennis player, and engineer (b. 1856)
  • 1920 – Evelina Haverfield, British suffragette and aid worker (b. 1867)
  • 1932 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (b. 1871)
  • 1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1878)
  • 1934 – Lilyan Tashman, American actress (b. 1896)
  • 1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1865)
  • 1939 – Evald Aav, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1900)
  • 1939 – Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, Turkish general and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1943 – Cornelia Fort, American soldier and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer (b. 1894)
  • 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor and composer (b. 1871)
  • 1953 – Ed Voss, American basketball player (b. 1922)
  • 1956 – Hatı Çırpan, Turkish politician (b. 1890)
  • 1958 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (b. 1923)
  • 1970 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1920)
  • 1975 – Joe Medwick, American baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
  • 1978 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, President of Ireland (b. 1911)
  • 1980 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (b. 1888)
  • 1985 – Michael Redgrave, English actor, director, and manager (b. 1908)
  • 1987 – Walter L. Gordon, Canadian accountant, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1906)
  • 1987 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (b. 1918)
  • 1991 – Vedat Dalokay, Turkish architect and politician, Mayor of Ankara (b. 1927)
  • 1991 – Leo Fender, American businessman, founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
  • 1992 – Natalie Sleeth, American pianist and composer (b. 1930)
  • 1994 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
  • 1994 – Lili Damita, French-American actress and singer (b. 1904)
  • 1994 – Aleksandrs Laime, Latvian-born explorer (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – Wilbert Awdry, English cleric and author, created Thomas the Tank Engine (b. 1911)
  • 1998 – Galina Ulanova, Russian ballerina (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – Jean Guitton, French philosopher and author (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Ernie Wise, English comedian and actor (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Chung Ju-yung, South Korean businessman, founded Hyundai (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Herman Talmadge, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 70th Governor of Georgia (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Shivani, Indian author (b. 1923)
  • 2003 – Umar Wirahadikusumah, Indonesian general and politician, 4th Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Bobby Short, American singer and pianist (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – Drew Hayes, American author and illustrator (b. 1969)
  • 2007 – Sven O. Høiby, Norwegian hurdler and journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2008 – Denis Cosgrove, English-American geographer and academic (b. 1948)
  • 2008 – Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Chilean architect and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Walt Poddubny, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1960)
  • 2010 – Wolfgang Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1919)
  • 2011 – Loleatta Holloway, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2011 – Gerd Klier, German footballer (b. 1944)
  • 2011 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Pinetop Perkins, American singer and pianist (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Albrecht Dietz, German economist and businessman (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Ron Erhardt, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Robert Fuest, English director, screenwriter, and production designer (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Tonino Guerra, Italian poet and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Irving Louis Horowitz, American sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Yuri Razuvaev, Russian chess player and trainer (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Marina Salye, Russian geologist and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Rick Hautala, American author and screenwriter (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Giancarlo Zagni, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Qoriniasi Bale, Fijian lawyer and politician, 25th Attorney-General of Fiji (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Bill Boedeker, American football player and soldier (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Jack Fleck, American golfer (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Simeon Oduoye, Nigerian police officer and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – James Rebhorn, American actor (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Ishaya Bakut, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Benue State (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – James C. Binnicker, American sergeant (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (b. 1909)
  • 2015 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish singer and guitarist (Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann) (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (b. 1955)
  • 2017 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (b. 1929)
  • 2017 – Colin Dexter, English author (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (2007–2017) (b. 1950)
  • 2017 – Mike Hall, British cyclist (b. 1981)
  • 2019 – Victor Hochhauser CBE, British music promoter (b. 1923)[21]
  • 2019 – Gonzalo Portocarrero, Peruvian sociologist (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances on March 21

  • Arbor Day (Portugal)
  • Birth of Benito Juárez, a Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello
    • Passing of Saint Benedict (Order of Saint Benedict)
    • Birillus
    • Enda of Aran
    • Nicholas of Flüe
    • Serapion of Thmuis
    • Thomas Cranmer (Anglicanism)
    • March 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Holy Saturday can fall, while April 24 is the latest; celebrated on the Saturday before Easter (Christianity)
  • Education Freedom Day
  • Harmony Day (Australia)
  • Human Rights Day (South Africa)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Namibia from South African mandate in 1990
  • International Colour Day (International)
  • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International)
  • International Day of Forests (International), by proclamation of the United Nations General Assembly
  • Mother’s Day (most of the Arab world)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Lesotho)
  • Newroz (Iran, Kurdistan, Mesopotamia)
  • Truant’s Day (Poland, Faroe Islands)
  • Vernal equinox related observances (see March 20)
  • World Down Syndrome Day (International)
  • World Poetry Day (International)
  • World Puppetry Day (International)
  • Youth Day (Tunisia)

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

On This Day

February 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

February 17 in History

  • 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
  • 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
  • 1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
  • 1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
  • 1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
  • 1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate’s expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
  • 1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
  • 1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
  • 1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
  • 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
  • 1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
  • 1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
  • 1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
  • 1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
  • 1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
  • 1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
  • 1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
  • 1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
  • 1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
  • 1919 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
  • 1933 – Newsweek magazine is first published.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins: The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
  • 1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
  • 1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
  • 1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
  • 1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
  • 1964 – Gabonese president Léon M’ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
  • 1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
  • 1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
  • 1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
  • 1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
  • 1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
  • 1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
  • 1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
  • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
  • 1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
  • 1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
  • 1996 – NASA’s Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
  • 1996 – The 8.2 Mw  Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
  • 2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
  • 2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
  • 2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
  • 2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
  • 2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

Births on February 17

  • 624 – Wu Zetian, Chinese empress consort (d. 705)
  • 1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (d. 1085)
  • 1490 – Charles III, duke of Bourbon (d. 1527)
  • 1519 – Francis, French Grand Chamberlain (d. 1563)
  • 1524 – Charles de Lorraine, French cardinal (d. 1574)
  • 1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
  • 1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1713)
  • 1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (d. 1762)
  • 1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and meteorologist (d. 1799)
  • 1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (d. 1831)
  • 1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1803)
  • 1758 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (d. 1826)
  • 1781 – René Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope (d. 1826)
  • 1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (d. 1866)
  • 1817 – Édouard Thilges, Luxembourgian jurist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1904)
  • 1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)
  • 1821 – Lola Montez, Irish-American actress and dancer (d. 1861)
  • 1832 – Richard Henry Park, American sculptor (d. 1902)
  • 1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1870)
  • 1843 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
  • 1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian poet and publisher (d. 1920)
  • 1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German businessman (d. 1902)
  • 1861 – Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, duchess of Albany (d. 1922)
  • 1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese general, author, and poet (d. 1922)
  • 1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak priest, botanist, and painter (d. 1929)
  • 1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1941)
  • 1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
  • 1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and author (d. 1904)
  • 1877 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (d. 1932)
  • 1881 – Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (d. 1965)
  • 1887 – Joseph Bech, Luxembourgian lawyer and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1975)
  • 1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer and critic (d. 1947)
  • 1888 – Otto Stern, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
  • 1890 – Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (d. 1962)
  • 1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
  • 1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1965)
  • 1899 – Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (d. 1954)
  • 1900 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian-French author and translator (d. 1951)
  • 1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1980)
  • 1905 – Ruth Baldwin, British socialite (d. 1937)
  • 1905 – Rózsa Politzer, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1977)
  • 1906 – Mary Brian, American actress (d. 2002)
  • 1908 – Red Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese general and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2007)
  • 1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1911 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (d. 1984)
  • 1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
  • 1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor and producer (d. 1959)
  • 1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian rugby player and pilot (d. 1940)
  • 1916 – Don Tallon, Australian cricketer (d. 1984)
  • 1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Jacqueline Ferrand, French mathematician (d. 2014)
  • 1919 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
  • 1919 – Joe Hunt, American tennis player (d. 1945)
  • 1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1920 – Annie Castor, American disability and communication disorder advocate (d. 2020)
  • 1920 – Curt Swan, American soldier and illustrator (d. 1996)
  • 1921 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Tommy Edwards, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1969)
  • 1923 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (d. 1988)
  • 1923 – Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (d. 2008)
  • 1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor and director
  • 1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress and singer (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chilean-French director and screenwriter
  • 1929 – Chaim Potok, American rabbi and author (d. 2002)
  • 1929 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (d. 1993)
  • 1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
  • 1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1930 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Ruth Rendell, English author (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress and singer (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
  • 1934 – Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), Australian comedian, actor, and author
  • 1935 – Christina Pickles, English-American actress
  • 1936 – Jim Brown, American football player and actor
  • 1937 – Mary Ann Mobley, American model and actress, Miss America 1959 (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Vicente Fernández, Mexican singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
  • 1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress, singer, and director
  • 1941 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
  • 1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh saxophonist, keyboard player, and composer (Soft Machine)
  • 1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2012)
  • 1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
  • 1946 – Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian-American author and academic
  • 1948 – José José, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1949 – Fred Frith, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1949 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani soldier and pilot (d. 1971)
  • 1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German gymnast and physician
  • 1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech bass player (d. 1991)
  • 1954 – Lou Ann Barton, American blues singer-songwriter
  • 1954 – Miki Berkovich, Israeli basketball player
  • 1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
  • 1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1956 – Richard Karn, American actor and game show host
  • 1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian singer-songwriter, accordion player, and pianist
  • 1959 – Aryeh Deri, Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and politician, Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs
  • 1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Lindy Ruff, Canadian hockey player and coach
  • 1961 – Angela Eagle, English politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
  • 1961 – Maria Eagle, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
  • 1961 – Andrey Korotayev, Russian anthropologist, historian, and sociologist
  • 1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor and director
  • 1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and voice actor
  • 1963 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (d. 1995)
  • 1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia
  • 1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player and actor
  • 1964 – Sherry Hawco, Canadian gymnast (d. 1991)
  • 1965 – Michael Bay, American director and producer
  • 1965 – Danny Lee, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Quorthon, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and actor
  • 1968 – Wu’erkaixi, Chinese journalist and activist
  • 1968 – Giuseppe Signori, Italian footballer
  • 1969 – David Douillet, French martial artist and politician
  • 1969 – Vasily Kudinov, Russian handball player (d. 2017)
  • 1970 – Dominic Purcell, English-born Irish-Australian actor and producer
  • 1971 – Denise Richards, American model and actress
  • 1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
  • 1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
  • 1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model and businesswoman
  • 1972 – Lars Göran Petrov, Swedish singer and drummer
  • 1973 – Goran Bunjevčević, Serbian FR Yugoslavia international footballer, defender (d. 2018)
  • 1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
  • 1974 – Kaoru, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1974 – Jerry O’Connell, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1975 – Václav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Rory Kinnear, English actor and playwright
  • 1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
  • 1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1981 – Paris Hilton, American model, media personality, actress, singer, DJ, author and businesswoman
  • 1981 – Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (d. 2014)
  • 1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
  • 1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American wrestler
  • 1984 – Katie Hill, Australian 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player
  • 1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Marcin Gortat, Polish basketball player
  • 1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
  • 1988 – Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukrainian boxer
  • 1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
  • 1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor and singer
  • 1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian speed skater
  • 1991 – Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1993 – Nicola Leali, Italian footballer
  • 1993 – Marc Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer

Deaths on February 17

  • 364 – Jovian, Roman emperor (b. 331)
  • 440 – Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, linguist, and theologian (b. 360)
  • 923 – Al-Tabari, Persian scholar (b. 839)
  • 1178 – Evermode of Ratzeburg, bishop of Ratzeburg
  • 1220 – Theobald I, Duke of Lorraine
  • 1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
  • 1371 – Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
  • 1500 – Adolph, Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, German noble (b. before 1463)
  • 1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1548)
  • 1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
  • 1624 – Juan de Mariana, Spanish priest and historian (b. 1536)
  • 1659 – Abel Servien, French politician, French Minister of Finance (b. 1593)
  • 1673 – Molière, French actor and playwright (b. 1622)
  • 1680 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (b. 1599)
  • 1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist, zoologist, and entomologist (b. 1637)
  • 1715 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (b. 1646)
  • 1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (b. 1669)
  • 1768 – Arthur Onslow, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1691)
  • 1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist and composer (b. 1770)
  • 1849 – María de las Mercedes Barbudo, Puerto Rican political activist, the first woman Independentista in the island (b. 1773)
  • 1854 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1789)
  • 1856 – Heinrich Heine, German journalist and poet (b. 1797)
  • 1874 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist (b. 1796)
  • 1890 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American publisher and politician (b. 1819)
  • 1905 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, leader in the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1815)
  • 1909 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (b. 1829)
  • 1912 – Edgar Evans, Welsh sailor and explorer (b. 1876)
  • 1919 – Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
  • 1934 – Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
  • 1934 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (b. 1862)
  • 1939 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (b. 1859)
  • 1946 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (b. 1889)
  • 1961 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1887)
  • 1961 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1894)
  • 1962 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1962 – Bruno Walter, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1876)
  • 1966 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (b. 1880)
  • 1970 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
  • 1970 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
  • 1972 – Friday Hassler, American race car driver (b. 1935)
  • 1977 – Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop and saint (b. 1922)
  • 1979 – William Gargan, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1982 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1922)
  • 1982 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
  • 1982 – Lee Strasberg, American actor and director (b. 1901)
  • 1986 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (b. 1895)
  • 1988 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (b. 1923)
  • 1988 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian educator and politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1924)
  • 1989 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
  • 1990 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French mountaineer, skier, and pilot (b. 1951)
  • 1994 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
  • 1998 – Ernst Jünger, German soldier, philosopher, and author (b. 1895)
  • 2003 – Steve Bechler, American baseball player (b. 1979)
  • 2004 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 51st President of Mexico, 1976-1982 (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (b. 1919)
  • 2005 – Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
  • 2006 – Ray Barretto, American drummer (b. 1929)
  • 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
  • 2009 – Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter and journalist (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Robert Carr, English engineer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Michael Davis, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Ulric Neisser, German-American psychologist and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Richard Briers, English actor (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Shmulik Kraus, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Mindy McCready, American singer-songwriter (b. 1975)
  • 2014 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – Peter Florin, German politician and diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican singer (b. 1965)
  • 2015 – John Barrow, American-Canadian football player and manager (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Cathy Ubels-Veen, Dutch politician (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Liu Yudi, Chinese general and pilot (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – Andy Ganteaume, Trinidadian cricketer (b. 1921)
  • 2016 – Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – Claude Jeancolas, French historian, author, and journalist (b. 1949)
  • 2016 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (b. 1959)
  • 2016 – Andrzej Żuławski, Polish film director (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – Robert H. Michel, American politician (b. 1923)
  • 2017 – Michael Novak, American Roman Catholic theologian (b. 1933)
  • 2020 – Ror Wolf, German writer, poet, and artist (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances on February 17

  • Christian feast day:
    • Seven Founders of the Servite Order
      • Alexis Falconieri
    • Constabilis
    • Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and Companions
    • Fintan of Clonenagh
    • Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)
    • Lommán of Trim
    • February 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008, still partially recognized.
  • Revolution Day (Libya)

February 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

NTS Pak Current Affairs MCQs With Answers

Current Affairs, History, Islam, MCQs / Q&A, Past Papers, Test, World /

1. Due to which militant group, Iran threatened Pakistan that they would hit bases of Militants inside Pakistan?
A. ISIS
B. Lashkar-e-Taiba
C. Jaish-al-Adl
D. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

Answer: Option C

2. How many members joint investigation team (JIT) formed by Sup¬reme Court?
A. 4 members (JIT) team
B. 6 members (JIT) team
C. 7 members (JIT) team
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

3. Name the Head of Joint investigation team (JIT) to probe Panama case?
A. Wajid Zia (FIA)
B. Brigadier Muhammad Nauman Saeed (ISI)
C. Brigadier Kamran Khurshid (MI).
D. Irfan Naeem Mangi (NAB).

Answer: Option A

4. Who is the current IG of Islamabad Police?
A. Ahmed Khan
B. Muhammad Khalid Khattak
C. Tahir Masood Yasin
D. Sikandar Hayat

Answer: Option B

5. Who is the current IG of Balochistan Police?
A. Mr. Tariq Umar Khittab
B. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera
C. Rao Amin Hashim
D. Mr. Ahsan Mehboob

Answer: Option D

6. Who is the Current IG of Punjab Police?
A. Mushtaq Sukhera
B. Usman Khattak
C. Arif Nawaz
D. Ameen Venus

Answer: Option B

7. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces during raid in Abbottabad on____________?
A. 2nd May 2010
B. 3rd May 2010
C. 2nd May 2011
D. 3rd May 2011

Answer: Option C

8. Name the Pakistani Cricket player who announced his retirement from Test cricket in April-2017?
A. Younas Khan
B. Shahid Khan Afridi
C. Misbah Ul Haq
D. Mohammed Yousaf

Answer: Option C

9. Name the Imam-i-Kaaba who was invited by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) for Centenary celebrations on 6th April 2017?
A. Hassan Al Bukhari
B. Ahmad Mohammad Al al-Abbas
C. Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais
D. Sheikh Saleh bin Muhammad Bin Talib

Answer: Option D

10. Who is the current IG of Sindh police?
A. Allah Dino Khowaja
B. Ghulam Hyder Jamali
C. Nasir Khan Durrani
D. Shahid Nadeem Baloch

Answer: Option A

11. Who is the current IG of KPK police?
A. Ihsan Ghani
B. Salahuddin Mehsud
C. Nasir Khan Durrani
D. Ali Ahmed

Answer: Option B

12. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will issue a Coin in Recognition of Edhi’s services on March 31 2017, will worth Rs___________?
A. RS 30
B. RS 40
C. RS 50
D. RS 60

Answer: Option C

13. Name the First Woman Chief Executive Officer and President of of a Major Pakistani Bank?
A. JEHAN ARA
B. SALAINA HAROON
C. SABEEN MAHMOOD
D. SIMA KAMIL

Answer: Option D

14. Who is the current Chief Justice of Sindh High Court?
A. Justice Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh
B. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah
C. Justice Faisal Arab
D. Justice Maqbool Baqar

Answer: Option A

15. Sixth population census Started on 15th March 2017, which is being carried out after___________years?
A. 17 Years
B. 18 Years
C. 19 Years
D. 20 Years

Answer: Option C

16. Who won Pakistan Super League 2017?
A. Peshawar Zalmi
B. Quetta Gladiators
C. Karachi Kings
D. Islamabad United

Answer: Option A

17. Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad means ______________?
A. Path to Salvation
B. Elimination of discord
C. Sharp and cutting strike
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

18. Pakistan Army on launched ‘Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad’ across the country on ______________?
A. 13th Jan 2017
B. 2nd Feb 2017
C. 15th Feb 2017
D. 22nd Feb 2017

Answer: Option D

19. Which country boycotts South Asian Speakers’ summit-2017 ?
A. Pakistan
B. Nepal
C. Maldives
D. Sri Lanka

Answer: Option A

20. South Asian Speakers’ Summit-2017 19-20 Feb 2017 will be held in___________?
A. Colombo, Sri Lanka
B. Kathmandu, Nepa
C. Indore, India
D. Male, Maldives

Answer: Option C

21. Who is Newly appointed Ambassador of Pakistan to USA?
A. Jalil Abbas Jilani
B. Tahmina Janjua
C. Aizaz Chaudhary
D. Nafees Zakria

Answer: Option C

22. Who is currently appointed as adviser to the prime minister on aviation PIA?
A. Zafar Iqbal Jahgra
B. Azam Shigal
C. Tariq Fatmi
D. Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan

Answer: Option D

23. The 13th Meeting of the ECO Heads of State/Government on 1st March 2017 will be hosted by__________?
A. Pakistan
B. Turkey
C. Iran
D. China

Answer: Option A

24. Which team has won blind cricket T-20 world cup-on 12 february 2017 in India?
A. Pakistan
B. Australia
C. India
D. West Indies

Answer: Option C

25. How many countries had participated in conducting international naval exercise ‘Aman-17’ in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Karachi on 10 to 14 February-2017?
A. 21
B. 38
C. 27
D. 17

Answer: Option B

26. Bhikki Power Plant, district Sheikhupura has installed capacity of__________?
A. 1180 MW
B. 1320 MW
C. 480 MW
D. 1480 MW

Answer: Option A

27. Which Renowned Pakistani novelist passes away on 4th February -2017 at the age of 88 years?
A. Fatima Surayya Bajia
B. Razia Butt
C. Bano Qudsia
D. Parveen Shakir

Answer: Option C

28. Ex PM Nawaz Shairf has inaugurated 75-km long section of Karachi-Hyderabad motorway(total length would be 136 KM) on 3rd February-2017 it is?
A. M8 Motorway
B. M9 Motorway
C. M12 Motorway
D. M4 Motorway

Answer: Option B

29. Current Deputy Chairman Senate is____________?
A. Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman
B. Marvi Memon
C. Moulana Abdul Gafoor Haidri
D. Faisal Kareem Kundi

Answer: Option C

30. Current Chairman Senate is___________?
A. Ayaz Sadiq
B. Khrsheed Shah
C. Aitzaz Ehsan
D. Raza Rabbani

Answer: Option D

31. Who became the first Pakistani Women bowler from the country in Women ODIs to take 100 wickets in One-day International?
A. Sana Mir
B. Anam Amin
C. Asmavia Iqbal
D. Bismah Maroof

Answer: Option A

32. Current Governor Sindh is _______________?
A. Murad Ali Shah
B. Dr. Ishratul Ebad
C. Justice(R) Saeed U zaman Saddiqi
D. Muhammad Zubair
updated on 31 jan 2017

Answer: Option D

33. Name the Pakistan’s surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which is capable of delivering multiple warheads using Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology?
A. Shaheen-II
B. Ababeel
C. Nasr
D. Ghauri

Answer: Option B

34. Multan Metro Bus Project Inaugurated by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif on 24th January-2017 completed with cost of 28.88 Billions Rs. its route length is?
A. 22.5 KM
B. 27 KM
C. 33.5 KM
D. 18.5 KM

Answer: Option D

35. Pakistan conducted a successful test of the “Ababeel” surface-to-surface ballistic missile on 24 January 2017, its range is___________?
A. 450 KM
B. 750 KM
C. 2200 KM
D. 1400 KM

Answer: Option C

36. After how many Years Pakistan’s win first ODI on Australian soil in jan 2017?
A. 12 Years
B. 10 Years
C. 15 years
D. None of these

Answer: Option A

37. The late Justice(R) Saeed U zaman Saddiqi Governor Sindh had served as the _________Chief Justice of Pakistan?
A. 13th Chief Justice of Pakistan
B. 14th Chief Justice of Pakistan
C. 15th Chief Justice of Pakistan
D. 16th Chief Justice of Pakistan

Answer: Option C

38. The Shortest-Serving Governor in Sindh’s History is?
A. Murad Ali Shah
B. Dr. Ishratul Ebad
C. Justice(R) Saeed U zaman Saddiqi
D. Khursheed Shah

Answer: Option C

39. Pakistan test fired its first submarine launched cruise missile Babur-III on 9 January 2017, has the range of___________ kilometres?
A. 450 kilometres
B. 550 kilometres
C. 650 kilometres
D. 700 kilometres

Answer: Option A

40.
Islamic military coalition formed to combat terrorism is the alliance of ___________ Nations
A. 34 nations
B. 38 Nations
C. 39 Nations
D. 40 Nations

Answer: Option C

41. joint operations center to coordinate and support military operations of Saudi-led Islamic military alliance of 39 Nations against terrorism is located in?
A. Riyadh
B. Jeddah
C. Medina
D. Damma

Answer: Option A

42. Who has been appointed as a Chief of Saudi-led Islamic anti-terror alliance of 39 Nations in January 2017?
A. General (retd) Raheel Sharif
B. General (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
C. General (retd) Pervez Musharraf
D. General Qamar Javed Bajwa

Answer: Option A

43. Who becomes most experienced international umpire in cricket history in January 2017?
A. Aleem Dar
B. Rod Tucker
C. Sundaram Ravi
D. Marais Erasmus

Answer: Option A

44. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar took oath as Chief justice of Pakistan on __________?
A. 25 December 2016
B. 31 December 2016
C. 1 January 2017
D. 15 January 2017

Answer: Option B

45. Who is Current Chief justice of Pakistan?
A. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali
B. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar
C. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk
D. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

Answer: Option B

46. The current Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court is?
A. Justice Mazhar ALam Khan Miankhel
B. Justice Mian Fasih-ul-Mulk
C. Justice Dost Muhammad Khan
D. Justice Yahya Afridi

Answer: Option D

47. Recently inaugurated Chashma- III nuclear power plant can generate___________ megawatts of electricity?
A. 340 megawatts
B. 360 megawatts
C. 400 megawatts
D. 150 megawatt

Answer: Option A

48. Pak-Jordan joint military exercise held in December-2016 near Attock, called?
A. Raadul Baraq
B. Ataturk-IX
C. Friendship-2016
D. Fajr-ul-Sharq 1

Answer: Option D

49. Ex PM Nawaz has inaugurated 340 MW Chashma Nuclear Project-III in Mianwali on 28 December-2016 with the help of?
A. China
B. Turkey
C. Russia
D. Canada

Answer: Option A

50. How many regulatory bodies placed under the administrative control of the respective ministries concerned in December 2016?
A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 7

Answer: Option C

51. Who becomes first Pakistani to win ICC Spirit of Cricket Award in December 2016?
A. Shahid Khan Afridi
B. Misbah-ul-Haq
C. Younas khan
D. Azhar Ali

Answer: Option B

52. China Pakistan Economics Corridor (CPEC) total length?
A.2896 KM
B. 7200 KM
C. 2442 KM
C. 4400 KM

Answer: Option C

53. Who is Current DG Rangers Sindh?
A. Major Nadeem
B. Gen Muhammad Saeed
C. Gen Rizwan Akhtar
D. Gen Asim Bajwa

Answer: Option B

54. The 10-rupee coin, recently issued by SBP, contains the picture of _____________?
A. Derawar Fort
B. Gwadar Port
C. Badshahi Mosque
D. Faisal Mosque

Answer: Option D

55. What is the name of the “chaiwala” Who got famous from social media in 2016?
A. Kamal Khan
B. Irshad Khan
C. Rasheed Khan
D. Arshad Khan

Answer: Option D

56. Pakistan will conduct its ____________ Population cencus in 2017?
A. 4th population census
B. 5th population census
C. 6th population census
D. 7th population census

Answer: Option C

57. Pakistan’s sixth population census will be carried out in _____________?
A. February 2017
B. March 2017
C. April 2017
D. May 2017

Answer: Option B

58. Who is newly Appointed DG ISPR of Pakistan Army?
A. Lt General Asim Saleem Bajwa
B. Major General Asif Ghafoor
C. Major General Athar Abbas
D. Major General Waheed Arshad

Answer: Option B

59. USA have signed an agreement to provide Rs 8.5 billion to the WAPDA for the construction of?
A. Dia Mir Bahasha Dam Project
B. Kala Bagh Dam Project
C. Kurram Tangi Dam Project
D. Mirani Dam Project

Answer: Option C

60. Name the special task force, which is established in December 2016 by Pakistan Navy to safeguard and protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as well as Gwadar port?
A. Task Force 21
B. Task Force 44
C. Task Force 88
D. Task Force 2

Answer: Option C

61. Who is the First Pakistani female member of bomb disposal squad (BDU)?
A. Shazadi Gillani
B. Maryyam
C. Rafia Qaseem Baig
D. None of these

Answer: Option C

62. According to a notification by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Who will be the next Chief Justice of Pakistan in 2017?
A. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar
B. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali
C. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa
D. Justice Amir Hani Muslim

Answer: Option A

63. Name the University which Department to be rename as “Abdus Salam Center for Physics” Approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in December 2016?
A. Punjab University (Lahore)
B. Quaid-e-Azam University (Islamabad)
C. Gomal University (DI Khan)
D. All of Above

Answer: Option B

64. Name the International University which started Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program (BBLP) / international leadership course in December 2016?
A. University of Oxford
B. Harvard University
C. University of Cambridge
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

65. The 2017 Heart of Asia – Istanbul Ministerial Process will be hosted by which country?
A. Pakistan
B. India
C. Bhutan
D. Azerbaijan

Answer: Option D

66. Heart of Asia – Istanbul Ministerial Process on December 3 to December 4, 2016 was hosted by which country?
A. Pakistan
B. India (Amritsar city)
C. Bhutan
D. Iran

Answer: Option B

67. How many Participating Countries are there in Heart of Asia Conference?
A. 12 Participating Countries
B. 14 Participating Countries
C. 16 Participating Countries
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

68. Number of Supporting Countries in Heart of Asia – Istanbul Ministerial Process are?
A. 15 Supporting Countries
B. 17 Supporting Countries
C. 19 Supporting Countries
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

69. Pakistan has started direct train and freight service in December 2016 with which Country?
A. Iran
B. India
C. Afghanistan
D. China

Answer: Option D

70. Till now, How many Chief of Army Staff (COAS), of Pakistan are selected from Baloch Regiment?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. None of these

Answer: Option C

71. General Qamar Javed Bajwa took oath as Army Chief on __________?
A. 23 November 2016
B. 25 November 2016
C. 27 November 2016
D. 29 November 2016

Answer: Option D

72. General Zubair Hayat is the ___________ Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) of Pakistan?
A. 13th
B. 15th
C. 16th
D. 17th

Answer: Option D

73. Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa is___________ Chief of Amy Staff of Pakistan?
A. 13th
B. 15th
C. 16th
D. None of these

Answer: Option C

74. Newly selected Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa belongs to Regiment___________?
A. 6th FF
B. 16th Baloch Ragiment
C. 5th Punjab
D. 13th Lancers

Answer: Option B

75. Who is the Current Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), Pakistan?
A. General Rashad Mahmood
B. General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani
C. General Zubair Hayat
D. General Raheel Sharif

Answer: Option C

76. Who is the Current Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Pakistan?
A. Gen Raheel Sharif
B. Gen Ashfaq Parvaz kayani
C. Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa
D. Gen Zubair Hayat

Answer: Option C

77. Name the cricket Stadium which is located in Khyber Agency and inaugurated by Gen Raheel Sharif in November 2016?
A. Younas Khan cricket stadium
B. Shahid Afridi cricket stadium
C. Gaddafi Stadium
D. Arbab Niaz Stadium

Answer: Option B

78. Pakistan Army shoots down Indian Quad Copter drone at LOC in November 2016 at which sector?
A) Bhimber Sector
B) Rakhchakri Sector
C) Shahkot sector
D) Jura sector.

Answer: Option B

79. PAKISTAN 9th International Defense Exhibition and Seminar to be held on 22-25 November-2016 in Karachi Expo Center, its name?
A. Defense Production Workshop-2016
B. Army Arms Ideas-2016
C. IDEAS-2016
D. Combat-2016

Answer: Option C

80. Who was the only Pakistani to have climbed six of the world’s tallest mountains of 8000 m passed away on 21-Nov-2016 due to blood Cancer?
A. Ashraf Amman
B. Nazeer Sabar
C. Numera Saleem
D. Hassan Sadpara

Answer: Option D

81. Current Minister of Planning and Development of Pakistan?
A. Nawaz Sharief
B. Khwaja Saad Rafique
C. Ahsan Iqbal
D. Zafar ul Haq

Answer: Option C

82. Ishratul Ebad has longest tenure as a Governor of any province of Pakistan?
A. 12 years (2001-2012)
B. 16 Years ( 2001-2016)
C. 14 Years ( 2002-2016)
D. 10 Years ( 2006-2016)

Answer: Option C

83. First caretaker female chief election commissioner of Pakistan who took oath on 7 November-2016?
A. Justice Majida Rizvi
B. Asima Jhangir
C. Maryam Orangzaib
D. Justice (Retd) Irshad Qaiser

Answer: Option D

84. Current National Assembly of Pakistan is_________?
A. 12th National Assembly
B. 13th National Assembly
C. 14th National Assembly
D. 16th National Assembly

Answer: Option C

85. 22nd Amendment in 1973 Constitution of Pakistan is related to____________?
A. Pak Army Trail Courts
B. Powers of Election Commission Members
C. Related to NRO
D. Not made yet

Answer: Option B

86. Woman Seats in Senat?
A. 12
B. 17
C. 4
D. 10

Answer: Option B

87. Renowned former producer and director of PTV died at the age of 73 years due to lung complications in Lahore on 4-11-2016, name?
A. Sohail Azeem
B. Bushra Adil
C. Yawar Hayat
D. Azeem Bombywalay

Answer: Option C

88. Who received the ‘most resilient journalist award’ by the International Free Press in Hague, Holland on 2nd November-2016
A. Javed Chauhdary
B. Hamid Mir
C. Talat Huusain
D. Kamran Khan

Answer: Option B

89. Terrorists attacked on Police Training Center on 25 October-2016 night which result 61 martyred and 124 injured in?
A. Peshawar
B. Quetta
C. Karachi
D. Rawalpindi

Answer: Option B

90. Pakistan Army won the gold medal at an annual international military patrolling exercise, ‘Exercise Cambrian Patrol’ held in?
A. New South Wales, Australia
B. Moscow, Russia
C. Wales, United Kingdom
D. Istanbul, Turkey

Answer: Option C

91. Which Pakistani footballer died in a road accident in Karachi on October 13, 2016?
A. Shahlyla Baloch
B. Samreen Marvi
C. Iffat Saeed
D. None of Above

Answer: Option A

92. Who have made first century,double century and also triple century in day and night Test Match with pink ball in Oct-2016?
A. Veerat Kohli (IndiA.
B. Brandom Macalum (NuzilanD.
C. Azhar Ali (Pakistan)
D. Hashim Amlaa (South AfricA.

Answer: Option C

93. Pakistan issued $1 billion five-year Sukuk bonds on October 6, 2016 @ the rate of__________?
A. 9.3%
B. 7.5%
C. 5.5%
D. 4.75%

Answer: Option C

94. Which Bank has installed world highest ATM at Pakistan-China border in Khunjerab Pass in October-2016?
A. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)
B. Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB)
C. United Bank Limited (UBL)
D. Allied Bank Limited. (ABL)
(more…)

Answer: Option A

95. 19th SAARC conference-2016 which was going to held in Islamabad, Pakistan has postponed due to opposite of 3 SAARC Countries?
A. Nepal, India, Bangladesh
B. India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
C. Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India
D. None of Above

Answer: Option C

96. Which country declared as the third largest host for refugees by Amnesty International in October-2016?
A. Jordan
B. Turkey
C. Germany
D. Pakistan

Answer: Option D

97. Joint Military Exercises Started between Pakistan & Russia in September-2016, called_________?
A. Inspired Gambit
B. North Thunder
C. Operation Rajjgal
D. Druzhba 2016 OR (Friendship 2016)

Answer: Option D

98. Seven Years old British Pakistani who became world’s youngest computer programmer in September-2016?
A. Muhammad Usaman
B. Hamza Shahzad
C. Ali Raza
D. Imran Abbas

Answer: Option B

99. Military Exercises held in September-2016 between Pak & USA in South Carolina,called?
A. Thunder Bolt
B. Joint C-2016
C. Inspired Gambit
D. none of Above

Answer: Option C

100. Current Hijri Year is ?
A. 1435 AH
B. 1437 AH
C. 1438 AH
D. 1434 AH

Answer: Option C

101. Which country got first position in Test Ranking in Cricket in its History on 22 Aug-2016?
A. Pakistan
B. India
C. South Africa
D. Sri Lanka

Answer: Option A

102. Member of Sindh Assembly and MQM resigned on 22 Aug-2016 ?
A. Farooq Sattar
B. Kashmala Tariq
C. Waseem Akhtar
D. Iram Farooqi

Answer: Option D

103. Which country won first position by wining 121 medals in Olympics-2016?
A. UK
B. China
C. USA
D. Russia

Answer: Option C

104. Tallest Building of Pakistan?
A. Burj Khalifa
B. Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi
C. Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore
D. Icon Tower, Karachi

Answer: Option D

105. Pakistan Army conducting an operation along the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Agency, called?
A. Operation Zarb-e- Azab
B. Operation Rah-e-Nijaat
C. Operation Rajjgal
D. Operation Zarb-e-Ahaan

Answer: Option C

106. Pakistan has launched its biggest Navy’s Warship Fleet Tanker with the help of ?
A. Turkey
B. China
C. Canada
D. USA

Answer: Option A

107. Who is Chairman NADRA ?
A. Syed Muzzafar
B. Uzma Adil
C. Abid Sher Ali
D. Usman Yousaf Mobeen

Answer: Option D

108. Pakistan has became 6th time world champion on 17 Aug-2016 in?
A. Cricket
B. Junior Squash
C. Hockey
D. Kabadi

Answer: Option B

109. Recently in which country Amnesty International has closed its offices?
A. Afghanistan
B. Pakistan
C. India
D. Syria

Answer: Option C

110. Current President of Azad Kashmir is?
A. Ch. Abdul Majeed
B. Sardar Masood Khan
C. Raja Farooq
D. Sardar Yaqoob

Answer: Option B

111. “Combing operation” Means________________?
A. A searching operation by Forces to find out hidden terrorists.
B. Kidney Operation by qualified Surgeons
C. A bill passed by Pakistani Parliament.
D. None of Above

Answer: Option A

112. Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Plant based in Muzzafarabad will produce electricity?
A. 969 Mwt
B. 4500 Mwt
C. 425 Mgw
D. 3200 Mwt

Answer: Option A

113. Ex Pakistani Cricket Captain Hanif Muhammad died on 11 Aug-2016 at the age of 81 years, got the title?
A. Flying Shaheen
B. Little Master
C. Asian Legend
D. None of Above

Answer: Option B

114. Russia will invest__________ in the construction of North-South gas pipeline.
A. $1 billion
B. $2 billion
C. $3 billion
D. $4 billion

Answer: Option B

115. The North-South gas pipeline will transport LNG from____________?
A. Karachi to Lahore
B. Lahore to Karachi
C. Gwadar to Karachi
D. Gwadar to Sukkur

Answer: Option A

116. The total length of North-South gas pipeline is_____________?
A. 1,000 km
B. 1,100 km
C. 1,200 km
D. 1,300 km

Answer: Option B

117. Around _______billion m3 of gas would be transported from Karachi to Lahore per annum through North-South gas pipeline.
A. 11.0
B. 11.4
C. 12.0
D. 12.4

Answer: Option D

118. The total length of Karachi-Lahore Motorway is___________?
A. 1,000 km
B. 1,100 km
C. 1,200 km
D. 1,300 km

Answer: Option B

119. Pakistan issued 10-year Eurobonds of _____ in the international Eurobond market on 25 September 2015.
A. $5 million
B. $50 million
C. $500 million
D. $5000 million

Answer: Option C

120. The coupon rate of Eurobonds issued on 25 September 2015 is___________%?
A. 7.75%
B. 8.0%
C. 8.25%
D. 8.50%

Answer: Option C

NTS Pak Current Affairs MCQs With Answers Read More »

Current Affairs, History, Islam, MCQs / Q&A, Past Papers, Test, World