From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
July 31 is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 153 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
- 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781).
- 904 – Thessalonica falls to the Arabs, who destroy the city.
- 1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.
- 1201 – Attempted usurpation of John Komnenos the Fat.
- 1423 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant – the French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
- 1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.
- 1492 – The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
- 1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
- 1588 – The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
- 1655 – Russo-Polish War (1654-1667): the Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.
- 1658 – Aurangzeb is proclaimed Moghul emperor of India.
- 1667 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: Treaty of Breda ends the conflict.
- 1703 – Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
- 1741 – Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.
- 1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Marquis de Lafayette "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States."
- 1790 – The very first U.S. patent is issued: to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
- 1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.
- 1865 – The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia.
- 1913 – The Balkan States signs an armistice at Bucharest.
- 1919 – German national assembly adopts the Weimar Constitution, which comes into force on August 14.
- 1930 – The radio mystery program The Shadow airs for the first time.
- 1931 – New York City experimental television station W2XAO (now known as WCBS) begins broadcasts.
- 1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
- 1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
- 1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
- 1940 – A doodlebug train in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio collides with a multi-car freight train heading in the opposite direction, killing 43 people.
- 1941 – Holocaust: under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question."
- 1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
- 1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
- 1954 – First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
- 1956 – Jim Laker becomes the first man to take all 10 wickets in a Test match innings as he returns figures of 10/53 in the Australian 2nd innings. This combined with his 9/37 in the first innings gave him match figures of 19/90 in the 4th Test at Old Trafford.
- 1961 – At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning because of rain.
- 1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
- 1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
- 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
- 1972 – Operation Motorman: British troops move into the no-go areas of Belfast and Derry, Northern Ireland. End of Free Derry.
- 1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
- 1987 – A rare, class F4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage.
- 1988 – 32 people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Malaysia.
- 1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles.
- 1991 – The Medininkai Massacre in Lithuania. Soviet OMON attacks Lithuanian customs post in Medininkai, killing 7 officers and severely wounding one other.
- 1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
- 1992 – Georgia joins the United Nations.
- 1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector – NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon's surface.
- 2002 – Hebrew University of Jerusalem is attacked when a bomb explodes in a cafeteria, killing 9.
- 2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother Raúl Castro.
- 2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
[edit] Births
- 1143 – Emperor Nijo of Japan (d. 1165)
- 1396 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
- 1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
- 1598 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1654)
- 1702 – Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter (d. 1768)
- 1704 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (d. 1752)
- 1718 – John Canton, English physicist (d. 1772)
- 1724 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer (d. 1801)
- 1737 – Princess Augusta of Great Britain (d. 1813)
- 1777 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentine statesman and priest (d. 1849)
- 1800 – Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist and founder of organic chemistry (d. 1882)
- 1803 – John Ericsson, Swedish inventor and engineer (d. 1889)
- 1816 – George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
- 1825 – William S. Clark, American senator and scholar (d. 1886)
- 1835 – Henri Brisson, French statesman (d. 1912)
- 1835 – Paul du Chaillu, French explorer (d. 1903)
- 1837 – William Quantrill, American Civil War rebel guerrilla leader (d. 1865)
- 1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet (d. 1918)
- 1847 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1905)
- 1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, British geologist (d. 1936)
- 1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist (d. 1940)
- 1867 – Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant and philanthropist (d. 1966)
- 1880 – Munshi Premchand, Indian Author (d. 1936)
- 1884 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (d. 1945)
- 1886 – Salvatore Maranzano, Sicilian-born American organized crime figure (d. 1931)
- 1886 – Fred Quimby, American film producer (d. 1965)
- 1887 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist (d. 1969)
- 1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author and publisher (d. 1986)
- 1892 – Joseph Charbonneau, French-Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
- 1901 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
- 1904 – Brett Halliday, American writer (d. 1977)
- 1909 – Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian writer and polyglot (d. 1999)
- 1911 – George Liberace, American musician (d. 1983)
- 1912 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
- 1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 2006)
- 1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American newspaper columnist (d. 2003)
- 1913 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
- 1914 – Louis de Funès, French actor and comedian (d. 1983)
- 1916 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player and official (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Bill Todman, American game show producer (d. 1979)
- 1916 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist (d. 1986)
- 1918 – Paul D. Boyer, American chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate
- 1918 – Hank Jones, American pianist (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Frank Renouf, New Zealand business tycoon (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sports announcer (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Primo Levi, Italian author and chemist (d. 1987)
- 1920 – James Esdras Faust, American religious leader (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Peter Benenson, British founder of Amnesty International (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Donald Malarkey, American World War II hero
- 1921 – Whitney Young, American civil rights activist (d. 1971)
- 1922 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
- 1923 – Ahmet Ertegün, Turkish-born record company executive (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis coach and father of Chris Evert
- 1926 – Bernard Nathanson, American abortionist turned pro-life activist (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Hilary Putnam, American philosopher
- 1929 – Gilles Carle, Canadian film director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1929 – Don Murray, American actor
- 1929 – Lynne Reid Banks, British author
- 1929 – José Santamaria, Uruguayan footballer
- 1930 – Oleg Popov, Russian clown
- 1931 – Nick Bollettieri, American tennis coach
- 1931 – Kenny Burrell, American guitarist
- 1931 – Ivan Rebroff, German singer (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1932 – John Searle, American philosopher
- 1933 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch writer
- 1935 – Yvon Deschamps, French-Canadian author and humorist
- 1935 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor
- 1936 – Vic Davalillo, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1939 – France Nuyen, French actress
- 1940 – Carol J. Clover, American academic
- 1940 – Roy Walker, Irish comedian and gameshow host
- 1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (d. 2004)
- 1943 – William Bennett, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
- 1943 – Susan Flannery, American actress
- 1943 – Lobo, American singer and songwriter
- 1943 – Sab Shimono, Japanese-American actor
- 1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
- 1944 – Jonathan Dimbleby, British journalist and television presenter
- 1944 – Robert C. Merton, American mathematician
- 1945 – Gary Lewis, American vocalist (Gary Lewis & the Playboys)
- 1945 – William Weld, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
- 1946 – Bob Welch, American musician
- 1946 – Karen Zerby, American religious leader
- 1950 – Lane Davies, American actor
- 1950 – Steve Miller, American writer
- 1951 – Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis player
- 1951 – Werner Novak, German footballer
- 1951 – Barry Van Dyke, American actor
- 1952 – Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
- 1952 – Alan Autry, American football player and politician
- 1952 – Helmuts Balderis, Latvian hockey player
- 1952 – João Barreiros, Portuguese writer
- 1953 – Ted Baillieu, Australian politician
- 1953 – James Read, American actor
- 1953 – Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer
- 1954 – Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1955 – Jakie Quartz, French singer
- 1956 – Michael Biehn, American actor
- 1956 – Bill Callahan, American football coach
- 1956 – Deval Patrick, American politician, 71st governor of Massachusetts
- 1957 – Daniel Ash, British musician (Bauhaus)
- 1957 – Dirk Blocker, American actor
- 1957 – Leon Durham, American baseball player
- 1958 – Bill Berry, American musician (R.E.M.)
- 1959 – Stanley Jordan, American jazz guitarist
- 1959 – Andrew Marr, British journalist and political commentator
- 1960 – Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1962 – John Chiang, American politician
- 1962 – Kevin Greene, American football player
- 1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor
- 1963 – Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Norman Cook, British musician (The Housemartins, Freak Power, Beats International, Fatboy Slim)
- 1964 – Jim Corr, Irish singer and musician (The Corrs)
- 1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball player
- 1965 – John Laurinaitis, American professional wrestler
- 1965 – Julian Richards, British film director
- 1965 – J. K. Rowling, British writer
- 1966 – Dean Cain, American actor
- 1966 – Kevin Martin, Canadian Curler
- 1967 – Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress (d. 2005)
- 1967 – Mitsuo Iwata, Japanese seiyū
- 1967 – Tony Massenburg, American basketball player
- 1967 – Tim Wright, Welsh composer
- 1968 – Mark Cuban, American businessman and basketball team owner
- 1968 – Saeed-Al-Saffar, Former UAE cricketer
- 1969 – David Cash, American professional wrestler
- 1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
- 1969 – Kenneth D. Schisler, American politician
- 1970 – Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian writer
- 1970 – Ben Chaplin, English actor
- 1970 – Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player
- 1970 – Amanda Stepto, Canadian actress
- 1970 – Dave Wedge, American journalist
- 1971 – Gus Frerotte, American football player
- 1971 – John Lowery, American guitarist
- 1972 – Giorgos Kapoutzidis, Greek screenwriter and actor
- 1973 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player
- 1973 – Fabulous Flournoy American basketball player and coach Newcastle Eagles
- 1974 – Emilia Fox, English actress
- 1974 – Jonathan Ogden, American football player
- 1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball player
- 1975 – Andrew Hall, Former South African cricketer
- 1975 – Simon Hirst, British radio DJ
- 1975 – Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
- 1975 – Poesy Liang, Founder of Helping Angels
- 1975 – Mike Lincoln, American baseball player
- 1975 – Ruben Patterson, American basketball player
- 1975 – Allan von Schenkel, American musician
- 1976 – Joshua Cain, American musician (Motion City Soundtrack)
- 1976 – Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977 – Tim Couch, American football player
- 1978 – Will Champion, English musician (Coldplay)
- 1978 – Zeta Makripoulia, Greek actress, model and TV presenter
- 1978 – Nick Sorensen, American football player
- 1978 – Justin Wilson, English racing driver
- 1979 – Jaco Erasmus, South African-born Italian rugby player
- 1979 – J. J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
- 1979 – Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
- 1979 – Jade Kwan, Hong Kong singer
- 1979 – Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
- 1979 – B. J. Novak, American actor
- 1980 – Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish Rally driver
- 1980 – Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1981 – Eric Lively, American actor
- 1981 – Titus Bramble, English footballer
- 1981 – J.Son Dinant, American comedian
- 1981 – Ira Losco, Maltese singer
- 1981 – Matthew Sanders, American singer (Avenged Sevenfold)
- 1982 – Jeff DaRosa, American multi-instrumentalist (Dropkick Murphys)
- 1982 – Blessing Mahwire, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982 – DeMarcus Ware, American football player
- 1985 – Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist
- 1986 – Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
- 1987 – Brittany Byrnes, Australian Actress
- 1988 – Krystal Meyers, American Christian singer/songwriter/musician
- 1989 – Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player
- 1989 – Joey Richter, American actor/singer (member of Team StarKid)
- 1990 – Besart Abdurahimi, Croatian football player of Albanian origin.
- 1990 – Olga Galchenko, Russian juggler
- 1997 – Barbie Forteza, Filipina child actress
- 1998 – Rico Rodriguez II, American child actor
[edit] Deaths
- 855 – Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim Jurisprudent (b. 780)
- 1396 – William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1342)
- 1508 – Na'od, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1494)
- 1556 – Ignatius Loyola, Spanish priest and founder of the Jesuits (b. 1491)
- 1653 – Thomas Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
- 1726 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1695)
- 1750 – King John V of Portugal (b. 1689)
- 1784 – Denis Diderot, French philosopher and encylopedist (b. 1713)
- 1805 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian Freedom Fighter (b. 1756)
- 1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (b. 1800)
- 1875 – Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
- 1884 – Emperor Kien Phuc, the 7th emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty (d. 1869)
- 1886 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer (b. 1811)
- 1914 – Jean Jaurès, French politician (d. 1859)
- 1917 – Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b. 1881)
- 1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh poet (b. 1887)
- 1920 – Ion Dragoumis, Greek diplomat, writer and revolutionary (b. 1878)
- 1940 – Udham Singh, Indian Extremist Freedom Fighter(b. 1899)
- 1943 – Hedley Verity, English Test cricketer (b. 1905)
- 1944 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and writer (b. 1900)
- 1953 – Robert Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio and Presidential candidate (b. 1889)
- 1954 – Onofre Marimón, Argentine racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1963 – Sir Robert Chapman, British soldier and politician (b. 1880)
- 1964 – Jim Reeves, American singer (b. 1923)
- 1966 – Bud Powell, American jazz pianist (b. 1924)
- 1970 – Walter Briggs, Jr., American sports executive (b. 1912)
- 1972 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
- 1973 – Azumafuji Kin'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (the 40th Yokozuna) and professional wrestler (b. 1921)
- 1980 – Pascual Jordan, German physicist (b. 1902)
- 1980 – Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
- 1981 – General Omar Torrijos of Panama (b. 1929).
- 1986 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Teddy Wilson, American jazz pianist (b. 1912)
- 1987 – Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905)
- 1988 – Trinidad Silva, American actor (b. 1950)
- 1990 – Albert Leduc, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
- 1993 – King Baudouin I of Belgium (b. 1930)
- 1996 – Seagram Miller, American rapper (b. 1970)
- 2001 – Poul Anderson, American author (b. 1926)
- 2001 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, 16th President of Portugal (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (b. 1910)
- 2003 – Guido Crepax, Italian comics artist (b. 1933)
- 2004 – Virginia Grey, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch banker (b. 1935)
- 2006 – Paul Eells, American sportscaster (b. 1935)
- 2009 – Sir Bobby Robson, English professional football player and manager (b. 1933)
- 2009 – Harry Alan Towers, English film producer and screenwriter (b. 1920)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
