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

On This Day, Uncategorized /

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

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

Births on September 30

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

Deaths on September 30

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

Holidays and observances on September 30

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

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

On This Day, Uncategorized

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

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

Births on July 31

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

Deaths on July 31

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

Holidays and observances on July 31

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

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

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 30

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

Deaths on July 30

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

Holidays and observances on July 30

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

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

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 28

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

Deaths on July 28

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

Holidays and observances on July 28

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

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

On This Day

July 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland somewhere north of the Firth of Forth.
  • 1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.
  • 1202 – Georgian–Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum.
  • 1214 – Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England’s Angevin Empire.
  • 1299 – According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state.
  • 1302 – Battle of Bapheus: Decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.
  • 1549 – The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier’s ship reaches Japan.
  • 1663 – The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland would be included in the Act.
  • 1689 – Glorious Revolution: The Battle of Killiecrankie is a victory for the Jacobites.
  • 1694 – A Royal charter is granted to the Bank of England.
  • 1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Medical Department: The Second Continental Congress passes legislation establishing “an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men.”
  • 1778 – American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
  • 1789 – The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).
  • 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 “enemies of the Revolution”.
  • 1816 – Battle of Negro Fort: The battle ends when a hot shot cannonball fired by US Navy Gunboat No. 154 explodes the Fort’s Powder Magazine, killing approximately 275. It is considered the deadliest single cannon shot in US history.
  • 1857 – Siege of Arrah begins: Sixty-eight men hold out for eight days against a force of 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying sepoys and 8,000 irregular forces.
  • 1865 – Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.
  • 1866 – The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
  • 1880 – Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.
  • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.
  • 1900 – Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, “Hun” would be a disparaging name for Germans.
  • 1917 – World War I: The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.
  • 1919 – The Chicago Race Riot erupts after a racial incident occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries over a five-day period.
  • 1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.
  • 1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.
  • 1940 – The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
  • 1942 – World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt.
  • 1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.
  • 1953 – Cessation of hostilities is achieved in the Korean War when the United States, China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice.
  • 1955 – The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty.
  • 1955 – El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people onboard are killed.
  • 1959 – The Continental League is announced as baseball’s “3rd major league” in the United States.
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: Five thousand more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.
  • 1974 – Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.
  • 1975 – Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead.
  • 1976 – Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka is arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals.
  • 1981 – While landing at Chihuahua International Airport, Aeromexico Flight 230 overshoots the runway. Thirty-two of the 66 passengers and crew on board the DC-9 are killed.[2]
  • 1983 – Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days.
  • 1987 – RMS Titanic Inc. begins the first expedited salvage of wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
  • 1989 – While attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, Korean Air Flight 803 crashes just short of the runway. Seventy-five of the 199 passengers and crew and four people on the ground are killed, in the second accident involving a DC-10 in less than two weeks, the first being United Airlines Flight 232.
  • 1990 – The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is moved to June 3.
  • 1990 – The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d’état in Trinidad and Tobago.
  • 1995 – The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
  • 1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
  • 1997 – About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria.
  • 2002 – Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring more than 500 others, making it the deadliest air show disaster in history.
  • 2005 – After an incident during STS-114, NASA grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from the external fuel tank.
  • 2015 – At least seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.
  • 2016 – At a news conference in Florida, U.S. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump publicly appealed to Russia to find and release private emails from Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton; a Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) later alleged that Russian operatives began hacking into servers at the Democratic National Committee on that same day, leading to the July 13, 2018 indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers.[3]

Births on July 27

  • 1452 – Ludovico Sforza, Italian son of Francesco I Sforza (d. 1508)
  • 1452 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (d. 1508)
  • 1502 – Francesco Corteccia, Italian composer (d. 1571)
  • 1578 – Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond (d. 1639)
  • 1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1640)
  • 1625 – Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich (d. 1672)
  • 1667 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1748)
  • 1733 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (d. 1779)
  • 1740 – Jeanne Baré, French explorer (d. 1803)
  • 1741 – François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French-English violinist and composer (d. 1808)
  • 1752 – Samuel Smith, American general and politician (d. 1839)
  • 1768 – Charlotte Corday, French assassin of Jean-Paul Marat (d. 1793)
  • 1768 – Joseph Anton Koch, Austrian painter (d. 1839)
  • 1773 – Jacob Aall, Norwegian economist and politician (d. 1844)
  • 1777 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish-French poet and academic (d. 1844)
  • 1777 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (d. 1853)
  • 1781 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1828)
  • 1784 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (d. 1839)
  • 1812 – Thomas Lanier Clingman, American general and politician (d. 1897)
  • 1818 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (d. 1902)
  • 1824 – Alexandre Dumas, fils, French novelist and playwright (d. 1895)
  • 1833 – Thomas George Bonney, English geologist, mountaineer, and academic (d. 1923)
  • 1834 – Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian admiral (d. 1879)
  • 1835 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
  • 1848 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (d. 1919)
  • 1848 – Friedrich Ernst Dorn, German physicist (d.1916)
  • 1853 – Vladimir Korolenko, Ukrainian journalist, author, and activist (d. 1921)
  • 1853 – Elizabeth Plankinton, American philanthropist (d. 1923)
  • 1854 – Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1936)
  • 1857 – José Celso Barbosa, Puerto Rican physician, sociologist, and politician (d. 1921)
  • 1857 – Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist (d.1934)
  • 1858 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (d. 1938)
  • 1866 – António José de Almeida, Portuguese physician and politician, 6th President of Portugal (d. 1929)
  • 1867 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1916)
  • 1870 – Hilaire Belloc, French-born British writer and historian (d. 1953)
  • 1872 – Stanislav Binički, Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue. (d. 1942)
  • 1879 – Francesco Gaeta, Italian poet (d. 1927)
  • 1877 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
  • 1881 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1945)
  • 1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland, English pilot and engineer, founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company (d. 1965)
  • 1886 – Ernst May, German architect and urban planner (d. 1970)
  • 1889 – Vera Karalli, Russian ballerina, choreographer, and actress (d. 1972)
  • 1890 – Benjamin Miessner, American radio engineer and inventor (d. 1976)
  • 1890 – Armas Taipale, Finnish discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1976)
  • 1891 – Jacob van der Hoeden, Dutch-Israeli veterinarian and academic (d. 1968)
  • 1893 – Ugo Agostoni, Italian cyclist (d. 1941)
  • 1894 – Mientje Kling, Dutch actress (d. 1966)
  • 1896 – Robert George, Scottish air marshal and politician, 24th Governor of South Australia (d. 1967)
  • 1896 – Henri Longchambon, French lawyer and politician (d. 1969)
  • 1899 – Percy Hornibrook, Australian cricketer (d. 1976)
  • 1902 – Yaroslav Halan, Ukrainian playwright and publicist (d. 1949)
  • 1903 – Nikolay Cherkasov, Russian actor (d. 1966)
  • 1903 – Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, President of Greece (d. 2002)
  • 1903 – Mārtiņš Zīverts, Latvian playwright (d. 1990)
  • 1904 – Lyudmila Rudenko, Soviet chess player (d. 1986)
  • 1905 – Leo Durocher, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
  • 1906 – Jerzy Giedroyc, Polish author and activist (d. 2000)
  • 1906 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist and neurologist (d. 1999)
  • 1907 – Ross Alexander, American stage and film actor (d. 1937)
  • 1907 – Carl McClellan Hill, African American educator and academic administrator (d. 1995)
  • 1907 – Irene Fischer, Austrian-American geodesist and mathematician (d. 2009)
  • 1908 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
  • 1910 – Julien Gracq, French author and critic (d. 2007)
  • 1910 – Lupita Tovar, Mexican-American actress (d. 2016)
  • 1911 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (d. 1981)
  • 1912 – Vernon Elliott, English bassoon player, composer, and conductor (d. 1996)
  • 1913 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – August Sang, Estonian poet and translator (d. 1969)
  • 1915 – Mario Del Monaco, Italian tenor (d. 1982)
  • 1915 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (d. 1961)
  • 1916 – Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer (d. 2007)
  • 1916 – Skippy Williams, American saxophonist and arranger (d. 1994)
  • 1916 – Keenan Wynn, American actor (d. 1986)
  • 1918 – Leonard Rose, American cellist and educator (d. 1984)
  • 1920 – Henry D. “Homer” Haynes, American comedian and musician (Homer and Jethro) (d. 1971)
  • 1921 – Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Émile Genest, Canadian-American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – Adolfo Celi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Norman Lear, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1923 – Mas Oyama, South Korean-Japanese martial artist (d. 1994)
  • 1924 – Vincent Canby, American historian and critic (d. 2000)
  • 1924 – Otar Taktakishvili, Georgian composer and conductor (d. 1989)
  • 1927 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Pierre Granier-Deferre, French director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Will Jordan, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – C. Rajadurai, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Batticaloa
  • 1927 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Joseph Kittinger, American colonel and pilot
  • 1929 – Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist and philosopher (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1929 – Jack Higgins, English author and academic
  • 1929 – Marc Wilkinson, French-Australian composer and conductor
  • 1930 – Joy Whitby, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1930 – Shirley Williams, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Education
  • 1931 – Khieu Samphan, Cambodian academic and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Cambodia
  • 1931 – Jerry Van Dyke, American actor (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Forest Able, American basketball player
  • 1932 – Diane Webber, American model, dancer and actress
  • 1933 – Nick Reynolds, American singer and bongo player (d. 2008)
  • 1933 – Ted Whitten, Australian footballer and journalist (d. 1995)
  • 1935 – Hillar Kärner, Estonian chess player
  • 1935 – Billy McCullough, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1936 – J. Robert Hooper, American businessman and politician (d. 2008)
  • 1937 – Anna Dawson, English actress and singer
  • 1937 – Don Galloway, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1937 – Robert Holmes à Court, South African-Australian businessman and lawyer (d. 1990)
  • 1938 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (d. 2008)
  • 1939 – William Eggleston, American photographer and academic
  • 1939 – Michael Longley, Northern Irish poet and academic
  • 1939 – Paulo Silvino, Brazilian comedian, composer and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1940 – Pina Bausch, German dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
  • 1941 – Christian Boesch, Austrian opera singer
  • 1941 – Johannes Fritsch, German viola player and composer (d. 2010)
  • 1942 – Édith Butler, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – John Pleshette, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1942 – Dennis Ralston, American tennis player
  • 1943 – Jeremy Greenstock, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations
  • 1944 – Bobbie Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1944 – Jean-Marie Leblanc, French cyclist and journalist
  • 1944 – Barbara Thomson, English saxophonist and composer
  • 1945 – Edmund M. Clarke, American computer scientist
  • 1946 – Peter Reading, English poet and author (d. 2011)
  • 1947 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1947 – Betty Thomas, American actress, director, and producer
  • 1948 – Peggy Fleming, American figure skater and sportscaster
  • 1948 – James Munby, English lawyer and judge
  • 1948 – Henny Vrienten, Dutch singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1949 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (d. 2010)
  • 1949 – André Dupont, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1949 – Rory MacDonald, Scottish singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1949 – Maureen McGovern, American singer and actress
  • 1949 – Robert Rankin, English author and illustrator
  • 1950 – Simon Jones, English actor
  • 1951 – Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs
  • 1951 – Bob Diamond, American-English banker and businessman
  • 1951 – Rolf Thung, Dutch tennis player
  • 1952 – Marvin Barnes, American basketball player (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Roxanne Hart, American actress
  • 1953 – Chung Dong-young, South Korean journalist and politician, 31st South Korean Minister of Unification
  • 1953 – Yahoo Serious, Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Philippe Alliot, French race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1954 – G. S. Bali, Indian lawyer and politician
  • 1954 – Ricardo Uceda, Peruvian journalist and author
  • 1954 – Mark Stanway, English keyboard player Magnum
  • 1955 – Cat Bauer, American journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1955 – Allan Border, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1955 – John Howell, English journalist and politician
  • 1955 – Bobby Rondinelli, American drummer
  • 1956 – Carol Leifer, American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer
  • 1957 – Bill Engvall, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1958 – Christopher Dean, English figure skater and choreographer
  • 1958 – Kimmo Hakola, Finnish composer
  • 1959 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (d. 1986)
  • 1959 – Hugh Green, American football player
  • 1959 – Yiannos Papantoniou, French-Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of National Defence
  • 1960 – Jo Durie, English tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Conway Savage, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2018)
  • 1960 – Emily Thornberry, English lawyer and politician
  • 1961 – Ed Orgeron, American football coach[4]
  • 1962 – Neil Brooks, Australian swimmer
  • 1962 – Karl Mueller, American bass player (d. 2005)
  • 1963 – Donnie Yen, Chinese-Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
  • 1964 – Rex Brown, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1965 – José Luis Chilavert, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1966 – Steve Tilson, English footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Rahul Bose, Indian journalist, actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Juliana Hatfield, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1967 – Hans Mathisen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
  • 1967 – Neil Smith, English cricketer
  • 1967 – Craig Wolanin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1968 – Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Italian actress and producer
  • 1968 – Tom Goodwin, American baseball player and coach
  • 1968 – Sabina Jeschke, Swedish-German engineer and academic
  • 1968 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor and producer
  • 1968 – Ricardo Rosset, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1969 – Triple H, American wrestler and actor
  • 1969 – Jonty Rhodes, South African cricketer and coach
  • 1970 – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Danish actor and producer
  • 1970 – David Davies, English-Welsh politician
  • 1971 – Matthew Johns, Australian rugby league player, sportscaster and television host
  • 1972 – Clint Robinson, Australian kayaker[5]
  • 1972 – Maya Rudolph, American actress
  • 1972 – Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysian surgeon and astronaut
  • 1973 – Cassandra Clare, American journalist and author
  • 1973 – Erik Nys, Belgian long jumper
  • 1973 – Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1974 – Eason Chan, Hong Kong singer, actor, and producer
  • 1974 – Pete Yorn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1975 – Serkan Çeliköz, Turkish keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1975 – Shea Hillenbrand, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Fred Mascherino, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1975 – Alessandro Pistone, Italian footballer
  • 1975 – Alex Rodriguez, American baseball player
  • 1976 – Demis Hassabis, English computer scientist and academic
  • 1976 – Scott Mason, Australian cricketer (d. 2005)
  • 1977 – Foo Swee Chin, Singaporean illustrator
  • 1977 – Björn Dreyer, German footballer
  • 1977 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor
  • 1978 – Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Irish hurler and manager
  • 1979 – Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician, feminist, and human rights activist (d. 2018)
  • 1979 – Jorge Arce, Mexican boxer
  • 1979 – Sidney Govou, French footballer
  • 1979 – Shannon Moore, American wrestler and singer
  • 1980 – Allan Davis, Australian cyclist
  • 1980 – Wesley Gonzales, Filipino basketball player
  • 1981 – Susan King Borchardt, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Collins Obuya, Kenyan cricketer
  • 1981 – Dash Snow, American painter and photographer (d. 2009)
  • 1981 – Christopher Weselek, German rugby player
  • 1982 – Neil Harbisson, English-Catalan painter, composer, and activist
  • 1983 – Lorik Cana, Albanian footballer
  • 1983 – Martijn Maaskant, Dutch cyclist
  • 1983 – Goran Pandev, Macedonian footballer
  • 1983 – Soccor Velho, Indian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1984 – Antoine Bethea, American football player
  • 1984 – Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Japanese baseball player
  • 1984 – Max Scherzer, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Taylor Schilling, American actress
  • 1984 – Kenny Wormald, American actor, dancer, and choreographer
  • 1985 – Husain Abdullah, American football player
  • 1985 – Matteo Pratichetti, Italian rugby player
  • 1985 – Ajmal Shahzad, English cricketer
  • 1986 – DeMarre Carroll, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Ryan Flaherty, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Ryan Griffen, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Jacoby Ford, American football player
  • 1987 – Marek Hamšík, Slovak footballer
  • 1987 – Jordan Hill, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Sarah Parsons, American ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Adam Biddle, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Yoervis Medina, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1988 – Ryan Tannehill, American football player
  • 1989 – Maya Ali, Pakistani actress
  • 1990 – Nick Hogan, American race car driver and actor
  • 1990 – Paolo Hurtado, Peruvian footballer
  • 1990 – Cheyenne Kimball, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1990 – Stephen Li-Chung Kuo, Taiwanese-American figure skater
  • 1990 – Kriti Sanon, Indian actress
  • 1991 – Rena Matsui, Japanese actress and singer
  • 1993 – Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Max Power, English footballer
  • 1993 – Jordan Spieth, American golfer
  • 2001 – Shin Ki-joon, South Korean actor

Deaths on July 27

  • 903 – Abdallah II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir
  • 959 – Chai Rong, emperor of Later Zhou
  • 1144 – Salomea of Berg, High Duchess consort of Poland[6]
  • 1061 – Nicholas II, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 1101 – Conrad II, king of Italy (b. 1074)
  • 1101 – Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester (b. c. 1047)
  • 1158 – Geoffrey VI, Count of Anjou (b. 1134)
  • 1276 – James I of Aragon (b. 1208)
  • 1365 – Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1339)
  • 1382 – Joanna I of Naples (b. 1326)
  • 1510 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian condottiere (b. 1466)
  • 1469 – William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1423)
  • 1656 – Salomo Glassius, German theologian and critic (b. 1593)
  • 1675 – Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, French general (b. 1611)
  • 1689 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (b. c. 1648)[7]
  • 1759 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1698)
  • 1770 – Robert Dinwiddie, Scottish merchant and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1693)
  • 1841 – Mikhail Lermontov, Russian poet and painter (b. 1814)
  • 1844 – John Dalton, English physicist, meteorologist, and chemist (b. 1776)
  • 1863 – William Lowndes Yancey, American journalist and politician (b. 1813)
  • 1865 – Jean-Joseph Dassy, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
  • 1875 – Aleksander Kunileid, Estonian composer and educator (b. 1845)
  • 1876 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American minister and author (b. 1811)
  • 1883 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (b. 1813)
  • 1916 – Charles Fryatt, English captain (b. 1872)
  • 1916 – William Jonas, English footballer (d. 1890)
  • 1917 – Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
  • 1921 – Myrddin Fardd, Welsh writer and antiquarian scholar (b. 1836)
  • 1924 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1866)
  • 1931 – Auguste Forel, Swiss neuroanatomist and psychiatrist (b. 1848)
  • 1938 – Tom Crean, Irish seaman and explorer (b. 1877)
  • 1941 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (b. 1858)
  • 1942 – Karl Pärsimägi, Estonian painter (b. 1902)
  • 1946 – Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
  • 1948 – Woolf Barnato, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1898)
  • 1948 – Joe Tinker, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
  • 1948 – Dorothea Bleek, South African anthropologist and philologist (b. 1873)
  • 1951 – Paul Kogerman, Estonian chemist and politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1891)
  • 1958 – Claire Lee Chennault, American general and pilot (b. 1893)
  • 1960 – Julie Vinter Hansen, Danish-Swiss astronomer and academic (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Richard Aldington, English poet and author (b. 1892)
  • 1962 – James H. Kindelberger, American pilot and businessman (b. 1895)
  • 1963 – Hooks Dauss, American baseball player (b. 1889)
  • 1963 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (b. 1877)
  • 1964 – Winifred Lenihan, American actress, writer, and director (b. 1898)
  • 1965 – Daniel-Rops, French historian and author (b. 1901)
  • 1968 – Babe Adams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1882)
  • 1970 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1889)
  • 1971 – Charlie Tully, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1924)
  • 1975 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (d. 1926)
  • 1978 – Bob Heffron, New Zealand-Australian miner and politician, 30th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1890)
  • 1978 – Willem van Otterloo, Dutch cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1907)
  • 1980 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iranian king (b. 1919)
  • 1981 – William Wyler, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1902)
  • 1984 – James Mason, English actor (b. 1909)
  • 1985 – Smoky Joe Wood, American baseball player and coach (b. 1889)
  • 1987 – Travis Jackson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1903)
  • 1988 – Frank Zamboni, American inventor and businessman, founded the Zamboni Company (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Bobby Day, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1928)
  • 1990 – René Toribio, Guadeloupean politician (b. 1912)
  • 1991 – John Friedrich, German-Australian engineer and conman (b. 1950)
  • 1992 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer and educator (b. 1911)
  • 1992 – Tzeni Karezi, Greek actress and screenwriter
  • 1993 – Reggie Lewis, American basketball player (b. 1965)
  • 1994 – Kevin Carter, South African photographer and journalist (b. 1960)
  • 1995 – Melih Esenbel, Turkish politician and diplomat, 20th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1915)
  • 1995 – Rick Ferrell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1905)
  • 1995 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (b. 1907)
  • 1998 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress (b. 1903)
  • 1999 – Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician, physicist, and mountaineer (b. 1912)
  • 1999 – Harry Edison, American trumpet player (b. 1915)
  • 2000 – Gordon Solie, American sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2001 – Rhonda Sing, Canadian wrestler (b. 1961)
  • 2001 – Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2003 – Vance Hartke, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1919)
  • 2003 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, comedian, television personality, and businessman (b. 1903)
  • 2005 – Al Held, American painter and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – Marten Toonder, Dutch author and illustrator (b. 1912)
  • 2006 – Maryann Mahaffey, American academic and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – James Oyebola, Nigerian-English boxer (b. 1961)
  • 2008 – Youssef Chahine, Egyptian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2008 – Horst Stein, German-born Swiss conductor (b. 1928)
  • 2008 – Isaac Saba Raffoul, Mexican businessman (b. 1923)
  • 2010 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (b. 1949)
  • 2010 – Jack Tatum, American football player (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Norman Alden, American actor (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Darryl Cotton, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1949)
  • 2012 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Tony Martin, American actor and singer (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Fernando Alonso, Cuban dancer, co-founded the Cuban National Ballet (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Lindy Boggs, American politician and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Kidd Kraddick, American radio host (b. 1959)
  • 2013 – Ilya Segalovich, Russian businessman, co-founded Yandex (b. 1964)
  • 2014 – Richard Bolt, New Zealand air marshal and pilot (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – George Freese, American baseball player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Paul Schell, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Rickey Grundy, American singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic, and politician, 11th President of India (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Samuel Pisar, Polish-born American lawyer and author (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Anthony Shaw, English general (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (b.1928)[8]
  • 2016 – James Alan McPherson, American short story writer and essayist (b. 1943)[9]
  • 2016 – Jerry Doyle, American actor and talk show host (b. 1956)[10]
  • 2016 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Minister of Defence (1963–67), Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1967–71) (b. 1915)[11]
  • 2017 – Sam Shepard, American playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director (b.1943)[12]
  • 2018 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian literature critic, television host and sexologist[13]
  • 2018 – Rahim Uddin Bharosha, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances on July 27

  • Christian feast day:
    • Arethas (Western Christianity)
    • Aurelius and Natalia and companions of the Martyrs of Córdoba.
    • Maurus, Pantalemon, and Sergius
    • Pantaleon
    • Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (Roman Martyrology)
      • National Sleepy Head Day (Finland)
    • Theobald of Marly
    • Blessed Titus Brandsma, O.Carm.
    • July 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War (North Korea)
  • Iglesia ni Cristo Day (the Philippines)
  • José Celso Barbosa Day (Puerto Rico)
  • Martyrs and Wounded Soldiers Day (Vietnam)
  • National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day (United States)

July 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 24

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

Deaths on July 24

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

Holidays and observances on July 24

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

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