Events

Pre-1600

• 982 King Otto II and his Frankish army are defeated by the Muslim army of al-Qasim at Cape Colonna, Southern Italy.

• 1223 Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II.

• 1420 Battle of Vítkov Hill, decisive victory of Czech Hussite forces commanded by Jan Žižka against Crusade army led by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor.

• 1430 Joan of Arc, taken by the Burgundians in May, is handed over to Pierre Cauchon, the bishop of Beauvais.

• 1456 John Hunyadi and his forces defeat the Ottoman fleet on the Danube, allowing them to reinforce and supply the besieged city of Belgrade.

• 1596 Anglo-Spanish War: English and Dutch troops sack the Spanish city of Cádiz before leaving the next day.

1601–1900

• 1769 An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá leaves its base in San Diego and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).

• 1771 Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.

• 1789 Storming of the Bastille in Paris. This event escalates the widespread discontent into the French Revolution. Bastille Day is still celebrated annually in France.

• 1790 Inaugural Fête de la Fédération is held to celebrate the unity of the French people and the national reconciliation.

• 1791 Beginning of Priestley Riots (to 17 July) in Birmingham targeting Joseph Priestley as a supporter of the French Revolution.

• 1798 The Sedition Act of 1798 becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.

• 1808 The Finnish War: the Battle of Lapua is fought.

• 1853 Opening of the first major US world's fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City.

• 1865 The first ascent of the Matterhorn is completed by Edward Whymper and his party, four of whom die on the descent.

• 1874 The Chicago Fire of 1874 burns down 47 acres of the city, destroying 812 buildings, killing 20, and resulting in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago's city council.

• 1881 American outlaw Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the Maxwell House at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

• 1900 Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.

1901–present

• 1902 Peruvian explorer and farmer Agustín Lizárraga discovers Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incass".

• 1902 The Campanile in St Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.

• 1911 Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright brothers, is greeted by president William Howard Taft after he lands his aeroplane on the South Lawn of the White House, having flown from Boston.

• 1915 Beginning of the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and the British official Henry McMahon concerning the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

• 1916 World War I: Battle of Delville Wood begins as an action within the Battle of the Somme, lasting until 3 September 1916.

• 1933 In a decree called the Gleichschaltung, Adolf Hitler abolishes all German political parties except the Nazis.

• 1933 Nazi eugenics programme begins with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring requiring the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffers from alleged genetic disorders.

• 1942 In the Wardha session of Congress, the "Quit India" resolution is approved, authorising Mahatma Gandhi to campaign for India's independence from Britain.

• 1943 In Diamond, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.

• 1948 Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.

• 1950 Korean War: beginning of the Battle of Taejon.

• 1951 Ferrari take their first Formula One grand prix victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

• 1957 Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.

• 1958 In the 14 July Revolution in Iraq, the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who becomes the nation's new leader.

• 1960 Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her study of chimpanzees in the wild.

• 1960 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 1-11 ditches off Polillo Island in the Philippines, killing one person and injuring 44.

• 1965 Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet. The photographs take approximately six hours to be transmitted back to Earth.

• 1983 Mario Bros. is released in Japan, beginning the popular Super Mario Bros franchise.

• 2001 Australian criminal Bradley John Murdoch murders British tourist Peter Falconio and abducts his girlfriend in the Northern Territory.

• 2001 Rus Flight 9633 crashes during takeoff from Chkalovsky Airport, killing all 10 people on board.

• 2002 French president Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt from Maxime Brunerie during a Bastille Day parade at Champs-Élysées.

• 2013 Dedication of the statue of Rachel Carson, a sculpture of the environmentalist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

• 2015 NASA's New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System.

• 2016 A man ploughs a truck into a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France, killing 86 people and injuring another 434 before being shot by police.

• 2019 A GippsAero GA8 Airvan crashes in Umeå, Sweden, killing all nine aboard.

Births

Pre-1600

• 926 Murakami, emperor of Japan (died 967)

• 1410 Arnold, Duke of Guelders, (died 1473)

• 1454 Poliziano, Italian poet and scholar (died 1494)

• 1515 Philip I, Duke of Pomerania (died 1560)

1601–1900

• 1602 Cardinal Jules Mazarin, Italian-French cardinal and politician, chief minister of France from 5 December 1642 to 9 March 1661 (died 1661)

• 1608 George Goring, Lord Goring, English general (died 1657)

• 1610 Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1670)

• 1634 Pasquier Quesnel, French priest and theologian (died 1719)

• 1671 Jacques d'Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (died 1732)

• 1675 Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (died 1747)

• 1696 William Oldys, English historian and author (died 1761)

• 1721 John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (died 1807)

• 1743 Gavrila Derzhavin, Russian poet and politician (died 1816)

• 1755 Michel de Beaupuy, French general (died 1796)

• 1785 Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist, playwright, and diplomat (died 1851)

• 1801 Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (died 1858)

• 1816 Arthur de Gobineau, French writer who founded Gobinism to promote development of racism (died 1882)

• 1825 Georgiana Hill, English cookery book writer (died 1903)

• 1829 Edward Benson, English archbishop (died 1896)

• 1859 Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (died 1928)

• 1861 Kate M. Gordon, American activist (died 1931)

• 1862 Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (died 1945)

• 1862 Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and illustrator (died 1918)

• 1865 Arthur Capper, American journalist and politician, 20th Governor of Kansas (died 1951)

• 1866 Juliette Wytsman, Belgian painter (died 1925)

• 1868 Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and political officer (died 1926)

• 1872 Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (died 1939)

• 1874 Abbas II of Egypt (died 1944)

• 1874 Crawford Vaughan, Australian politician, 27th Premier of South Australia (died 1947)

• 1878 Donald Meek, Scottish-American stage and film actor (died 1946)

• 1885 Sisavang Vong, Laotian king (died 1959)

• 1888 Scipio Slataper, Italian author and critic (died 1915)

• 1889 Marco de Gastyne, French painter and illustrator (died 1982)

• 1889 Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II (died 1959)

• 1893 Clarence J. Brown, American publisher and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (died 1965)

• 1893 Garimella Satyanarayana, Indian poet and author (died 1952)

• 1894 Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (died 1979)

• 1895 F.R. Leavis, British literary critic (died 1978)

• 1896 Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish soldier and anarchist (died 1936)

• 1897 Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Thai military officer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Thailand (died 1964)

• 1898 Happy Chandler, American lawyer and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky, second Commissioner of Baseball (died 1991)

1901–present

• 1901 Gerald Finzi, English composer and academic (died 1956)

• 1903 Irving Stone, American author and educator (died 1989)

• 1907 Chico Landi, Brazilian racing driver (died 1989)

• 1910 William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (died 2001)

• 1911 Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (died 2000)

• 1912 Northrop Frye, Canadian literary critic (died 1991)

• 1912 Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1967)

• 1913 Gerald Ford, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 38th President of the United States (died 2006)

• 1918 Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (died 2008)

• 1918 Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2007)

• 1918 Arthur Laurents, American director, screenwriter, and playwright (died 2011)

• 1918 Jay Wright Forrester, American computer engineer and systems scientist (died 2016)

• 1920 Shankarrao Chavan, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Finance (died 2004)

• 1921 Sixto Durán Ballén, American-Ecuadorian architect and politician, 48th President of Ecuador (died 2016)

• 1921 Leon Garfield, English author (died 1996)

• 1921 Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2013)

• 1921 Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1996)

• 1922 Robin Olds, American general and pilot (died 2007)

• 1922 Elfriede Rinkel, German concentration camp guard at Ravensbruck (died 2018)

• 1922 Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish concert pianist (died 2014)

• 1923 René Favaloro, Argentine surgeon and cardiologist (died 2000)

• 1923 Dale Robertson, American actor (died 2013)

• 1923 Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (died 2013)

• 1924 Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (died 2013)

• 1924 Dorothy Stanley, American educator (died 1990)

• 1925 Bruce L. Douglas, American politician (died 2025)

• 1926 Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (died 2014)

• 1926 Harry Dean Stanton, American actor, musician, and singer (died 2017)

• 1926 Himayat Ali Shair, Urdu poet (died 2019)

• 1927 John Chancellor, American journalist (died 1996)

• 1927 Mike Esposito, American author and illustrator (died 2010)

• 1928 Nancy Olson, American actress

• 1928 William Rees-Mogg, English journalist and public servant (died 2012)

• 1929 Jacqueline de Ribes, French fashion designer and philanthropist (died 2025)

• 1930 Polly Bergen, American actress and singer (died 2014)

• 1930 Benoît Sinzogan, Beninese military officer and politician (died 2021)

• 1932 Del Reeves, American country singer-songwriter (died 2007)

• 1933 Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Premier of Quebec (died 1996)

• 1933 Dumaagiin Sodnom, Mongolian politician; 13th Prime Minister of Mongolia

• 1934 Lee Elder, American golfer (first African-American to play in the US Masters) (died 2021)

• 1934 Lee Friedlander, American portrait, and 'social landscape' photographer, and album cover artist

• 1935 Ei-ichi Negishi, Japanese chemist (palladium-catalyzed cross couplings) and Nobel Prize winner (died 2021)

• 1936 Robert F. Overmyer, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 1996)

• 1937 Yoshirō Mori, Japanese journalist and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Japan

• 1938 Jerry Rubin, American activist, author, and businessman (died 1994)

• 1938 Moshe Safdie, Israel-Canadian-American architect

• 1939 Karel Gott, Czech singer-songwriter and actor (died 2019)

• 1940 Susan Howatch, English author and academic

• 1941 Maulana Karenga, American philosopher, author, and activist, created Kwanzaa

• 1941 Andreas Khol, German-Austrian lawyer and politician

• 1942 Javier Solana, Spanish physicist and politician, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs

• 1945 Jim Gordon, American rock drummer and convicted murderer (died 2023)

• 1947 John Blackman, Australian radio and television presenter (died 2024)

• 1947 Navin Ramgoolam, Mauritius physician and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Mauritius

• 1948 Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, Zulu king (died 2021)

• 1949 Tommy Mottola, American businessman and music publisher

• 1950 Bruce Oldfield, English fashion designer

• 1950 Andy Newmark, American session and touring drummer (Carly Simon, George Harrison; John Lennon)

• 1952 Bob Casale, American musician, member of Devo (died 2014)

• 1960 Anna Bligh, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Queensland

• 1960 Kyle Gass, American musician, comedian, and actor

• 1960 Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer-songwriter, activist and actress

• 1960 Jane Lynch, American actress (Glee), comedian, author, and game show host

• 1961 Jackie Earle Haley, American actor and director

• 1961 Howard Lutnick, American businessman, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, secretary of commerce in the Trump administration

• 1966 Matthew Fox, American actor

• 1967 Robin Ventura, American baseball player

• 1971 Bubba Ray Dudley, American professional wrestler

• 1972 Steph Bridge, British World Champion kitesurfer

• 1975 Tim Hudson, American baseball player

• 1977 Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden

• 1984 Dagbjört Hákonardóttir, Icelandic politician

• 1984 Samir Handanović, Slovenian footballer

• 1985 Darrelle Revis, American football player

• 1985 Phoebe Waller-Bridge, English actress and screenwriter

• 1986 Dan Smith, British singer, songwriter and record producer

• 1987 Adam Johnson, English footballer

• 1987 Dan Reynolds, American singer-songwriter

• 1988 Conor McGregor, Irish mixed martial artist

• 1988 Jérémy Stravius, French swimmer

• 1990 Paulo Muacho, Portuguese politician

• 1994 Lucas Giolito, American baseball player

• 1995 Harrison Butker, American football player

• 1995 Kim In-hyeok, South Korean volleyball player (died 2022)

• 1997 Neekolul, American internet personality

• 2003 Haley Winn, American hockey player

• 2004 Noah Clowney, American basketball player

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 664 Eorcenberht, king of Kent

• 809 Otomo no Otomaro, Japanese general and Shogun (born 731)

• 850 Wei Fu, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty

• 937 Arnulf I, duke of Bavaria

• 1223 Philip II, king of France (born 1165)

• 1262 Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (born 1222)

• 1486 Margaret of Denmark, daughter of Christian I of Denmark (born 1456)

• 1526 John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English peer, landowner, and Lord Great Chamberlain of England (born 1499)

• 1575 Richard Taverner, English translator (born 1505)

1601–1900

• 1614 Camillus de Lellis, Italian priest and saint (born 1550)

• 1723 Claude Fleury, French historian and author (born 1640)

• 1742 Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (born 1662)

• 1774 James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, Irish field marshal (born 1682)

• 1780 Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (born 1713)

• 1789 Jacques de Flesselles, French politician (born 1721)

• 1789 Bernard-René de Launay, French politician (born 1740)

• 1790 Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (born 1717)

• 1809 Nicodemus the Hagiorite, Greek monk and saint (born 1749)

• 1816 Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general (born 1750)

• 1817 Germaine de Staël, French philosopher and author (born 1766)

• 1827 Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer, reviver of wave theory of light, inventor of catadioptric lighthouse lens (born 1788)

• 1834 Edmond-Charles Genêt, French-American diplomat (born 1763)

• 1840 Sir George Pocock, 1st Baronet, English politician and peer (born 1765)

• 1850 August Neander, German historian and theologian (born 1789)

• 1856 Edward Vernon Utterson, English lawyer and historian (born 1775)

• 1876 John Buckley, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1813)

• 1881 William H. Bonney aka Billy the Kid, American gunfighter and outlaw (born 1859 or 1860)

1901–present

• 1904 Paul Kruger, South African politician, 5th President of the South African Republic (born 1824)

• 1907 William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (born 1838)

• 1910 Marius Petipa, French dancer and choreographer (born 1818)

• 1917 Octave Lapize, French cyclist (born 1887)

• 1918 Quentin Roosevelt, American lieutenant and pilot (born 1897)

• 1936 Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (born 1890)

• 1937 Julius Meier, American businessman and politician, 20th Governor of Oregon (born 1874)

• 1939 Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter and illustrator (born 1860)

• 1954 Jacinto Benavente, Spanish author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1866)

• 1965 Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier and politician, 5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (born 1900)

• 1966 Julie Manet, French painter and art collector (born 1878)

• 1967 Tudor Arghezi, Romanian author and poet (born 1880)

• 1968 Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian author and poet (born 1892)

• 1970 Preston Foster, American actor (born 1900)

• 1974 Carl Spaatz, American World War II general; commander of the Strategic Air Forces in Europe (born 1891)

• 1980 Carlos López Moctezuma, Mexican actor (born 1909).

• 1984 Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter; Academy Award winner for The French Connection (born 1928)

• 1984 Philippe Wynne, American soul singer (The Spinners) (born 1941)

• 1986 Raymond Loewy, French-American industrial designer (born 1893)

• 1991 Constance Stokes, Australian painter (born 1906)

• 1993 Léo Ferré, Monacan singer-songwriter, pianist, and poet (born 1916)

• 1998 Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (born 1909)

• 2000 Pepo, Chilean cartoonist; creator of Condorito (born 1911)

• 2005 Cicely Saunders, English hospice founder (born 1918)

• 2017 Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (born 1977)

• 2020 Rosa, Spanish-born cow on French television (born 2001)

• 2022 Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model (born 1949)

• 2024 Jacoby Jones, American football player (born 1984)

• 2025 B. Saroja Devi, Indian actress (born 1938)

• 2025 Andrea Gibson, American poet and activist (born 1975)

• 2025 John MacArthur, American evangelical preacher (born 1939)

• 2025 Fauja Singh, British-Indian centenarian marathon runner

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

• Blessed Angeline of Marsciano

• Gaspar de Bono

• Camillus of Lellis (Roman Catholic Church, except in the United States)

• Deusdedit of Canterbury

• Francis Solanus

• Blessed Ghébrē-Michael

• John Keble (Church of England)

• Samson Occom (Episcopal Church (United States)

• July 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Bastille Day (France and dependencies)

• International Non-Binary People's Day

• Republic Day (Iraq)

• Victoria Day (Sweden). The birthday of Crown Princess Victoria is an official flag flying day in Sweden.

• North Korean Defectors' Day (in South Korea)

References

External links