From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

July 23 is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 161 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1632 – Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.
• 1793 – Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France.
• 1829 – In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
• 1833 – Cornerstones are laid for the construction of the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio.
• 1840 – The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Henry W. Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
• 1874 – Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa.
• 1881 – The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded.
• 1881 – The Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
• 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
• 1914 – Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia rejects those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.
• 1926 – Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
• 1929 – The Fascist government in Italy bans the use of foreign words.
• 1936 – In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of socialist and communist parties.
• 1940 – United States' Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles's declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• 1942 – The Holocaust: The Treblinka extermination camp is opened.
• 1942 – World War II: Operation Edelweiss begins.
• 1945 – The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
• 1952 – Establishment of the European Coal and Steel community.
• 1952 – General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser – the real power behind the coup) in the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt.
• 1956 – The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs.
• 1961 – The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.
• 1962 – Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
• 1962 – The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
• 1967 – 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned).
• 1968 – Glenville Shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization led by Ahmed Evans and the Cleveland Police Department occurs. During the shootout, a riot begins that lasted for five days.
• 1968 – The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft takes place when a 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers is taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft was en route from Rome, Italy, to Lod, Israel.
• 1970 – Qaboos ibn Sa’id becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Sa’id ibn Taimur.
• 1972 – The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
• 1982 – The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
• 1983 – The Sri Lankan Civil War begins with the killing of 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In the subsequent government-organised pogrom of Black July, about 1,000 Tamils are slaughtered, some 400,000 Tamils flee to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, India and many find refuge in Europe and Canada.
• 1983 – Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
• 1984 – Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
• 1986 – In London, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
• 1988 – General Ne Win, effective ruler of Burma since 1962, resigns after pro-democracy protests.
• 1992 – A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that it is necessary to limit rights of homosexual people and non-married couples.
• 1992 – Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
• 1995 – Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and becomes visible to the naked eye nearly a year later.
• 1997 – Digital Equipment Company files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
• 1999 – Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan is crowned King Mohammed VI of Morocco on the death of his father.
• 1999 – ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan.
• 2005 – Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
• 2008 – Cape Verde joins the World Trade Organization, becoming its 153rd member.
• 2009 – Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox becomes the 18th pitcher to throw a perfect game in Major League Baseball history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0.

Births

• 645 – Yazid I (d. 683)
• 1301 – Duke Otto of Austria (d. 1339)
• 1339 – King Louis I of Naples (d. 1384)
• 1503 – Anna Jagello, Queen of the Romans (d. 1547)
• 1649 – Pope Clement XI (d. 1721)
• 1705 – Francis Blomefield, English topographer (d. 1752)
• 1775 – Etienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812)
• 1777 – Philipp Otto Runge, German painter (d. 1810)
• 1796 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer (d. 1868)
• 1823 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian Catholic priest and archbishop (d. 1894)
• 1838 – Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (d. 1910)
• 1851 – Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (d. 1930)
• 1856 – Lokmanya Tilak, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1920)
• 1864 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino political theoretician and Prime Minister (d. 1903)
• 1865 – Max Heindel, Danish Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic (d. 1919)
• 1884 – Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (d. 1950)
• 1885 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Perfumer (d. 1935)
• 1886 – Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish League of Nations official (d. 1978)
• 1886 – Walter H. Schottky, German physicist (d. 1976)
• 1888 – Raymond Chandler, American-born author (d. 1959)
• 1892 – Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (d. 1975)
• 1894 – Arthur Treacher, English character actor (d. 1975)
• 1895 – Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)
• 1898 – Jacob Marschak, American economist (d. 1977)
• 1898 – Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1987)
• 1899 – Gustav Heinemann, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1976)
• 1900 – John Babcock, Last surviving Canadian veteran of World War I (d. 2010)
• 1901 – Hank Worden, American actor and rodeo cowboy (d. 1992)
• 1905 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor and lecturer
• 1906 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Chandrasekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (d. 1931)
• 1909 – John W. Finn, American WWII hero
• 1912 – Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979)
• 1912 – M. H. Abrams, American literary critic and writer
• 1913 – Michael Foot, English politician (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Virgil Finlay, American horror illustrator (d. 1971)
• 1918 – Bueno de Mesquita Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Amalia Rodrigues, Portuguese fado singer (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Luis Aloma, Cuban baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (d. 1958)
• 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Gavin Lambert, British-born screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Gérard Brach, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
• 1928 – Hubert Selby Jr., American author (d. 2004)
• 1931 – Te Atairangi Kaahu, Māori Queen (d. 2006)
• 1931 – Guy Fournier, French Canadian author and screenwriter
• 1931 – Claude Fournier, French Canadian film director and screenwriter
• 1933 – Bert Convy, American game show host and performer (d. 1991)
• 1933 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect (d. 2010)
• 1935 – Jim Hall, American race car driver and constructor (Chaparral Cars)
• 1935 – Hein Heinsen, Danish artist
• 1936 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1936 – Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• 1937 – Dave Webster, American football player
• 1938 – Juliet Anderson, American pornographic actress
• 1938 – Ronny Cox, American actor
• 1938 – Götz George, German actor
• 1938 – Charles Harrelson, American convicted murderer; father of Woody Harrelson (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Bert Newton, Australian actor and television show host
• 1940 – Don Imus, American talk radio host
• 1941 – Richie Evans, American NASCAR driver (d. 1985)
• 1942 – Myra Hindley, English murderer (d. 2002)
• 1942 – Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian politician
• 1943 – Dr. Randall Forsberg, American nuclear freeze advocate (d. 2007)
• 1943 – Tony Joe White, American singer and songwriter
• 1947 – Gardner Dozois, American author
• 1947 – David Essex, English singer
• 1947 – Torsten Palm, Swedish racing driver
• 1948 – John Cushnahan, Northern Irish politician
• 1948 – John Hall, American politician and former rock musician
• 1949 – Clive Rice, former South African cricketer
• 1950 – Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American judge
• 1950 – Blair Thornton, Canadian guitarist (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
• 1950 – Alan Turner, Australian cricketer
• 1951 – Edie McClurg, American actress
• 1951 – Michael McConnohie, American voice actor
• 1952 – Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player (d. 1995)
• 1952 – Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer
• 1953 – Graham Gooch, English cricketer
• 1953 – Bob Hilton, American game show host and announcer
• 1957 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch film director (d. 2004)
• 1957 – Nick Galis, Greek basketball player
• 1959 – Nancy Savoca, American filmmaker
• 1960 – Al Perez, American professional wrestler
• 1961 – Martin Lee Gore, English musician and songwriter (Depeche Mode)
• 1961 – Woody Harrelson, American actor
• 1961 – André Ducharme, Québécois humorist (Rock et Belles Oreilles) and author
• 1961 – Michael Durant, American hlicopter pilot
• 1962 – Eriq La Salle, American actor
• 1964 – Ed Forchion, American marijuana activist
• 1965 – Rob Dickinson, English musician
• 1965 – Slash, American guitarist (Guns N' Roses)
• 1966 – Samantha Beckinsale, English actress
• 1967 – Titiyo, Swedish singer
• 1967 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor
• 1968 – Elden Campbell, American basketball player
• 1968 – Nick Menza, American musician, drummer
• 1968 – Gary Payton, American basketball player
• 1968 – Stephanie Seymour, American supermodel
• 1970 – Charisma Carpenter, American actress
• 1970 – Thea Dorn, German writer
• 1971 – Dalvin DeGrate, American singer
• 1971 – Alison Krauss, American singer and fiddler
• 1971 – Chris Michalek, American musician
• 1971 – Christopher Lee, Singaporean actor and model
• 1971 – Joel Stein, American journalist
• 1972 – Marlon Wayans, American actor
• 1972 – Floyd Reifer, West Indian cricketer
• 1973 – Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player
• 1973 – Francis Healy, Scottish rock musician (Travis)
• 1973 – Monica Lewinsky, American White House intern
• 1973 – Himesh Reshammiya, Indian Bollywood composer, singer and actor.
• 1974 – Terry Glenn, American football player
• 1974 – Maurice Greene, American athlete
• 1974 – Stephanie March, American actress
• 1974 – Sonny Siaki, Samoan-born professional wrestler
• 1974 – Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
• 1974 – Kathryn Hahn, American actress
• 1975 – Seong Hyeon-ah, South Korean actress
• 1975 – Surya Sivakumar, Tamil actor
• 1976 – Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
• 1976 – Jonathan Gallant, Canadian musician (Billy Talent)
• 1977 – Neicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1977 – Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player
• 1978 – Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
• 1978 – Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer
• 1979 – Perro Aguayo, Jr., Mexican professional wrestler
• 1979 – Richard Sims, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1979 – Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian racing driver
• 1980 – Michelle Williams, American singer (Destiny's Child)
• 1981 – Steve Jocz, Canadian drummer (Sum 41)
• 1981 – Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
• 1982 – Paul Wesley,American Actor
• 1982 – Gerald Wallace, American basketball player
• 1982 – Zanjoe Marudo, Filipino actor
• 1983 – Andrew Eiden, American actor
• 1983 – Bec Hewitt, Australian actress
• 1983 – Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
• 1983 – David Strettle, English rugby player (Harlequins)
• 1984 – Brandon Roy, American professional basketball player
• 1984 – Matthew Murphy, English musician (The Wombats)
• 1985 – Ólafur Hannesson, Icelandic television personality
• 1985 – Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
• 1985 – Matthew Colin Bailey, Author, Architect
• 1986 – Ayaka Komatsu, Japanese model and actress
• 1986 – Nelson Philippe, French racing driver
• 1986 – Reece Ritchie, English actor
• 1989 – Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
• 1992 – Amanda Wilson, American
• 1996 – Rachel G. Fox, American actress

Deaths

• 1227 – Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist (b. 1148)
• 1373 – Saint Birgitta, Swedish saint (b. 1303)
• 1403 – Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (executed) (b. 1343)
• 1531 – Louis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, Marshal of Normandy and husband of Diane de Poitiers
• 1562 – Gotz von Berlichingen, German Imperial Knight and mercenary (b. 1480)
• 1584 – John Day, English printer (b. 1522)
• 1692 – Gilles Ménage, French scholar (b. 1613)
• 1727 – Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1757 – Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1685)
• 1764 – Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (b. 1703)
• 1773 – George Edwards, English naturalist (b. 1693)
• 1781 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-born Continental Congressman (b. 1724)
• 1793 – Roger Sherman, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1721)
• 1833 – Anselmo de la Cruz, Chilean political figure (b. 1777)
• 1853 – Andries Pretorius, Boer leader (b. 1798)
• 1875 – Isaac Singer, American inventor and entrepreneur (b. 1811)
• 1878 – Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician (b. 1804)
• 1885 – Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
• 1916 – Sir William Ramsay, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
• 1920 – Conrad Kohrs, German-born rancher (b. 1835)
• 1923 – Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (b. 1878)
• 1924 – Frank Frost Abbott, American classical scholar (b. 1850)
• 1930 – Glenn Curtiss, American aviation pioneer (b. 1878)
• 1932 – Tenby Davies, Welsh half-mile world champion runner (b. 1884)
• 1941 – George Lyman Kittredge, American English literature scholar and Harvard University professor (b. 1860)
• 1942 – Adam Czerniakow, Polish engineer (suicide) (b. 1880)
• 1942 – Andy Ducat, Former England cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
• 1948 – D. W. Griffith, American film director (b. 1875)
• 1951 – Henri Philippe Pétain, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856)
• 1951 – Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884)
• 1955 – Cordell Hull, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
• 1966 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1968 – Henry Hallett Dale, English scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
• 1971 – Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910)
• 1973 – Eddie Rickenbacker, American fighter ace in World War I and founder of Rickenbacker Motors (b. 1890)
• 1979 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (b. 1898)
• 1980 – Mollie Steimer, anarchist agitator and American political prisoner (b. 1897)
• 1980 – Sarto Fournier, Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908)
• 1980 – Keith Godchaux, American pianist (Grateful Dead) (b. 1948)
• 1982 – Giorgos Gavriilidis, Greek actor (b. 1906)
• 1982 – Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
• 1983 – Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899)
• 1985 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (b. 1923)
• 1989 – Donald Barthelme, American author (b. 1931)
• 1990 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese developer of television (b. 1899)
• 1993 – James R. Jordan, Sr., father of Michael Jordan (b. 1936)
• 1996 – Aliki Vougiouklaki, Greek actress (b. 1934)
• 1996 – Jean Muir, American actress (b. 1911)
• 1997 – Chuhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (b. 1904)
• 1999 – King Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
• 2001 – Eudora Welty, American author (b. 1909)
• 2002 – Leo McKern, Australian actor (b. 1920)
• 2002 – William Luther Pierce, American author and activist (b. 1933)
• 2002 – Chaim Potok, American novelist and rabbi (b. 1929)
• 2003 – James E. Davis, New York City councilman (murdered) (b. 1962)
• 2004 – Mehmood, Indian actor (b. 1932)
• 2004 – Carlos Paredes, Portuguese musician and composer (b. 1925)
• 2004 – Piero Piccioni, Italian musician, conductor and composer (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Serge Reggiani, French singer and actor (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Ted Greene, American jazz guitarist and teacher (b. 1946)
• 2006 – Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and journalist (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Tor Kamata, American/Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Ron Miller, American songwriter and record producer (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (b. 1914)
• 2008 – Kurt Furgler, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances

• Egypt – Revolution Day (1952)
• Roman Empire – Neptunalia held in honor of Neptune
• Rastafari movement – Celebration of the birthday of Haile Selassie

Roman Catholic

• Saint Liborius, bishop of Le Mans, confessor [northern Germany]
• Saint Bridget of Sweden, widow [Bamberg, Mainz, Münster, Riga]

Eastern Orthodox

• St. Ezekiel the Prophet
• Heiromartyr Phocas

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003

I am reminded of the professor who, in his declining hours, was asked by his devoted pupils for his final counsel. He replied, 'Verify your quotations.' ~ Winston Churchill

• selected by Nanobug

2004

I'll tell you this — No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn. ~ Jim Morrison

• selected by Kalki

2005

The private detective of fiction is a fantastic creation who acts and speaks like a real man. He can be completely realistic in every sense but one, that one sense being that in life as we know it such a man would not be a private detective. ~ Raymond Chandler (born 23 July 1888)

• proposed by MosheZadka

2006

Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor. He talks as the man of his age talks, that is, with rude wit, a lively sense of the grotesque, a disgust for sham, and a contempt for pettiness. ~ Raymond Chandler (born 23 July 1888)

• proposed by Kalki

2007

Our system presumes that there are certain principles that are more important than the temper of the times. ~ Anthony Kennedy (born 23 July 1936)

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2008

Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph. ~ Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (born 23 July 1892)

• proposed by Kalki

2009

The preservation of peace and the guaranteeing of man's basic freedoms and rights require courage and eternal vigilance: courage to speak and act — and if necessary, to suffer and die — for truth and justice; eternal vigilance, that the least transgression of international morality shall not go undetected and unremedied. These lessons must be learned anew by each succeeding generation, and that generation is fortunate indeed which learns from other than its own bitter experience. ~ Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia

• proposed by Kalki

2010

Suggestions

I knew one thing: as soon as anyone said you didn't need a gun, you'd better take one along that worked. ~ Raymond Chandler (born 23 July 1888)

• 3 Kalki 21:53, 22 July 2005 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 3 InvisibleSun 08:19, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
• 3 because trust is fine, but sometimes it is better to be prepared. Zarbon 06:36, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled. ~ Raymond Chandler (born 23 July 1888)

• 3 Kalki 21:53, 22 July 2005 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 3 InvisibleSun 08:19, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 06:36, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency. ~ Raymond Chandler (born 23 July 1888)

• 3 Kalki 21:53, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 08:19, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 06:36, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech. ~ Anthony Kennedy (born July 23, 1936)

• 4 InvisibleSun 08:19, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 20:58, 22 July 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 06:36, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

We must never lose sight of the fact that the law has a moral foundation, and we must never fail to ask ourselves not only what the law is, but what the law should be. ~ Anthony Kennedy

• 3 InvisibleSun 08:19, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 20:58, 22 July 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 2 Zarbon 06:36, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

The truth of art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps art from becoming ridiculous. ~ Raymond Chandler

• 3.5 Ningauble 00:25, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 23:29, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
• 3 Zarbon 18:23, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Games released on July 23.

From Familypedia

July 23 is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 161 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1632 - 300 colonists bound for New France depart Dieppe.
• 1793 - The Prussians conquer Mayence.
• 1829 - In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precurser to the typewriter.
• 1833 - Corner stones laid for construction of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio
• 1840 - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
• 1862 - American Civil War: Henry W. Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
• 1874 - Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa.
• 1881 - The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, was founded.
• 1903 - Ford Motor Company sold its first car.
• 1914 - Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia allowing the Austrians to find out who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Serbia denies Austria-Hungary their demands World War I is sparked on July 28, 1914
• 1926 - Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
• 1929 - Fascist government in Italy ban the use of foreign words.
• 1936 - In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of socialist and communist parties.
• 1940 - US Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles`s declaration on the US non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• 1942 - The Holocaust: The Treblinka extermination camp is opened
• 1942 - World War II: Hitler signed the Operation Edelweiss.
• 1945 - The process against Philippe Pétain begins.
• 1952 - Establishment of the European Coal and Steel community.
• 1952 - General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser - the real power behind the coup) in the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt.
• 1956 - The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs.
• 1961 - Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) founded in Nicaragua.
• 1962 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.
• 1962 - The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed.
• 1967 - 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and ~1,400 buildings burned).
• 1968 - Glenville Shootout: In Cleveland, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization led by Ahmed Evans and the Cleveland Police Department occurred. During the shootout, a riot began that lasted for five days.
• 1968 - The first and only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft took place when a 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers was taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The aircraft was en route from Rome, Italy, to Lod, Israel.
• 1970 - Qaboos ibn Sa’id, becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Sa’id ibn Taimur.
• 1972 - The United States launches Landsat 1, first Earth-resources satellite.
• 1982 - The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
• 1983 - Around 3,000 Tamils were slaughtered by Shinhalese Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka and some 400,000 Tamils fled to neighboring Tamil Nadu, India and a lot found refuge in Europe and Canada. This incident, known as Black July led directly to beginning of civil war in Sri Lanka.
• 1983 - Gimli Glider: Air Canada flight 143 lands "dead-stick" in Gimli.
• 1984 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
• 1986 - In London, Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
• 1988 - General Ne Win, effective ruler of Myanmar since 1962 resigns after pro-democracy protests.
• 1992 - A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes it is necessary to limit rights of homosexual people and non-married couples.
• 1995 - Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and is visibly seen with a naked eye nearly a year later.
• 1997 - Digital Equipment Company files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
• 1997 - Spree killer Andrew Cunanan commits suicide in the upstairs bedroom aboard a Miami houseboat to avoid capture by the police
• 1999 - Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan, is crowned King Mohammed VI of Morroco at the death of his father.
• 1999 - ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo.
• 2004 - Eleven years after its destruction, Stari most (the Old Bridge) in Mostar is reopened.
• 2005 - Three bombs hit the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.

Births

• 645 - Yazid I, Sixth caliph of Islam (d. 683)
• 1301 - Duke Otto of Austria (d. 1339)
• 1339 - King Louis I of Naples (d. 1384)
• 1503 - Anna Jagello, Queen of the Romans (d. 1547)
• 1649 - Pope Clement XI (d. 1721)
• 1705 - Francis Blomefield, English topographer (d. 1752)
• 1775 - Etienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812)
• 1777 - Philipp Otto Runge, German painter (d. 1810)
• 1796 - Franz Berwald, Swedish composer (d. 1868)
• 1823 - Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian Catholic priest and archbishop (d. 1894)
• 1838 - Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (d. 1910)
• 1856 - Lokmanya Tilak, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1920)
• 1865 - Max Heindel, Danish Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic (d. 1919)
• 1884 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (d. 1950)
• 1886 - Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish League of Nations official (d. 1978)
• 1886 - Walter H. Schottky, German physicist (d. 1976)
• 1888 - Raymond Chandler, American-born author (d. 1959)
• 1892 - Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (d. 1975)
• 1894 - Arthur Treacher, English character actor (d. 1975)
• 1895 - Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)
• 1898 - Jacob Marschak, American economist (d. 1977)
• 1898 - Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1987)
• 1899 - Gustav Heinemann, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1976)
• 1901 - Hank Worden, American actor and rodeo cowboy (d. 1992)
• 1906 - Vladimir Prelog, Croatian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
• 1906 - Chandrasekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (d. 1931)
• 1912 - Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979)
• 1913 - Michael Foot, English politician
• 1918 - Bueno de Mesquita Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005)
• 1918 - Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1921 - Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1923 - Luis Aloma, Cuban baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1923 - Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (d. 1958)
• 1923 - Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer (d. 2001)
• 1924 - Gavin Lambert, British-born screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1927 - Gérard Brach, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
• 1928 - Hubert Selby Jr., American author (d. 2004)
• 1931 - Te Atairangi Kaahu, Māori Queen (d. 2006)
• 1931 - Guy Fournier, French Canadian author and screenwriter
• 1931 - Claude Fournier, French Canadian film director and screenwriter
• 1933 - Bert Convy, American game show host and performer (d. 1991)
• 1935 - Hein Heinsen, Danish artist
• 1936 - Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Punjabi revolutionary (d. 1973)
• 1936 - Don Drysdale, American baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1936 - Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• 1938 - Juliet Anderson, American pornographic actress
• 1938 - Ronny Cox, American actor
• 1938 - Götz George, German actor
• 1938 - Charles Harrelson, American convicted murderer; father of Woody Harrelson (d. 2007)
• 1938 - Bert Newton, Australian actor and television show host
• 1940 - Don Imus, American talk radio host
• 1942 - Myra Hindley, English murderer (d. 2002)
• 1942 - Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian politician
• 1943 - Dr. Randall Forsberg, American nuclear freeze advocate (d. 2007)
• 1943 - Tony Joe White, American singer and songwriter
• 1947 - Gardner Dozois, American author
• 1947 - David Essex, English singer
• 1948 - John Cushnahan, Northern Irish politician
• 1948 - John Hall, American politician and former rock musician
• 1950 - Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American judge
• 1951 - Edie McClurg, American actress
• 1952 - Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player (d. 1995)
• 1953 - Graham Gooch, English cricketer
• 1957 - Theo van Gogh, Dutch film director (d. 2004)
• 1957 - Nick Galis, Greek basketball player
• 1961 - Martin Gore, English musician and songwriter (Depeche Mode)
• 1961 - Woody Harrelson, American actor
• 1961 - André Ducharme, Quebec humorist (Rock et Belles Oreilles) and author
• 1962 - Eriq La Salle, American actor
• 1964 - Ed Forchion, American marijuana activist
• 1965 - Rob Dickinson, English musician
• 1965 - Slash, English guitarist (ex-Guns N' Roses)
• 1967 - Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor
• 1968 - Nick Menza, American musician, drummer
• 1968 - Gary Payton, American basketball player
• 1968 - Stephanie Seymour, American supermodel
• 1970 - Charisma Carpenter, American actress
• 1970 - Thea Dorn, German writer
• 1971 - Dalvin DeGrate, American singer
• 1971 - Alison Krauss, American singer and fiddler
• 1971 - Chris Michalek, American musician
• 1972 - Marlon Wayans, American actor
• 1973 - Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player
• 1973 - Omar Epps, American actor
• 1973 - Francis Healy, Scottish rock musician (Travis)
• 1973 - Monica Lewinsky, American White House intern
• 1974 - Terry Glenn, American football player
• 1974 - Maurice Greene, American athlete
• 1974 - Stephanie March, American actress
• 1974 - Sonny Siaki, Samoan-born professional wrestler
• 1974 - Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
• 1974 - Kathryn Hahn, American actress
• 1975 - Seong Hyeon-ah, South Korean actress
• 1975 - Surya Sivakumar, Tamil actor
• 1976 - Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
• 1976 - Jonathan Gallant, Canadian musician (Billy Talent)
• 1977 - Neicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1977 - Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player
• 1978 - Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
• 1978 - Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer
• 1979 - Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian racing driver
• 1980 - Michelle Williams, American singer
• 1981 - Steve Jocz, Canadian drummer (Sum 41)
• 1983 - Andrew Eiden, American actor
• 1983 - Bec Hewitt, Australian actress
• 1983 - Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
• 1984 - Brandon Roy, American professional basketball player
• 1985 - Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
• 1989 - Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
• 1996 - Rachel G. Fox, American actress

Deaths

• 1227 - Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist (b. 1148)
• 1373 - Saint Birgitta, Swedish saint (b. 1303)
• 1403 - Thomas Percy, English rebel (executed) (b. 1343)
• 1531 - Louis de Brézé, Marshal of Normandy and husband of Diane de Poitiers
• 1584 - John Day, English printer (b. 1522)
• 1692 - Gilles Ménage, French scholar (b. 1613)
• 1727 - Simon Harcourt, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1757 - Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1685)
• 1764 - Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (b. 1703)
• 1773 - George Edwards, English naturalist (b. 1693)
• 1781 - John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-born Continental Congressman (b. 1724)
• 1793 - Roger Sherman, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1721)
• 1853 - Andries Pretorius, Boer leader (b. 1798)
• 1875 - Isaac Singer, American inventor and entrepreneur (b. 1811)
• 1878 - Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician (b. 1804)
• 1885 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
• 1916 - Sir William Ramsay, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
• 1920 - Conrad Kohrs, German-born rancher (b. 1835)
• 1923 - Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (b. 1878)
• 1924 - Frank Frost Abbott, American classical scholar (b. 1850)
• 1930 - Glenn Curtiss, American aviation pioneer (b. 1878)
• 1942 - Adam Czerniakow, Polish engineer (suicide) (b. 1880)
• 1948 - D. W. Griffith, American film director (b. 1875)
• 1951 - Henri Philippe Pétain, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856)
• 1951 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884)
• 1955 - Cordell Hull, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
• 1966 - Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1968 - Henry Hallett Dale, English scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
• 1971 - Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910)
• 1979 - Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (b. 1898)
• 1980 - Mollie Steimer, anarchist agitator and American political prisoner (b. 1897)
• 1980 - Sarto Fournier, Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908)
• 1980 - Keith Godchaux, American pianist (Grateful Dead) (b. 1948)
• 1982 - Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
• 1983 - Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899)
• 1985 - Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (b. 1923)
• 1989 - Donald Barthelme, American author (b. 1931)
• 1993 - James R. Jordan, father of Michael Jordan (b. 1936)
• 1996 - Aliki Vougiouklaki, Greek actress (b. 1934)
• 1997 - Chuhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (b. 1904)
• 1999 - King Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
• 2001 - Eudora Welty, American author (b. 1909)
• 2002 - Leo McKern, Australian actor (b. 1920)
• 2002 - William Luther Pierce, American author and activist (b. 1933)
• 2002 - Chaim Potok, American novelist and rabbi (b. 1929)
• 2003 - James E. Davis, New York City councilman (murdered) (b. 1962)
• 2004 - Mehmood, Indian actor (b. 1932)
• 2004 - Carlos Paredes, Portuguese musician and composer (b. 1925)
• 2004 - Piero Piccioni, Italian musician, conductor and composer (b. 1921)
• 2004 - Serge Reggiani, French singer and actor (b. 1922)
• 2005 - Ted Greene, American jazz guitarist and teacher (b. 1946)
• 2006 - Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and journalist (b. 1927)
• 2007 - Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (b. 1914)

Holidays and observances

• Egypt - Revolution Day (1952)
• Roman Empire - Neptunalia held in honor of Neptune
• Rastafari movement - Celebration of the birthday of Haile Selassie

Roman Catholic

• Saint Liborius, bishop of Le Mans, confessor [northern Germany]
• Saint Bridget of Sweden, widow [Bamberg, Mainz, Münster, Riga]

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada