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July 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

July 14 in History

  • 756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong flees the capital Chang’an as An Lushan’s forces advance toward the city.
  • 1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II.
  • 1420 – Battle of Vítkov Hill, decisive victory of Czech Hussite forces commanded by Jan Žižka against Crusade army led by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1769 – An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá leaves its base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).
  • 1771 – Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.
  • 1789 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.
  • 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie finally completes his journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turns out to flow into the Arctic Ocean. Later named after him, the Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.
  • 1790 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris celebrate the unity of the French people and the national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.
  • 1791 – The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
  • 1798 – The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
  • 1853 – Opening of the first major US world’s fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City.
  • 1865 – The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.
  • 1874 – The Chicago Fire of 1874 burns down 47 acres of the city, destroying 812 buildings, killing 20, and resulting in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago’s city council.
  • 1877 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in Martinsburg, West Virginia when wages of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers were cut for the third time in a year. The strike was ended on Sept 4 by local and state militias and federal troops.
  • 1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.
  • 1900 – Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.
  • 1902 – The Campanile in St Mark’s Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
  • 1911 – Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright brothers, lands his airplane at the South Lawn of the White House. He is later awarded a Gold medal from U.S. President William Howard Taft for this feat.
  • 1915 – World War I: The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and the British official Henry McMahon concerning the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire begins.
  • 1916 – World War I: Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.
  • 1928 – New Vietnam Revolutionary Party is founded in Huế, providing some of the communist party’s most important leaders in its early years.
  • 1933 – Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
  • 1933 – The Nazi eugenics begins with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring that calls for the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffers from alleged genetic disorders.
  • 1938 – Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91-hour airplane flight around the world.
  • 1940 – People’s Seimas held parliamentary elections, and the Union of Labor Lithuania (ULL) won, paving the way for Lithuania to become Lithuanian SSR; Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, consolidating into the Soviet Union on July 21, 1940.
  • 1943 – In Diamond, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
  • 1948 – Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.
  • 1950 – Korean War: North Korean troops initiate the Battle of Taejon.
  • 1957 – Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
  • 1958 – Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who becomes the nation’s new leader.
  • 1960 – Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.
  • 1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
  • 1969 – Football War: After Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.
  • 1969 – The Federal Reserve Banks begins removing large denominations of United States currency from circulation.
  • 1976 – Capital punishment is abolished in Canada.
  • 1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source operating system revolution. Linus Torvalds releases his Linux soon afterwards.
  • 2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.
  • 2003 – Hurricane Claudette gathers strength over the Gulf of Mexico and heads for the Texas coast, killing two people.
  • 2013 – The dedication of statue of Rachel Carson, a sculpture named for the environmentalist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
  • 2015 – NASA’s New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System.
  • 2016 – A terrorist vehicular attack in Nice, France kills 86 civilians and injures over 400 others.

Births on July 14

  • 926 – Murakami, emperor of Japan (d. 967)
  • 1410 – Arnold, Duke of Guelders, (d. 1473)
  • 1448 – Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1508)
  • 1454 – Poliziano, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1494)
  • 1515 – Philip I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1560)
  • 1602 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French cardinal and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of the French Monarch (d. 1661)
  • 1608 – George Goring, Lord Goring, English general (d. 1657)
  • 1610 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
  • 1634 – Pasquier Quesnel, French priest and theologian (d. 1719)
  • 1671 – Jacques d’Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
  • 1675 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (d. 1747)
  • 1676 – Caspar Abel, German historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1763)
  • 1696 – William Oldys, English historian and author (d. 17610
  • 1721 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (d. 1807)
  • 1743 – Gavrila Derzhavin, Russian poet and politician (d. 1816)
  • 1755 – Michel de Beaupuy, French general (d. 1796)
  • 1785 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist, playwright, and diplomat (d. 1851)
  • 1795 – Eleanor Anne Porden, British Romantic poet; wife of the explorer, John Franklin (d. 1825)
  • 1801 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (d. 1858)
  • 1816 – Arthur de Gobineau, French author and diplomat (d. 1882)
  • 1829 – Edward Benson, English archbishop (d. 1896)
  • 1859 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (d. 1928)
  • 1861 – Kate M. Gordon, American activist (d. 1931)
  • 1862 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (d. 1945)
  • 1862 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and illustrator (d. 1918)
  • 1863 – Arthur Coningham, Australian cricketer (d. 1939)
  • 1865 – Arthur Capper, American journalist and politician, 20th Governor of Kansas (d. 1951)
  • 1866 – Juliette Wytsman, Belgian painter (d. 1925)
  • 1868 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and spy (d. 1926)
  • 1872 – Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (d. 1939)
  • 1874 – Abbas II of Egypt (d. 1944)
  • 1874 – Crawford Vaughan, Australian politician, 27th Premier of South Australia (d. 1947)
  • 1878 – Donald Meek, Scottish actor (d. 1946)
  • 1885 – Sisavang Vong, Laotian king (d. 1959)
  • 1888 – Scipio Slataper, Italian author and critic (d. 1915)
  • 1889 – Marco de Gastyne, French painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
  • 1889 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II (d. 1959)
  • 1893 – Clarence J. Brown, American publisher and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (d. 1965)
  • 1893 – Garimella Satyanarayana, Indian poet and author (d. 1952)
  • 1894 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1979)
  • 1896 – Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish soldier and anarchist (d. 1936)
  • 1898 – Happy Chandler, American lawyer and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky, second Commissioner of Baseball (d. 1991)
  • 1901 – Gerald Finzi, English composer and academic (d. 1956)
  • 1901 – George Tobias, American actor (d. 1980)
  • 1903 – Irving Stone, American author and educator (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Tom Carvel, Greek-American businessman, founded Carvel (d. 1990)
  • 1906 – William H. Tunner, American general (d. 1983)
  • 1907 – Chico Landi, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1989)
  • 1910 – William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (d. 2000)
  • 1912 – Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
  • 1912 – Buddy Moreno, American musician (d. 2015)
  • 1913 – Gerald Ford, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)
  • 1914 – Fred Fox, French musician (d. 2019)
  • 1918 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – Arthur Laurents, American director, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 20110
  • 1918 – Jay Wright Forrester, American computer engineer and systems scientist (d. 2016)
  • 1920 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – Marijohn Wilkin, American country and gospel songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Sixto Durán Ballén, American-Ecuadorian architect and politician, 48th President of Ecuador (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Leon Garfield, English author (d. 1996)
  • 1921 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
  • 1922 – Robin Olds, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Elfriede Rinkel, German SS officer (d. 2018)
  • 1922 – Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish concert pianist (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – René Favaloro, Argentine surgeon and cardiologist (d. 2000)
  • 1923 – Dale Robertson, American actor (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Bruce L. Douglas, American politician
  • 1926 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Harry Dean Stanton, American actor, musician, and singer (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Himayat Ali Shair, Urdu poet (d. 2019)
  • 1927 – John Chancellor, American journalist (d. 1996)
  • 1927 – Mike Esposito, American author and illustrator (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – Nancy Olson, American actress
  • 1928 – William Rees-Mogg, English journalist and public servant (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Polly Bergen, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Benoît Sinzogan, Beninese military officer and politician
  • 1931 – Jacqueline de Ribes, French fashion designer and philanthropist
  • 1931 – E. V. Thompson, English police officer and author (d. 2012)
  • 1932 – Rosey Grier, American football player and actor
  • 1932 – Del Reeves, American country singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1933 – Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1996)
  • 1933 – Dumaagiin Sodnom, Mongolian politician; 13th Prime Minister of Mongolia
  • 1933 – Franz, Duke of Bavaria, head of the House of Wittelsbach
  • 1936 – Robert F. Overmyer, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1996)
  • 1937 – Yoshirō Mori, Japanese journalist and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Japan
  • 1938 – Jerry Rubin, American activist, author, and businessman (d. 1994)
  • 1938 – Tommy Vig, Hungarian vibraphone player, drummer, and composer
  • 1939 – Karel Gott, Czech singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1939 – George Edgar Slusser, American scholar and author (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Susan Howatch, English author and academic
  • 1941 – Maulana Karenga, American philosopher, author, and activist, created Kwanzaa
  • 1941 – Andreas Khol, German-Austrian lawyer and politician
  • 1942 – Javier Solana, Spanish physicist and politician, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1945 – Jim Gordon, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1946 – Sue Lawley, English journalist
  • 1946 – John Wood, Australian actor and screenwriter
  • 1947 – John Blackman, Australian radio and television presenter
  • 1947 – Claudia J. Kennedy, American general
  • 1947 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (d. 2009)
  • 1947 – Navin Ramgoolam, Mauritius physician and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Mauritius
  • 1948 – Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, Zulu king
  • 1948 – Tom Latham, American politician
  • 1948 – Earl Williams, American baseball player (d. 2013)
  • 1949 – Tommy Mottola, American businessman and music publisher
  • 1950 – Bruce Oldfield, English fashion designer
  • 1952 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Franklin Graham, American evangelist and missionary
  • 1952 – George Lewis, American musician and composer
  • 1952 – Joel Silver, American actor and producer, co-founded Dark Castle Entertainment
  • 1953 – Martha Coakley, American lawyer and politician, 58th Attorney General of Massachusetts
  • 1955 – L. Brent Bozell III, American journalist and activist, founded the Media Research Center
  • 1958 – Mircea Geoană, Romanian politician and diplomat, 97th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1959 – Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (d. 2016)
  • 1960 – Anna Bligh, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Queensland
  • 1960 – Kyle Gass, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
  • 1960 – Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer-songwriter, activist, and actor
  • 1960 – Jane Lynch, American actress and game show host
  • 1960 – Mike McPhee, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1961 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
  • 1962 – Vanessa Lawrence, English geographer and civil servant
  • 1963 – Jacques Lacombe, Canadian organist and conductor
  • 1964 – Brett Ogle, Australian golfer
  • 1964 – Igor Shpilband, Russian-American ice dancer and coach
  • 1965 – Urmas Kruuse, Estonian lawyer and politician, 41st Mayor of Tartu
  • 1965 – Collins Nweke, Belgian politician of Nigerian origin, 1st foreign born person elected to political office in West Flanders
  • 1966 – Matthew Fox, American actor
  • 1966 – Matt Hume, American mixed martial artist and trainer
  • 1966 – Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator
  • 1967 – Marios Constantinou, Cypriot footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Jeff Jarrett, American wrestler and promoter, co-founder of Impact Wrestling
  • 1967 – Patrick J. Kennedy, American politician
  • 1967 – Hashan Tillakaratne, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1967 – Robin Ventura, American baseball player and manager
  • 1968 – Michael Palmer, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
  • 1969 – José Hernández, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1969 – Sven Sester, Estonian politician
  • 1970 – Jacob Young, Norwegian guitarist
  • 1971 – Howard Webb, English footballer and referee
  • 1973 – Tani Fuga, Samoan rugby player
  • 1973 – Paul Methric, American rapper and producer
  • 1974 – Erick Dampier, American basketball player
  • 1974 – David Mitchell, British comedian
  • 1975 – Derlei, Brazilian footballer
  • 1975 – Tim Hudson, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Jamey Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Gordon Cree, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1977 – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
  • 1978 – Mattias Ekström, Swedish race car driver
  • 1979 – Bernie Castro, Dominican baseball player
  • 1979 – Axel Teichmann, German skier
  • 1980 – George Smith, Australian rugby player
  • 1981 – Matti Hautamäki, Finnish ski jumper
  • 1981 – Robbie Maddison, Australian motorcycle racer
  • 1982 – Dmitry Chaplin, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
  • 1982 – Achille Coser, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Igor Andreev, Russian tennis player
  • 1983 – Thomas Howard, American football player (d. 2013)
  • 1983 – Tito Muñoz, American conductor and academic
  • 1984 – Renaldo Balkman, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Erica Blasberg, American golfer (d. 2010)
  • 1984 – Lenka Dlhopolcová, Slovak tennis player
  • 1984 – Mounir El Hamdaoui, Moroccan footballer
  • 1984 – Samir Handanović, Slovenian footballer
  • 1984 – Nilmar, Brazilian footballer
  • 1985 – Billy Celeski, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Darrelle Revis, American football player
  • 1985 – Chris Wright, English cricketer
  • 1986 – Alexander Gerndt, Swedish footballer
  • 1986 – Nikolay Kulemin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Dan Smith, English singer-songwriter
  • 1987 – Aqeel Ahmed, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Margus Hunt, Estonian-American football player, discus thrower, and shot putter
  • 1987 – Adam Johnson, English footballer
  • 1987 – Dan Reynolds, American singer-songwriter
  • 1987 – Sean Smith, American football player
  • 1987 – Ryan Sweeting, Bahamian-American tennis player
  • 1988 – Conor McGregor, Irish mixed martial artist
  • 1988 – Jérémy Stravius, French swimmer
  • 1988 – James Vaughan, English footballer
  • 1989 – Sakari Mattila, Finnish footballer
  • 1989 – Rolando McClain, American football player
  • 1989 – Cyril Rioli, Australian rules footballer
  • 1991 – Shabazz Napier, American basketball player
  • 1993 – Sayaka Yamamoto, Japanese singer
  • 1995 – Megan Cunningham, Scottish footballer
  • 1995 – Serge Gnabry, German footballer
  • 1995 – Kim Hyo-joo, South Korean golfer
  • 1995 – Federico Mattiello, Italian footballer
  • 1997 – Cengiz Ünder, Turkish footballer

Deaths on July 14

  • 664 – Eorcenberht, king of Kent
  • 809 – Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general and Shōgun (b. 731)
  • 850 – Wei Fu, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 937 – Arnulf I, duke of Bavaria
  • 1223 – Philip II, king of France (b. 1165)
  • 1242 – Hōjō Yasutoki, regent of Japan (b. 1183)
  • 1262 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (b. 1222)
  • 1486 – Margaret of Denmark, daughter of Christian I of Denmark (b. 1456)
  • 1526 – John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English peer, landowner, and Lord Great Chamberlain of England (b. 1499)
  • 1575 – Richard Taverner, English translator (b. 1505)
  • 1614 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian priest and saint (b. 1550)
  • 1723 – Claude Fleury, French historian and author (b. 1640)
  • 1742 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (b. 1662)
  • 1766 – František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (b. 1674)
  • 1774 – James O’Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, Irish field marshal (b. 1682)
  • 1780 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (b. 1713)
  • 1789 – Jacques de Flesselles, French politician (b. 1721)
  • 1789 – Bernard-René de Launay, French politician (b. 1740)
  • 1790 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
  • 1809 – Nicodemus the Hagiorite, Greek monk and saint (b. 1749)
  • 1816 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general (b. 1750)
  • 1817 – Germaine de Staël, French philosopher and author (b. 1766)
  • 1827 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer, reviver of a wave theory of light, inventor of catadioptric lighthouse lens (b. 1788)
  • 1834 – Edmond-Charles Genêt, French-American diplomat (b. 1763)
  • 1850 – August Neander, German historian and theologian (b. 1789)
  • 1856 – Edward Vernon Utterson, English lawyer and historian (b. 1775)
  • 1876 – John Buckley, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1813)
  • 1881 – Billy the Kid, American criminal (b. 1859)
  • 1904 – Paul Kruger, South African politician, 5th President of the South African Republic (b. 1824)
  • 1907 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (b. 1838)
  • 1910 – Marius Petipa, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1818)
  • 1917 – Octave Lapize, French cyclist (b. 1887)
  • 1918 – Quentin Roosevelt, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1897)
  • 1936 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (b. 1890)
  • 1937 – Julius Meier, American businessman and politician, 20th Governor of Oregon (b. 1874)
  • 1939 – Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1860)
  • 1954 – Jacinto Benavente, Spanish author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
  • 1965 – Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier and politician, 5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1900)
  • 1966 – Julie Manet, French painter and art collector (b. 1878)
  • 1967 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian author and poet (b. 1880)
  • 1968 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian author and poet (b. 1892)
  • 1970 – Preston Foster, American actor (b. 1900)
  • 1973 – Ali Kılıç, Turkish captain and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1974 – Carl Andrew Spaatz, American general (b. 1891)
  • 1975 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and conductor (b. 1924)
  • 1979 – Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1882)
  • 1984 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 1986 – Raymond Loewy, French-American industrial designer (b. 1893)
  • 1989 – Frank Bell, English linguist and academic (b. 1916)
  • 1991 – Constance Stokes, Australian painter (b. 1906)
  • 1993 – Léo Ferré, Monacan singer-songwriter, pianist, and poet (b. 1916)
  • 1994 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1940)
  • 1996 – Jeff Krosnoff, American race car driver (b. 1964)
  • 1998 – Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald’s (b. 1909)
  • 2000 – Pepo, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1911)
  • 2000 – William Roscoe Estep, American historian and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (b. 1944)
  • 2001 – Guy de Lussigny, French painter (b. 1929)
  • 2002 – Joaquín Balaguer, Dominican lawyer and politician, 41st President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906)
  • 2002 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (b. 1943)
  • 2003 – François-Albert Angers, Canadian economist and academic (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Joe Harnell, American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Cicely Saunders, English hospice founder (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – John Ferguson Sr., Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – John Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Scottish businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Don Brinkley, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Frank R. Burns, American football player and coach (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – King Hill, American football player (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Sixten Jernberg, Swedish skier (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Roy Shaw, English businessman and boxer (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Herbert M. Allison, American lieutenant and businessman (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Matt Batts, American baseball player and coach (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Dennis Burkley, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Bill Warner, American motorcycle racer (b. 1969)
  • 2013 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Alice Coachman, American high jumper (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Vange Leonel, Brazilian singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1963)
  • 2014 – John Victor Parker, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Willer Bordon, Italian businessman, academic, and politician, Italian Minister of the Environment (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Wolf Gremm, German director and producer (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Masao Horiba, Japanese businessman, founded Horiba (b. 1924)
  • 2016 – Helena Benitez, Filipino politician, educator and environmentalist (b. 1914)
  • 2017 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (b. 1977)

Holidays and observances on July 14

  • Christian feast day:
    • Boniface of Savoy
    • Camillus de Lellis (Roman Catholic Church, except in the United States)
    • Deusdedit of Canterbury
    • Francis Solanus
    • Gaspar de Bono
    • Idus of Leinster
    • Kateri Tekakwitha (United States)
    • Samson Occom (Episcopal Church (United States))
    • John Keble (Church of England)
    • Libert of Saint-Trond
    • Ulrich of Zell
    • July 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Bastille Day (France and French dependencies)
  • Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, an official flag day. (Sweden)
  • Republic Day (Iraq)
  • Hondurans’ Day (Honduras)
  • Black Country Day, (United Kingdom)

July 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 13

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

Deaths on July 13

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

Holidays and observances on July 13

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

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

On This Day

July 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances 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 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

Births on July 8

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

Deaths on July 8

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

Holidays and observances on July 8

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

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

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 6

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

Deaths on July 6

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

Holidays and observances on July 6

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

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

On This Day

July 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

The Aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurs around this date.

July 4 in History

  • 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
  • 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
  • 836 – Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
  • 993 – Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
  • 1054 – A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
  • 1120 – Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew’s death.
  • 1187 – The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
  • 1253 – Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
  • 1359 – Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
  • 1456 – Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.
  • 1534 – Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
  • 1584 – Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island
  • 1610 – The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War.
  • 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
  • 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  • 1774 – Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament’s Coercive Acts.
  • 1776 – American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
  • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
  • 1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.
  • 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
  • 1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
  • 1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives.”
  • 1827 – Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
  • 1831 – Samuel Francis Smith writes “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
  • 1837 – Grand Junction Railway, the world’s first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
  • 1838 – The Iowa Territory is organized.
  • 1845 – Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau’s account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.
  • 1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman’s book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published In Brooklyn.
  • 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to U.S. forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. One hundred fifty miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate army is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Confederate invasion of U.S. territory.
  • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
  • 1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
  • 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway’s first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
  • 1887 – The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
  • 1892 – Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a year with 367 days.
  • 1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
  • 1898 – En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.
  • 1901 – William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines.
  • 1903 – The Philippine–American War is officially concluded.
  • 1910 – The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured.
  • 1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
  • 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
  • 1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
  • 1918 – Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
  • 1918 – World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.
  • 1918 – Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
  • 1927 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
  • 1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”, then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
  • 1941 – Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.
  • 1942 – World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world’s largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka.
  • 1943 – World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.
  • 1946 – The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.
  • 1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
  • 1947 – The “Indian Independence Bill” is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
  • 1950 – Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
  • 1951 – Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.
  • 1951 – William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.
  • 1954 – Rationing ends in the United Kingdom.
  • 1960 – Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)).
  • 1961 – On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.
  • 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
  • 1976 – Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
  • 1976 – The U.S. celebrates its Bicentennial.
  • 1977 – The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit.
  • 1982 – Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown.
  • 1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon”) is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
  • 1997 – NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
  • 1998 – Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
  • 2001 – Vladivostock Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board.
  • 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
  • 2004 – Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.
  • 2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
  • 2006 – Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program’s history to occur on the United States’ Independence Day.
  • 2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
  • 2009 – The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.
  • 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
  • 2015 – Chile claims its first title in international soccer by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.

Births on July 4

  • AD 68 – Salonina Matidia, Roman daughter of Ulpia Marciana (d. 119)
  • 1095 – Usama ibn Munqidh, Muslim poet, author and faris (Knight) (d. 1188)
  • 1330 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shōgun (d. 1367)
  • 1477 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (d. 1534)
  • 1546 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1595)
  • 1656 – John Leake, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1720)
  • 1694 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (d. 1772)
  • 1715 – Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet and academic (d. 1769)
  • 1719 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright (d. 1797)
  • 1729 – George Leonard, American lawyer, jurist and politician (d. 1819)
  • 1753 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (d. 1809)
  • 1790 – George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (d. 1866)
  • 1799 – Oscar I of Sweden (d. 1859)
  • 1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1864)
  • 1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1816 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club whisky (d. 1899)
  • 1826 – Stephen Foster, American songwriter and composer (d. 1864)
  • 1842 – Hermann Cohen, German philosopher (d. 1918)
  • 1845 – Thomas John Barnardo, Irish philanthropist and humanitarian (d. 1905)
  • 1847 – James Anthony Bailey, American circus ringmaster, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1906)
  • 1854 – Victor Babeș, Romanian physician and biologist (d. 1926)
  • 1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer and academic (d. 1921)
  • 1871 – Hubert Cecil Booth, English engineer (d. 1955)
  • 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)
  • 1874 – John McPhee, Australian journalist and politician, 27th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1952)
  • 1880 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1975)
  • 1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (d. 1968)
  • 1883 – Rube Goldberg, American sculptor, cartoonist, and engineer (d. 1970)
  • 1887 – Pio Pion, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1945)
  • 1895 – Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1896 – Mao Dun, Chinese journalist, author, and critic (d. 1981)
  • 1897 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (d. 1924)
  • 1898 – Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican-American historian and activist (d. 1997)
  • 1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, British actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1952)
  • 1898 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian politician (d. 1998)
  • 1898 – Gertrude Weaver, American supercentenarian (d. 2015)
  • 1900 – Belinda Dann, Indigenous Australian who was one of the Stolen Generation, reunited with family aged 107 (d. 2007)
  • 1900 – Nellie Mae Rowe, American folk artist (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Meyer Lansky, American gangster (d. 1983)
  • 1902 – George Murphy, American actor and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1903 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1986)
  • 1904 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
  • 1905 – Irving Johnson, American sailor and author (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Robert Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey, British diplomat and public servant (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Lionel Trilling, American critic, essayist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1975)
  • 1906 – Vincent Schaefer, American chemist and meteorologist (d. 1993)
  • 1907 – John Anderson, American discus thrower (d. 1948)
  • 1907 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Alec Templeton, Welsh composer, pianist and satirist (d. 1963)
  • 1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Gloria Stuart, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1911 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (d. 1989)
  • 1911 – Mitch Miller, American singer and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Timmie Rogers, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Iva Toguri D’Aquino, American typist and broadcaster (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Eppie Lederer, American journalist and radio host (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga, (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Alec Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2010)
  • 1918 – Eric Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Norm Drucker, American basketball player and referee (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Fritz Wilde, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
  • 1920 – Paul Bannai, American politician (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Gérard Debreu, French economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Nasser Sharifi, Iranian sports shooter
  • 1921 – Metropolitan Mikhail of Asyut (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Philip Rose, American actor, playwright, and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – R. James Harvey, American politician (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
  • 1924 – Delia Fiallo, Cuban author and screenwriter
  • 1925 – Ciril Zlobec, Slovene poet, writer, translator, journalist and politician (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – Dorothy Head Knode, American tennis player (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Lake Underwood, American race car driver and businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and photographer
  • 1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer and politician
  • 1928 – Teofisto Guingona Jr., Filipino politician; 11th Vice President of the Philippines
  • 1928 – Jassem Alwan, Syrian Army Officer (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Ron Casey, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2018)
  • 1929 – Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)
  • 1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
  • 1931 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Ireland-born American actor (d. 1977)
  • 1931 – Rick Casares, American football player and soldier (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1931 – Peter Richardson, English cricketer (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian runner
  • 1934 – Yvonne B. Miller, American academic and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1934 – Colin Welland, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano and actress
  • 1937 – Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and academic
  • 1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway
  • 1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian
  • 1937 – Eric Walters, Australian journalist (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Steven Rose, English biologist and academic
  • 1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2020)
  • 1940 – Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2020)
  • 1941 – Sam Farr, American politician
  • 1941 – Tomaž Šalamun, Croatian-Slovenian poet and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – Pavel Sedláček, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1941 – Brian Willson, American soldier, lawyer, and activist
  • 1942 – Hal Lanier, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1942 – Floyd Little, American football player and coach
  • 1942 – Stefan Meller, French-Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2008)
  • 1942 – Prince Michael of Kent
  • 1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Conny Bauer, German trombonist
  • 1943 – Emerson Boozer, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1943 – Adam Hart-Davis, English historian, author, and photographer
  • 1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author
  • 1943 – Fred Wesley, American jazz and funk trombonist
  • 1943 – Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
  • 1945 – Andre Spitzer, Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (d. 1972)
  • 1946 – Ron Kovic, American author and activist
  • 1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist
  • 1947 – Lembit Ulfsak, Estonian actor and director (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – René Arnoux, French race car driver
  • 1948 – Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor
  • 1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Philip Craven, English basketball player and swimmer
  • 1950 – David Jensen, Canadian-English radio and television host
  • 1951 – John Alexander, Australian tennis player and politician
  • 1951 – Ralph Johnson, American R&B drummer and percussionist
  • 1951 – Vladimir Tismăneanu, Romanian-American political scientist, sociologist, and academic
  • 1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
  • 1952 – Álvaro Uribe, Colombian lawyer and politician, 39th President of Colombia
  • 1952 – Carol MacReady, English actress
  • 1952 – John Waite, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Paul Rogat Loeb, American author and activist
  • 1953 – Francis Maude, English lawyer and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
  • 1954 – Jim Beattie, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1954 – Morganna, American model, actress, and dancer
  • 1954 – Devendra Kumar Joshi, 21st Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy
  • 1955 – Kevin Nichols, Australian cyclist
  • 1956 – Robert Sinclair MacKay, British academic and educator
  • 1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1958 – Vera Leth, Greenlandic Ombudsman
  • 1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
  • 1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer
  • 1960 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1961 – Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series
  • 1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist
  • 1963 – José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1963 – Sonia Pierre, Hatian-Dominican human rights activist (d. 2011)
  • 1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager
  • 1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer
  • 1964 – Edi Rama, Albanian politician
  • 1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1964 – Mark Whiting, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Horace Grant, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Kiriakos Karataidis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Gérard Watkins, English actor and playwright
  • 1966 – Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer
  • 1966 – Lee Reherman, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1967 – Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager
  • 1967 – Sébastien Deleigne, French athlete
  • 1969 – Al Golden, American football player and coach
  • 1969 – Todd Marinovich, American football player and coach
  • 1969 – Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer and engineer
  • 1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1973 – Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver
  • 1973 – Gackt, Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor
  • 1973 – Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Anjelika Krylova, Russian ice dancer and coach
  • 1973 – Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver
  • 1973 – Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Jill Craybas, American tennis player
  • 1974 – La’Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Adrian Griffin, American basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
  • 1976 – Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier
  • 1978 – Marcos Daniel, Brazilian tennis player
  • 1978 – Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
  • 1979 – Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician
  • 1979 – Josh McCown, American football player
  • 1979 – Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer
  • 1980 – Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer
  • 1981 – Dedé, Angolan footballer
  • 1981 – Brock Berlin, American football player
  • 1981 – Christoph Preuß, German footballer
  • 1981 – Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player
  • 1981 – Will Smith, American football player (d. 2016)
  • 1982 – Vladimir Boisa, Georgian basketball player
  • 1982 – Vladimir Gusev, Russian cyclist
  • 1982 – Jeff Lima, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1982 – Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality
  • 1983 – Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1983 – Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter
  • 1983 – Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Amol Rajan, Indian-English journalist
  • 1983 – Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer
  • 1985 – Kane Tenace, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Dimitrios Mavroeidis, Greek basketball player
  • 1985 – Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer
  • 1986 – Ömer Aşık, Turkish basketball player
  • 1986 – Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer
  • 1986 – Rafael Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis player
  • 1986 – Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer
  • 1986 – Terrance Knighton, American football player
  • 1986 – Marte Elden, Norwegian skier
  • 1987 – Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian runner
  • 1987 – Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer
  • 1988 – Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress
  • 1989 – Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner footballer
  • 1990 – Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1990 – Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer
  • 1990 – Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer
  • 1992 – Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1992 – Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1993 – Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer
  • 1995 – Post Malone, American singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer
  • 1999 – Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician
  • 2003 – Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer

Deaths on July 4

  • 673 – Ecgberht, king of Kent
  • 907 – Luitpold, margrave of Bavaria
  • 907 – Dietmar I, archbishop of Salzburg
  • 910 – Luo Shaowei, Chinese warlord (b. 877)
  • 940 – Wang Jianli, Chinese general (b. 871)
  • 943 – Taejo of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 877)
  • 945 – Zhuo Yanming, Chinese Buddhist monk and emperor
  • 965 – Benedict V, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 973 – Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop and saint (b. 890)
  • 975 – Gwangjong of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 925)
  • 1187 – Raynald of Châtillon, French knight (b. 1125)
  • 1307 – Rudolf I of Bohemia (b. 1281)
  • 1336 – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (b. 1271)
  • 1429 – Carlo I Tocco, ruler of Epirus (b. 1372)
  • 1533 – John Frith, English priest, writer, and martyr (b. 1503)
  • 1541 – Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1495)
  • 1546 – Hayreddin Barbarossa, Ottoman admiral (b. 1478)
  • 1551 – Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, English politician (b. 1514)
  • 1603 – Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1521)
  • 1623 – William Byrd, English composer (b. c. 1540)
  • 1644 – Brian Twyne, English academic, antiquarian and archivist (b. 1581)
  • 1648 – Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint, one of the eight Canadian Martyrs (b. 1601)
  • 1742 – Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian monk, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1671)
  • 1754 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright and author (b. 1680)
  • 1761 – Samuel Richardson, English author and painter (b. 1689)
  • 1780 – Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (b. 1712)
  • 1787 – Charles, Prince of Soubise, Marshal of France (b. 1715)
  • 1821 – Richard Cosway, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
  • 1826 – John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
  • 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
  • 1831 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (b. 1758)
  • 1848 – François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician (b. 1768)
  • 1850 – William Kirby, English entomologist and author (b. 1759)
  • 1854 – Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German academic and jurist (b. 1781)
  • 1857 – William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (b. 1786)
  • 1881 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (b. 1806)
  • 1882 – Joseph Brackett, American composer and author (b. 1797)
  • 1886 – Poundmaker, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1797)
  • 1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, American lawyer and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)
  • 1901 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (b. 1843)
  • 1902 – Vivekananda, Indian monk and saint (b. 1863)
  • 1905 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and author (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1833)
  • 1910 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (b. 1835)
  • 1916 – Alan Seeger, American soldier and poet (b. 1888)
  • 1922 – Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1894)
  • 1926 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist and saint (b. 1901)
  • 1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1938 – Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1881)
  • 1938 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
  • 1941 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1881)
  • 1943 – Władysław Sikorski, Polish general and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Poland (b. 1881)
  • 1946 – Taffy O’Callaghan, Welsh footballer and coach (b. 1906)
  • 1948 – Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian journalist and author (b. 1882)
  • 1949 – François Brandt, Dutch rower and engineer (b. 1874)
  • 1963 – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889)
  • 1963 – Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (b. 1927)
  • 1963 – Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (b. 1876)
  • 1964 – Gaby Morlay, French actress and singer (b. 1893)
  • 1969 – Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (b. 1890)
  • 1970 – Barnett Newman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1970 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American sailor and businessman (b. 1884)
  • 1971 – August Derleth, American anthologist and author (b. 1909)
  • 1971 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1974 – Georgette Heyer, English author (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – André Randall, French actor (b. 1892)
  • 1976 – Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli colonel (b. 1946)
  • 1976 – Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1895)
  • 1977 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian physicist and academic (b. 1918)
  • 1979 – Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1905)
  • 1980 – Maurice Grevisse, Belgian linguist and author (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
  • 1986 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critique musical and physicist (b. 1933)
  • 1986 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist and composer (b. 1903)
  • 1986 – Oscar Zariski, Belarusian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1899)
  • 1988 – Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (b. 1954)
  • 1990 – Olive Ann Burns, American journalist and author (b. 1924)
  • 1991 – Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon and physician (b. 1936)
  • 1991 – Art Sansom, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Bona Arsenault, Canadian historian, genealogist, and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1994 – Joey Marella, American wrestling referee (b. 1964)
  • 1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (b. 1919)
  • 1995 – Bob Ross, American painter and television host (b. 1942)
  • 1997 – Charles Kuralt, American journalist (b. 1934)
  • 1997 – John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (b. 1907)
  • 1999 – Leo Garel, American illustrator and educator (b. 1917)
  • 2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (b. 1912)
  • 2003 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1944)
  • 2004 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Hank Stram, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (b. 1925)
  • 2008 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (b. 1940)
  • 2008 – Jesse Helms, American politician (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (b. 1916)
  • 2008 – Terrence Kiel, American football player (b. 1980)
  • 2008 – Charles Wheeler, German-English soldier and journalist (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Brenda Joyce, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Drake Levin, American guitarist (b. 1946)
  • 2009 – Steve McNair, American football player (b. 1973)
  • 2009 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author and actor (b. 1935)
  • 2009 – Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese poet and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2010 – Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet and author (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (b. 1987)
  • 2012 – Eric Sykes, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Onllwyn Brace, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Jack Crompton, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – James Fulton, American dermatologist and academic (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Charles A. Hines, American general (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (b. 1960)
  • 2014 – Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – C. J. Henderson, American author and critic (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Earl Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Nedelcho Beronov, Bulgarian judge and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – William Conrad Gibbons, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – John Blackwell, American R&B, funk, and jazz drummer (b. 1973)
  • 2017 – Daniil Granin, Soviet and Russian author (b. 1919)
  • 2018 – Henri Dirickx, Belgian footballer (b. 1927)
  • 2018 – Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances on July 4

  • Christian feast day:
    • Andrew of Crete
    • Bertha of Artois
    • Blessed Catherine Jarrige
    • Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
    • Elizabeth of Aragon (or of Portugal)
    • Oda of Canterbury
    • Ulrich of Augsburg
    • July 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Birthday of Queen Sonja (Norway)
  • The first evening of Dree Festival, celebrated until July 7 (Apatani people, Arunachal Pradesh, India)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. (United States and its dependencies)
  • Liberation Day (Northern Mariana Islands)
  • Liberation Day (Rwanda)
  • Republic Day (Philippines)

July 4 – 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

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

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

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

  • 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy.
  • 763 – The Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus.
  • 1422 – Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Milan and the Swiss cantons.
  • 1521 – Spanish forces defeat a combined French and Navarrese army at the Battle of Noáin during the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre.
  • 1559 – King Henry II of France is mortally wounded in a jousting match against Gabriel, comte de Montgomery.
  • 1651 – The Deluge: Khmelnytsky Uprising: The Battle of Berestechko ends with a Polish victory.
  • 1688 – The Immortal Seven issue the Invitation to William, which would culminate in the Glorious Revolution.
  • 1758 – Seven Years’ War: Habsburg Austrian forces destroy a Prussian reinforcement and supply convoy in the Battle of Domstadtl, helping to expel Prussian King Frederick the Great from Moravia.
  • 1794 – Northwest Indian War: Native American forces under Blue Jacket attack Fort Recovery.
  • 1805 – Under An act to divide the Indiana Territory into two separate governments, adopted by the U.S. Congress on January 11, 1805, the Michigan Territory is organized.
  • 1859 – French acrobat Charles Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
  • 1860 – The 1860 Oxford evolution debate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History takes place.
  • 1864 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln grants Yosemite Valley to California for “public use, resort and recreation”.
  • 1882 – Charles J. Guiteau is hanged in Washington, D.C. for the assassination of U.S. President James Garfield.
  • 1886 – The first transcontinental train trip across Canada departs from Montreal, Quebec. It arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia on July 4.
  • 1892 – The Homestead Strike begins near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • 1905 – Albert Einstein sends the article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduces special relativity, for publication in Annalen der Physik.
  • 1906 – The United States Congress passes the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act.
  • 1908 – The Tunguska Event, the largest impact event on Earth in human recorded history, resulting in a massive explosion over Eastern Siberia.
  • 1912 – The Regina Cyclone, Canada’s deadliest tornado event, kills 28 people in Regina, Saskatchewan.
  • 1916 – World War I: In “the day Sussex died”, elements of the Royal Sussex Regiment take heavy casualties in the Battle of the Boar’s Head at Richebourg-l’Avoué in France.
  • 1921 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding appoints former President William Howard Taft as Chief Justice of the United States.
  • 1922 – In Washington D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes and Dominican Ambassador Francisco J. Peynado sign the Hughes–Peynado agreement, which ends the United States occupation of the Dominican Republic.
  • 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler’s violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, takes place.
  • 1936 – Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia appeals for aid to the League of Nations against Italy’s invasion of his country.
  • 1937 – The world’s first emergency telephone number, 999, is introduced in London.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cherbourg ends with the fall of the strategically valuable port to American forces.
  • 1953 – The first Chevrolet Corvette rolls off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan.
  • 1956 – A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 128 on board both airliners.
  • 1959 – A United States Air Force F-100 Super Sabre from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, crashes into a nearby elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents from the local neighborhood.
  • 1960 – Belgian Congo gains independence as Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville).
  • 1963 – Ciaculli bombing: a car bomb, intended for Mafia boss Salvatore Greco, kills seven police officers and military personnel near Palermo.
  • 1966 – The National Organization for Women, the United States’ largest feminist organization, is founded.
  • 1968 – Pope Paul VI issues the Credo of the People of God.
  • 1971 – The crew of the Soviet Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply escapes through a faulty valve.
  • 1972 – The first leap second is added to the UTC time system.
  • 1974 – The Baltimore municipal strike of 1974 begins.
  • 1977 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands.
  • 1985 – Thirty-nine American hostages from the hijacked TWA Flight 847 are freed in Beirut after being held for 17 days.
  • 1986 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Bowers v. Hardwick that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.
  • 1990 – East Germany and West Germany merge their economies.
  • 1994 – During a test flight of an Airbus A330-300 at Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, the aircraft crashes killing all seven people on board.
  • 1997 – The United Kingdom transfers sovereignty over Hong Kong to China.
  • 2005 – MTV Canada is rebranded as Razer
  • 2007 – A Jeep Cherokee filled with propane canisters drives into the entrance of Glasgow Airport, Scotland in a failed terrorist attack. This was linked to the 2007 London car bombs that had taken place the day before.
  • 2009 – Yemenia Flight 626, an Airbus A310-300, crashes into the Indian Ocean near Comoros, killing 152 of the 153 people on board. A 14-year-old girl named Bahia Bakari survives the crash.
  • 2013 – Nineteen firefighters die controlling a wildfire in Yarnell, Arizona.
  • 2013 – Protests begin around Egypt against President Mohamed Morsi and the ruling Freedom and Justice Party, leading to their overthrow during the 2013 Egyptian coup d’état.
  • 2015 – A Hercules C-130 military aircraft with 113 people on board crashes in a residential area in Medan, Indonesia, resulting in at least 116 deaths.
  • 2019 – Donald Trump becomes the first sitting US President to visit the Democratic Republic of Korea.

Births on June 30

  • 1286 – John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, English magnate (d. 1347)
  • 1468 – John, Elector of Saxony (d. 1532)
  • 1470 – Charles VIII of France (d. 1498)
  • 1478 – John, Prince of Asturias, Son of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile (d. 1497)
  • 1503 – John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1554)
  • 1533 – Martín de Rada, Spanish missionary (d. 1578)
  • 1588 – Giovanni Maria Sabino, Italian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1649)
  • 1641 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (d. 1719)
  • 1685 – John Gay, English poet and playwright (d. 1732)
  • 1688 – Abu l-Hasan Ali I, ruler of Tunisia (d. 1756)
  • 1722 – Jiří Antonín Benda, Czech composer, violinist and Kapellmeister (d. 1795)
  • 1755 – Paul Barras, French soldier and politician (d. 1829)
  • 1789 – Horace Vernet, French painter and academic (d. 1863)
  • 1791 – Félix Savart, French physicist and psychologist (d. 1841)
  • 1803 – Thomas Lovell Beddoes, English poet, playwright, and physician (d. 1849)
  • 1807 – Friedrich Theodor Vischer, German author, poet, and playwright (d.1887)
  • 1817 – Joseph Dalton Hooker, English botanist and explorer (d. 1911)
  • 1843 – Ernest Mason Satow, English orientalist and diplomat (d. 1929)
  • 1864 – Frederick Bligh Bond, English architect and archaeologist (d. 1945)
  • 1884 – Georges Duhamel, French author and critic (d. 1966)
  • 1889 – Archibald Frazer-Nash, English motor car designer, engineer and founder of Frazer Nash (d. 1965)
  • 1890 – Paul Boffa, Maltese physician and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1962)
  • 1891 – Man Mountain Dean, American wrestler and sergeant (d. 1953)
  • 1891 – Ed Lewis, American wrestler and manager (d. 1966)
  • 1891 – Stanley Spencer, English painter (d. 1959)
  • 1892 – Pierre Blanchar, Algerian-French actor and director (d. 1963)
  • 1893 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (d. 1973)
  • 1895 – Heinz Warneke, German-American sculptor and educator (d. 1983)
  • 1899 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – John Van Ryn, American tennis player (d. 1999)
  • 1906 – Anthony Mann, American actor and director (d. 1967)
  • 1907 – Roman Shukhevych, Ukrainian general and politician (d. 1950)
  • 1908 – Winston Graham, English author (d. 2003)
  • 1908 – Luigi Rovere, Italian film producer (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – Rob Nieuwenhuys, Dutch writer (d. 1999)
  • 1909 – Juan Bosch, 43rd President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Czesław Miłosz, Polish novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
  • 1911 – Nagarjun, Indian poet (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – Ludwig Bölkow, German engineer (d. 2003)
  • 1912 – Dan Reeves, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1971)
  • 1912 – María Luisa Dehesa Gómez Farías, Mexican architect (d. 2009)
  • 1913 – Alfonso López Michelsen, Colombian lawyer and politician, 24th President of Colombia (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Harry Wismer, American sportscaster (d. 1967)
  • 1914 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (d. 2001)
  • 1914 – Allan Houser, American sculptor and painter (d. 1994)
  • 1917 – Susan Hayward, American actress (d. 1975)
  • 1917 – Lena Horne, American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – Willa Kim, American costume designer (d. 2016)
  • 1919 – Ed Yost, American inventor of the modern hot air balloon (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Eleanor Ross Taylor, American poet and educator (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Washington SyCip, American-Filipino accountant (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – Al Besselink, American professional golfer
  • 1923 – Andy Jack, English footballer
  • 1924 – Max Trepp, Swiss sprinter
  • 1925 – Fred Schaus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Ebrahim Amini, Iranian politician (d. 2020)
  • 1926 – Paul Berg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1926 – David Berglas, American magician and mentalist
  • 1927 – Shirley Fry Irvin, American tennis player
  • 1927 – James Goldman, American screenwriter and playwright (d. 1998)
  • 1927 – Mario Lanfranchi, Italian director, screenwriter, producer, collector and actor
  • 1927 – Frank McCabe, American basketball player
  • 1928 – Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli, Islamic philosopher, theologian, mathematician and mystic
  • 1928 – Nathaniel Tarn, American poet, essayist, anthropologist, and translator
  • 1929 – Yang Ti-liang, Chinese judge
  • 1930 – Ben Atchley, American politician (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabian politician
  • 1930 – Ignatius Peter VIII Abdalahad, Syrian bishop (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Yo-Yo Davalillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Andrew Hill, American pianist and composer (d. 2007)
  • 1931 – Ronald Rene Lagueux, American judge
  • 1931 – Kaye Vaughan, American football player
  • 1933 – Tomislav Ivić, Croatian football coach and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1933 – M. J. K. Smith, English cricketer and rugby player
  • 1933 – Orval Tessier, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1933 – Joan Murrell Owens, American educator and marine biologist (d. 2011)
  • 1934 – Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician and author (d. 1997)
  • 1935 – John Harlin, American pilot and mountaineer (d. 1966)
  • 1936 – Assia Djebar, Algerian-French author and translator (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – Nancy Dussault, American actress and singer
  • 1936 – Tony Musante, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Dave Van Ronk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
  • 1937 – Larry Henley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Billy Mills, American sprinter
  • 1939 – Tony Hatch, English pianist, composer, and producer
  • 1939 – Barry Hines, English author and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – José Emilio Pacheco, Mexican poet and author (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Mark Spoelstra, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2007)
  • 1941 – Peter Pollock, South African cricketer and author
  • 1942 – Robert Ballard, American lieutenant and oceanographer
  • 1942 – Ron Harris, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1943 – Florence Ballard, American pop/soul singer (d. 1976)
  • 1943 – Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Indian director and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Raymond Moody, American parapsychologist and author
  • 1944 – Glenn Shorrock, English-Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1944 – Ron Swoboda, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1949 – Uwe Kliemann, German footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1949 – Andy Scott, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1951 – Stanley Clarke, American bass player and composer
  • 1952 – Athanassios S. Fokas, Greek mathematician and academic
  • 1952 – David Garrison, American actor and singer
  • 1953 – Hal Lindes, American-English guitarist and film score composer
  • 1954 – Stephen Barlow, English organist, composer, and conductor
  • 1954 – Pierre Charles, Dominican educator and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica (d. 2004)
  • 1954 – Serzh Sargsyan, Armenian politician, 3rd President of Armenia
  • 1954 – Wayne Swan, Australian academic and politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
  • 1955 – Brian Vollmer, Canadian singer
  • 1955 – Egils Levits, Latvian judge, jurist, 10th President of Latvia
  • 1956 – Volker Beck, German hurdler and coach
  • 1956 – David Lidington, English historian, academic, and politician, Minister of State for Europe
  • 1956 – David Alan Grier, American actor, singer, and comedian
  • 1957 – Bud Black, American baseball player and manager
  • 1957 – Sterling Marlin, American race car driver
  • 1958 – Pam Royle, British television presenter, journalist and voice coach
  • 1958 – Esa-Pekka Salonen, Finnish conductor and composer
  • 1959 – Vincent D’Onofrio, American actor
  • 1959 – Daniel Goldhagen, American political scientist, author, and academic
  • 1959 – Brendan Perry, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1959 – Sakis Tsiolis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1959 – Sandip Verma, Baroness Verma, Indian-English businesswoman and politician
  • 1960 – Jack McConnell, Scottish educator and politician, 3rd First Minister of Scotland
  • 1960 – Murray Cook, Australian musician, actor, songwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Lynne Jolitz, American computer scientist and programmer
  • 1961 – Clive Nolan, English musician, composer and producer
  • 1962 – Tony Fernández, Dominican baseball player
  • 1962 – Julianne Regan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Olha Bryzhina, Ukrainian sprinter
  • 1963 – Rupert Graves, English actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
  • 1964 – Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg
  • 1964 – Mark Waters, American director and producer
  • 1965 – Steve Duchesne, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1965 – Cho Jae-hyun, South Korean actor
  • 1965 – Anna Levandi, Russian figure skater and coach
  • 1965 – Gary Pallister, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Mitch Richmond, American basketball player
  • 1966 – Mike Tyson, American boxer and actor
  • 1967 – Patrik Bodén, Swedish javelin thrower
  • 1967 – David Busst, English footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Victoria Kaspi, American-Canadian astrophysicist and academic
  • 1968 – Phil Anselmo, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1969 – Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lankan cricketer and politician
  • 1969 – Uta Rohländer, German sprinter
  • 1969 – Sébastien Rose, Canadian director and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Brian Bloom, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Antonio Chimenti, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Mark Grudzielanek, American baseball player and manager
  • 1971 – Monica Potter, American actress
  • 1972 – Sandra Cam, Belgian swimmer
  • 1973 – Chan Ho Park, South Korean baseball player
  • 1973 – Frank Rost, German footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Hezekiél Sepeng, South African runner
  • 1975 – James Bannatyne, New Zealand footballer
  • 1975 – Ralf Schumacher, German race car driver
  • 1978 – Ben Cousins, Australian footballer
  • 1978 – Patrick Ivuti, Kenyan runner
  • 1978 – Claudio Rivalta, Italian footballer
  • 1979 – Sylvain Chavanel, French cyclist
  • 1980 – Rade Prica, Swedish footballer
  • 1980 – Seyi Olofinjana, Nigerian footballer
  • 1980 – Ryan ten Doeschate, Dutch cricketer
  • 1981 – Can Artam, Turkish race car driver
  • 1981 – Matt Kirk, Canadian football player
  • 1981 – Barbora Špotáková, Czech javelin thrower
  • 1981 – Ben Utecht, American football player
  • 1982 – Lizzy Caplan, American actress
  • 1982 – Ignacio Carrasco, Mexican footballer
  • 1983 – Marcus Burghardt, German cyclist
  • 1983 – Katherine Ryan, UK-based Canadian comedian and presenter
  • 1983 – Cheryl, English singer and TV personality
  • 1984 – Fantasia Barrino, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1984 – Tunku Ismail Idris, Crown Prince of Johor, Malaysia
  • 1985 – Trevor Ariza, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Michael Phelps, American swimmer
  • 1985 – Fabiana Vallejos, Argentinian footballer
  • 1986 – Alicia Fox, American wrestler, model, and actress
  • 1986 – Fredy Guarín, Colombian footballer
  • 1986 – Nicola Pozzi, Italian footballer
  • 1986 – Allegra Versace, Italian-American businesswoman
  • 1987 – Ryan Cook, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Andrew Hedgman, New Zealand runner
  • 1988 – Elisa Jordana, American singer-songwriter, radio and TV personality
  • 1989 – Asbel Kiprop, Kenyan runner
  • 1989 – Steffen Liebig, German rugby player
  • 1989 – David Myers, Australian footballer
  • 1990 – N, South Korean singer
  • 1998 – Tom Davies, English footballer

Deaths on June 30

  • 350 – Nepotianus, Roman ruler
  • 710 – Erentrude, Frankish abbess
  • 888 – Æthelred, archbishop of Canterbury
  • 945 – Ki no Tsurayuki, Japanese writer and poet (b. 872)
  • 1181 – Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester, Welsh politician (b. 1147)
  • 1224 – Adolf of Osnabrück, German monk and bishop (b. 1185)
  • 1278 – Pierre de la Broce, French courtier
  • 1337 – Eleanor de Clare, English noblewoman (b. 1290)
  • 1364 – Arnošt of Pardubice, Czech archbishop (b. 1297)
  • 1538 – Charles II, Duke of Guelders (b. 1467)
  • 1522 – Johann Reuchlin, German humanist and Hebrew scholar (b. 1455)
  • 1607 – Caesar Baronius, Italian cardinal and historian (b. 1538)
  • 1649 – Simon Vouet, French painter (b. 1590)
  • 1660 – William Oughtred, English minister and mathematician (b. 1575)
  • 1666 – Alexander Brome, English poet and playwright (b. 1620)
  • 1670 – Henrietta of England (b. 1644)
  • 1704 – John Quelch, English pirate (b. 1665)
  • 1708 – Tekle Haymanot I of Ethiopia (b. 1684)
  • 1709 – Edward Lhuyd, Welsh botanist, linguist, and geographer (b. 1660)
  • 1785 – James Oglethorpe, English general and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Georgia (b. 1696)
  • 1796 – Abraham Yates Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1724)
  • 1857 – Alcide d’Orbigny, French zoologist and paleontologist (b. 1802)
  • 1882 – Charles J. Guiteau, American preacher and lawyer, assassin of James A. Garfield (b. 1841)
  • 1882 – Alberto Henschel, German-Brazilian photographer and businessman (b. 1827)
  • 1890 – Samuel Parkman Tuckerman, American organist and composer (b. 1819)
  • 1908 – Thomas Hill, American painter (b. 1829)
  • 1913 – Alphonse Kirchhoffer, French fencer (b. 1873)
  • 1916 – Eunice Eloisae Gibbs Allyn, American correspondent, author, and poet (b. 1847)
  • 1917 – Antonio de La Gándara, French painter and illustrator (b. 1861)
  • 1917 – Dadabhai Naoroji, Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political and social leader (b. 1825)
  • 1919 – John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1842)
  • 1932 – Bruno Kastner, German actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1890)
  • 1934 – Karl Ernst, German soldier (b. 1904)
  • 1934 – Erich Klausener, German soldier and politician (b. 1885)
  • 1934 – Gustav Ritter von Kahr, German lawyer and politician, Minister-President of Bavaria (b. 1862)
  • 1934 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1892)
  • 1934 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (b. 1882)
  • 1941 – Yefim Fomin, Belarusian politician (b. 1909)
  • 1941 – Aleksander Tõnisson, Estonian general and politician, 5th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1875)
  • 1948 – Prince Sabahaddin, Turkish-Swiss sociologist and academic (b. 1879)
  • 1949 – Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild, French financier and polo player (b. 1868)
  • 1951 – Yrjö Saarela, Finnish wrestler and coach (b. 1884)
  • 1953 – Elsa Beskow, Swedish author and illustrator (b. 1874)
  • 1953 – Charles William Miller, Brazilian footballer and civil servant (b. 1874)
  • 1954 – Andrass Samuelsen, Faroese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (b. 1873)
  • 1956 – Thorleif Lund, Norwegian actor (b. 1880)
  • 1959 – José Vasconcelos, Mexican philosopher and politician (b. 1882)
  • 1961 – Lee de Forest, American inventor, invented the audion tube (b. 1873)
  • 1966 – Giuseppe Farina, Italian race car driver (b. 1906)
  • 1966 – Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (b. 1904)
  • 1968 – Ernst Marcus, German zoologist (b. 1893)
  • 1971 – Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (b. 1943)
  • 1971 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1971 – Georgy Dobrovolsky Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (b. 1928)
  • 1971 – Nikola Kotkov, Bulgarian footballer (b. 1938)
  • 1971 – Viktor Patsayev, Kazakh engineer and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 1971 – Vladislav Volkov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
  • 1973 – Nancy Mitford, English journalist and author (b. 1904)
  • 1973 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (b. 1903)
  • 1974 – Alberta Williams King, Civil rights activist (b. 1904)
  • 1976 – Firpo Marberry, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1898)
  • 1984 – Lillian Hellman, American author and playwright (b. 1905)
  • 1985 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (b. 1933)
  • 1995 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian general and astronaut (b. 1921)
  • 1995 – Gale Gordon, American actor and voice artist (b. 1906)
  • 1996 – Lakis Petropoulos, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2001 – Chet Atkins, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1924)
  • 2001 – Joe Henderson, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1937)
  • 2002 – Chico Xavier, Brazilian medium and author (b. 1910)
  • 2003 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (b. 1924)
  • 2003 – Robert McCloskey, American author and illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2004 – Eddie Burns, Australian rugby league player (b. 1916)
  • 2007 – Sahib Singh Verma, Indian librarian and politician, 4th Chief Minister of Delhi (b. 1943)
  • 2009 – Pina Bausch, German dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1940)
  • 2009 – Harve Presnell, American actor and singer (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, English-Australian politician (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli politician, 7th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1915)
  • 2012 – Michael J. Ybarra, American journalist and author (b. 1966)
  • 2013 – Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, English lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – Akpor Pius Ewherido, Nigerian politician (b. 1963)
  • 2013 – Kathryn Morrison, American educator and politician (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Thompson Oliha, Nigerian footballer (b. 1968)
  • 2013 – Keith Seaman, Australian politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Frank Cashen, American businessman (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Željko Šturanović, Montenegrin lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Montenegro (b. 1960)
  • 2015 – Charles W. Bagnal, American general (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Robert Dewar, English-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1945)
  • 2015 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (b. 1956)
  • 2015 – Leonard Starr, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2017 – Barry Norman, English television presenter (b. 1933)
  • 2017 – Simone Veil, French lawyer and politician (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on June 30

  • Christian feast day:
    • Martial
    • Theobald of Provins
    • First Martyrs of the Church of Rome
    • June 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Armed Forces Day (Guatemala)
  • Asteroid Day (International observance)
  • General Prayer Day (Central African Republic)
  • Independence Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo), celebrates the independence of Democratic Republic of the Congo from Belgium in 1960.
  • Navy Day (Israel)
  • Philippine–Spanish Friendship Day (Philippines)
  • Revolution Day (Sudan)
  • Teachers’ Day (Dominican Republic)

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

On This Day

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

  • 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
  • 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
  • 1258 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.
  • 1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
  • 1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
  • 1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
  • 1741 – Maria Theresa is crowned Queen of Hungary.
  • 1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
  • 1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  • 1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
  • 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
  • 1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
  • 1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
  • 1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
  • 1910 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
  • 1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
  • 1935 – Colombia–Soviet Union relations are established.
  • 1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
  • 1940 – World War II: The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.
  • 1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
  • 1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic countries, begins.
  • 1944 – World War II: United States Navy and British Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
  • 1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
  • 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
  • 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
  • 1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
  • 1975 – Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
  • 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
  • 1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  • 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
  • 1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
  • 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence by referendum from Yugoslavia.
  • 1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
  • 1996 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
  • 1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
  • 1997 – The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
  • 1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
  • 2017 – The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.

Births on June 25

  • 1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
  • 1328 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
  • 1371 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
  • 1484 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)
  • 1526 – Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton (d. 1565)
  • 1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
  • 1568 – Gunilla Bielke, Queen of Sweden (d. 1597)
  • 1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
  • 1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
  • 1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French soldier and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
  • 1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
  • 1799 – David Douglas, Scottish-English botanist and explorer (d. 1834)
  • 1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and engineer (d. 1896)
  • 1825 – James Farnell, Australian politician, 8th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1888)
  • 1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
  • 1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
  • 1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer and conductor (d. 1956)
  • 1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
  • 1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
  • 1866 – Eloísa Díaz, Chilean doctor and Chile’s first female physician (d. 1950)
  • 1874 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (d. 1944)
  • 1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (d. 1917)
  • 1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
  • 1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
  • 1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
  • 1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
  • 1898 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (d. 1963)
  • 1900 – Marta Abba, Italian actress (d. 1988)
  • 1900 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian/Soviet astronomer (d. 1969)
  • 1900 – Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
  • 1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American businessman and politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
  • 1902 – Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
  • 1903 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950)
  • 1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – Rupert Wildt, German-American astronomer and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
  • 1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
  • 1912 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
  • 1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
  • 1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
  • 1917 – Claude Seignolle, French author (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – P. H. Newby, English soldier and author (d. 1997)
  • 1920 – Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress (d. 2018)
  • 1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina and choreographer, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Sam Francis, American soldier and painter (d. 1994)
  • 1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Jamshid Amouzegar, 43rd Prime Minister of Iran (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Dimitar Isakov, Bulgarian football player
  • 1924 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and director (d. 1975)
  • 1924 – William J. Castagna, American lawyer and judge
  • 1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
  • 1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
  • 1925 – Clay Evans, American Baptist pastor (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – Virginia Patton, American actress and businesswoman
  • 1926 – Margaret Anstee, English diplomat (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
  • 1926 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Stig Sollander, Swedish Alpine skier (d. 2019)
  • 1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
  • 1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, English astronomer and academic
  • 1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
  • 1928 – John A. Wickham Jr., United States Army general
  • 1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
  • 1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
  • 1928 – Alex Toth, American animator and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
  • 1929 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
  • 1932 – Peter Blake, English painter and illustrator
  • 1932 – Tim Parnell, English race car driver (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – George Sluizer, French-Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
  • 1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
  • 1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
  • 1935 – Ray Butt, English television producer and director (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Salihu Ibrahim, Nigerian Army Officer (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist
  • 1935 – Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (d. 2020)
  • 1935 – Don Demeter, American professional baseball player
  • 1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
  • 1935 – Judy Howe, American artistic gymnast
  • 1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
  • 1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and entomologist
  • 1937 – Eddie Floyd, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
  • 1937 – Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, English politician (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Doreen Wells, English ballerina and actress
  • 1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player and coach
  • 1940 – Judy Amoore, Australian runner
  • 1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
  • 1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English-Maltese author (d. 2005)
  • 1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (d. 2004)
  • 1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1941 – John Albert Raven, Scottish academic and ecologist
  • 1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
  • 1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
  • 1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
  • 1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1944 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Baba Gana Kingibe, Nigerian politician
  • 1945 – Harry Womack, American singer (d. 1974)
  • 1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
  • 1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist
  • 1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
  • 1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
  • 1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian
  • 1949 – Richard Clarke, Irish archbishop
  • 1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
  • 1949 – Yoon Joo-sang, South Korean actor
  • 1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Eva Bayer-Fluckiger, Swiss mathematician and academic
  • 1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
  • 1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
  • 1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1952 – Alan Green, Northern Irish sportscaster
  • 1952 – Kristina Abelli Elander, Swedish artist
  • 1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1953 – Ian Davis, Australian cricketer
  • 1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1954 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and judge
  • 1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author (d. 2018)
  • 1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
  • 1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
  • 1956 – Craig Young, Australian rugby player and coach
  • 1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1958 – George Becali, Romanian businessman, politician
  • 1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper and educator
  • 1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
  • 1959 – Bobbie Vaile, Australian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1996)
  • 1960 – Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, English-Scottish journalist and author
  • 1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer and photographer
  • 1960 – Laurent Rodriguez, French rugby player
  • 1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, producer and singer
  • 1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
  • 1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
  • 1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1963 – Mike Stanley, American baseball player
  • 1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
  • 1964 – Phil Emery, Australian cricketer
  • 1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1964 – John McCrea, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player and lawyer
  • 1965 – Napole Polutele, French politician
  • 1965 – Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
  • 1965 – Joseph Hii Teck Kwong, Malaysian bishop
  • 1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
  • 1967 – Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist
  • 1968 – Adrian Garvey, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
  • 1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
  • 1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
  • 1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist
  • 1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
  • 1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player and scout
  • 1971 – Karen Darke, English cyclist and author
  • 1971 – Jason Gallian, Australian-English cricketer and educator
  • 1971 – Rod Kafer, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish-Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
  • 1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
  • 1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian journalist and producer
  • 1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
  • 1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player and coach
  • 1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
  • 1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
  • 1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
  • 1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
  • 1976 – Neil Walker, American swimmer
  • 1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
  • 1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian swimmer and triathlete
  • 1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
  • 1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
  • 1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
  • 1982 – Rain, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
  • 1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
  • 1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
  • 1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
  • 1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
  • 1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1986 – Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Turkish volleyball player
  • 1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Miguel Layún, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – Therese Johaug, Norwegian cross-country skier
  • 1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
  • 1989 – Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipino actress
  • 1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
  • 1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
  • 1996 – Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazilian-American race car driver
  • 1996 – Sione Mata’utia, Australian rugby league player
  • 1996 – Lele Pons, Latina-American Internet personality
  • 1998 – Kyle Chalmers, Australian swimmer
  • 2006 – Mckenna Grace, American actress

Deaths on June 25

  • 635 – Gao Zu, Chinese emperor (b. 566)
  • 841 – Gerard of Auvergne, Frankish nobleman
  • 841 – Ricwin of Nantes, Frankish nobleman
  • 891 – Sunderolt, German archbishop
  • 931 – An Chonghui, Chinese general
  • 1014 – Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred the Unready
  • 1031 – Sheng Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 972)
  • 1134 – Niels, king of Denmark (b. 1065)
  • 1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1160)
  • 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (b. 1223)
  • 1337 – Frederick III, king of Sicily (b. 1272)
  • 1394 – Dorothea of Montau, German hermitess (b. 1347)
  • 1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier and translator (b. 1440)
  • 1483 – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (b. 1458)
  • 1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1451)
  • 1533 – Mary Tudor, queen of France (b. 1496)
  • 1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
  • 1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (b. 1541)
  • 1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
  • 1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
  • 1665 – Sigismund Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
  • 1669 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
  • 1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
  • 1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
  • 1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1626)
  • 1715 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and politician (b. 1646)
  • 1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer and theorist (b. 1681)
  • 1798 – Thomas Sandby, English cartographer, painter, and architect (b. 1721)
  • 1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German composer, critic, and jurist (b. 1776)
  • 1835 – Ebenezer Pemberton, American educator (b. 1746)
  • 1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (b. 1774)
  • 1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
  • 1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (b. 1803)
  • 1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
  • 1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
  • 1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
  • 1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
  • 1876 – Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (b. 1848)
  • 1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
  • 1876 – Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
  • 1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (b. 1840)
  • 1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
  • 1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (b. 1858)
  • 1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian businessman and politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
  • 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
  • 1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
  • 1912 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-British painter (b. 1836)
  • 1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1844)
  • 1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (b. 1884)
  • 1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
  • 1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet and author (b. 1882)
  • 1937 – Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
  • 1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
  • 1943 – Arthur Goldstein, German Jewish left-wing activist (c. 1887)
  • 1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
  • 1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1906)
  • 1947 – Jimmy Doyle, American boxer (b. 1924)
  • 1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
  • 1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
  • 1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
  • 1950 – Maurice O’Sullivan, Irish police officer and author (b. 1904)
  • 1958 – Alfred Noyes, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
  • 1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
  • 1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
  • 1968 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
  • 1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, biologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
  • 1972 – Jan Matulka, Czech-American painter and illustrator (b. 1890)
  • 1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
  • 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
  • 1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, British Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting leader (b. 1889)
  • 1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1911)
  • 1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
  • 1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
  • 1981 – Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Peruvian painter and political activist (b. 1888)
  • 1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (b. 1916)
  • 1984 – Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (b. 1926)
  • 1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1962)
  • 1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
  • 1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
  • 1995 – Warren E. Burger, Fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1907)
  • 1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
  • 1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1914)
  • 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
  • 2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1934)
  • 2003 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
  • 2004 – Morton Coutts, New Zealand inventor (b. 1904)
  • 2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and voice artist (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
  • 2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch-American humanitarian (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
  • 2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
  • 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
  • 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (b. 1958)
  • 2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
  • 2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
  • 2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
  • 2011 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist and mathematician (b. 1933)
  • 2011 – Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
  • 2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese academic and jurist (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
  • 2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier and judge (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Ivan Plyushch, Ukrainian agronomist and politician (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1940)
  • 2016 – Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (b. 1936)
  • 2018 – Richard Benjamin Harrison, American businessman and reality television personality (b. 1941)
  • 2018 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer of apartheid-period (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances on June 25

  • Arbor Day (Philippines)
  • Christian feast day:
    • David of Munktorp
    • Eurosia
    • Maximus (Massimo) of Turin
    • Philipp Melanchthon (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
    • Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran)
    • Prosper of Aquitaine
    • Prosper of Reggio
    • William of Montevergine
    • June 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975.
  • National Catfish Day (United States)
  • Statehood Day (Slovenia)
  • Statehood Day (Virginia)
  • Teacher’s Day (Guatemala)
  • World Vitiligo Day

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