356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope.
285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.
365 – The 365 Crete earthquake affects the Greek island of Crete with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands were killed.
905 – King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902).
1242 – Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan.
1403 – Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
1545 – The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
1568 – Eighty Years’ War: Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
1645 – Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
1656 – The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
1774 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon’s forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
1831 – Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
1861 – American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
1865 – In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
1873 – At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
1877 – After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of nine rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
1904 – Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
1925 – Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators are tortured and executed in Berlin, Germany, for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
1952 – The 7.3 Mw Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
1959 – NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” initiative.
1959 – Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie” Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world’s first female head of government
1961 – Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon.
1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
1977 – The start of the four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War.
1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
1990 – Taiwan’s military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.
1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People’s Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
2005 – July 2005 London bombings occur.
2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first president of Nepal.
2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
Births on July 21
541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui Dynasty (d. 604)
1030 – Kyansittha, King of Burma (d. 1112)
1414 – Pope Sixtus IV (d. 1484)
1462 – Queen Jeonghyeon, Korean royal consort (d. 1530)
1476 – Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara (d. 1534)
1476 – Anna Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1497)
1515 – Philip Neri, Italian Roman Catholic saint (d. 1595)
1535 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Royal Governor of Chile (d. 1609)
1616 – Anna de’ Medici, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1676)
1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
1648 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (d. 1689)
1654 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino catechist and sacristan; later canonized (d. 1672)
1664 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (d. 1721)
1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1768)
1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (d. 1792)
1783 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (d. 1853)
1808 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1864)
1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (d. 1878)
1811 – Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1873)
1816 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (d. 1899)
1858 – Maria Christina of Austria (d. 1929)
1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (d. 1925)
1858 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (d. 1941)
1863 – C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (d. 1948)
1866 – Carlos Schwabe, Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (d. 1926)
1870 – Emil Orlík, Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (d. 1932)
1875 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1947)
1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (d. 1919)
1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (d. 1967)
1885 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
1891 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (d. 1969)
1893 – Hans Fallada, German author (d. 1947)
1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, Native American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (d. 1996)
1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
1900 – Isadora Bennett, American theatre manager and modern dance publicity agent (d. 1980)
1903 – Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
1903 – Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (d. 2010)
1908 – Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (d. 1996)
1911 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (d. 1980)
1911 – Umashankar Joshi, Indian author, poet, and scholar (d. 1988)
1914 – Aleksander Kreek, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1977)
1917 – Alan B. Gold, Canadian lawyer and jurist (d. 2005)
1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
1920 – Isaac Stern, Polish violinist and conductor (d. 2001)
1920 – Jean Daniel, Algerian-French-Jewish journalist and author (d. 2020)
1921 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (d. 2000)
1921 – John Horsley, English actor (d. 2014)
1921 – Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Zulu sangoma (d. 2020)
1922 – Kay Starr, American singer (d. 2016)
1922 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (d. 2009)
1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1923 – Queenie Watts, English actress and singer (d. 1980)
1924 – Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan
1924 – Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1926 – Paul Burke, American actor (d. 2009)
1925 – Johnny Peirson, Canadian hockey player
1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian actor, director, and producer
1926 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (d. 2013)
1926 – Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (d. 2002)
1928 – Sky Low Low, Canadian wrestler (d. 1998)
1929 – Bob Orton, American wrestler (d. 2006)
1930 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2002)
1930 – Helen Merrill, American singer
1931 – Sonny Clark, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
1931 – Plas Johnson, American saxophonist
1931 – Leon Schidlowsky, Chilean-Israeli painter and composer
1932 – Kaye Stevens, American singer and actress (d. 2011)
1933 – John Gardner, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1982)
1934 – Chandu Borde, Indian cricketer and manager
1934 – Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author (d. 2019)
1935 – Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician
1935 – Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
1937 – Eduard Streltsov, Soviet footballer (d. 1990)
1938 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1995)
1938 – Anton Kuerti, Austrian-Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
1938 – Janet Reno, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General (d. 2016)
1939 – Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
1939 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 2015)
1939 – John Negroponte, English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
1943 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (d. 2002)
1943 – Edward Herrmann, American actor (d. 2014)
1943 – Henry McCullough, Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
1944 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (d. 2012)
1944 – Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic (d. 2017)
1944 – Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (d. 2002)
1945 – Wendy Cope, English poet, critic, and educator
1945 – Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
1945 – Barry Richards, South African cricketer
1946 – Ken Starr, American lawyer and judge, 39th Solicitor General of the United States
1946 – Timothy Harris, American author, screenwriter and producer
1947 – Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician
1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
1949 – Christina Hart, American playwright and actress
1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2003)
1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
1950 – Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer, English politician, Minister of State for Transport
1951 – Richard Gozney, English politician and diplomat, 30th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, 139th Governor of Bermuda
1951 – Robin Williams, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
1952 – John Barrasso, American physician and politician
1952 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian economist
1953 – Eric Bazilian, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer (The Hooters)
1953 – Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor
1953 – Bernie Fraser, New Zealand rugby player
1953 – Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
1955 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
1955 – Dannel Malloy, American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
1955 – Henry Priestman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1955 – Taco, Indonesian-born Dutch singer and entertainer
1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
1957 – Stefan Löfven, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden
1957 – Jon Lovitz, American comedian, actor, and producer
1958 – Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
1959 – Gene Miles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
1959 – Reha Muhtar, Turkish journalist
1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
1960 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
1960 – Veselin Matić, Serbian basketball player and coach
1960 – Fritz Walter, German footballer
1961 – Morris Iemma, Australian politician, 40th Premier of New South Wales
1961 – Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
484 BC – Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome
AD 70 – Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar).
756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is ordered by his Imperial Guards to execute chancellor Yang Guozhong by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. General An Lushan has other members of the emperor’s family killed.
1099 – First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege.
1149 – The reconstructed Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated in Jerusalem.
1207 – King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.
1240 – Swedish–Novgorodian Wars: A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva.
1381 – John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hanged, drawn, and quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England.
1410 – Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War: Battle of Grunwald: The allied forces of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the army of the Teutonic Order.
1482 – Muhammad XII is crowned the twenty-second and last Nasrid king of Granada.
1738 – Baruch Laibov and Alexander Voznitzin are burned alive in St. Petersburg, Russia. Vonitzin had converted to Judaism with Laibov’s help, with the consent of Empress Anna Ivanovna.
1741 – Aleksei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.
1789 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, is named by acclamation Colonel General of the new National Guard of Paris.
1799 – The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign.
1806 – Pike Expedition: United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, Missouri, to explore the west.
1815 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.
1823 – A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy.
1834 – The Spanish Inquisition is officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.
1838 – Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Protestant community reacts with outrage.
1862 – The CSS Arkansas, the most effective ironclad on the Mississippi River, battles with Union ships commanded by Admiral David Farragut, severely damaging three ships and sustaining heavy damage herself. The encounter changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi and helped to reverse Rebel fortunes on the river in the summer of 1862.
1870 – Reconstruction Era of the United States: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
1870 – Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory are transferred to Canada from the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are established from these vast territories.
1888 – The stratovolcano Mount Bandai erupts killing approximately 500 people, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
1910 – In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gives a name to Alzheimer’s disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.
1916 – In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).
1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Marne begins near the River Marne with a German attack.
1920 – The Polish Parliament establishes Silesian Voivodeship before the Polish-German plebiscite.
1922 – Japanese Communist Party is established in Japan.
1927 – Massacre of July 15, 1927: Eighty-nine protesters are killed by the Austrian police in Vienna.
1946 – State of North Borneo, today in Sabah, Malaysia, annexed by the United Kingdom.
1954 – First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and C-135 series.
1955 – Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others.
1959 – The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.
1966 – Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam begin Operation Hastings to push the North Vietnamese out of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.
1971 – The United Red Army is founded in Japan.
1974 – In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek junta-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d’état, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president.
1975 – Space Race: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project features the dual launch of an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft on the first joint Soviet-United States human-crewed flight. It was both the last launch of an Apollo spacecraft, and the Saturn family of rockets.
1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his “malaise speech”.
1983 – An attack at Orly Airport in Paris is launched by Armenian militant organisation ASALA, leaving eight people dead and 55 injured.
1996 – A Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport.
1998 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP S. Shanmuganathan is killed by a claymore mine.
2002 – “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
2002 – Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
2003 – AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
2006 – Twitter, later one of the largest social media platforms in the world, is launched.
2014 – A train derails on the Moscow Metro, killing at least 24 and injuring more than 160 others.
2016 – Factions of the Turkish Armed Forces attempt a coup.
Births on July 15
980 – Ichijō, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
1273 – Ewostatewos, Ethiopian monk and saint (d. 1352)
1353 – Vladimir the Bold, Russian prince (d. 1410)
1359 – Antonio Correr, Italian cardinal (d. 1445)
1442 – Boček IV of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1496)
1455 – Queen Yun, Korean queen (d. 1482)
1471 – Eskender, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1494)
1478 – Barbara Jagiellon, duchess consort of Saxony and Margravine consort of Meissen (d. 1534)
1573 – Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen’s House (d. 1652)
1600 – Jan Cossiers, Flemish painter (d. 1671)
1606 – Rembrandt, Dutch painter and etcher (d. 1669)
1611 – Jai Singh I, maharaja of Jaipur (d. 1667)
1613 – Gu Yanwu, Chinese philologist and geographer (d. 1682)
1631 – Jens Juel, Danish politician and diplomat, Governor-general of Norway (d. 1700)
1631 – Richard Cumberland, English philosopher (d. 1718)
1638 – Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1693)
1704 – August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German bishop and theologian (d. 1792)
1779 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author, poet, and educator (d. 1863)
1793 – Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, American educator, author, editor (d. 1884)
1796 – Thomas Bulfinch, American mythologist (d. 1867)
1799 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (d. 1882)
1800 – Sidney Breese, American jurist and politician (d. 1878)
1808 – Henry Edward Manning, English cardinal (d. 1892)
1812 – James Hope-Scott, English lawyer and academic (d. 1873)
1817 – Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (d. 1898)
1827 – W. W. Thayer American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Oregon (d. 1899)
1848 – Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist and sociologist (d. 1923)
1850 – Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American nun and saint (d. 1917)
1852 – Josef Josephi, Polish-born singer and actor (d. 1920)
1858 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English political activist and suffragist (d. 1928)
1864 – Marie Tempest, English actress and singer (d. 1942)
1865 – Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, Anglo-Irish businessman and publisher, founded the Amalgamated Press (d. 1922)
1865 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (d. 1945)
1867 – Jean-Baptiste Charcot, French physician and explorer (d. 1936)
1871 – Doppo Kunikida, Japanese journalist, author, and poet (d. 1908)
1880 – Enrique Mosca, Argentinian lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
1887 – Wharton Esherick, American sculptor (d. 1970)
1892 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (d. 1940)
1893 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1969)
1893 – Dick Rauch, American football player and coach (d. 1970)
1894 – Tadeusz Sendzimir, Polish-American engineer (d. 1989)
1899 – Seán Lemass, Irish soldier and politician, 4th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1971)
1902 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (d. 1983)
1903 – Walter D. Edmonds, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
1903 – K. Kamaraj, Indian journalist and politician (d. 1975)
1904 – Rudolf Arnheim, German-American psychologist and author (d. 2007)
1905 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (d. 1974)
1905 – Anita Farra, Italian actress (d. 2008)
1906 – R. S. Mugali, Indian poet and academic (d. 1993)
1906 – Rudolf Uhlenhaut, English-German engineer (d. 1989)
1909 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (d. 1992)
1911 – Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, English geographer and politician, Secretary of State for Air (d. 1994)
1913 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
1913 – Hammond Innes, English journalist and author (d. 1998)
1913 – Abraham Sutzkever, Russian poet and author (d. 2010)
1914 – Akhtar Hameed Khan, Pakistani economist, scholar, and activist (d. 1999)
1914 – Howard Vernon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1996)
1915 – Albert Ghiorso, American chemist and academic (d. 2010)
1915 – Kashmir Singh Katoch, Indian army officer (d. 2007)
1916 – Sumner Gerard, American politician and diplomat (d. 2004)
1917 – Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
1917 – Joan Roberts, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
1917 – Nur Muhammad Taraki, Afghan journalist and politician (d. 1979)
1918 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
1918 – Brenda Milner, English-Canadian neuropsychologist and academic
1919 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (d. 2012)
1919 – Iris Murdoch, Anglo-Irish British novelist and philosopher (d. 1999)
1921 – Jack Beeson, American pianist and composer (d. 2010)
1921 – Henri Colpi, Swiss-French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1921 – Robert Bruce Merrifield, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
1921 – Jean Heywood, British actress (d. 2019)
1922 – Leon M. Lederman, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1922 – Jean-Pierre Richard, French writer (d. 2019)
1923 – Francisco de Andrade, Portuguese sailor
1924 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (d. 2014)
1924 – Marianne Bernadotte, Swedish actress and philanthropist
1925 – Philip Carey, American actor (d. 2009)
1925 – Taylor Hardwick, American architect, designed Haydon Burns Library and Friendship Fountain Park (d. 2014)
1925 – D. A. Pennebaker, American documentary filmmaker (d. 2019)
1925 – Evan Hultman, American politician
1925 – Antony Carbone, American actor
1925 – Pandel Savic, American football player (d. 2018)
1926 – Driss Chraïbi, Moroccan-French journalist and author (d. 2007)
1926 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (d. 2003)
1926 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (d. 2015)
1926 – Sir John Graham, 4th Baronet, English diplomat (d. 2019)
756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong flees the capital Chang’an as An Lushan’s forces advance toward the city.
1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II.
1420 – Battle of Vítkov Hill, decisive victory of Czech Hussite forces commanded by Jan Žižka against Crusade army led by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor.
1769 – An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá leaves its base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).
1771 – Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.
1789 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.
1789 – Alexander Mackenzie finally completes his journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turns out to flow into the Arctic Ocean. Later named after him, the Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.
1790 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris celebrate the unity of the French people and the national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.
1791 – The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
1798 – The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
1853 – Opening of the first major US world’s fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City.
1865 – The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.
1874 – The Chicago Fire of 1874 burns down 47 acres of the city, destroying 812 buildings, killing 20, and resulting in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago’s city council.
1877 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in Martinsburg, West Virginia when wages of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers were cut for the third time in a year. The strike was ended on Sept 4 by local and state militias and federal troops.
1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.
1900 – Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.
1902 – The Campanile in St Mark’s Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
1911 – Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright brothers, lands his airplane at the South Lawn of the White House. He is later awarded a Gold medal from U.S. President William Howard Taft for this feat.
1915 – World War I: The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and the British official Henry McMahon concerning the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire begins.
1916 – World War I: Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.
1928 – New Vietnam Revolutionary Party is founded in Huế, providing some of the communist party’s most important leaders in its early years.
1933 – Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
1933 – The Nazi eugenics begins with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring that calls for the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffers from alleged genetic disorders.
1938 – Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91-hour airplane flight around the world.
1940 – People’s Seimas held parliamentary elections, and the Union of Labor Lithuania (ULL) won, paving the way for Lithuania to become Lithuanian SSR; Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, consolidating into the Soviet Union on July 21, 1940.
1943 – In Diamond, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
1948 – Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.
1950 – Korean War: North Korean troops initiate the Battle of Taejon.
1957 – Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
1958 – Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who becomes the nation’s new leader.
1960 – Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.
1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
1969 – Football War: After Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.
1969 – The Federal Reserve Banks begins removing large denominations of United States currency from circulation.
1976 – Capital punishment is abolished in Canada.
1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source operating system revolution. Linus Torvalds releases his Linux soon afterwards.
2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.
2003 – Hurricane Claudette gathers strength over the Gulf of Mexico and heads for the Texas coast, killing two people.
2013 – The dedication of statue of Rachel Carson, a sculpture named for the environmentalist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
2015 – NASA’s New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System.
2016 – A terrorist vehicular attack in Nice, France kills 86 civilians and injures over 400 others.
Births on July 14
926 – Murakami, emperor of Japan (d. 967)
1410 – Arnold, Duke of Guelders, (d. 1473)
1448 – Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1508)
1454 – Poliziano, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1494)
1515 – Philip I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1560)
1602 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French cardinal and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of the French Monarch (d. 1661)
1608 – George Goring, Lord Goring, English general (d. 1657)
1610 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
1634 – Pasquier Quesnel, French priest and theologian (d. 1719)
1671 – Jacques d’Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
1675 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (d. 1747)
1676 – Caspar Abel, German historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1763)
1696 – William Oldys, English historian and author (d. 17610
1721 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (d. 1807)
1743 – Gavrila Derzhavin, Russian poet and politician (d. 1816)
1755 – Michel de Beaupuy, French general (d. 1796)
1785 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist, playwright, and diplomat (d. 1851)
1795 – Eleanor Anne Porden, British Romantic poet; wife of the explorer, John Franklin (d. 1825)
1801 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (d. 1858)
1816 – Arthur de Gobineau, French author and diplomat (d. 1882)
1829 – Edward Benson, English archbishop (d. 1896)
1859 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (d. 1928)
1861 – Kate M. Gordon, American activist (d. 1931)
1862 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (d. 1945)
1862 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and illustrator (d. 1918)
1863 – Arthur Coningham, Australian cricketer (d. 1939)
1865 – Arthur Capper, American journalist and politician, 20th Governor of Kansas (d. 1951)
1866 – Juliette Wytsman, Belgian painter (d. 1925)
1868 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and spy (d. 1926)
1872 – Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (d. 1939)
1874 – Abbas II of Egypt (d. 1944)
1874 – Crawford Vaughan, Australian politician, 27th Premier of South Australia (d. 1947)
1878 – Donald Meek, Scottish actor (d. 1946)
1885 – Sisavang Vong, Laotian king (d. 1959)
1888 – Scipio Slataper, Italian author and critic (d. 1915)
1889 – Marco de Gastyne, French painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
1889 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II (d. 1959)
1893 – Clarence J. Brown, American publisher and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (d. 1965)
1893 – Garimella Satyanarayana, Indian poet and author (d. 1952)
1894 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1979)
1896 – Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish soldier and anarchist (d. 1936)
1898 – Happy Chandler, American lawyer and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky, second Commissioner of Baseball (d. 1991)
1901 – Gerald Finzi, English composer and academic (d. 1956)
1901 – George Tobias, American actor (d. 1980)
1903 – Irving Stone, American author and educator (d. 1989)
1906 – Tom Carvel, Greek-American businessman, founded Carvel (d. 1990)
1906 – William H. Tunner, American general (d. 1983)
1907 – Chico Landi, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1989)
1910 – William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2001)
1911 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (d. 2000)
1912 – Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
1912 – Buddy Moreno, American musician (d. 2015)
1913 – Gerald Ford, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)
1914 – Fred Fox, French musician (d. 2019)
1918 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
1918 – Arthur Laurents, American director, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 20110
1918 – Jay Wright Forrester, American computer engineer and systems scientist (d. 2016)
1920 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
1920 – Marijohn Wilkin, American country and gospel songwriter (d. 2006)
1921 – Sixto Durán Ballén, American-Ecuadorian architect and politician, 48th President of Ecuador (d. 2016)
1921 – Leon Garfield, English author (d. 1996)
1921 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
1921 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
1922 – Robin Olds, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
1922 – Elfriede Rinkel, German SS officer (d. 2018)
1922 – Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish concert pianist (d. 2014)
1923 – René Favaloro, Argentine surgeon and cardiologist (d. 2000)
1923 – Dale Robertson, American actor (d. 2013)
1923 – Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (d. 2013)
1924 – Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (d. 2013)
1925 – Bruce L. Douglas, American politician
1926 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
1926 – Harry Dean Stanton, American actor, musician, and singer (d. 2017)
1926 – Himayat Ali Shair, Urdu poet (d. 2019)
1927 – John Chancellor, American journalist (d. 1996)
1927 – Mike Esposito, American author and illustrator (d. 2010)
1928 – Nancy Olson, American actress
1928 – William Rees-Mogg, English journalist and public servant (d. 2012)
1930 – Polly Bergen, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
1930 – Benoît Sinzogan, Beninese military officer and politician
1931 – Jacqueline de Ribes, French fashion designer and philanthropist
1931 – E. V. Thompson, English police officer and author (d. 2012)
1932 – Rosey Grier, American football player and actor
1932 – Del Reeves, American country singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
1933 – Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1996)
1933 – Dumaagiin Sodnom, Mongolian politician; 13th Prime Minister of Mongolia
1933 – Franz, Duke of Bavaria, head of the House of Wittelsbach
1936 – Robert F. Overmyer, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1996)
1937 – Yoshirō Mori, Japanese journalist and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Japan
1938 – Jerry Rubin, American activist, author, and businessman (d. 1994)
1938 – Tommy Vig, Hungarian vibraphone player, drummer, and composer
1939 – Karel Gott, Czech singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2019)
1939 – George Edgar Slusser, American scholar and author (d. 2014)
1940 – Susan Howatch, English author and academic
1941 – Maulana Karenga, American philosopher, author, and activist, created Kwanzaa
1941 – Andreas Khol, German-Austrian lawyer and politician
1942 – Javier Solana, Spanish physicist and politician, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs
1945 – Jim Gordon, American drummer and songwriter
1946 – Sue Lawley, English journalist
1946 – John Wood, Australian actor and screenwriter
1947 – John Blackman, Australian radio and television presenter
1947 – Claudia J. Kennedy, American general
1947 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (d. 2009)
1947 – Navin Ramgoolam, Mauritius physician and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Mauritius
1948 – Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, Zulu king
1948 – Tom Latham, American politician
1948 – Earl Williams, American baseball player (d. 2013)
1949 – Tommy Mottola, American businessman and music publisher
1950 – Bruce Oldfield, English fashion designer
1952 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2014)
1952 – Franklin Graham, American evangelist and missionary
1952 – George Lewis, American musician and composer
1952 – Joel Silver, American actor and producer, co-founded Dark Castle Entertainment
1953 – Martha Coakley, American lawyer and politician, 58th Attorney General of Massachusetts
1955 – L. Brent Bozell III, American journalist and activist, founded the Media Research Center
1958 – Mircea Geoană, Romanian politician and diplomat, 97th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1959 – Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (d. 2016)
1960 – Anna Bligh, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Queensland
1960 – Kyle Gass, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
1960 – Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer-songwriter, activist, and actor
1960 – Jane Lynch, American actress and game show host
1960 – Mike McPhee, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
1962 – Vanessa Lawrence, English geographer and civil servant
1963 – Jacques Lacombe, Canadian organist and conductor
1964 – Brett Ogle, Australian golfer
1964 – Igor Shpilband, Russian-American ice dancer and coach
1965 – Urmas Kruuse, Estonian lawyer and politician, 41st Mayor of Tartu
1965 – Collins Nweke, Belgian politician of Nigerian origin, 1st foreign born person elected to political office in West Flanders
1966 – Matthew Fox, American actor
1966 – Matt Hume, American mixed martial artist and trainer
1966 – Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator
1967 – Marios Constantinou, Cypriot footballer and manager
1967 – Jeff Jarrett, American wrestler and promoter, co-founder of Impact Wrestling
1967 – Patrick J. Kennedy, American politician
1967 – Hashan Tillakaratne, Sri Lankan cricketer
1967 – Robin Ventura, American baseball player and manager
1968 – Michael Palmer, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
1969 – José Hernández, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
1969 – Sven Sester, Estonian politician
1970 – Jacob Young, Norwegian guitarist
1971 – Howard Webb, English footballer and referee
1973 – Tani Fuga, Samoan rugby player
1973 – Paul Methric, American rapper and producer
1974 – Erick Dampier, American basketball player
1974 – David Mitchell, British comedian
1975 – Derlei, Brazilian footballer
1975 – Tim Hudson, American baseball player
1975 – Jamey Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Gordon Cree, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist
1977 – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
1978 – Mattias Ekström, Swedish race car driver
1979 – Bernie Castro, Dominican baseball player
1979 – Axel Teichmann, German skier
1980 – George Smith, Australian rugby player
1981 – Matti Hautamäki, Finnish ski jumper
1981 – Robbie Maddison, Australian motorcycle racer
1982 – Dmitry Chaplin, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
1982 – Achille Coser, Italian footballer
1983 – Igor Andreev, Russian tennis player
1983 – Thomas Howard, American football player (d. 2013)
1983 – Tito Muñoz, American conductor and academic
1984 – Renaldo Balkman, American basketball player
1984 – Erica Blasberg, American golfer (d. 2010)
1984 – Lenka Dlhopolcová, Slovak tennis player
1984 – Mounir El Hamdaoui, Moroccan footballer
1984 – Samir Handanović, Slovenian footballer
1984 – Nilmar, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Billy Celeski, Australian footballer
1985 – Darrelle Revis, American football player
1985 – Chris Wright, English cricketer
1986 – Alexander Gerndt, Swedish footballer
1986 – Nikolay Kulemin, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Dan Smith, English singer-songwriter
1987 – Aqeel Ahmed, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1987 – Margus Hunt, Estonian-American football player, discus thrower, and shot putter
1987 – Adam Johnson, English footballer
1987 – Dan Reynolds, American singer-songwriter
1987 – Sean Smith, American football player
1987 – Ryan Sweeting, Bahamian-American tennis player
1988 – Conor McGregor, Irish mixed martial artist
1988 – Jérémy Stravius, French swimmer
1988 – James Vaughan, English footballer
1989 – Sakari Mattila, Finnish footballer
1989 – Rolando McClain, American football player
1989 – Cyril Rioli, Australian rules footballer
1991 – Shabazz Napier, American basketball player
1993 – Sayaka Yamamoto, Japanese singer
1995 – Megan Cunningham, Scottish footballer
1995 – Serge Gnabry, German footballer
1995 – Kim Hyo-joo, South Korean golfer
1995 – Federico Mattiello, Italian footballer
1997 – Cengiz Ünder, Turkish footballer
Deaths on July 14
664 – Eorcenberht, king of Kent
809 – Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general and Shōgun (b. 731)
850 – Wei Fu, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
937 – Arnulf I, duke of Bavaria
1223 – Philip II, king of France (b. 1165)
1242 – Hōjō Yasutoki, regent of Japan (b. 1183)
1262 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (b. 1222)
1486 – Margaret of Denmark, daughter of Christian I of Denmark (b. 1456)
1526 – John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English peer, landowner, and Lord Great Chamberlain of England (b. 1499)
1575 – Richard Taverner, English translator (b. 1505)
1614 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian priest and saint (b. 1550)
1723 – Claude Fleury, French historian and author (b. 1640)
1742 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (b. 1662)
1766 – František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (b. 1674)
1774 – James O’Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, Irish field marshal (b. 1682)
1780 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (b. 1713)
1789 – Jacques de Flesselles, French politician (b. 1721)
1789 – Bernard-René de Launay, French politician (b. 1740)
1790 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
1809 – Nicodemus the Hagiorite, Greek monk and saint (b. 1749)
1816 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general (b. 1750)
1817 – Germaine de Staël, French philosopher and author (b. 1766)
1827 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer, reviver of a wave theory of light, inventor of catadioptric lighthouse lens (b. 1788)
