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

  • 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
  • AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
  • 527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
  • 607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
  • 902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
  • 1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
  • 1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
  • 1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.
  • 1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
  • 1571 – The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.
  • 1620 – Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.
  • 1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
  • 1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.
  • 1759 – Seven Years’ War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
  • 1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
  • 1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
  • 1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • 1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
  • 1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.
  • 1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
  • 1849 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.
  • 1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
  • 1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
  • 1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.
  • 1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
  • 1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
  • 1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot’s test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator’s certificate.
  • 1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.
  • 1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
  • 1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff, and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.
  • 1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
  • 1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
  • 1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as “Black Sunday”, was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
  • 1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
  • 1950 – Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth as President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.
  • 1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
  • 1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
  • 1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
  • 1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation’s first centralized military espionage organization.
  • 1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • 1965 – Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
  • 1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
  • 1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
  • 1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
  • 1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  • 1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the “Green Line”, dividing Cyprus into two zones.
  • 1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
  • 1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.
  • 1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
  • 1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.
  • 1988 – A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.
  • 1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
  • 1998 – The establishment of Muslim Medics, one of the largest student-led societies in Imperial College London that provides both academic and wellbeing support to medical students of all backgrounds.
  • 2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
  • 2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
  • 2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.
  • 2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
  • 2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.

Births on August 1

  • 10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)
  • 126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)
  • 845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)
  • 992 – Hyeonjong, Korean king (d. 1031)
  • 1068 – Taizu, Chinese emperor (d. 1123)
  • 1313 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (d. 1364)
  • 1377 – Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (d. 1433)
  • 1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)
  • 1410 – Jan IV, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1475)
  • 1492 – Wolfgang, German prince (d. 1566)
  • 1520 – Sigismund II, Polish king (d. 1572)
  • 1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)
  • 1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
  • 1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)
  • 1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)
  • 1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)
  • 1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)
  • 1713 – Charles I, German duke and prince (d. 1780)
  • 1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)
  • 1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
  • 1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)
  • 1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)
  • 1778 – Mary Jefferson Eppes, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who died in childbirth (d. 1804)
  • 1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)
  • 1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)
  • 1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)
  • 1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)
  • 1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)
  • 1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)
  • 1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
  • 1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
  • 1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)
  • 1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)
  • 1860 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (d. 1918)
  • 1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
  • 1865 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (d. 1917)
  • 1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)
  • 1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)
  • 1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)
  • 1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
  • 1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)
  • 1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)
  • 1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)
  • 1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
  • 1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980)
  • 1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
  • 1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)
  • 1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)
  • 1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)
  • 1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)
  • 1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
  • 1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)
  • 1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Gerda Taro, German war photographer (d. 1937)
  • 1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)
  • 1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)
  • 1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
  • 1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)
  • 1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)
  • 1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
  • 1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)
  • 1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – Val Bettin, American actor
  • 1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)
  • 1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)
  • 1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (d. 2006)
  • 1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)
  • 1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)
  • 1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)
  • 1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
  • 1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
  • 1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
  • 1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
  • 1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2019)
  • 1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
  • 1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer
  • 1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)
  • 1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)
  • 1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic
  • 1937 – Al D’Amato, American lawyer and politician
  • 1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor
  • 1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)
  • 1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
  • 1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant
  • 1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor
  • 1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)
  • 1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
  • 1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)
  • 1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic
  • 1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author
  • 1947 – Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist
  • 1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios
  • 1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player
  • 1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)
  • 1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan
  • 1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)
  • 1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)
  • 1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach
  • 1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
  • 1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
  • 1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author
  • 1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)
  • 1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author
  • 1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach
  • 1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter
  • 1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)
  • 1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer
  • 1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor
  • 1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer
  • 1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician
  • 1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator
  • 1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer
  • 1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer
  • 1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author
  • 1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach
  • 1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach
  • 1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter
  • 1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout
  • 1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist
  • 1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player
  • 1970 – David James, English footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer
  • 1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach
  • 1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic
  • 1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach
  • 1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner
  • 1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
  • 1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist
  • 1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)
  • 1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer
  • 1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier
  • 1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator
  • 1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
  • 1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
  • 1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
  • 1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player
  • 1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor
  • 1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player
  • 1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer
  • 1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete
  • 1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer
  • 1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player
  • 1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete
  • 1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer
  • 1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer
  • 1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author
  • 1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer
  • 1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player
  • 1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer
  • 1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player
  • 1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer
  • 1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
  • 1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer
  • 1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
  • 1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
  • 1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player
  • 1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player
  • 1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer
  • 1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer
  • 1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer
  • 1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer
  • 1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
  • 1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player
  • 1987 – Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Karen Carney, English women’s football winger
  • 1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer
  • 1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer
  • 1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer
  • 1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
  • 1989 – Tiffany Hwang, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress
  • 1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player
  • 1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer
  • 1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player
  • 1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer
  • 1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
  • 1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player
  • 1992 – Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress
  • 1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player
  • 1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer
  • 1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player
  • 1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer
  • 1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player
  • 2001 – Park Si-eun, South Korean actress

Deaths on August 1

  • 30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)
  • 371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)
  • 527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)
  • 873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia
  • 946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)
  • 946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)
  • 953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)
  • 984 – Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester
  • 1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate
  • 1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)
  • 1146 – Vsevolod II of Kiev, Russian prince
  • 1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)
  • 1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)
  • 1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)
  • 1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)
  • 1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)
  • 1464 – Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)
  • 1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)
  • 1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)
  • 1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)
  • 1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)
  • 1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)
  • 1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)
  • 1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)
  • 1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)
  • 1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)
  • 1787 – Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)
  • 1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)
  • 1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)
  • 1798 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)
  • 1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)
  • 1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)
  • 1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)
  • 1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)
  • 1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)
  • 1863 – Jind Kaur Majarani (Regent) of the Sikh Empire (b. 1817)
  • 1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)
  • 1869 – Peter Julian Eymard, French Priest and Founder Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (b. 1811)
  • 1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)
  • 1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)
  • 1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)
  • 1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)
  • 1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)
  • 1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)
  • 1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
  • 1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)
  • 1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
  • 1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)
  • 1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)
  • 1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
  • 1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)
  • 1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
  • 1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)
  • 1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
  • 1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)
  • 1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)
  • 1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
  • 1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)
  • 1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)
  • 1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)
  • 1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)
  • 1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)
  • 1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
  • 1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
  • 1990 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1897)
  • 1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
  • 1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)
  • 1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)
  • 2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
  • 2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
  • 2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)
  • 2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)
  • 2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)
  • 2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)
  • 2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)
  • 2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)
  • 2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)
  • 2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)
  • 2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)
  • 2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)
  • 2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)
  • 2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Bernard d’Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)
  • 2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on August 1

  • Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)
  • Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army (People’s Republic of China)
  • Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):
    • Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August. (Toronto)
    • Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)
    • Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
    • Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori
    • Æthelwold of Winchester
    • Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
    • Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder
    • Eusebius of Vercelli
    • Exuperius of Bayeux
    • Felix of Girona
    • Peter Apostle in Chains
    • Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
    • The Holy Maccabees
    • August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
  • Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Canada)
  • Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or Frídagur verslunarmanna, can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)
  • Earliest day on which Constitution Day (Cook Islands) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
  • Earliest day on which Farmers’ Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Zambia)
  • Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August.
  • Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)
  • Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)
  • Minden Day (United Kingdom)
  • National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
  • National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
  • Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)
  • Parents’ Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Statehood Day (Colorado)
  • Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
  • The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):
    • Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)
    • Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)
    • Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)
  • The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)
  • Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)
  • World Scout Scarf Day
  • Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)

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

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 30

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

Deaths on July 30

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

Holidays and observances on July 30

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

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

On This Day

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

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

July 26 in History

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

Births on July 26

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

Deaths on July 26

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

Holidays and observances on July 26

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

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

On This Day

July 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.
  • 792 – Kardam of Bulgaria defeats Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI at the Battle of Marcellae.
  • 911 – Rollo lays siege to Chartres.
  • 1189 – Richard I of England officially invested as Duke of Normandy.
  • 1225 – Treaty of San Germano is signed at San Germano between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX. A Dominican named Guala is responsible for the negotiations.
  • 1398 – The Battle of Kellistown was fought on this day between the forces of the English led by Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March against the O’Byrnes and O’Tooles under the command of Art Óg mac Murchadha Caomhánach, the most powerful Chieftain in Leinster.
  • 1402 – Ottoman-Timurid Wars: Battle of Ankara: Timur, ruler of Timurid Empire, defeats forces of the Ottoman Empire sultan Bayezid I.
  • 1592 – During the first Japanese invasion of Korea, Japanese forces led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi captured Pyongyang, although they were ultimately unable to hold it.
  • 1715 – Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Empire captures Nauplia, the capital of the Republic of Venice’s “Kingdom of the Morea”, thereby opening the way to the swift Ottoman reconquest of the Morea.
  • 1738 – Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan.
  • 1799 – Tekle Giyorgis I begins his first of six reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia.
  • 1807 – Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world’s first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.
  • 1810 – Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declare independence from Spain.
  • 1831 – Seneca and Shawnee people agree to relinquish their land in western Ohio for 60,000 acres west of the Mississippi River.
  • 1848 – The first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, a two-day event, concludes.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek: Near Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman.
  • 1866 – Austro-Prussian War: Battle of Lissa: The Austrian Navy, led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea.
  • 1871 – British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.
  • 1885 – The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association.
  • 1903 – The Ford Motor Company ships its first automobile.
  • 1917 – World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.
  • 1920 – The Greek Army takes control of Silivri after Greece is awarded the city by the Paris Peace Conference; by 1923 Greece effectively lost control to the Turks.
  • 1922 – The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom.
  • 1932 – In the Preußenschlag (“Prussian coup”), German President Paul von Hindenburg dissolves the government of Prussia
  • 1934 – Labor unrest in the U.S.: Police in Minneapolis fire upon striking truck drivers, during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, killing two and wounding sixty-seven.
  • 1934 – West Coast waterfront strike: In Seattle, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen. The governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.
  • 1935 – Switzerland: A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan to Frankfurt crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing thirteen.
  • 1936 – The Montreux Convention is signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.
  • 1938 – The United States Department of Justice files suit in New York City against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in 1948.
  • 1940 – Denmark leaves the League of Nations.
  • 1940 – California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
  • 1941 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD and names Lavrentiy Beria its chief.
  • 1944 – World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
  • 1949 – Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their nineteen-month war.
  • 1950 – Cold War: In Philadelphia, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.
  • 1951 – King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
  • 1954 – Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany’s secret service, defects to East Germany.
  • 1960 – Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world’s first elected female head of government.
  • 1960 – The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.
  • 1961 – French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Định Tường Province, Cái Bè, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of whom are children).
  • 1968 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.
  • 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11’s crew successfully makes the first manned landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.
  • 1969 – A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the “Football War”.
  • 1974 – Turkish invasion of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d’état, organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.
  • 1976 – The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.
  • 1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.
  • 1977 – The Johnstown flood of 1977 kills 84 people and causes millions of dollars in damages.
  • 1982 – Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses.
  • 1985 – The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.
  • 1989 – Burma’s ruling junta puts opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
  • 1992 – Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.
  • 1997 – The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
  • 1999 – The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
  • 2005 – The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.
  • 2012 – James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.
  • 2013 – Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.
  • 2015 – A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç, Turkey, targeting the Socialist Youth Associations Federation, kills at least 31 people and injures over 100.
  • 2015 – The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades.
  • 2017 – O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas.

Births on July 20

  • 356 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (d. 323 BC)
  • 647 – Yazid I, Arabian caliph (d. 683)
  • 682 – Taichō, Japanese monk and scholar (d. 767)
  • 1304 – Petrarch, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1374)
  • 1313 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (d. 1367)
  • 1346 – Margaret, Countess of Pembroke, daughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1361)
  • 1470 – John Bourchier, 1st Earl of Bath, English noble (d. 1539)
  • 1519 – Pope Innocent IX (d. 1591)
  • 1537 – Arnaud d’Ossat, French cardinal (d. 1604)
  • 1583 – Alban Roe, English Benedictine martyr (d. 1642)
  • 1591 – Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher (d. 1643)
  • 1592 – Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden (d. 1663)
  • 1601 – Robert Wallop, English politician (d. 1667)
  • 1620 – Nikolaes Heinsius the Elder, Dutch poet and scholar (d. 1681)
  • 1649 – William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (d. 1709)
  • 1754 – Antoine Destutt de Tracy, French philosopher and academic (d. 1836)
  • 1757 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian politician and diplomat (d. 1811)
  • 1762 – Jakob Haibel, Austrian tenor and composer (d. 1826)
  • 1774 – Auguste de Marmont, French general (d. 1852)
  • 1789 – Mahmud II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1839)
  • 1804 – Richard Owen, English biologist, anatomist, and paleontologist (d. 1892)
  • 1822 – Gregor Mendel, Austro-German monk, geneticist and botanist (d. 1884)
  • 1838 – Augustin Daly, American playwright and manager (d. 1899)
  • 1838 – William Paine Lord, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Oregon (d. 1911)
  • 1838 – Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, English civil servant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1928)
  • 1847 – Max Liebermann, German painter and academic (d. 1935)
  • 1849 – Robert Anderson Van Wyck, American lawyer and politician, 91st Mayor of New York City (d. 1918)
  • 1852 – Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1932)
  • 1854 – Philomène Belliveau, Canadian artist (d. 1940)
  • 1864 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
  • 1864 – Ruggero Oddi, Italian physiologist and anatomist (d. 1913)
  • 1868 – Miron Cristea, Romanian cleric and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1939)
  • 1873 – Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian pilot (d. 1932)
  • 1876 – Otto Blumenthal, German mathematician and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1877 – Tom Crean, Irish sailor and explorer (d. 1938)
  • 1882 – Olga Hahn-Neurath, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1937)
  • 1889 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, Scottish broadcaster, co-founded BBC (d. 1971)
  • 1890 – Verna Felton, American actress (d. 1966)
  • 1890 – Julie Vinter Hansen, Danish-Swiss astronomer and academic (d. 1960)
  • 1890 – Giorgio Morandi, Italian painter (d. 1964)
  • 1893 – George Llewelyn Davies, English soldier (d. 1915)
  • 1895 – László Moholy-Nagy, Hungarian painter, photographer, and sculptor (d. 1946)
  • 1897 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
  • 1900 – Maurice Leyland, English cricketer and coach (d. 1967)
  • 1901 – Vehbi Koç, Turkish businessman and philanthropist, founded Koç Holding (d. 1996)
  • 1901 – Eugenio Lopez Sr., Filipino businessman and founder of the Lopez Group of Companies (d. 1975)
  • 1901 – Heinie Manush, American baseball player and manager (d. 1971)
  • 1902 – Leonidas Berry, American gastroenterologist (d. 1995)
  • 1905 – Joseph Levis, American foil fencer (d. 2005)
  • 1909 – Eric Rowan, South African cricketer (d. 1993)
  • 1910 – Vilém Tauský, Czech-English conductor and composer (d. 2004)
  • 1911 – Baqa Jilani, Indian cricketer (d. 1941)
  • 1911 – José Zabala-Santos, Filipino author and illustrator (d. 1985)
  • 1912 – George Johnston, Australian journalist and author (d. 1970)
  • 1914 – Dobri Dobrev, Bulgarian philanthropist (d. 2018)
  • 1914 – Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician (d. 2005)
  • 1914 – Ersilio Tonini, Italian cardinal (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Cindy Walker, American singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 2006)
  • 1919 – Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer and explorer (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – Jacquemine Charrott Lodwidge, English writer (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Elliot Richardson, American lieutenant and politician, 11th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Henri Alleg, English-French journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Alan Stephenson Boyd, American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Transportation
  • 1923 – Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Lola Albright, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
  • 1924 – Thomas Berger, American author and playwright (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Mort Garson, Canadian-American songwriter and composer (d. 2008)
  • 1925 – Jacques Delors, French economist and politician, 8th President of the European Commission
  • 1925 – Frantz Fanon, French–Algerian psychiatrist and philosopher (d. 1961)
  • 1927 – Barbara Bergmann, American economist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Heather Chasen, English actress (d. 2020)
  • 1927 – Michael Gielen, Austrian conductor and composer (d. 2019)
  • 1927 – Ian P. Howard, English-Canadian psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Józef Czyrek, Polish economist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Belaid Abdessalam, Prime Minister of Algeria
  • 1929 – Hazel Hawke, Australian social worker and pianist, 23rd Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Mike Ilitch, American businessman, co-founded Little Caesars (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – Rajendra Kumar, Pakistani-Indian actor and producer (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – David Tonkin, Australian politician, 38th Premier of South Australia (d. 2000)
  • 1930 – Giannis Agouris, Greek journalist and author (d. 2006)
  • 1930 – Chuck Daly, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
  • 1930 – William H. Goetzmann, American historian and author (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Sally Ann Howes, English-American singer and actress
  • 1931 – Tony Marsh, English race car driver (d. 2009)
  • 1932 – Nam June Paik, American artist (d. 2006)
  • 1932 – Otto Schily, German lawyer and politician, German Minister of the Interior
  • 1933 – Buddy Knox, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
  • 1933 – Cormac McCarthy, American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter
  • 1933 – Rex Williams, English snooker player
  • 1935 – Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo, English businessman and art collector
  • 1935 – Sleepy LaBeef, American rockabilly singer and musician (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Alistair MacLeod, Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2014)
  • 1936 – Barbara Mikulski, American social worker and politician
  • 1938 – Deniz Baykal, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
  • 1938 – Roger Hunt, English footballer
  • 1938 – Tony Oliva, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
  • 1938 – Diana Rigg, English actress
  • 1938 – Natalie Wood, American actress (d. 1981)
  • 1939 – Judy Chicago, American painter and sculptor
  • 1941 – Don Chuy, American football player (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – Periklis Korovesis, Greek author and journalist
  • 1941 – Kurt Raab, German actor, screenwriter, and production designer (d. 1988)
  • 1942 – Pete Hamilton, American race car driver
  • 1943 – Chris Amon, New Zealand race car driver (d. 2016)
  • 1943 – Bob McNab, English footballer
  • 1943 – Adrian Păunescu, Romanian poet, journalist, and politician (d. 2010)
  • 1943 – Wendy Richard, English actress (d. 2009)
  • 1944 – Mel Daniels, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1944 – W. Cary Edwards, American politician (d. 2010)
  • 1944 – Olivier de Kersauson, French sailor
  • 1944 – T. G. Sheppard, American country music singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Kim Carnes, American singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Larry Craig, American soldier and politician
  • 1945 – John Lodge, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1945 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (d. 1980)
  • 1946 – Randal Kleiser, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1947 – Gerd Binnig, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1947 – Carlos Santana, Mexican-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Muse Watson, American actor and producer
  • 1950 – Edward Leigh, English lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Lucille Lemay, Canadian archer
  • 1951 – Jeff Rawle, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1953 – Dave Evans, Welsh-Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1953 – Thomas Friedman, American journalist and author
  • 1953 – Marcia Hines, American-Australian singer and actress
  • 1954 – Moira Harris, American actress
  • 1954 – Jay Jay French, American guitarist and producer
  • 1955 – Desmond Douglas, Jamaican-English table tennis player
  • 1955 – René-Daniel Dubois, Canadian actor and playwright
  • 1955 – Jem Finer, English banjo player and songwriter
  • 1956 – Paul Cook, English drummer
  • 1956 – Thomas N’Kono, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1956 – Jim Prentice, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Alberta (d. 2016)
  • 1958 – Mick MacNeil, Scottish keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1959 – Radney Foster, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1960 – Claudio Langes, Italian race car driver
  • 1960 – Prvoslav Vujčić, Serbian-Canadian poet and philosopher
  • 1960 – Sudesh Berry, Indian actor
  • 1961 – Óscar Elías Biscet, Cuban physician and activist, founded the Lawton Foundation
  • 1962 – Carlos Alazraqui, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Giovanna Amati, Italian race car driver
  • 1962 – Julie Bindel, English journalist, author, and academic
  • 1963 – Frank Whaley, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Chris Cornell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
  • 1964 – Terri Irwin, American-Australian zoologist and author
  • 1964 – Sebastiano Rossi, Italian footballer
  • 1964 – Bernd Schneider, German race car driver
  • 1965 – Jess Walter, American journalist and author
  • 1966 – Stone Gossard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1966 – Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexican lawyer and politician, 57th President of Mexico
  • 1967 – Courtney Taylor-Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1968 – Jimmy Carson, American ice hockey player
  • 1968 – Hami Mandıralı, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Kool G Rap, American hip-hop artist
  • 1969 – Josh Holloway, American actor
  • 1969 – Kreso Kovacec, Croatian-German footballer
  • 1969 – Giovanni Lombardi, Italian cyclist
  • 1969 – Joon Park, South Korean-American singer
  • 1969 – Tobi Vail, American singer and guitarist
  • 1971 – Charles Johnson, American baseball player
  • 1971 – Sandra Oh, Canadian actress
  • 1972 – Jamie Ainscough, Australian rugby league player
  • 1972 – Jozef Stümpel, Slovak ice hockey player
  • 1972 – Erik Ullenhag, Swedish jurist and politician
  • 1972 – Vitamin C, American singer-songwriter
  • 1973 – Omar Epps, American actor
  • 1973 – Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
  • 1973 – Peter Forsberg, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
  • 1973 – Nixon McLean, Caribbean cricketer
  • 1973 – Roberto Orci, Mexican-American screenwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Claudio Reyna, American soccer player
  • 1975 – Ray Allen, American basketball player and actor
  • 1975 – Judy Greer, American actress and producer
  • 1975 – Erik Hagen, Norwegian footballer
  • 1975 – Birgitta Ohlsson, Swedish journalist and politician, 5th Swedish Minister for European Union Affairs
  • 1975 – Jason Raize, American singer and actor
  • 1975 – Yusuf Şimşek, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Erica Hill, American journalist
  • 1976 – Debashish Mohanty, Indian cricketer and coach
  • 1976 – Andrew Stockdale, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Alex Yoong, Malaysian race car driver
  • 1977 – Kiki Musampa, Congolese footballer
  • 1977 – Yves Niaré, French shot putter (d. 2012)
  • 1977 – Alessandro Santos, Brazilian-Japanese footballer
  • 1978 – Pavel Datsyuk, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Will Solomon, American basketball player
  • 1978 – Elliott Yamin, American singer-songwriter
  • 1978 – Ieva Zunda, Latvian runner and hurdler
  • 1979 – Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (d. 2004)
  • 1979 – Charlotte Hatherley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – David Ortega, Spanish swimmer
  • 1980 – Tesfaye Bramble, English-Montserratian footballer
  • 1980 – Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian model, fashionista, and businesswoman
  • 1981 – Viktoria Ladõnskaja, Estonian journalist and politician
  • 1982 – Antoine Vermette, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Alexi Casilla, Dominican baseball player
  • 1984 – Matt Gilroy, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – John Francis Daley, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1985 – Harley Morenstein, Canadian actor and YouTube personality
  • 1985 – David Mundy, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Osric Chau, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Nicola Benedetti, Scottish violinist
  • 1987 – Niall McGinn, Irish footballer
  • 1988 – Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer
  • 1988 – Stephen Strasburg, American baseball player
  • 1988 – Shahram Mahmoudi, Iranian volleyball player
  • 1989 – Javier Cortés, Mexican footballer
  • 1989 – Cristian Pasquato, Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Lars Unnerstall, German footballer
  • 1991 – Chiyoshōma Fujio, Mongolian sumo wrestler
  • 1991 – Ryan James, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Kira Kazantsev, Miss America 2015
  • 1991 – Philipp Reiter, German mountaineer and runner
  • 1993 – Steven Adams, New Zealand basketball player
  • 1995 – Moses Leota, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1996 – Ben Simmons, Australian basketball player

Deaths on July 20

  • 518 – Amantius, Byzantine grand chamberlain and Monophysite martyr
  • 833 – Ansegisus, Frankish abbot and saint
  • 985 – Boniface VII, antipope of Rome
  • 1031 – Robert II, king of France (b. 972)
  • 1156 – Toba, emperor of Japan (b. 1103)
  • 1320 – Oshin, king of Armenia (b. 1282)
  • 1332 – Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland
  • 1387 – Robert IV, French nobleman (b. 1356)
  • 1398 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, Welsh nobleman (b. 1374)
  • 1453 – Enguerrand de Monstrelet, French historian and author (b. 1400)
  • 1454 – John II, king of Castile and León (b. 1405)
  • 1514 – György Dózsa, Transylvanian peasant revolt leader (b. 1470)
  • 1524 – Claude, queen consort of France (b. 1499)
  • 1526 – García Jofre de Loaísa, Spanish explorer (b. 1490)
  • 1600 – William More, English courtier (b. 1520)
  • 1616 – Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, Irish nobleman and rebel soldier (b. 1550)
  • 1704 – Peregrine White, English-American farmer and soldier (b. 1620)
  • 1752 – Johann Christoph Pepusch, German-English composer and theorist (b. 1667)
  • 1816 – Gavrila Derzhavin, Russian poet and politician (b. 1743)
  • 1866 – Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician and academic (b. 1826)
  • 1897 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (b. 1820)
  • 1901 – William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (b. 1840)
  • 1903 – Leo XIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1810)
  • 1908 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and author (b. 1835)
  • 1908 – Karl Bernhard Zoeppritz, German geophysicist and seismologist (b. 1881)
  • 1910 – Anderson Dawson, Australian politician, 14th Premier of Queensland (b. 1863)
  • 1922 – Andrey Markov, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1856)
  • 1923 – Pancho Villa, Mexican general and politician, Governor of Chihuahua (b. 1878)
  • 1926 – Felix Dzerzhinsky, Russian educator and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1927 – Ferdinand I, king of Romania (b. 1865)
  • 1928 – Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet and author (b. 1896)
  • 1932 – René Bazin, French author and academic (b. 1853)
  • 1937 – Olga Hahn-Neurath, Austrian mathematician and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1882)
  • 1937 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
  • 1941 – Lew Fields, American actor and producer (b. 1867)
  • 1944 – Ludwig Beck, German general (b. 1880)
  • 1945 – Paul Valéry, French author and poet (b. 1871)
  • 1951 – Abdullah I, king of Jordan (b. 1882)
  • 1953 – Dumarsais Estimé, Haitian lawyer and politician, 33rd President of Haiti (b. 1900)
  • 1953 – Jan Struther, English author and hymn-writer (b. 1901)
  • 1955 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1869)
  • 1956 – James Alexander Calder, Canadian educator and politician, Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence (b. 1868)
  • 1959 – William D. Leahy, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (b. 1875)
  • 1965 – Batukeshwar Dutt, Indian activist (b. 1910)
  • 1968 – Bray Hammond, American historian and author (b. 1886)
  • 1970 – Iain Macleod, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1913)
  • 1972 – Geeta Dutt, Indian singer and actress (b. 1930)
  • 1973 – Bruce Lee, American actor and martial artist (b. 1940)
  • 1973 – Robert Smithson, American photographer and sculptor (b. 1938)
  • 1974 – Allen Jenkins, American actor and singer (b. 1900)
  • 1974 – Kamal Dasgupta, Bengali music director, composer and folk artist. (b. 1912)
  • 1976 – Joseph Rochefort, American captain and cryptanalyst (b. 1900)
  • 1977 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (b. 1939)
  • 1980 – Maria Martinez, San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) potter (b. 1887)
  • 1981 – Kostas Choumis, Greek-Romanian footballer (b. 1913)
  • 1983 – Frank Reynolds, American soldier and journalist (b. 1923)
  • 1987 – Richard Egan, American soldier and actor (b. 1921)
  • 1989 – Forrest H. Anderson, American judge and politician, 17th Governor of Montana (b. 1913)
  • 1990 – Herbert Turner Jenkins, American police officer (b. 1907)
  • 1993 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (b. 1945)
  • 1994 – Paul Delvaux, Belgian painter (b. 1897)
  • 1997 – M. E. H. Maharoof, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1939)
  • 1998 – June Byers, American wrestler (b. 1922)
  • 1999 – Sandra Gould, American actress (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (b. 1946)
  • 2003 – Nicolas Freeling, English author (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Lala Mara, Fijian politician (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Valdemaras Martinkėnas, Lithuanian footballer and coach (b. 1965)
  • 2005 – James Doohan, Canadian-American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Finn Gustavsen, Norwegian journalist and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2005 – Kayo Hatta, American director and cinematographer (b. 1958)
  • 2006 – Ted Grant, South African-English theorist and activist (b. 1913)
  • 2006 – Gérard Oury, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
  • 2007 – Tammy Faye Messner, American Christian evangelist and talk show host (b. 1942)
  • 2008 – Artie Traum, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1943)
  • 2008 – Dinko Šakić, Croatian concentration camp commander (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Vedat Okyar, Turkish footballer (b. 1945)
  • 2009 – Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2011 – Lucian Freud, German-English painter and illustrator (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Alastair Burnet, English journalist (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Jack Davis, American hurdler (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – José Hermano Saraiva, Portuguese historian, jurist, and politician, Portuguese Minister of Education (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist and businessman, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Khurshed Alam Khan, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Goa (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Augustus Rowe, Canadian physician and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Helen Thomas, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Constantin Lucaci, Romanian sculptor and educator (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Bob McNamara, American football player (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Klaus Schmidt, German archaeologist and academic (b. 1953)
  • 2015 – Wayne Carson, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Fred Else, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (b. 1944)
  • 2016 – Radu Beligan, Romanian actor, director, and essayist (b. 1918)
  • 2017 – Chester Bennington, American singer (b. 1976)

Holidays and observances on July 20

  • Birthday of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (Norway)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Ansegisus
    • Apollinaris of Ravenna
    • Aurelius
    • Ealhswith (or Elswith)
    • Elijah
    • Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • John Baptist Yi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
    • Margaret the Virgin
    • Thorlac (relic translation)
    • Wilgefortis (cult suppressed)
    • July 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Día del Amigo (Argentina, Brazil)
  • Engineer’s Day (Costa Rica)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Colombia from Spain in 1810.
  • International Chess Day
  • Lempira Day (Honduras)
  • Tree Planting Day (Central African Republic)

July 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
  • 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital.
  • 711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic.
  • 939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas.
  • 998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea.
  • 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots.
  • 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins.
  • 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.
  • 1553 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after only nine days on the throne.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel.
  • 1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England.
  • 1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow.
  • 1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai.
  • 1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom.
  • 1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary.
  • 1843 – Brunel’s steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
  • 1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed four firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings.
  • 1848 – Women’s rights: A two-day Women’s Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River.
  • 1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
  • 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
  • 1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.
  • 1903 – Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
  • 1916 – World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers’ militias against the Nationalist forces.
  • 1940 – World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.
  • 1940 – Field Marshal Ceremony: First occasion in World War II, that Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements.
  • 1940 – World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Second Happy Time of Hitler’s submarines comes to an end, as the increasingly effective American convoy system compels them to return to the central Atlantic.
  • 1943 – World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties.
  • 1947 – Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated.
  • 1947 – Korean politician Lyuh Woon-hyung is assassinated.
  • 1952 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
  • 1961 – Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later.
  • 1963 – Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
  • 1969 – Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
  • 1972 – Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat.
  • 1976 – Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
  • 1977 – The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).
  • 1979 – The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
  • 1979 – The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.
  • 1980 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
  • 1981 – In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.
  • 1982 – In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.
  • 1983 – The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
  • 1985 – The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
  • 1989 – United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa killing 111.
  • 1992 – A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.
  • 1997 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
  • 2014 – Gunmen in Egypt’s western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.

Births on July 19

  • 810 – Muhammad al-Bukhari, Persian scholar (d. 870)
  • 1223 – Baibars, sultan of Egypt (d. 1277)
  • 1420 – William VIII, Marquess of Montferrat (d. 1483)
  • 1569 – Conrad Vorstius, Dutch theologian (d. 1622)
  • 1670 – Richard Leveridge, English singer-songwriter (d. 1758)
  • 1688 – Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian missionary and painter (d. 1766)
  • 1744 – Heinrich Christian Boie, German author and poet (d. 1806)
  • 1759 – Marianna Auenbrugger, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1782)
  • 1759 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian monk and saint (d. 1833)
  • 1771 – Thomas Talbot, Irish-Canadian colonel and politician (d. 1853)
  • 1794 – José Justo Corro, Mexican politician and president, (1836-1837) (d. 1864)
  • 1789 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (d. 1854)
  • 1800 – Juan José Flores, Venezuelan general and politician, 1st President of Ecuador (d. 1864)
  • 1814 – Samuel Colt, American businessman, founded the Colt’s Manufacturing Company (d. 1862)
  • 1819 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (d. 1890)
  • 1822 – Princess Augusta of Cambridge (d. 1916)
  • 1827 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (d. 1857)
  • 1834 – Edgar Degas, French painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1835 – Justo Rufino Barrios, Guatemalan president (d. 1885)
  • 1842 – Frederic T. Greenhalge, English-American lawyer and politician, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
  • 1846 – Edward Charles Pickering, American astronomer and physicist (d. 1919)
  • 1849 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French scholar and critic (d. 1906)
  • 1865 – Georges Friedel, French mineralogist and crystallographer (d. 1933)
  • 1865 – Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon, founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
  • 1860 – Lizzie Borden, American woman, tried and acquitted for the murders of her parents in 1892 (d. 1927)
  • 1868 – Florence Foster Jenkins, American soprano and educator (d. 1944)
  • 1869 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (d. 1927)
  • 1875 – Alice Dunbar Nelson, African-American poet and activist (d. 1935)
  • 1876 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972)
  • 1877 – Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (d. 1949)
  • 1881 – Friedrich Dessauer, German physicist and philosopher (d. 1963)
  • 1883 – Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1886 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1888 – Enno Lolling, German physician (d. 1945)
  • 1890 – George II of Greece (d. 1947)
  • 1892 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1957)
  • 1893 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1930)
  • 1894 – Aleksandr Khinchin, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Khawaja Nazimuddin, Bangladeshi-Pakistani politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1965)
  • 1894 – Percy Spencer, American physicist and inventor of the microwave oven (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1896 – Reginald Baker, English film producer (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and novelist (d. 1981)
  • 1896 – Bob Meusel, American baseball player and sailor (d. 1977)
  • 1898 – Herbert Marcuse, German-American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay, Indian physician, author, poet, and playwright (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Samudrala Raghavacharya, Indian singer, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1904 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer and farmer (d. 1985)
  • 1907 – Isabel Jewell, American actress (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – Daniel Fry, American contactee (d. 1992)
  • 1909 – Balamani Amma, Indian poet and author (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Peter Leo Gerety, American prelate (d. 2016)
  • 1914 – Marius Russo, American baseball player (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Åke Hellman, Finnish painter (d. 2017)
  • 1916 – Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Patricia Medina, English-American actress (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (d. 2005)
  • 1919 – Ron Searle, English-Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician, 4th Mayor of Mississauga (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Robert Mann, American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2018)
  • 1920 – Richard Oriani, Salvadoran-American metallurgist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Harold Camping, American evangelist, author, radio host (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – André Moynet, French soldier, race car driver, and politician (d. 1993)
  • 1921 – Elizabeth Spencer, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – George McGovern, American lieutenant, historian, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Rachel Robinson, American professor, registered nurse, and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson
  • 1923 – Theo Barker, English historian (d. 2001)
  • 1923 – Alex Hannum, American basketball player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Joseph Hansen, American author and poet (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – William A. Rusher, American lawyer and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Lon Simmons, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Stanley K. Hathaway, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 40th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Pat Hingle, American actor and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Arthur Rankin Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Sue Thompson, American singer
  • 1926 – Helen Gallagher, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1928 – Samuel John Hazo, American author
  • 1928 – Choi Yun-chil, South Korean long-distance runner and a two-time national champion in the marathon.
  • 1929 – Gaston Glock, Austrian engineer and businessman, co-founded Glock Ges.m.b.H.
  • 1929 – Orville Turnquest, Bahamian politician
  • 1932 – Buster Benton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1932 – Jan Lindblad, Swedish biologist and photographer (d. 1987)
  • 1934 – Francisco de Sá Carneiro, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1980)
  • 1935 – Nick Koback, American baseball player and golfer (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – David Colquhoun, English pharmacologist and academic
  • 1937 – George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1938 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist and astronomer
  • 1938 – Tom Raworth, English poet and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1941 – Vikki Carr, American singer and actress
  • 1941 – Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician and diplomat, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society
  • 1943 – Han Sai Por, Singaporean sculptor and academic
  • 1944 – Tim McIntire, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
  • 1944 – Andres Vooremaa, Estonian chess player
  • 1945 – Paule Baillargeon, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Alan Gorrie, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (Average White Band)
  • 1946 – Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player and politician
  • 1947 – André Forcier, Canadian director and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Hans-Jürgen Kreische, German footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Bernie Leadon, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1947 – Brian May, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and astrophysicist
  • 1948 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1949 – Kgalema Motlanthe, South African politician, 3rd President of South Africa
  • 1950 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Finance
  • 1950 – Freddy Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Adrian Noble, English director and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Abel Ferrara, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1952 – Jayne Anne Phillips American novelist and short story writer
  • 1954 – Mark O’Donnell, American playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Steve O’Donnell, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1954 – Srđa Trifković, Serbian-American journalist and historian
  • 1955 – Roger Binny, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1955 – Dalton McGuinty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Premier of Ontario
  • 1956 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist, designed the IMAP (d. 2012)
  • 1958 – Brad Drewett, Australian tennis player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1958 – Robert Gibson, American wrestler
  • 1958 – David Robertson, American conductor
  • 1959 – Juan J. Campanella, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Atom Egoyan, Egyptian-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Kevin Haskins, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1961 – Harsha Bhogle, Indian journalist and author
  • 1961 – Maria Filatova, Russian gymnast
  • 1961 – Lisa Lampanelli, American comedian, actress, and author
  • 1961 – Benoît Mariage, Belgian director and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Hideo Nakata, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Campbell Scott, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1962 – Anthony Edwards, American actor and director
  • 1963 – Thomas Gabriel Fischer, Swiss musician
  • 1963 – Garth Nix, Australian author
  • 1964 – Teresa Edwards, American basketball player
  • 1964 – Masahiko Kondō, Japanese singer-songwriter and race car driver
  • 1965 – Evelyn Glennie, Scottish musician
  • 1965 – Claus-Dieter Wollitz, German footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Yael Abecassis, Israeli model and actress
  • 1967 – Jean-François Mercier, Canadian comedian, screenwriter, and television host
  • 1968 – Robb Flynn, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1968 – Pavel Kuka, Czech footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Jim Norton, American comedian, actor, and author
  • 1969 – Matthew Libatique, American cinematographer
  • 1970 – Bill Chen, American poker player and software designer
  • 1970 – Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish lawyer and politician, First Minister of Scotland
  • 1971 – Rene Busch, Estonian tennis player and coach
  • 1971 – Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer and politician, Mayor of Kiev
  • 1971 – Michael Modest, American wrestler
  • 1971 – Catriona Rowntree, Australian television host
  • 1971 – Lesroy Weekes, Montserratian cricketer
  • 1972 – Ebbe Sand, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Martin Powell, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1973 – Scott Walker, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1974 – Rey Bucanero, Mexican wrestler
  • 1974 – Francisco Copado, German footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Josée Piché, Canadian ice dancer
  • 1974 – Vince Spadea, American tennis player
  • 1974 – Preston Wilson, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Luca Castellazzi, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor
  • 1976 – Gonzalo de los Santos, Uruguayan footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Tony Mamaluke, American wrestler and manager
  • 1977 – Ed Smith, English cricketer and journalist
  • 1979 – Rick Ankiel, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Josué Anunciado de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
  • 1979 – Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1979 – Luke Young, English footballer
  • 1980 – Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player
  • 1980 – Giorgio Mondini, Italian race car driver
  • 1981 – Nenê, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – David Bernard, Jamaican cricketer
  • 1981 – Mark Gasnier, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1981 – Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Grégory Vignal, French footballer
  • 1982 – Christopher Bear, American drummer
  • 1982 – Phil Coke, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor
  • 1982 – Jess Vanstrattan, Australian footballer
  • 1983 – Helen Skelton, English television host and actress
  • 1983 – Fedor Tyutin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Andrea Libman, Canadian voice actress
  • 1984 – Adam Morrison, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Ryan O’Byrne, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Lewis Price, Welsh footballer
  • 1985 – LaMarcus Aldridge, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Zhou Haibin, Chinese footballer
  • 1985 – Marina Kuzina, Russian basketball player
  • 1985 – Hadi Norouzi, Iranian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1986 – Leandro Greco, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Jon Jones, American mixed martial artist
  • 1987 – Marc Murphy, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Shane Dawson, American comedian and actor
  • 1988 – Kevin Großkreutz, German footballer
  • 1988 – Jakub Kovář, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Sam McKendry, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Eray İşcan, Turkish footballer
  • 1992 – Jake Nicholson, English footballer
  • 1994 – Christian Welch, Australian rugby league player
  • 1998 – Erin Cuthbert, footballer
  • 1998 – Ronaldo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean footballer

Deaths on July 19

  • 514 – Symmachus, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 806 – Li Shigu, Chinese general (b. 778)
  • 973 – Kyunyeo, Korean monk and poet (b. 917)
  • 998 – Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine general (b. 940)
  • 1030 – Adalberon, French bishop
  • 1234 – Floris IV, Dutch nobleman (b. 1210)
  • 1249 – Jacopo Tiepolo, doge of Venice
  • 1333 – John Campbell, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Alexander Bruce, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Sir Archibald Douglas, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Maol Choluim II, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
  • 1374 – Petrarch, Italian poet and scholar (b. 1304)
  • 1415 – Philippa of Lancaster, Portuguese queen (b. 1360)
  • 1543 – Mary Boleyn, English daughter of Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1499)
  • 1631 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher and academic (b. 1550)
  • 1742 – William Somervile, English poet and author (b. 1675)
  • 1810 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prussian queen (b. 1776)
  • 1814 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (b. 1774)
  • 1824 – Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican general and emperor (b. 1783)
  • 1838 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (b. 1785)
  • 1850 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1855 – Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet and translator (b. 1787)
  • 1857 – Stefano Franscini, Swiss statistician and politician (b. 1796)
  • 1878 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1847)
  • 1896 – Abraham H. Cannon, American publisher and religious leader (b. 1859)
  • 1913 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1852)
  • 1925 – John Indermaur, British lawyer (b. 1851)
  • 1930 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1844)
  • 1933 – Kaarle Krohn, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1939 – Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet and author (b. 1850)
  • 1943 – Yekaterina Budanova, Russian captain and pilot (b. 1916)
  • 1947 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1947 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1947 – Lyuh Woon-hyung, South Korean politician (b. 1886)
  • 1963 – William Andrew, English priest (b. 1884)
  • 1965 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (b. 1875)
  • 1967 – Odell Shepard, American poet and politician, 66th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – Stratis Myrivilis, Greek soldier and author (b. 1890)
  • 1974 – Ernő Schwarz, Hungarian-American soccer player and coach (b. 1904)
  • 1975 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
  • 1977 – Karl Ristikivi, Estonian geographer, author, and poet (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Margaret Craven, American journalist and author (b. 1901)
  • 1980 – Nihat Erim, Turkish jurist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1981 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (b. 1919)
  • 1982 – Hugh Everett III, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1930)
  • 1984 – Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Aziz Sami, Iraqi writer and translator (b. 1895)
  • 1985 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish author (b. 1938)
  • 1989 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish businessman and politician, President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1913)
  • 1990 – Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1940)
  • 1994 – Victor Barbeau, Canadian author and academic (b. 1896)
  • 1998 – Elmer Valo, Polish-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2002 – Dave Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 2002 – Alan Lomax, American historian, scholar, and activist (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Bill Bright, American evangelist and author, founded the Campus Crusade for Christ (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (b. 1902)
  • 2004 – J. Gordon Edwards, American entomologist, mountaineer, and DDT advocate (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Francis A. Marzen, American priest, and journalist (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Edward Bunker, American author and screenwriter (b. 1933)
  • 2006 – Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentinian cartoonist (b. 1944)
  • 2008 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedian and actress (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Frank McCourt, American author and educator (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (b. 1991)
  • 2010 – Cécile Aubry, French actress, author, television screenwriter and director (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Jon Cleary, Australian author and playwright (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Humayun Ahmed, Bangladeshi director and playwright (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Tom Davis, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general, and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Sylvia Woods, American businesswoman, co-founded Sylvia’s Restaurant of Harlem (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Valiulla Yakupov, Islamic cleric (b. 1963)
  • 2013 – Mikhail Gorsheniov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Mel Smith, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Bert Trautmann, German footballer and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Phil Woosnam, Welsh-American soccer player and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Peter Ziegler, Swiss geologist and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Leyla Erbil, Turkish author (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Rubem Alves, Brazilian theologian (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – David Easton, Canadian-American political scientist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Paul M. Fleiss, American pediatrician and author (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – James Garner, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Jerzy Jurka, Polish biologist (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – Ray King, English footballer and manager (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ingemar Odlander, Swedish journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Harry Pougher, English cricketer (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Leen Vleggeert, Dutch politician (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – John Winkin, American baseball player, coach, and journalist (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Van Alexander, American composer and conductor (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Galina Prozumenshchikova, Ukrainian-Russian swimmer and journalist (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Carmino Ravosa, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Gennadiy Seleznyov, Russian journalist and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Duma (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Garry Marshall, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1934)
  • 2018 – Jon Schnepp, American producer, director, voice actor, editor, writer, cartoonist, animator, and cinematographer (b. 1967)
  • 2018 – Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (b. 1993)
  • 2019 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on July 19

  • Christian feast day:
    • Arsenius (Catholic Church)
    • Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht
    • Justa and Rufina
    • Kirdjun (or Abakerazum)
    • Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great
    • Symmachus
    • July 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Myanmar)
  • Sandinista Day or Liberation Day (Nicaragua)

July 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 18- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.
  • 387 BC– Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
  • 362 – Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire.
  • 452 – Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it.
  • 645 – Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.
  • 1195 – Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo.
  • 1290 – King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B’Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
  • 1334 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.
  • 1389 – France and England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13-year peace, the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years’ War.
  • 1391 – Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia.
  • 1507 – In Brussels, Prince Charles I, is crowned Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders, a year after inheriting the title.
  • 1555 – The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain.
  • 1806 – A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, kills around 200 people.
  • 1812 – The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars.
  • 1841 – Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
  • 1857 – Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall’s war against the French.
  • 1862 – First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
  • 1870 – The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.
  • 1872 – The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections be held by secret ballot.
  • 1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
  • 1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
  • 1936 – On the Spanish mainland, a faction of the army supported by fascists, rises up against the Second Spanish Republic in a coup d’etat starting the 3-year-long Civil War, resulting in the longest dictatorship in modern European history.
  • 1942 – World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia.
  • 1942 – The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.
  • 1944 – World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.
  • 1966 – Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
  • 1966 – A racially charged incident in a bar sparks the six-day Hough riots in Cleveland, Ohio; 1,700 Ohio National Guard troops intervene to restore order.
  • 1968 – Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.
  • 1976 – Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
  • 1982 – Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos (“peasants” or “country people”) are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
  • 1984 – McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
  • 1992 – A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web.
  • 1994 – The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Community Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.
  • 1995 – On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee.
  • 1996 – Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec’s costliest natural disasters ever.
  • 1996 – Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army’s base, killing over 1200 soldiers.
  • 2012 – At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.
  • 2013 – The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
  • 2019 – A man sets fire to an anime studio in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan, killing at 35 people and injuring dozens of others.

Births on July 18

  • 1013 – Hermann of Reichenau, German composer, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1013)
  • 1501 – Isabella of Austria, queen of Denmark (d. 1526)
  • 1504 – Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss pastor and reformer (d. 1575)
  • 1534 – Zacharius Ursinus, German theologian (d. 1583)
  • 1552 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1612)
  • 1634 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1695)
  • 1659 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (d. 1743)
  • 1670 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1747)
  • 1702 – Maria Clementina Sobieska, Polish noble (d. 1735)
  • 1718 – Saverio Bettinelli, Italian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1808)
  • 1720 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (d. 1793)
  • 1724 – Maria Antonia of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1780)
  • 1750 – Frederick Adolf, duke of Östergötland (d. 1803)
  • 1796 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
  • 1811 – William Makepeace Thackeray, English author and poet (d. 1863)
  • 1818 – Louis Gerhard De Geer, Swedish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1896)
  • 1821 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (d. 1910)
  • 1837 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian priest and activist (d. 1873)
  • 1843 – Virgil Earp, American marshal (d. 1905)
  • 1845 – Tristan Corbière, French poet (d. 1875)
  • 1848 – W. G. Grace, English cricketer and physician (d. 1915)
  • 1853 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
  • 1861 – Kadambini Ganguly, Indian physician, one of the first Indian women to obtain a degree (d. 1923)
  • 1864 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1937)
  • 1867 – Margaret Brown, American philanthropist and activist (d. 1932)
  • 1871 – Giacomo Balla, Italian painter (d.1958)
  • 1871 – Sada Yacco, Japanese actress and dancer (d. 1946)
  • 1881 – Larry McLean, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1921)
  • 1884 – Alberto di Jorio, Italian cardinal (d. 1979)
  • 1886 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (d. 1945)
  • 1887 – Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian military officer and politician, Minister President of Norway (d. 1945)
  • 1889 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (d. 1977)
  • 1890 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1983)
  • 1892 – Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian footballer (d. 1969)
  • 1893 – David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier (d. 1968)
  • 1895 – Olga Spessivtseva, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1991)
  • 1895 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (d. 1954)
  • 1897 – Ernest Eldridge, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1935)
  • 1898 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Ernst Scheller, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Marburg (d. 1942)
  • 1900 – Nathalie Sarraute, French lawyer and author (d. 1999)
  • 1902 – Jessamyn West, American author (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Chill Wills, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1905 – Robert Elton Brooker, American business executive (d. 2000)
  • 1906 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American academic and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1906 – Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
  • 1908 – Peace Pilgrim, American mystic and activist (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – Lupe Vélez, Mexican-American actress and dancer (d. 1944)
  • 1908 – Beatrice Aitchison, American mathematician, statistician, and transportation economist (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Bishnu Dey, Indian poet, critic, and academic (d. 1982)
  • 1909 – Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1989)
  • 1909 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (d. 1978)
  • 1909 – Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Diptendu Pramanick, Indian businessman (d. 1989)
  • 1910 – Mamadou Dia, Senegalese politician; 1st Prime Minister of Senegal (d. 2009)
  • 1911 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1913 – Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Oscar Heisserer, French footballer (d. 2004)
  • 1915 – Carequinha, Brazilian clown and actor (d. 2006)
  • 1915 – Roxana Cannon Arsht, American judge (d. 2003)
  • 1915 – Louis Le Bailly, British Royal Navy officer (d. 2010)
  • 1916 – Charles Kittel, American physicist (d. 2019)
  • 1917 – Henri Salvador, French singer and guitarist (d. 2008)
  • 1917 – Paul Streeten, Austrian-born British economics professor (d. 2019)
  • 1918 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Lilia Dale, Italian actress
  • 1920 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1982)
  • 1921 – Peter Austin, English brewer, founded Ringwood Brewery (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Aaron T. Beck, American psychiatrist and academic
  • 1921 – John Glenn, American colonel, astronaut, and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Richard Leacock, English-French director and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Heinz Bennent, German actor (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Thomas Kuhn, American physicist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Jerome H. Lemelson, American engineer and businessman (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – Michael Medwin, English actor (d. 2020)
  • 1924 – Inge Sørensen, Danish swimmer (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Tullio Altamura, Italian actor
  • 1925 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner and hurdler (d. 2004)
  • 1925 – Friedrich Zimmermann, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 2012)
  • 1925 – Raymond Jones, Australian Modernist architect
  • 1925 – Windy McCall, American baseball relief pitcher (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (d. 1987)
  • 1926 – Nita Bieber, American actress (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Bernard Pons, French politician and medical doctor
  • 1926 – Maunu Kurkvaara, Finnish film director and screenwriter
  • 1927 – Mehdi Hassan, Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – Kurt Masur, German conductor and educator (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Antonio García-Trevijano, Spanish republican, political activist, and author (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Keith MacDonald, Canadian politician
  • 1927 – Anthony Mirra, American gangster, member of the Bonanno Crime Family (d. 1982)
  • 1928 – Andrea Gallo, Italian priest and author (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Baddiewinkle, American internet personality
  • 1929 – Dick Button, American figure skater and actor
  • 1929 – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 2000)
  • 1932 – Robert Ellis Miller, American director and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1933 – Jean Yanne, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1933 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet and playwright (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Edward Bond, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Darlene Conley, American actress (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – Tenley Albright, American figure skater and physician
  • 1935 – Jayendra Saraswathi, Indian guru, 69th Shankaracharya
  • 1937 – Roald Hoffmann, Polish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1937 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – John Connelly, English footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1938 – Ian Stewart, Scottish keyboard player and manager (d. 1985)
  • 1938 – Paul Verhoeven, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Brian Auger, English rock and jazz keyboard player
  • 1939 – Dion DiMucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Jerry Moore, American football player and coach
  • 1940 – James Brolin, American actor
  • 1940 – Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
  • 1941 – Frank Farian, German songwriter and producer
  • 1941 – Lonnie Mack, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Martha Reeves, American singer and politician
  • 1942 – Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician, 84th President of the Swiss Confederation
  • 1943 – Joseph J. Ellis, American historian and author
  • 1944 – David Hemery, English hurdler and author
  • 1945 – Pat Doherty, Irish Republican politician
  • 1946 – Kalpana Mohan, Indian actress
  • 1946 – John Naughton, Scottish-Irish journalist, author, and academic
  • 1947 – Steve Forbes, American publisher and politician
  • 1948 – Carlos Colón Sr., Puerto Rican-American wrestler and promoter
  • 1948 – Jeanne Córdova, American journalist and activist (d. 2016)
  • 1948 – Graham Spanier, 16th President of Pennsylvania State University
  • 1948 – Hartmut Michel, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1949 – Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1950 – Richard Branson, English businessman, founded Virgin Group
  • 1950 – Jack Dongarra, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1950 – Kostas Eleftherakis, Greek footballer
  • 1950 – Glenn Hughes, American disco singer (Village People) and actor (d. 2001)
  • 1950 – Jack Layton, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Mark Udall, American educator and politician
  • 1951 – Elio Di Rupo, Belgian chemist, academic, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Belgium
  • 1951 – Margo Martindale, American actress
  • 1954 – Ricky Skaggs, American singer-songwriter, mandolin player, and producer
  • 1955 – Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
  • 1957 – Nick Faldo, English golfer and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1960 – Simon Heffer, English journalist and author
  • 1961 – Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
  • 1961 – Alan Pardew, English footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Pasi Rautiainen, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1962 – Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Marc Girardelli, Austrian-Luxembourgian skier
  • 1963 – Martín Torrijos, Panamanian economist and politician, 35th President of Panama
  • 1964 – Wendy Williams, American talk show host
  • 1965 – Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian soprano
  • 1966 – Dan O’Brien, American decathlete and coach
  • 1967 – Vin Diesel, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter1968 – Grant Bowler, New Zealand-Australian actor
  • 1968 – Scott Gourley, Australian rugby player
  • 1969 – Elizabeth Gilbert, American author
  • 1969 – The Great Sasuke, Japanese wrestler and politician
  • 1971 – Penny Hardaway, American basketball player and coach
  • 1971 – Sukhwinder Singh, Indian singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1974 – Alan Morrison, British poet
  • 1975 – Torii Hunter, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Daron Malakian, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1975 – M.I.A., English rapper and producer5
  • 1976 – Elsa Pataky, Spanish actress
  • 1976 – Go Soo-hee, South Korean actress
  • 1977 – Alexander Morozevich, Russian chess player and author
  • 1978 – Adabel Guerrero, Argentinian actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1978 – Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Crystal Mangum, American murderer responsible for making false rape allegations in the Duke lacrosse case
  • 1978 – Joo Sang-wook, South Korean actor
  • 1978 – Ben Sheets, American baseball player and coach
  • 1978 – Mélissa Theuriau, French journalist
  • 1979 – Deion Branch, American football player
  • 1979 – Joey Mercury, American wrestler and producer
  • 1980 – Kristen Bell, American actress
  • 1981 – Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Ryan Cabrera, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1982 – Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress, singer, and film producer
  • 1982 – Carlo Costly, Honduran footballer
  • 1983 – Carlos Diogo, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1983 – Aaron Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1983 – Mikk Pahapill, Estonian decathlete
  • 1983 – Jan Schlaudraff, German footballer
  • 1985 – Chace Crawford, American actor
  • 1985 – Panagiotis Lagos, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – James Norton, English actor
  • 1986 – Natalia Mikhailova, Russian ice dancer
  • 1987 – Tontowi Ahmad, Indonesian badminton player
  • 1988 – Änis Ben-Hatira, German-Tunisian footballer
  • 1988 – César Villaluz, Mexican footballer
  • 1989 – Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Sebastian Mielitz, German footballer
  • 1989 – Yohan Mollo, French footballer
  • 1993 – Lee Tae-min, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1993 – Michael Lichaa, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Nilo Soares, East Timorese footballer
  • 1997 – Noah Lyles, American sprinter
  • 2001 – Agustina Roth, Argentine BMX rider

Deaths on July 18

  • 707 – Emperor Monmu of Japan (b. 683)
  • 715 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Umayyad general (b. 695)
  • 912 – Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor (b. 852)
  • 924 – Abu’l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat, Abbasid vizier (b. 855)
  • 928 – Stephen II, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 984 – Dietrich I, bishop of Metz
  • 1100 – Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight (b. 1016)
  • 1185 – Stefan, first Archbishop of Uppsala (b. before 1143)
  • 1194 – Guy of Lusignan, king consort of Jerusalem (b. c. 1150)
  • 1232 – John de Braose, Marcher Lord of Bramber and Gower
  • 1270 – Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1300 – Gerard Segarelli, Italian religious leader, founded the Apostolic Brethren (b. 1240)
  • 1450 – Francis I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1414)
  • 1488 – Alvise Cadamosto, Italian explorer (b. 1432)
  • 1566 – Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish bishop and historian (b. 1484)
  • 1591 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (b. 1550)
  • 1608 – Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1546)
  • 1610 – Caravaggio, Italian painter (b. 1571)
  • 1639 – Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, German general (b. 1604)
  • 1650 – Robert Levinz, English Royalist, hanged in London by Parliamentary forces as a spy (b. 1615)
  • 1695 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1634)
  • 1698 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (b. 1633)
  • 1721 – Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
  • 1730 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (b. 1644)
  • 1756 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch poet and playwright (b. 1683)
  • 1792 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American admiral and diplomat (b. 1747)
  • 1817 – Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)
  • 1837 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (b. 1777)
  • 1863 – Robert Gould Shaw, American colonel (b. 1837)
  • 1872 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 26th President of Mexico (b. 1806)
  • 1884 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (b. 1829)
  • 1887 – Dorothea Dix, American social reformer and activist (b. 1802)
  • 1890 – Lydia Becker, English journalist, author, and activist, co-founded the Women’s Suffrage Journal (b. 1827)
  • 1892 – Thomas Cook, English travel agent, founded the Thomas Cook Group (b. 1808)
  • 1899 – Horatio Alger, American novelist and journalist (b. 1832)
  • 1916 – Benjamin C. Truman, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
  • 1925 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (b. 1840)
  • 1932 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French author and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (b. 1855)
  • 1937 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1938 – Marie of Romania (b. 1875)
  • 1944 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1870)
  • 1947 – Evald Tipner, Estonian footballer and ice hockey player (b. 1906)
  • 1948 – Herman Gummerus, Finnish historian, academic, and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1949 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator (b. 1870)
  • 1949 – Francisco Javier Arana, Guatemalan Army colonel and briefly Guatemalan head of state (b.1905)
  • 1950 – Carl Clinton Van Doren, American critic and biographer (b. 1885)
  • 1952 – Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect and historian (b. 1862)
  • 1954 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (b. 1895)
  • 1966 – Bobby Fuller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
  • 1968 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
  • 1969 – Mary Jo Kopechne, American educator and secretary (b. 1940)
  • 1973 – Jack Hawkins, English actor (b. 1910)
  • 1975 – Vaughn Bodē, American illustrator (b. 1941)
  • 1981 – Sonja Branting-Westerståhl, Swedish lawyer (b. 1890)
  • 1982 – Roman Jakobson, Russian–American linguist and theorist (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Lally Bowers, English actress (b. 1914)
  • 1984 – Grigori Kromanov, Estonian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 1987 – Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter, journalist and congressman (b. 1907)
  • 1988 – Nico, German singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1938)
  • 1988 – Joly Braga Santos, Portuguese composer and conductor (b. 1924)
  • 1989 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (b. 1954)
  • 1989 – Rebecca Schaeffer, American model and actress (b.1967)
  • 1990 – Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1896)
  • 1990 – Yun Posun, South Korean politician, 2nd President of South Korea (b. 1897)
  • 2001 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
  • 2002 – Metin Toker, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – André Castelot, Belgian-French historian and author (b. 1911)
  • 2004 – Émile Peynaud, French wine maker (b. 1912)
  • 2005 – Amy Gillett, Australian cyclist and rower (b. 1976)
  • 2005 – William Westmoreland, American general (b. 1914)
  • 2006 – Henry Hewes, American theater writer (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Jerry Hadley, American tenor (b. 1952)
  • 2007 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (b. 1908)
  • 2009 – Henry Allingham, English soldier (b. 1896)
  • 2009 – Jill Balcon, English actress (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Lithuanian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Jean François-Poncet, French politician and diplomat, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Dawoud Rajiha, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1947)
  • 2012 – Assef Shawkat, Syrian general and politician (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Hasan Turkmani, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Vaali, Indian poet, songwriter, and actor (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and academic (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – Andreas Biermann, German footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2014 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Alex Rocco, American actor (b. 1936)
  • 2018 – Jonathan Gold, American food critic (b. 1960)
  • 2018 – Adrian Cronauer, American Radio personality (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on July 18

  • Christian feast day:
    • Arnulf of Metz
    • Bartolomé de las Casas (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Bruno of Segni
    • Camillus de Lellis (optional memorial, United States only)
    • Eadburh (or Edburga) of Bicester
    • Elizabeth Ferard (Church of England)
    • Frederick of Utrecht
    • Goneri of Brittany
    • Gundenis
    • Marina of Aguas Santas
    • Maternus of Milan
    • Minnborinus of Cologne
    • Pambo
    • Philastrius (or Filaster)
    • Symphorosa
    • Teneu (or Theneva)
    • Theodosia of Constantinople
    • July 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Uruguay)
  • Nelson Mandela International Day

July 18- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 138 – Emperor Hadrian dies of heart failure at Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina.
  • 645 – Isshi Incident: Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d’état at the imperial palace.
  • 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin.
  • 1086 – King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants.
  • 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground.
  • 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeats the king’s Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner in the Battle of Northampton.
  • 1499 – The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of Vasco da Gama.
  • 1512 – The Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre commences with the capture of Goizueta.
  • 1519 – Zhu Chenhao declares the Ming dynasty’s Zhengde Emperor a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion, and leads his army north in an attempt to capture Nanjing.
  • 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.
  • 1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard.
  • 1645 – English Civil War: The Battle of Langport takes place.
  • 1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.
  • 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta.
  • 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.
  • 1832 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
  • 1850 – U.S. President Millard Fillmore is sworn in, a day after becoming president upon Zachary Taylor’s death.
  • 1869 – Gävle, Sweden, is largely destroyed in a fire; 80% of its 10,000 residents are left homeless.
  • 1877 – The then-villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain.
  • 1882 – War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears.
  • 1883 – War of the Pacific: Chileans led by Alejandro Gorostiaga defeat Andrés Avelino Cáceres’s Peruvuan army at the Battle of Huamachuco, hastening the end of the war.
  • 1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state.
  • 1921 – Belfast’s Bloody Sunday: Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
  • 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called “Monkey Trial” begins of John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
  • 1927 – Kevin O’Higgins TD, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State is assassinated by the IRA.
  • 1938 – Howard Hughes begins a 91-hour airplane flight around the world that will set a new record.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Vichy government is established in France.
  • 1940 – World War II: Six days before Adolf Hitler issues his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys begin, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain.
  • 1941 – Jedwabne pogrom: Massacre of Polish Jews living in and near the village of Jedwabne.
  • 1942 – World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the “Akutan Zero”) that the US Navy uses to learn the aircraft’s flight characteristics.
  • 1943 – World War II: Operation Husky begins in Sicily.
  • 1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee.
  • 1951 – Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.
  • 1962 – Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
  • 1966 – The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend.
  • 1973 – The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.
  • 1976 – Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.
  • 1978 – ABC World News Tonight premieres on ABC.
  • 1978 – President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d’état.
  • 1985 – The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.
  • 1985 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board in the USSR’s worst-ever airline disaster.
  • 1991 – The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid.
  • 1991 – Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia.
  • 1992 – In Miami, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.
  • 1997 – In London, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the “out of Africa theory” of human evolution, placing an “African Eve” at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
  • 1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, a member of Partido Popular (Spain), is kidnapped (and later murdered) in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.
  • 1998 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest.
  • 1999 – In women’s association football, the United States defeated China in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles to win the final match of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The final was watched by 90,185 spectators, which set a new world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event.
  • 2000 – EADS, the world’s second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.
  • 2002 – At a Sotheby’s auction, Peter Paul Rubens’s painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.
  • 2005 – Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.
  • 2007 – Erden Eruç begins the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
  • 2008 – Former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boškoski is acquitted of all war-crimes charges by a United Nations Tribunal.
  • 2011 – Russian cruise ship Bulgaria sinks in Volga near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, causing 122 deaths.
  • 2017 – Iraqi Civil War: Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
  • 2019 – The last Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico. The last of 5,961 “Special Edition” cars will be exhibited in a museum.

Births on July 10

  • 1419 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (d. 1471)
  • 1451 – James III of Scotland (d. 1488)
  • 1501 – Cho Shik, Korean poet and scholar (d. 1572)
  • 1509 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (d. 1564)
  • 1515 – Francisco de Toledo, Viceroy of Peru (d. 1582)
  • 1517 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (d. 1571)
  • 1533 – Antonio Possevino, Italian diplomat (d. 1611)
  • 1592 – Pierre d’Hozier, French genealogist and historian (d. 1660)
  • 1614 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (d. 1686)
  • 1625 – Jean Herauld Gourville, French adventurer (d. 1703)
  • 1638 – David Teniers III, Flemish painter (d. 1685)
  • 1666 – John Ernest Grabe, German theologian and academic (d. 1711)
  • 1682 – Roger Cotes, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1716)
  • 1723 – William Blackstone, English lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1780)
  • 1724 – Eva Ekeblad, Swedish noble and agronomist (d. 1786)
  • 1752 – St. George Tucker, United States federal judge (d. 1827)
  • 1792 – George M. Dallas, American lawyer and politician, 11th Vice President of the United States (d. 1864)
  • 1802 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (d. 1871)
  • 1804 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (d. 1879)
  • 1809 – Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1889)
  • 1823 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1908)
  • 1830 – Camille Pissarro, Danish-French painter (d. 1903)
  • 1832 – Alvan Graham Clark, American astronomer (d. 1897)
  • 1835 – Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer (d. 1880)
  • 1839 – Adolphus Busch, German brewer, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (d. 1913)
  • 1856 – Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist and engineer (d. 1943)
  • 1864 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (d. 1926)
  • 1867 – Prince Maximilian of Baden (d. 1929)
  • 1871 – Marcel Proust, French novelist, critic, and essayist (d. 1922)
  • 1874 – Sergey Konenkov, Russian sculptor (d. 1971)
  • 1875 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (d. 1955)
  • 1875 – Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám, Hungarian politician (d. 1973)
  • 1877 – Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (d. 1935)
  • 1878 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
  • 1882 – Ima Hogg, American society leader, philanthropist, patron and collector of the arts (d. 1975)
  • 1883 – Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (d. 1948)
  • 1883 – Hugo Raudsepp, Estonian playwright and politician (d. 1952)
  • 1888 – Giorgio de Chirico, Greek-Italian painter and set designer (d. 1978)
  • 1888 – Toyohiko Kagawa, Japanese evangelist, author, and activist (d. 1960)
  • 1891 – Edith Quimby, American medical researcher and physicist (d. 1982)
  • 1894 – Jimmy McHugh, American composer (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (d. 1982)
  • 1896 – Thérèse Casgrain, Canadian politician (d. 1981)
  • 1897 – Legs Diamond, American gangster (d. 1931)
  • 1897 – Karl Plagge, German general and engineer (d. 1957)
  • 1898 – Renée Björling, Swedish actress (d. 1975)
  • 1899 – John Gilbert, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1936)
  • 1899 – Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (d. 1978)
  • 1900 – Mitchell Parish, Lithuanian-American songwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1900 – Sampson Sievers, Russian monk and mystic (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Kurt Alder, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
  • 1902 – Nicolás Guillén, Cuban poet, journalist, and activist (d. 1989)
  • 1903 – Werner Best, German SS officer and jurist (d. 1989)
  • 1903 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (d. 1969)
  • 1904 – Lili Damita, French-American actress (d. 1994)
  • 1905 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (d. 2002)
  • 1905 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (d. 1971)
  • 1905 – Wolfram Sievers, German physician (d. 1948)
  • 1907 – Blind Boy Fuller, American singer and guitarist (d. 1941)
  • 1909 – Donald Sinclair, English lieutenant and businessman (d. 1981)
  • 1911 – Terry-Thomas, English comedian and character actor (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Cootie Williams, American trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1985)
  • 1913 – Salvador Espriu, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1985)
  • 1914 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (d. 1992)
  • 1914 – Rempo Urip, Indonesian film director
  • 1916 – Judith Jasmin, Canadian journalist (d. 1972)
  • 1917 – Hugh Alexander, American baseball player and scout (d. 2000)
  • 1917 – Reg Smythe, English cartoonist (d. 1998)
  • 1918 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1918 – Chuck Stevens, American baseball player (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Frank L. Lambert, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Occidental College (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Fred Wacker, American race driver and engineer (d. 1998)
  • 1919 – Pierre Gamarra, French author, poet, and critic (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Ian Wallace, English actor and singer (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – David Brinkley, American journalist (d. 2003)
  • 1920 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
  • 1920 – Cyril Grant, English footballer (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the Smiley (d. 2001)
  • 1921 – Jeff Donnell, American actress (d. 1988)
  • 1921 – John K. Singlaub, U.S Army Major General
  • 1921 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American activist, co-founded the Special Olympics (d. 2009)
  • 1922 – Jean Kerr, American author and playwright (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – Herb McKenley, Jamaican sprinter (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Jake LaMotta, American boxer and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
  • 1923 – John Bradley, American soldier (d. 1994)
  • 1923 – Suzanne Cloutier, Canadian actress and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1923 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian author and academic (d. 1987)
  • 1924 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Bobo Brazil, American wrestler (d. 1998)
  • 1925 – Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian physician and politician, 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia
  • 1925 – Ernest Bertrand Boland, American Roman Catholic bishop
  • 1926 – Carleton Carpenter, American actor, magician, songwriter, and novelist
  • 1926 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1927 – Grigory Barenblatt, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – David Dinkins, American soldier and politician, 106th Mayor of New York City
  • 1927 – William Smithers, American actor
  • 1928 – Don Bolles, American investigative reporter (d. 1976)
  • 1928 – Bernard Buffet, French painter and illustrator (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentinian-Italian race car driver and businessman, founded De Tomaso (d. 2003)
  • 1928 – Moshe Greenberg, American-Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – John Glenn, American baseball player
  • 1929 – Winnie Ewing, Scottish lawyer and politician
  • 1929 – George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Moe Norman, Canadian golfer (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – José Vicente Rangel, Venezuelan politician; 21st Vice President of Venezuela
  • 1930 – Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (d. 2004)
  • 1930 – Janette Sherman, American physician, author, and pioneer in occupational and environmental health (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Josephine Veasey, English soprano and actress
  • 1931 – Nick Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1931 – Jerry Herman, American composer and songwriter (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Julian May, American author (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1932 – Carlo Maria Abate, Italian race car driver (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Neile Adams, Filipino-American actress, singer and dancer
  • 1932 – Manfred Preußger, German athlete
  • 1933 – Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, American rockabilly singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1933 – C.K. Yang, Taiwanese decathlete and pole vaulter (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Marshall Brodien, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 1934 – Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Tura Satana, American actress and dancer (d. 2011)
  • 1935 – Wilson Tuckey, Australian politician
  • 1935 – Margaret McEntee, American Catholic religious sister and educator
  • 1935 – Wilson Whineray, New Zealand rugby player and businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1936 – Herbert Boyer, American businessman, co-founded Genentech
  • 1936 – Tunne Kelam, Estonian journalist and politician
  • 1937 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – Gun Svensson, Swedish politician
  • 1938 – Paul Andreu, French architect (d. 2018)
  • 1938 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1972)
  • 1939 – Phil Kelly, Irish-English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1939 – Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish political scientist, journalist and educator (d. 1999)
  • 1939 – Mavis Staples, American singer
  • 1940 – Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai, Indian-English economist and politician
  • 1940 – Helen Donath, American soprano and actress
  • 1940 – Brian Priestley, English pianist and composer
  • 1940 – Keith Stackpole, Australian cricketer
  • 1941 – Jake Eberts, Canadian film producer (d. 2012)
  • 1941 – David G. Hartwell, American anthologist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Robert Pine, American actor and director
  • 1941 – Ian Whitcomb, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1942 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1942 – Pyotr Klimuk, Belarusian general, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1942 – Sixto Rodriguez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1942 – Lopo do Nascimento, Angolan politician; 1st Prime Minister of Angola
  • 1943 – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player and journalist (d. 1993)
  • 1943 – Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, Zambian politician
  • 1943 – Jerry Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1944 – Mick Grant, English motorcycle racer
  • 1944 – Norman Hammond, English archaeologist and academic
  • 1945 – Ron Glass, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Hal McRae, American baseball player and manager
  • 1945 – John Motson, English sportscaster
  • 1945 – Jean-Marie Poiré, French director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1945 – Virginia Wade, English tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1946 – Jean-Pierre Jarier, French racing driver
  • 1946 – Chin Han, Taiwanese actor
  • 1947 – Arlo Guthrie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1948 – Ronnie Cutrone, American painter (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Chico Resch, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Natalya Sedykh, Russian figure skater, ballet dancer, actor
  • 1949 – Anna Czerwińska, Polish mountaineer and author
  • 1949 – Sunil Gavaskar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1949 – Greg Kihn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1949 – John Whitehead, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
  • 1950 – Tony Baldry, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, British Minister of State for Agriculture
  • 1950 – Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Greece, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
  • 1951 – Cheryl Wheeler, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Rajnath Singh, Indian Politician and Union Home Minister of India
  • 1952 – Kim Mitchell, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Peter van Heemst, Dutch politician
  • 1953 – Rik Emmett, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1953 – Zoogz Rift, American musician and wrestler (d. 2011)
  • 1954 – Tommy Bowden, American football player and coach
  • 1954 – Andre Dawson, American baseball player
  • 1954 – Neil Tennant, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1955 – Nic Dakin, English educator and politician
  • 1955 – Geoff Gerard, Australian rugby league player
  • 1956 – Tom McClintock, American lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – K. Rajagopal, Malaysian football manager
  • 1957 – Derry Grehan, Canadian rock guitarist and songwriter
  • 1958 – Béla Fleck, American banjo player and songwriter
  • 1958 – Fiona Shaw, Irish actress and director
  • 1959 – Ellen Kuras, American director and cinematographer
  • 1959 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2006)
  • 1961 – Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and film actor
  • 1961 – Marc Riley, English guitarist (The Fall), radio DJ
  • 1963 – Ian Lougher, Welsh motorcycle racer
  • 1964 – Martin Laurendeau, Canadian tennis player and coach
  • 1964 – Urban Meyer, American football player and coach
  • 1964 – Wilfried Peeters, Belgian cyclist
  • 1965 – Scott McCarron, American golfer
  • 1965 – Ken Mellons, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1966 – Clive Efford, English politician
  • 1966 – Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (d. 2006)
  • 1966 – Christian Stangl, Austrian skier and mountaineer
  • 1966 – Anna Bråkenhielm, Swedish business executive
  • 1967 – Tom Meents, American professional monster truck driver
  • 1967 – Rebekah Del Rio, American singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Gillian Tett, English journalist and author
  • 1967 – Ikki Sawamura, Japanese model, actor and television presenter
  • 1967 – John Yoo, South Korean-American lawyer, author, and educator
  • 1969 – Marty Cordova, American baseball player
  • 1969 – Gale Harold, American actor
  • 1970 – Gary LeVox, American singer-songwriter
  • 1970 – Jason Orange, English singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1970 – John Simm, English actor
  • 1971 – Adam Foote, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Gregory Goodridge, Barbadian footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Peter Serafinowicz, English actor
  • 1972 – Sofía Vergara, Colombian-American actress and producer
  • 1972 – Tilo Wolff, German-Swiss singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1974 – Imelda May, Irish singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
  • 1975 – Andrew Firestone, American businessman
  • 1975 – Brendan Gaughan, American race car driver
  • 1975 – Alain Nasreddine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor (d. 2018)
  • 1975 – Richard Westbrook, English race car driver
  • 1976 – Edmílson, Brazilian footballer
  • 1976 – Elijah Blue Allman, American singer and guitarist
  • 1976 – Ludovic Giuly, French footballer
  • 1976 – Adrian Grenier, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1976 – Brendon Lade, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1976 – Lars Ricken, German footballer
  • 1977 – Chiwetel Ejiofor, English actor
  • 1979 – Mvondo Atangana, Cameroon footballer
  • 1979 – Gong Yoo, Korean actor
  • 1980 – Alejandro Millán, Mexican singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1980 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)
  • 1980 – Claudia Leitte, Brazilian singer-songwriter
  • 1980 – James Rolfe, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1980 – Jessica Simpson, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
  • 1981 – Aleksandar Tunchev, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1982 – Alex Arrowsmith, American guitarist and producer
  • 1982 – Juliya Chernetsky, Ukrainian-American television host
  • 1982 – Sebastian Mila, Polish footballer
  • 1982 – Jeffrey Walker, Australian actor and director
  • 1983 – Giuseppe De Feudis, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Matthew Egan, Australian footballer
  • 1983 – Gabi, Spanish footballer
  • 1983 – Kim Hee-chul, Korean entertainer
  • 1983 – Joelson José Inácio, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Doug Kramer, Filipino basketball player
  • 1983 – Anthony Watmough, Australian rugby league player
  • 1984 – Nikolaos Mitrou, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – Park Chu-young, South Korean footballer
  • 1985 – B. J. Crombeen, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Mario Gómez, German footballer
  • 1988 – Antonio Brown, American football player
  • 1988 – Heather Hemmens, American actress, director, and producer
  • 1988 – Sarah Walker, New Zealand BMX rider
  • 1990 – Adam Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Trent Richardson, American footballer
  • 1990 – Chiyonokuni Toshiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1991 – Daishōmaru Shōgo, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1999 – April Ivy, Portuguese composer and singer
  • 2001 – Isabela Moner, American actress

Deaths on July 10

  • 138 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (b. 76)
  • 645 – Soga no Iruka, Japanese politician
  • 649 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 598)
  • 772 – Amalberga of Temse, Frankish noblewoman
  • 831 – Zubaidah bint Ja`far, Abbasid Princess
  • 983 – Benedict VII, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 994 – Leopold I, margrave of Austria
  • 1086 – Canute IV, king of Denmark (b. 1043)
  • 1103 – Eric I, king of Denmark (b. 1060)
  • 1290 – Ladislaus IV, king of Hungaria (b. 1262)
  • 1460 – Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1402)
  • 1460 – John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, English nobleman (b. c. 1413)
  • 1461 – Thomas, king of Bosnia (b. 1411)
  • 1473 – James II, king of Cyprus
  • 1480 – René of Anjou, French nobleman (b. 1400)
  • 1510 – Catherine Cornaro, queen of Cyprus (b. 1454)
  • 1576 – Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, Italian noble (b. 1553)
  • 1559 – Henry II, king of France (b. 1519)
  • 1584 – William I, Dutch nobleman (b. 1533)
  • 1590 – Charles II, archduke of Austria (b. 1540)
  • 1594 – Paolo Bellasio, Italian organist and composer (b. 1554)
  • 1603 – Joan Terès i Borrull, Spanish archbishop and academic (b. 1538)
  • 1621 – Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, French commander (b. 1571)
  • 1653 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (b. 1600)
  • 1680 – Louis Moréri, French priest and scholar (b. 1643)
  • 1683 – François Eudes de Mézeray, French historian and author (b. 1610)
  • 1686 – John Fell, English bishop and academic (b. 1625)
  • 1776 – Richard Peters, English lawyer and minister (b. 1704)
  • 1794 – Gaspard de Bernard de Marigny, French general (b. 1754)
  • 1806 – George Stubbs, English painter and academic (b. 1724)
  • 1851 – Louis Daguerre, French photographer and physicist, invented the daguerreotype (b. 1787)
  • 1863 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author and educator (b. 1779)
  • 1881 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (b. 1812)
  • 1884 – Paul Morphy, American chess player (b. 1837)
  • 1908 – Phoebe Knapp, American organist and composer (b. 1839)
  • 1915 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (b. 1831)
  • 1920 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)
  • 1929 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (b. 1866)
  • 1941 – Jelly Roll Morton, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1890)
  • 1941 – Huntley Wright, English actor (b. 1868)
  • 1950 – Richard Maury, American-Argentinian engineer (b. 1882)
  • 1952 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (b. 1893)
  • 1954 – Calogero Vizzini, Italian mob boss (b. 1877)
  • 1956 – Joe Giard, American baseball player (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Sæbjørn Buttedahl, Norwegian actor and sculptor (b. 1876)
  • 1962 – Yehuda Leib Maimon, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1875)
  • 1963 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1893)
  • 1970 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1908)
  • 1971 – Laurent Dauthuille, French boxer (b. 1924)
  • 1972 – Lovie Austin, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1887)
  • 1978 – John D. Rockefeller III, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Asia Society (b. 1906)
  • 1979 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (b. 1894)
  • 1980 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (b. 1908)
  • 1985 – Fernando Pereira, Dutch photographer (b. 1950)
  • 1986 – Tadeusz Piotrowski, Polish mountaineer and author (b. 1940)
  • 1987 – John Hammond, American record producer, critic, and activist (b. 1910)
  • 1989 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (b. 1908)
  • 1993 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (b. 1901)
  • 1993 – Sam Rolfe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
  • 1995 – Mehmet Ali Aybar, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1908)
  • 1996 – Eno Raud, Estonian author (b. 1928)
  • 2000 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1909)
  • 2002 – Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1926)
  • 2002 – Evangelos Florakis, Greek general (b. 1943)
  • 2002 – Laurence Janifer, American author (b. 1933)
  • 2003 – Winston Graham, English author (b. 1908)
  • 2003 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1902)
  • 2004 – Pati Behrs, Russian-American ballerina and actress (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – A. J. Quinnell, English author (b. 1940)
  • 2006 – Shamil Basayev, Chechen terrorist rebel leader (b. 1965)
  • 2007 – Doug Marlette, American cartoonist and author (b. 1949)
  • 2008 – Hiroaki Aoki, Japanese-American wrestler and businessman, founded Benihana (b. 1938)
  • 2008 – Mike Souchak, American golfer (b. 1927)
  • 2011 – Pierrette Alarie, Canadian soprano and educator (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Berthe Meijer, German-Dutch journalist and author (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Viktor Suslin, Russian-German composer (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Philip Caldwell, American businessman (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Józef Gara, Polish poet and linguist (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Concha García Campoy, Spanish journalist (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Caroline Duby Glassman, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Ku Ok-hee, South Korean golfer (b. 1956)
  • 2013 – Gokulananda Mahapatra, Indian author and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Robert C. Broomfield, American lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Paul G. Risser, American ecologist and academic (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1912)
  • 2014 – Gloria Schweigerdt, American baseball player (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Katharina Focke, German politician (b. 1922)
  • 2018 – Henry Morgenthau III, American author and television producer (b. 1917)
  • 2020 – Lara van Ruijven, Dutch short track speed skater (b. 1992)

Holidays and observances on July 10

  • Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Amalberga of Maubeuge
    • Canute IV of Denmark
    • Rufina and Secunda
    • Seven Brothers
    • Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax
    • July 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Independence Day (Bahamas), celebrates the independence of the Bahamas from the United Kingdom in 1973.
  • Nikola Tesla Day
  • Statehood Day (Wyoming)

July 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on July 8

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

Deaths on July 8

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

Holidays and observances on July 8

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

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