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July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 587 BC – The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple.
  • 238 – The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor.
  • 615 – Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12.
  • 904 – Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire’s second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.
  • 923 – Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the dethroned Emperor Berengar I of Italy at Firenzuola (Tuscany).
  • 1014 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.
  • 1018 – Count Dirk III defeats an army sent by Emperor Henry II in the Battle of Vlaardingen.
  • 1030 – Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
  • 1148 – The Siege of Damascus ends in a decisive crusader defeat and leads to the disintegration of the Second Crusade.
  • 1565 – The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • 1567 – James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
  • 1693 – War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen: France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
  • 1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.
  • 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.
  • 1836 – Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
  • 1848 – Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
  • 1851 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
  • 1858 – United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
  • 1871 – The Connecticut Valley Railroad opens between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.
  • 1899 – The First Hague Convention is signed.
  • 1900 – In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
  • 1907 – Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9, 1907, and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
  • 1914 – The Cape Cod Canal opened.
  • 1920 – Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
  • 1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
  • 1932 – Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans.
  • 1937 – Tōngzhōu Incident: In Tōngzhōu, China, the East Hopei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
  • 1945 – The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
  • 1948 – Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.
  • 1950 – Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.
  • 1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
  • 1958 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
  • 1959 – First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
  • 1967 – During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
  • 1973 – Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi.
  • 1973 – During the Dutch Grand Prix driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race, after a suspected tire failure caused the car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
  • 1976 – In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the “Son of Sam”) kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
  • 1980 – Iran adopts a new “holy” flag after the Islamic Revolution.
  • 1981 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
  • 1981 – After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
  • 1987 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).
  • 1987 – Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.
  • 1993 – The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
  • 1996 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.
  • 2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
  • 2010 – An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.
  • 2013 – Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.
  • 2019 – Prison riot between rival gangs broke out in Brazil, at least 57 people have been killed.

Births on July 29 

  • 869 – Muhammad al-Mahdi, Iraqi 12th Imam (d. 941)
  • 996 – Fujiwara no Norimichi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1075)
  • 1166 – Henry II, French nobleman and king of Jerusalem (d. 1197)
  • 1356 – Martin the Elder, king of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca (d. 1410)
  • 1537 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, Spanish nobleman (d. 1590)
  • 1573 – Philip II, duke of Pomerania-Stettin (d. 1618)
  • 1580 – Francesco Mochi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
  • 1605 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymn-writer (d. 1659)
  • 1646 – Johann Theile, German organist and composer (d. 1724)
  • 1744 – Giulio Maria della Somaglia, Italian cardinal (d. 1830)
  • 1763 – Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Daniel Drew, American businessman and financier (d. 1879)
  • 1801 – George Bradshaw, English cartographer and publisher (d. 1853)
  • 1805 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher (d. 1859)
  • 1806 – Horace Abbott, American businessman and banker (d. 1887)
  • 1817 – Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian-Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1900)
  • 1817 – Martin Körber, Baltic German pastor, composer, and conductor (d. 1893)
  • 1841 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (d. 1912)
  • 1843 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (d. 1901)
  • 1846 – Sophie Menter, German pianist and composer (d. 1918)
  • 1846 – Isabel, Brazilian princess (d. 1921)
  • 1849 – Max Nordau, Hungarian physician, author, and critic, co-founded the World Zionist Organization (d. 1923)
  • 1860 – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, English politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (d. 1940)
  • 1867 – Berthold Oppenheim, Moravian rabbi (d. 1942)
  • 1869 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (d. 1946)
  • 1871 – Jakob Mändmets, Estonian writer and journalist (d. 1930)
  • 1872 – Eric Alfred Knudsen, American author, lawyer, and politician (d. 1957)
  • 1874 – J. S. Woodsworth, Canadian minister and politician (d. 1942)
  • 1876 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-American actress and acting teacher (d. 1949)
  • 1878 – Don Marquis, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1883 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and author (d. 1942)
  • 1883 – Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist revolutionary and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1945)
  • 1884 – Ralph Austin Bard, American financier and politician, 2nd Under Secretary of the Navy (d. 1975)
  • 1885 – Theda Bara, American actress (d. 1955)
  • 1887 – Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-American pianist and composer (d. 1951)
  • 1888 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (d. 1982)
  • 1891 – Bernhard Zondek, German-Israeli gynecologist and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1892 – William Powell, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
  • 1896 – Maria L. de Hernández, Mexican-American rights activist (d. 1986)
  • 1897 – Neil Ritchie, Guyanese-English general (d. 1983)
  • 1898 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1899 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (d. 1959)
  • 1900 – Mary V. Austin, Australian community worker and political activist (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Eyvind Johnson, Swedish novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Teresa Noce, Italian labor leader, activist, and journalist (d. 1980)
  • 1900 – Don Redman, American composer, and bandleader (d. 1964)
  • 1904 – Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (d. 1982)
  • 1904 – J. R. D. Tata, French-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (d. 1993)
  • 1905 – Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
  • 1905 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1905 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (d. 2006)
  • 1906 – Thelma Todd, American actress and singer (d. 1935)
  • 1907 – Melvin Belli, American lawyer (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Chester Himes, American-Spanish author (d. 1984)
  • 1910 – Gale Page, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1911 – Foster Furcolo, American lawyer and politician, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Erich Priebke, German war criminal, leader of the 1944 Ardeatine massacre (d. 2013)
  • 1914 – Irwin Corey, American actor and activist (d. 2017)
  • 1915 – Bruce R. McConkie, American colonel and religious leader (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Budd Boetticher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Charlie Christian, American guitarist (d. 1942)
  • 1916 – Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Rochus Misch, German SS officer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Don Ingalls, American writer and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Edwin O’Connor, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
  • 1918 – Mary Lee Settle, American novelist, essayist, and memoirist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Neville Jeffress, Australian businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1921 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Gordon Mitchell, American bodybuilder and actor (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian-American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Robert Horton, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Ted Lindsay, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer
  • 1926 – Robert Kilpatrick, Baron Kilpatrick of Kincraig, Scottish physician, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Kjell Karlsen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Leslie Fielding, English diplomat
  • 1932 – Nancy Kassebaum, American businesswoman and politician
  • 1933 – Lou Albano, Italian-American wrestler, manager, and actor (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Colin Davis, English race car driver (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Robert Fuller, American actor and rancher
  • 1933 – Randy Sparks, American folk singer-songwriter and musician (The New Christy Minstrels)
  • 1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Elizabeth Dole, American lawyer and politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
  • 1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
  • 1938 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Jean Rochon, Canadian physician and politician
  • 1940 – Betty Harris, American chemist
  • 1940 – Winnie Monsod, Filipina economist and political commentator
  • 1941 – Jennifer Dunn, American engineer and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1941 – Goenawan Mohamad, Indonesian poet and playwright
  • 1941 – David Warner, English actor
  • 1942 – Doug Ashdown, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – David Taylor, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1944 – Jim Bridwell, American rock climber and mountaineer
  • 1945 – Sharon Creech, American author and educator
  • 1945 – Mircea Lucescu, Romanian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1946 – Ximena Armas, Chilean painter
  • 1946 – Stig Blomqvist, Swedish race car driver
  • 1946 – Neal Doughty, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1946 – Alessandro Gogna, Italian mountaineer and adventurer
  • 1946 – Diane Keen, English actress
  • 1946 – Aleksei Tammiste, Estonian basketball player
  • 1947 – Dick Harmon, American golfer and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1948 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Leslie Easterbrook, American actress
  • 1949 – Jamil Mahuad, Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
  • 1950 – Jenny Holzer, American painter, author, and dancer
  • 1951 – Susan Blackmore, English psychologist and theorist
  • 1951 – Dan Driessen, American baseball player and coach
  • 1951 – Dean Pitchford, American actor, director, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1952 – Norman Blackwell, Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
  • 1952 – Joe Johnson, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Greek politician
  • 1953 – Ken Burns, American director and producer
  • 1953 – Geddy Lee, Canadian musician
  • 1953 – Frank McGuinness, Irish poet and playwright
  • 1953 – Tim Gunn, American television host and actor
  • 1954 – Patti Scialfa, American musician
  • 1955 – Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Dave Stevens, American illustrator (d. 2008)
  • 1955 – Stephen Timms, English politician, Minister of State for Competitiveness
  • 1956 – Teddy Atlas, American boxer, trainer, and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Ronnie Musgrove, American lawyer and politician, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
  • 1956 – Faustino Rupérez, Spanish cyclist
  • 1957 – Liam Davison, Australian author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1957 – Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian-Swiss chess player (d. 2016)
  • 1957 – Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast and coach
  • 1958 – Gail Dines, English-American author, activist, and academic
  • 1958 – Simon Nye, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1958 – Cynthia Rowley, American fashion designer
  • 1959 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1959 – Ruud Janssen, Dutch blogger and illustrator
  • 1959 – Dave LaPoint, American baseball player and manager
  • 1959 – John Sykes, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Didier Van Cauwelaert, French author
  • 1962 – Carl Cox, English DJ and producer
  • 1962 – Frank Neubarth, German footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Scott Steiner, American wrestler
  • 1962 – Vincent Rousseau, Belgian runner
  • 1963 – Hans-Holger Albrecht, Belgian-German businessman
  • 1963 – Jim Beglin, Irish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Julie Elliott, English politician
  • 1963 – Azeem Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1963 – Alexandra Paul, American actress and producer
  • 1963 – Graham Poll, English footballer, referee, and journalist
  • 1964 – Jaanus Veensalu, Estonian footballer
  • 1965 – Luis Alicea, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1965 – Dean Haglund, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Adam Holloway, English captain and politician
  • 1965 – Stan Koziol, American soccer player (d. 2014)
  • 1965 – Chang-Rae Lee, South Korean-American author and academic
  • 1965 – Xavier Waterkeyn, Australian author
  • 1965 – Woody Weatherman, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1966 – Sally Gunnell, English hurdler and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Stuart Lampitt, English cricketer
  • 1966 – Martina McBride, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1968 – Gideon Henderson, English geologist and academic
  • 1968 – Paavo Lötjönen, Finnish cellist and educator
  • 1970 – Adele Griffin, American author
  • 1970 – Andi Peters, English journalist, actor, and producer
  • 1970 – John Rennie, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1971 – Andrea Philipp, German sprinter
  • 1972 – Wil Wheaton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Stephen Dorff, American actor and producer
  • 1973 – Denis Urubko, Kazakh mountaineer
  • 1975 – Yoshihiro Akiyama, Japanese mixed martial artist
  • 1975 – Lanka de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1975 – Corrado Grabbi, Italian footballer
  • 1975 – Jaanus Sirel, Estonian footballer
  • 1978 – Mike Adams, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Marina Lazarovska, Macedonian tennis player
  • 1979 – Karim Essediri, Tunisian footballer
  • 1979 – Ronald Murray, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Juris Umbraško, Latvian basketball player
  • 1980 – Ryan Braun, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1980 – Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
  • 1980 – Ben Koller, American drummer
  • 1980 – John Morris, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish race car driver
  • 1981 – Andrés Madrid, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Troy Perkins, American soccer player
  • 1982 – Janez Aljančič, Slovenian footballer
  • 1982 – Jônatas Domingos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Allison Mack, American actress and criminal
  • 1983 – Jason Belmonte, Australian bowler
  • 1983 – Inés Gómez Mont, Mexican journalist and actress
  • 1983 – Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Jerious Norwood, American football player
  • 1983 – Elise Testone, American singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Oh Beom-seok, South Korean footballer
  • 1984 – Chad Billingsley, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Wilson Palacios, Honduran footballer
  • 1985 – Besart Berisha, Albanian footballer
  • 1985 – Okinoumi Ayumi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1985 – Simon Santoso, Indonesian badminton player
  • 1988 – Tarjei Bø, Norwegian biathlete
  • 1989 – Grit Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete
  • 1991 – Dale Copley, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Irakli Logua, Russian footballer
  • 1992 – Karen Torrez, Bolivian swimmer
  • 1993 – Nicole Melichar, American tennis player
  • 1994 – Liam O’Brien, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths on July 29

  • 238 – Balbinus, Roman emperor (b. 165)
  • 238 – Pupienus, Roman emperor (b. 178)
  • 451 – Tuoba Huang, prince of Northern Wei (b. 428)
  • 796 – Offa of Mercia (b. 730)
  • 846 – Li Shen, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 1030 – Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
  • 1095 – Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040)
  • 1099 – Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
  • 1108 – Philip I of France (b. 1052)
  • 1236 – Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen of France (b. 1175)
  • 1326 – Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (b. 1259)
  • 1504 – Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby (b. 1435)
  • 1507 – Martin Behaim, German-Bohemian geographer and astronomer (b. 1459)
  • 1573 – John Caius, English physician and academic (b. 1510)
  • 1612 – Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (b. 1554)
  • 1644 – Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
  • 1752 – Peter Warren, Irish admiral and politician (b. 1703)
  • 1781 – Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713)
  • 1792 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
  • 1813 – Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (b. 1771)
  • 1833 – William Wilberforce, English philanthropist and politician (b. 1759)
  • 1839 – Gaspard de Prony, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1755)
  • 1844 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1791)
  • 1856 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1857 – Thomas Dick, Scottish minister, astronomer, and author (b. 1774)
  • 1887 – Agostino Depretis, Italian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1813)
  • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
  • 1895 – Floriano Peixoto, Brazilian general and politician, 2nd President of Brazil (b. 1839)
  • 1900 – Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)
  • 1908 – Marie Adam-Doerrer (b. 1838)
  • 1913 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and jurist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1838)
  • 1918 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (b. 1863)
  • 1924 – Sotirios Krokidas, Greek educator and politician, 110th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1852)
  • 1934 – Didier Pitre, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1883)
  • 1938 – Nikolai Krylenko, Russian lawyer, jurist, and politician, Prosecutor General of the Russian SFSR (b. 1885)
  • 1950 – Joe Fry, English race car driver (b. 1915)
  • 1951 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded Galatasaray S.K. (b. 1886)
  • 1954 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
  • 1960 – Hasan Saka, Turkish politician, 7th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Ronald Fisher, English biologist and statistician (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Leonardo De Lorenzo, Italian-American flute player and educator (b. 1875)
  • 1964 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (b. 1885)
  • 1966 – Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigerian general and politician, 2nd Head of State of Nigeria (b. 1924)
  • 1966 – Adekunle Fajuyi, Nigerian colonel (b. 1926)
  • 1970 – John Barbirolli, English cellist and conductor (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Norm Smith, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1915)
  • 1973 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (b. 1948)
  • 1974 – Cass Elliot, American singer (b. 1941)
  • 1974 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (b. 1899)
  • 1976 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (b. 1913)
  • 1978 – Andrzej Bogucki, Polish actor, operetta singer, and songwriter (b. 1904)
  • 1979 – Herbert Marcuse, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1898)
  • 1979 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1916)
  • 1981 – Robert Moses, American urban planner, designed the Northern State Parkway and Southern State Parkway (b. 1888)
  • 1982 – Harold Sakata, American wrestler and actor (b. 1920)
  • 1982 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1983 – Raymond Massey, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1896)
  • 1983 – David Niven, English military officer and actor (b. 1910)
  • 1984 – Fred Waring, American television host and bandleader (b. 1900)
  • 1987 – Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1894)
  • 1990 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian academic and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
  • 1992 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – John Britton, American physician (b. 1925)
  • 1994 – Dorothy Hodgkin, Egyptian-English biochemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1995 – Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1917)
  • 1996 – Ric Nordman, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1920)
  • 1996 – Jason Thirsk, American singer and bass player (b. 1967)
  • 1998 – Jerome Robbins, American director, producer, and choreographer (b. 1918)
  • 2001 – Edward Gierek, Polish soldier and politician (b. 1913)
  • 2001 – Wau Holland, German computer scientist, co-founded Chaos Computer Club (b. 1951)
  • 2003 – Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean soldier, founded the Revolutionary United Front (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (b. 1940)
  • 2007 – Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (b. 1936)
  • 2007 – Marvin Zindler, American journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Bruce Edward Ivins, American scientist and bio-defense researcher (b. 1946)
  • 2010 – Charles E. Wicks, American chemist and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Tatiana Egorova, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1970)
  • 2012 – August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – James Mellaart, English archaeologist and author (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – John Stampe, Danish footballer and coach (b. 1957)
  • 2013 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1986)
  • 2013 – Peter Flanigan, American banker and civil servant (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Tony Gaze, Australian soldier, pilot, and race car driver (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Munir Hussain, Indian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – M. Caldwell Butler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Jon R. Cavaiani, English-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Giorgio Gaslini, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – María Antonia Iglesias, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Péter Kiss, Hungarian engineer and politician (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Idris Muhammad, American drummer and composer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Thomas R. St. George, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Antony Holland, English-Canadian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Peter O’Sullevan, Anglo-Irish sportscaster (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Mike Pyle, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Franklin H. Westervelt, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2018 – Oliver Dragojević, a Croatian recording artist (b. 1947)
  • 2018 – Josip Peruzovic, Yugoslav-born American professional wrestler (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances on July 29

  • Christian feast day:
    • Lupus of Troyes
    • Martha of Bethany (Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Church)
    • Mary of Bethany
    • Olaf II of Norway
    • Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix
    • July 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Somer’s Day can fall, while August 4 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before the first Monday in August. (Bermuda)
  • International Tiger Day
  • Mohun Bagan Day (India)
  • National Anthem Day (Romania)
  • National Thai Language Day (Thailand)
  • Ólavsøka or Olsok, opening of the Løgting session. (Faroe Islands and the Nordic countries)

July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

July 14 in History

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

Births on July 14

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

Deaths on July 14

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

Holidays and observances on July 14

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

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

On This Day

July 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

July 11 in History

  • 472 – After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter’s Basilica and put to death.
  • 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius).
  • 911 – Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy.
  • 1174 – Baldwin IV, 13, becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III, Count of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor.
  • 1302 – Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch): A coalition around the Flemish cities defeats the king of France’s royal army.
  • 1346 – Charles IV, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, is elected King of the Romans.
  • 1405 – Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time.
  • 1476 – Giuliano della Rovere is appointed bishop of Coutances.
  • 1576 – Martin Frobisher sights Greenland.
  • 1616 – Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec.
  • 1735 – Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979.
  • 1789 – Jacques Necker is dismissed as France’s Finance Minister sparking the Storming of the Bastille.
  • 1796 – The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
  • 1798 – The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
  • 1801 – French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons makes his first comet discovery. In the next 27 years he discovers another 36 comets, more than any other person in history.
  • 1804 – A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
  • 1833 – Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed.
  • 1848 – Waterloo railway station in London opens.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens; Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C.
  • 1882 – The British Mediterranean Fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War.
  • 1889 – Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
  • 1893 – The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kōkichi Mikimoto.
  • 1893 – A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua.
  • 1895 – Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière demonstrate movie film technology to scientists.
  • 1897 – Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon. He later crashes and dies.
  • 1899 – Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
  • 1906 – Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.
  • 1914 – Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.
  • 1914 – USS Nevada (BB-36) is launched.
  • 1919 – The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands.
  • 1920 – In the East Prussian plebiscite the local populace decides to remain with Weimar Germany.
  • 1921 – A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect.
  • 1921 – The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People’s Republic.
  • 1921 – Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.
  • 1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opens.
  • 1924 – Eric Liddell won the gold medal in 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics, after refusing to run in the heats for 100m, his favoured distance, on the Sunday.
  • 1934 – Engelbert Zaschka of Germany flies his large human-powered aircraft, the Zaschka Human-Power Aircraft, about 20 meters at Berlin Tempelhof Airport without assisted take-off.
  • 1936 – The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
  • 1940 – World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State.
  • 1941 – The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.
  • 1943 – Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Volhynia) peak.
  • 1943 – World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily: German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily.
  • 1947 – The Exodus 1947 heads to Palestine from France.
  • 1950 – Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank.
  • 1957 – Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismai’li worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III.
  • 1960 – France legislates for the independence of Dahomey (later Benin), Upper Volta (later Burkina) and Niger.
  • 1960 – Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • 1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States.
  • 1962 – First transatlantic satellite television transmission.
  • 1962 – Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth.
  • 1971 – Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
  • 1972 – The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.
  • 1973 – Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris, France on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories.
  • 1977 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  • 1978 – Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists.
  • 1979 – America’s first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
  • 1983 – A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board.
  • 1990 – Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins.
  • 1991 – Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia killing all 261 passengers and crew on board.
  • 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: Srebrenica massacre begins; lasts until 22 July.
  • 2006 – Mumbai train bombings: Two hundred nine people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
  • 2010 – The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carried out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85 others.
  • 2011 – Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.

Births on July 11

  • 154 – Bardaisan, Syrian astrologer, scholar, and philosopher (d. 222)
  • 1274 – Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (d. 1329)
  • 1406 – William, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg (d. 1482)
  • 1459 – Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, German nobleman (d. 1527)
  • 1558 – Robert Greene, English author and playwright (d. 1592)
  • 1561 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (d. 1627)
  • 1603 – Kenelm Digby, English astrologer, courtier, and diplomat (d. 1665)
  • 1628 – Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese daimyō (d. 1701)
  • 1653 – Sarah Good, American woman accused of witchcraft (d. 1692)
  • 1657 – Frederick I of Prussia (d. 1713)
  • 1662 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1726)
  • 1709 – Johan Gottschalk Wallerius, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1785)
  • 1723 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and author (d. 1799)
  • 1751 – Caroline Matilda, British princess, queen consort of Denmark (d. 1775)
  • 1754 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (d. 1825)
  • 1760 – Peggy Shippen, American wife of Benedict Arnold and American Revolutionary War spy (d. 1804)
  • 1767 – John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States (d. 1848)
  • 1826 – Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and author (d. 1871)
  • 1832 – Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1896)
  • 1834 – James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (d. 1903)
  • 1836 – Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer (d. 1896)
  • 1846 – Léon Bloy, French author and poet (d. 1917)
  • 1849 – N. E. Brown, English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents (d. 1934)
  • 1850 – Annie Armstrong, American missionary (d. 1938)
  • 1866 – Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1953)
  • 1875 – H. M. Brock, British painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
  • 1880 – Friedrich Lahrs, German architect and academic (d. 1964)
  • 1881 – Isabel Martin Lewis, American astronomer and author (d. 1966)
  • 1882 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (d. 1946)
  • 1886 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1939)
  • 1888 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1985)
  • 1892 – Thomas Mitchell, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1962)
  • 1894 – Erna Mohr, German zoologist (d. 1968)
  • 1895 – Dorothy Wilde, English author and poet (d. 1941)
  • 1897 – Bull Connor, American police officer (d. 1973)
  • 1899 – Wilfrid Israel, German businessman and philanthropist (d. 1943)
  • 1899 – E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (d. 1985)
  • 1901 – Gwendolyn Lizarraga, Belizean businesswoman, activist, and politician (d. 1975)
  • 1903 – Rudolf Abel, English-Russian colonel (d. 1971)
  • 1903 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (d. 1976)
  • 1904 – Niño Ricardo, Spanish guitarist and composer (d. 1972)
  • 1905 – Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (d. 1952)
  • 1906 – Harry von Zell, American actor and announcer (d. 1981)
  • 1906 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, Minister of Intra-German Relations (d. 1990)
  • 1909 – Irene Hervey, American actress (d. 1998)
  • 1909 – Jacques Clemens, Dutch catholic priest (d. 2018)
  • 1910 – Sally Blane, American actress (d. 1997)
  • 1911 – Erna Flegel, German Third Reich nurse (d. 2006)
  • 1912 – Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Peta Taylor, English cricketer (d. 1989)
  • 1912 – William F. Walsh, American captain and politician, 48th Mayor of Syracuse (d. 2011)
  • 1913 – Paul Gibb, English cricketer (d. 1977)
  • 1913 – Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1916 – Mortimer Caplin, American tax attorney, educator, and IRS Commissioner (d. 2019)
  • 1916 – Hans Maier, Dutch water polo player (d. 2018)
  • 1916 – Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
  • 1916 – Reg Varney, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1916 – Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Venetia Burney, English educator, who named Pluto (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Yul Brynner, Russian actor and dancer (d. 1985)
  • 1920 – Zecharia Sitchin, Russian-American author (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Gene Evans, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1922 – Fritz Riess, German-Swiss racing driver (d. 1991)
  • 1923 – Richard Pipes, Polish-American historian and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Tun Tun, Indian actress and comedian (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Brett Somers, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Charlie Tully, Northern Irish footballer and manager (d. 1971)
  • 1924 – Oscar Wyatt, American businessman
  • 1925 – Charles Chaynes, French composer (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1925 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2004)
  • 1926 – Frederick Buechner, American minister, theologian, and author
  • 1927 – Theodore Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Chris Leonard, English footballer
  • 1928 – Greville Janner, Baron Janner of Braunstone, Welsh-English lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Bobo Olson, American boxer (d. 2002)
  • 1928 – Andrea Veneracion, Filipina choirmaster (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Danny Flores, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – David Kelly, Irish actor (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Jack Alabaster, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1930 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Dick Gray, American baseball player (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Thurston Harris, American doo-wop singer (d. 1990)
  • 1931 – Tab Hunter, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Alex Hassilev, French-born American folk singer and musician
  • 1932 – Jean-Guy Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1933 – Jim Carlen, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Frank Kelso, American admiral and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company
  • 1935 – Frederick Hemke, American saxophonist and educator
  • 1935 – Oliver Napier, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1937 – Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author
  • 1941 – Bill Boggs, American journalist and producer
  • 1941 – Henry Lowther, English trumpet player
  • 1943 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic
  • 1943 – Tom Holland, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1943 – Peter Jensen, Australian metropolitan
  • 1943 – Robert Malval, Haitian businessman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Haiti
  • 1943 – Rolf Stommelen, German racing driver (d. 1983)
  • 1944 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Michael Levy, Baron Levy, English philanthropist
  • 1944 – Patricia Polacco, American author and illustrator
  • 1946 – Martin Wong, American painter (d. 1999)
  • 1947 – Jeff Hanna, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
  • 1947 – Norman Lebrecht, English author and critic
  • 1947 – Bo Lundgren, Swedish politician
  • 1950 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani physicist and academic
  • 1950 – J. R. Morgan, Welsh author and academic
  • 1950 – Bonnie Pointer, American singer (d. 2020)
  • 1951 – Ed Ott, American baseball player and coach
  • 1952 – Bill Barber, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1952 – Stephen Lang, American actor and playwright
  • 1953 – Piyasvasti Amranand, Thai businessman and politician, Thai Minister of Energy
  • 1953 – Angélica Aragón, Mexican film, television, and stage actress and singer
  • 1953 – Peter Brown, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1953 – Suresh Prabhu, Indian accountant and politician, Indian Minister of Railways
  • 1953 – Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Mexican actress, director, and producer
  • 1953 – Leon Spinks, American boxer
  • 1953 – Mindy Sterling, American actress
  • 1953 – Ivan Toms, South African physician and activist (d. 2008)
  • 1953 – Bramwell Tovey, English-Canadian conductor and composer
  • 1953 – Paul Weiland, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Julia King, English engineer and academic
  • 1955 – Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (d. 2010)
  • 1956 – Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic
  • 1956 – Robin Renucci, French actor and director
  • 1956 – Sela Ward, American actress
  • 1957 – Johann Lamont, Scottish educator and politician
  • 1957 – Peter Murphy, English singer-songwriter
  • 1957 – Michael Rose, Jamaican singer-songwriter
  • 1958 – Mark Lester, English actor
  • 1958 – Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Richie Sambora, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1959 – Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1960 – David Baerwald, American singer-songwriter, composer, and musician
  • 1960 – Caroline Quentin, English actress
  • 1961 – Antony Jenkins, English banker and businessman
  • 1962 – Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
  • 1962 – Pauline McLynn, Irish actress and author
  • 1962 – Fumiya Fujii, Japanese music artist
  • 1963 – Al MacInnis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1963 – Dean Richards, English rugby player and coach
  • 1963 – Lisa Rinna, American actress and talk show host
  • 1965 – Tony Cottee, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Ernesto Hoost, Dutch kick-boxer and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Scott Shriner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1966 – Nadeem Aslam, Pakistani-English author
  • 1966 – Kentaro Miura, Japanese author and illustrator
  • 1966 – Rod Strickland, American basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Ricky Warwick, Northern Irish musician
  • 1967 – Andy Ashby, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer
  • 1968 – Michael Geist, Canadian journalist and academic
  • 1968 – Daniel MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1968 – Esera Tuaolo, American football player
  • 1969 – Ned Boulting, British sports journalist and television presenter
  • 1970 – Justin Chambers, American actor
  • 1970 – Sajjad Karim, English lawyer and politician
  • 1970 – Eric Owens, American opera singer
  • 1971 – Leisha Hailey, Japanese-American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1972 – Cormac Battle, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1973 – Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek runner
  • 1974 – Alanas Chošnau, Lithuanian singer-songwriter
  • 1974 – Hermann Hreiðarsson, Icelandic footballer and manager
  • 1974 – André Ooijer, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Willie Anderson, American football player
  • 1975 – Rubén Baraja, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Lil’ Kim, American rapper and producer
  • 1976 – Eduardo Nájera, Mexican-American basketball player and coach
  • 1977 – Brandon Short, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Kathleen Edwards, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer
  • 1979 – Raio Piiroja, Estonian footballer
  • 1980 – Tyson Kidd, Canadian wrestler
  • 1980 – Kevin Powers, American soldier and author
  • 1981 – Andre Johnson, American football player
  • 1982 – Chris Cooley, American football player
  • 1983 – Engin Baytar, German-Turkish footballer
  • 1983 – Peter Cincotti, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1983 – Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and dancer
  • 1984 – Yorman Bazardo, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1984 – Tanith Belbin, Canadian-American ice dancer
  • 1984 – Jacoby Jones, American football player
  • 1984 – Joe Pavelski, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Morné Steyn, South African rugby player
  • 1985 – Robert Adamson, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1985 – Orestis Karnezis, Greek footballer
  • 1986 – Raúl García, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer
  • 1986 – Ryan Jarvis, English footballer
  • 1987 – Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer
  • 1988 – Étienne Capoue, French footballer
  • 1988 – Natalie La Rose, Dutch singer, songwriter and dancer
  • 1989 – Tobias Sana, Swedish footballer
  • 1989 – Travis Waddell, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Mona Barthel, German tennis player
  • 1990 – Connor Paolo, American actor
  • 1990 – Adam Jezierski, Polish-Spanish actor and singer
  • 1990 – Patrick Peterson, American football player
  • 1990 – Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
  • 1993 – Rebecca Bross, American gymnast
  • 1993 – Heini Salonen, Finnish tennis player
  • 1994 – Bartłomiej Kalinkowski, Polish footballer
  • 1994 – Anthony Milford, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1994 – Lucas Ocampos, Argentinian footballer
  • 1995 – Joey Bosa, American football player
  • 1995 – Tyler Medeiros, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1996 – Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter

Deaths on July 11

  • 472 – Anthemius, Roman emperor (b. 420)
  • 937 – Rudolph II of Burgundy (b. 880)
  • 969 – Olga of Kiev (b. 890)
  • 1174 – Amalric I of Jerusalem (b. 1136)
  • 1183 – Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1117)
  • 1302 – Robert II, Count of Artois (b. 1250)
  • 1302 – Pierre Flotte, French politician and lawyer
  • 1344 – Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg (b. c. 1286)
  • 1362 – Anna von Schweidnitz, empress of Charles IV (b. 1339)
  • 1382 – Nicole Oresme, French philosopher (b. 1325)
  • 1451 – Barbara of Cilli, Slovenian noblewoman
  • 1484 – Mino da Fiesole, Italian sculptor (b. c. 1429)
  • 1535 – Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1484)
  • 1581 – Peder Skram, Danish admiral and politician (b. 1503)
  • 1593 – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian painter (b. 1527)
  • 1599 – Chōsokabe Motochika, Japanese daimyō (b.1539)
  • 1688 – Narai, Thai king (b. 1629)
  • 1774 – Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, Irish-English general (b. 1715)
  • 1775 – Simon Boerum, American farmer and politician (b. 1724)
  • 1797 – Ienăchiță Văcărescu, Romanian historian and philologist (b. 1740)
  • 1806 – James Smith, Irish-American lawyer and politician (b. 1719)
  • 1825 – Thomas P. Grosvenor, American soldier and politician (b. 1744)
  • 1844 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian philosopher and poet (b. 1800)
  • 1897 – Patrick Jennings, Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1831)
  • 1905 – Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1849)
  • 1908 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (b. 1876)
  • 1909 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1835)
  • 1929 – Billy Mosforth, English footballer and engraver (b. 1857)
  • 1937 – George Gershwin, American pianist, songwriter, and composer (b. 1898)
  • 1959 – Charlie Parker, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (b. 1882)
  • 1966 – Delmore Schwartz, American poet and short story writer (b. 1913)
  • 1967 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (b. 1917)
  • 1971 – John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
  • 1971 – Pedro Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (b. 1940)
  • 1974 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
  • 1976 – León de Greiff, Colombian poet and educator (b. 1895)
  • 1979 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1925)
  • 1983 – Ross Macdonald, American-Canadian author (b. 1915)
  • 1987 – Avi Ran, Israeli footballer (b. 1963)
  • 1987 – Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1901)
  • 1989 – Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
  • 1991 – Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
  • 1994 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (b. 1942)
  • 1998 – Panagiotis Kondylis, Greek philosopher and author (b. 1943)
  • 1999 – Helen Forrest, American singer (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (b. 1945)
  • 2000 – Pedro Mir, Dominican lawyer, author, and poet (b. 1913)
  • 2000 – Robert Runcie, English archbishop (b. 1921)
  • 2001 – Herman Brood, Dutch musician and painter (b. 1946)
  • 2003 – Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer (b. 1948)
  • 2004 – Laurance Rockefeller, American financier and philanthropist (b. 1910)
  • 2004 – Renée Saint-Cyr, French actress and producer (b. 1904)
  • 2005 – Gretchen Franklin, English actress and dancer (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Jesús Iglesias, Argentinian racing driver (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (b. 1913)
  • 2006 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (b. 1915)
  • 2006 – Bronwyn Oliver, Australian sculptor (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – John Spencer, English snooker player and sportscaster (b. 1935)
  • 2007 – Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (b. 1939)
  • 2007 – Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 43rd First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Alfonso López Michelsen, Colombian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Colombia (b. 1913)
  • 2007 – Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded Honest Ed’s (b. 1914)
  • 2008 – Michael E. DeBakey, American surgeon and educator (b. 1908)
  • 2009 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1936)
  • 2009 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (b. 1972)
  • 2009 – Ji Xianlin, Chinese linguist and paleographer (b. 1911)
  • 2010 – Walter Hawkins, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and pastor (b. 1949)
  • 2011 – Rob Grill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Art Ceccarelli, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Marion Cunningham, American author (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Richard Scudder, American journalist and publisher, co-founded MediaNews Group (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Donald J. Sobol, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Marvin Traub, American businessman and author (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Emik Avakian, Iranian-American inventor (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Egbert Brieskorn, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Eugene P. Wilkinson, American admiral (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Charlie Haden, American bassist and composer (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Carin Mannheimer, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Bill McGill, American basketball player (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (b. 1958)
  • 2015 – Giacomo Biffi, Italian cardinal (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – James U. Cross, American general (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – Lawrence K. Karlton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – André Leysen, Belgian businessman (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on July 11

  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Benedict of Nursia
    • Olga of Kiev
    • Pope Pius I
    • July 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • China National Maritime Day (China)
  • Day of the Bandoneón (Argentina)
  • Day of the Flemish Community (Flemish Community of Belgium)
  • Eleventh Night (Northern Ireland)
  • Free Slurpee Day (Participating stores of the 7-Eleven chain in North America)
  • National Day of Remembrance of Victims of Genocide by Ukrainian Nationalists on Citizens of the Second Republic of Poland (Poland)
  • Gospel Day (Kiribati)
  • Imamat Day (Isma’ilism)
  • National Day of Commemoration, held on the nearest Sunday to this date (Ireland)
  • The first day of Naadam (July 11–15) (Mongolia)
  • World Population Day (International)

July 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 5- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 328 – The official opening of Constantine’s Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
  • 1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
  • 1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
  • 1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
  • 1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
  • 1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
  • 1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
  • 1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
  • 1807 – In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
  • 1809 – The largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Wagram is fought between the French and Austrian Empires.
  • 1811 – The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
  • 1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
  • 1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
  • 1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
  • 1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
  • 1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
  • 1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
  • 1915 – The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
  • 1934 – “Bloody Thursday”: Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
  • 1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  • 1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
  • 1940 – World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
  • 1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
  • 1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
  • 1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
  • 1946 – Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris.
  • 1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
  • 1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
  • 1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
  • 1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
  • 1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right”, at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
  • 1962 – The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an 8-year-long war with France.
  • 1971 – The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
  • 1973 – A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
  • 1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
  • 1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
  • 1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
  • 1980 – Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
  • 1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
  • 1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
  • 1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
  • 1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
  • 1997 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
  • 1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
  • 2004 – The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
  • 2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
  • 2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
  • 2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
  • 2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
  • 2016 – The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.

Births on July 5

  • 465 – Ahkal Mo’ Naab’ I, Mayan ruler (d. 524)
  • 980 – Mokjong of Goryeo, Korean king (d. 1009)
  • 1029 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 1094)
  • 1057 – Al-Ghazali, Iranian jurist, philosopher, and mystic (d. 1111)
  • 1321 – Joan of the Tower, English consort of David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
  • 1466 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian nobleman (d. 1510)
  • 1547 – Garzia de’ Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1562)
  • 1549 – Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1627)
  • 1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, French queen (d. 1592)
  • 1580 – Carlo Contarini, doge of Venice (d. 1656)
  • 1586 – Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1647)
  • 1593 – Achille d’Étampes de Valençay, French military leader (d. 1646)
  • 1653 – Thomas Pitt, English businessman and politician (d. 1726)
  • 1670 – Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, countess palatine (d. 1748)
  • 1675 – Mary Walcott, American accuser and witness at the Salem witch trials (d. 1719)
  • 1709 – Étienne de Silhouette, French translator and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1767)
  • 1717 – Peter III, Portuguese king (d. 1786)
  • 1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1794)
  • 1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician and poet (d. 1824)
  • 1755 – Sarah Siddons, English actress (d. 1831)
  • 1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
  • 1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian officer (d. 1826)
  • 1794 – Sylvester Graham, American minister and activist (d. 1851)
  • 1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870)
  • 1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
  • 1803 – George Borrow, British writer (d. 1881)
  • 1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865)
  • 1810 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1891)
  • 1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1872)
  • 1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican politician and diplomat, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico (d. 1910)
  • 1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1919)
  • 1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904)
  • 1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
  • 1853 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (d. 1902)
  • 1857 – Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (d. 1933)
  • 1857 – Julien Tiersot, French musicologist and composer (d. 1936)
  • 1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919)
  • 1860 – Mathieu Jaboulay, French surgeon (d. 1913)
  • 1862 – George Nuttall, American-British bacteriologist (d. 1937)
  • 1862 – Horatio Caro, English chess master (d. 1920)
  • 1864 – Stephan Krehl, German composer (d. 1924)
  • 1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer (d. 1962)
  • 1872 – Édouard Herriot, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1957)
  • 1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (d. 1967)
  • 1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945)
  • 1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player and educator (d. 1959)
  • 1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1940)
  • 1880 – Constantin Tănase, Romanian actor and playwright (d. 1945)
  • 1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (d. 1927)
  • 1883 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 1975)
  • 1884 – Enrico Dante, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (d. 1936)
  • 1885 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (d. 1962)
  • 1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (d. 1988)
  • 1886 – Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia (d. 1918)
  • 1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
  • 1888 – Louise Freeland Jenkins, American astronomer and academic (d. 1970)
  • 1889 – Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
  • 1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American historian and journalist (d. 1954)
  • 1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
  • 1891 – Tin Ujević, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1955)
  • 1893 – Anthony Berkeley Cox, English writer (d. 1971)
  • 1893 – Giuseppe Caselli, Italian painter (d. 1976)
  • 1894 – Ants Lauter, Estonian actor and director (d. 1973)
  • 1896 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1981)
  • 1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974)
  • 1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (d. 1974)
  • 1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist, founded the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (d. 1989)
  • 1900 – Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (d. 1987)
  • 1901 – Julio Libonatti, Italian-Argentinian footballer (d. 1981)
  • 1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985)
  • 1904 – Harold Acton, English scholar and author (d. 1994)
  • 1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (d. 2005)
  • 1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
  • 1905 – Madeleine Sylvain-Bouchereau, Haitian sociologist and educator (d. 1970)
  • 1908 – Henri of Orléans, (d. 1999)
  • 1908 – Lyman S. Ayres II, American businessman (d. 1996)
  • 1910 – Georges Vedel, French lawyer and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1911 – Endel Aruja, Estonian-Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2008)
  • 1911 – Haydn Bunton, Sr., Australian footballer and coach (d. 1955)
  • 1911 – Giorgio Borġ Olivier, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1980)
  • 1911 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (d. 1974)
  • 1913 – George Costakis, Russian art collector (d. 1990)
  • 1913 – Smiley Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
  • 1914 – John Thomas Dunlop, American administrator and labor scholar (d. 2003)
  • 1914 – Annie Fischer, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Babe Paley, American socialite (d. 1978)
  • 1915 – John Woodruff, American runner and commander (d. 2007)
  • 1915 – Al Timothy, Trinidadian musician and songwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Lívia Rév, Hungarian classical pianist (d. 2018)
  • 1916 – Ivor Powell, Welsh footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
  • 1918 – Brian James, Australian actor (d. 2009)
  • 1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – George Rochberg, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Nanos Valaoritis, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – George Moore, Australian jockey (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Mitsuye Yamada, Japanese American activist
  • 1924 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Edward Cassidy, Australian Roman Catholic cardinal priest
  • 1925 – Fernando de Szyszlo, Peruvian painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer (d. 2020)
  • 1926 – Diana Lynn, American actress (d. 1971)
  • 1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
  • 1929 – Jimmy Carruthers, Australian boxer (d. 1990)
  • 1929 – Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Tony Lock, English cricketer (d. 1995)
  • 1929 – Jovan Rašković, Serbian psychiatrist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1929 – Jiří Reynek, Czech poet and graphic artist (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Chikao Ohtsuka, Japanese voice actor (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (d. 2000)
  • 1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critic and physicist (d. 1986)
  • 1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress (d. 2020)
  • 1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
  • 1938 – Ronnie Self, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
  • 1941 – Terry Cashman, American singer-songwriter and record producer
  • 1941 – Epeli Nailatikau, Fijian chief, President of Fiji
  • 1942 – Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor
  • 1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2016)
  • 1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
  • 1943 – Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster
  • 1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
  • 1943 – Pierre Villepreux, French rugby player and coach
  • 1944 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Swedish Minister of Defence for Sweden
  • 1945 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Mexico
  • 1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
  • 1946 – Paul Smith, English fashion designer
  • 1946 – Gerard ‘t Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1946 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Todd Akin, American politician
  • 1949 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1950 – Carlos Caszely, Chilean footballer
  • 1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
  • 1951 – Roger Wicker, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
  • 1953 – Caryn Navy, American mathematician and computer scientist
  • 1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer and coach
  • 1955 – Tony Hadley, English footballer
  • 1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 2019)
  • 1956 – Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan businessman and politician, President of Paraguay
  • 1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
  • 1957 – Carlo Thränhardt, German high jumper
  • 1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
  • 1958 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (d. 1996)
  • 1958 – Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
  • 1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor and director
  • 1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer
  • 1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
  • 1964 – Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1965 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
  • 1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli-American pianist and educator
  • 1966 – Susannah Doyle, English actress, director, and playwright
  • 1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese illustrator
  • 1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese pianist and composer
  • 1968 – Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer and photographer
  • 1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
  • 1968 – Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive, CEO of YouTube
  • 1969 – Jenji Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1969 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
  • 1969 – John LeClair, American ice hockey player
  • 1969 – RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director
  • 1970 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer, founded Thizz Entertainment (d. 2004)
  • 1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
  • 1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner
  • 1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter
  • 1972 – Gary Shteyngart, American writer
  • 1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer
  • 1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
  • 1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
  • 1976 – Bizarre, American rapper
  • 1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
  • 1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
  • 1977 – Steven Sharp Nelson, American cellist
  • 1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower
  • 1978 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (d. 2013)
  • 1978 – İsmail YK, German-Turkish singer-songwriter
  • 1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter
  • 1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French-Swiss tennis player
  • 1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
  • 1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
  • 1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer
  • 1980 – Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1982 – Fabrício de Souza, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Alexander Dimitrenko, Ukrainian-German boxer
  • 1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
  • 1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
  • 1982 – Kate Gynther, Australian water polo player
  • 1982 – Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1982 – Paíto, Mozambican footballer
  • 1982 – Javier Paredes, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Szabolcs Perenyi, Romanian-Hungarian footballer
  • 1982 – Beno Udrih, Slovenian basketball player
  • 1983 – Marco Estrada, Mexican baseball player
  • 1983 – Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
  • 1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
  • 1983 – Taavi Peetre, Estonian shot putter (d. 2010)
  • 1984 – Danay Garcia, Cuban actress
  • 1984 – Zack Miller, American golfer
  • 1985 – Alexandre R. Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
  • 1986 – Iurii Cheban, Ukrainian canoe sprinter
  • 1986 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1986 – Alexander Radulov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Owl City, American singer, songwriter and composer
  • 1987 – Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
  • 1987 – Mohd Safiq Rahim, Malaysian footballer
  • 1987 – Andrija Kaluđerović, Serbian footballer
  • 1987 – Alexander Kristoff, Norwegian cyclist
  • 1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer
  • 1988 – Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
  • 1989 – Charlie Austin, English footballer
  • 1989 – Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
  • 1989 – Dwight King, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
  • 1992 – Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
  • 1992 – Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
  • 1993 – Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1994 – Diana Harkusha, Ukrainian lawyer, dancer, model and beauty queen
  • 1994 – Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player

Deaths on July 5

  • 905 – Cui Yuan, Chinese chancellor
  • 905 – Dugu Sun, Chinese chancellor
  • 905 – Lu Yi, Chinese chancellor (b. 847)
  • 905 – Pei Shu, Chinese chancellor (b. 841)
  • 905 – Wang Pu, Chinese chancellor
  • 936 – Xu Ji, Chinese official and chancellor
  • 967 – Murakami, Japanese emperor (b. 926)
  • 1080 – Ísleifur Gissurarson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1006)
  • 1091 – William of Hirsau, German abbot
  • 1316 – Ferdinand, prince of Majorca (b. 1278)
  • 1375 – Charles III, French nobleman (b. 1337)
  • 1413 – Musa Çelebi, Ottoman prince and co-ruler
  • 1507 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and academic (b. 1475)
  • 1539 – Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian saint (b. 1502)
  • 1661 – Sir Hugh Speke, 1st Baronet
  • 1666 – Albert VI, German nobleman (b. 1584)
  • 1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1613)
  • 1715 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (b. 1659)
  • 1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (b. 1641)
  • 1773 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
  • 1819 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (b.1744)
  • 1826 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (b. 1782)
  • 1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, created the first known photograph (b. 1765)
  • 1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (b. 1777)
  • 1862 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1800)
  • 1863 – Lewis Armistead, American general (b. 1817)
  • 1884 – Victor Massé, French composer (b. 1822)
  • 1908 – Jonas Lie, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1833)
  • 1920 – Max Klinger, German painter and sculptor (b. 1857)
  • 1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
  • 1929 – Henry Johnson, American sergeant (b. 1897)
  • 1932 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (b. 1880)
  • 1935 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (b. 1870)
  • 1937 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (b. 1884)
  • 1943 – Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, Polish actor (b. 1880)
  • 1943 – Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (b. 1873)
  • 1945 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
  • 1948 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (b. 1888)
  • 1948 – Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
  • 1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician (b. 1871)
  • 1957 – Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
  • 1965 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican race car driver, polo player, and diplomat (b. 1909)
  • 1966 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
  • 1969 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – Walter Gropius, German architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Werkbund Exhibition (b. 1883)
  • 1969 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician, 1st Kenyan Minister of Justice (b. 1930)
  • 1969 – Leo McCarey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1898)
  • 1975 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano and actress (b. 1892)
  • 1983 – Harry James, American trumpet player and actor (b. 1916)
  • 1984 – Chic Murray, Canadian politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga (b. 1914)
  • 1991 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and essayist (b. 1920)
  • 1995 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (b. 1919)
  • 1997 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
  • 1998 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924)
  • 2002 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1918)
  • 2004 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
  • 2004 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1921)
  • 2005 – James Stockdale, American admiral (b. 1923)
  • 2006 – Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoe racer (b. 1919)
  • 2006 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
  • 2006 – Amzie Strickland, American actress (b. 1919)
  • 2007 – Régine Crespin, French soprano (b. 1927)
  • 2007 – George Melly, English singer-songwriter and critic (b. 1926)
  • 2008 – Hasan Doğan, Turkish businessman (b. 1956)
  • 2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (b. 1965)
  • 2011 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter, sculptor, and photographer (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (b. 1982)
  • 2012 – Gerrit Komrij, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, English businessman and politician (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Ruud van Hemert, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (b. 1983)
  • 2015 – Archduchess Dorothea of Austria (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances on July 5

  • Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (d. 1539)
    • Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia)
    • Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
    • July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Armenia)
  • Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
  • Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
  • Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
  • Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)

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