July 31
is the 212th day (213th in
leap years) of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining.
*
781 - The oldest recorded eruption of
Mt. Fuji (Traditional
Japanese date:
July 6,
781).
*
1009 - Pietro Boccapecora becomes
Pope Sergius IV.
*
1423 -
Hundred Years' War:
Battle of Cravant - The
French army is defeated at
Cravant on the banks of the river
Yonne.
*
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.
*
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.
*
1777 - The
United States 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 - First
U.S. patent issued; granted to inventor
Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
*
1856 -
Christchurch,
New Zealand chartered as a city.
*
1917 - The
Third Battle of Ypres starts in
Flanders.
*
1919 -
German national assembly adopts the
Weimar constitution (to enter into force
August 14)
*
1930 - The
radio mystery program
The Shadow airs for the first time.
*
1932 - The
NSDAP wins more than 38% of the vote in
German elections.
*
1936 - The
International Olympic Committee announces that the
1940 Summer Olympics were to be held in
Tokyo. However, the games were given back to the
IOC after the
Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, and were eventually cancelled altogether because of
World War II.
*
1940 - A
doodlebug train in
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio collides with a multi-car freight train heading the opposite way, 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, 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.
*
1951 -
Japan Airlines is established.
*
1954 - First ascent of
K2, by an
Italian expedition led by
Ardito Desio.
*
1956 -
Jim Laker sets extraordinary record at
Old Trafford in the fourth
Test of taking nineteen wickets in a
first-class match (the previous best was seventeen.
*
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 due to 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 -
Project Apollo:
Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a
lunar rover.
*
1973 - A
Delta Air Lines jetliner crashes while landing in fog at
Logan Airport,
Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
*
1975 - In
Detroit, Michigan,
Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing.
*
1976 -
Viking program:
Viking 1 -
NASA releases the famous
Face on Mars photo.
*
1981 -
General Omar Torrijos of
Panama dies in a plane crash.
*1981 - 42-day strike of
Major League Baseball ends in the
United States.
*
1987 - A rare, class F-4
tornado rips through
Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage.
*
1988 - 32 people were killed and 1,674 injured when a
bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapsed in
Butterworth,
Malaysia.
*
1992 - A
Thai Airways Airbus A300-310 crashes into mountain north of
Kathmandu,
Nepal killing 113.
*
1996 - MIL-STD-
1750A is declared inactive for use in new designs.
*
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.
*
2006 -
Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother
Raúl Castro. This leads to a celebration in
Little Havana [La Pequeña Habana in Spanish],
Miami,
Florida, where many
Cuban-Americans participated.
*
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)
*
1803 -
John Ericsson, Swedish inventor and engineer (d.
1889)
*
1816 -
George Henry Thomas, American general (d.
1870)
*
1835 -
Henri Brisson, French statesman (d.
1912)
*
1843 -
Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet (d.
1918)
*
1858 -
Richard Dixon Oldham, British geologist, discovered evidence that the Earth has a molten core (
1906) (d.
1936)
*
1860 -
Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist (d.
1940)
*
1867 -
Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant and philanthropist, founder of
Kmart (d.
1966)
*
1884 -
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (d.
1945)
*
1887 -
Hans Freyer, German sociologist (d.
1969)
*
1901 -
Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d.
1985)
*
1904 -
Brett Halliday, American writer (d.
1977)
*
1911 -
George Liberace, American musician (d.
1983)
*
1912 -
Bill Brown, Australian cricketer
*
1912 -
Milton Friedman, American economist,
Nobel Prize Laureate* 1912 -
Irv Kupcinet, American newspaper columnist (d.
2003)
*
1913 -
Bryan Hextall, professional ice hockey player (d.
1984)
*
1914 -
Louis de Funès, French actor and comedian (d.
1983)
*
1916 -
Billy Hitchcock, baseball player, coach, and official (d.
2006)
* 1916 -
Bill Todman, American game show producer (d.
1979)
*
1918 -
Paul D. Boyer, American chemist,
Nobel Prize Laureate* 1918 -
Hank Jones, American pianist
*
1919 -
Curt Gowdy, American sports announcer (d.
2006)
* 1919 -
Primo Levi, Italian author and chemist (d.
1987)
*
1921 -
Whitney Young, American civil rights activist (d.
1971)
* 1921 -
Peter Benenson, founder of
Amnesty International (d.
2005)
*
1923 -
Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-born record company executive
*
1929 -
Don Murray, American actor
* 1929 -
José Santamaria, Uruguayan footballer
* 1929 -
Lynne Reid Banks, British author
*
1930 -
Oleg Popov, Russian clown
*
1931 -
Kenny Burrell, American guitarist
* 1931 -
Nick Bollettieri, American
tennis coach
*
1933 -
Cees Nooteboom, Dutch writer
*
1935 -
Yvon Deschamps, French Canadian author, comedian and humorist
*
1936 -
Vic Davalillo, baseball player
*
1939 -
France Nuyen, French actress
*
1941 -
Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician
*
1943 -
William Bennett, 3rd
United States Secretary of Education* 1943 -
Susan Flannery, American actress
* 1943 -
Lobo, American singer and songwriter
*
1944 -
Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
* 1944 -
Robert Carhart Merton, American economist,
Nobel Prize Laureate*
1945 -
Gary Lewis, American drummer and vocalist (
Gary Lewis & the Playboys)
*
1946 -
Bob Welch, American musician
*
1950 -
Steve Miller, American writer
*
1951 -
Evonne Goolagong, Australian
tennis player
* 1951 -
Barry Van Dyke, American actor
*
1952 -
Alan Autry,
American football player, actor, and Mayor of
Fresno, California* 1952 -
Helmuts Balderis, Latvian
hockey player
* 1952 -
João Barreiros, Portuguese writer
*
1953 -
James Read, American actor
*
1956 -
Michael Biehn, American actor
*
1957 -
Daniel Ash, Gothic Rock artist in such bands as
Bauhaus,
Tones on Tail and
Love and Rockets* 1957 -
Leon Durham, baseball player
*
1958 -
Bill Berry, American drummer (
R.E.M.)
* 1958 -
Mark Cuban, American businessman, producer, and
basketball team owner
*
1959 -
Stanley Jordan, American
jazz guitarist
*
1960 -
Dale Hunter, Canadian
ice hockey player
*
1962 -
Wesley Snipes, American actor
* 1962 -
Kevin Greene, professional American football player
*
1963 -
Brian Skrudland, professional ice hockey player
*
1964 -
Jim Corr, Irish singer and musician (
The Corrs)
*
1965 -
John Laurinaitis, American professional wrestler
* 1965 -
J. K. Rowling, British novelist
* 1965 -
Scott Brooks, former pro
basketball player
*
1966 -
Dean Cain, American actor
*
1967 -
Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress (d.
2005)
*
1969 -
David Cash, American professional wrestler
*
1971 -
Gus Frerotte, American football player
* 1971 -
John Lowery (John 5), American guitarist
*
1973 -
Chandra North, American supermodel
*
1974 -
Emilia Fox, English actress
* 1974 -
Jonathan Ogden, American football player
*
1975 -
Simon Hirst, British radio DJ (
hit40uk)
* 1975 -
Randy Flores, baseball player
* 1975 -
Mike Lincoln, baseball player
*
1976 -
Annie Parisse, American actress
* 1976 -
Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer
*
1977 -
Tim Couch, American football player
*
1978 -
Justin Wilson, English race car driver
* 1978 -
Will Champion, English drummer (
Coldplay)
*
1979 -
Jade Kwan, Hong Kong singer
* 1979 -
Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
* 1979 -
J.J. Furmaniak, Professional baseball player
*
1981 -
Ira Losco, Maltese singer
* 1981 -
Matthew "M. Shadows" Sanders, American singer (
Avenged Sevenfold)
*
1982 -
Blessing Mahwire, Zimbabwean cricketer
*
855 -
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim Jurisprudent (b.
780)
*
1099 -
El Cid, Spanish warrior (b.
1044)
*
1108 - King
Philip I of France (b.
1052)
*
1396 -
William Courtenay,
Archbishop of Canterbury (b.
1342)
*
1508 -
Na'od,
Emperor of Ethiopia (killed in battle) (b.
1494)
*
1547 - King
Francis I of France (b.
1494)
*
1556 -
Ignatius Loyola, Spanish priest and founder of the Jesuits
*
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)
*
1875 -
Andrew Johnson, 17th
President of the United States (b.
1808)
*
1886 -
Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer (b.
1811)
*
1914 -
Jean Jaurès, French politician (d.
1859)
*
1917 -
Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b.
1881)
*
1917 -
Hedd Wyn (Ellis Humphrey Evans), Welsh poet (b.
1887)
*
1944 -
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French pilot and writer (b.
1900)
*
1953 -
Robert Taft,
U.S. Senator from Ohio and Presidential candidate (b.
1889)
*
1964 -
Jim Reeves, American singer (b.
1923)
*
1972 -
Paul-Henri Spaak,
Prime Minister of Belgium (b.
1899)
*
1980 -
Pascual Jordan, German physicist (b.
1902)
* 1980 -
Mohd. Rafi, Indian playback singer (b.
1924)
*
1981 -
Omar Torrijos, Panamanian military leader
*
1986 -
Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b.
1900)
* 1986 -
Teddy Wilson, American jazz pianist (b.
1912)
*
1993 - King
Baudouin I of Belgium (b.
1930)
*
2001 -
Poul Anderson, American author (b.
1926)
*
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 and 1st president of the European Central Bank (b.
1935)
*
2006 -
Paul Eells, "Voice of the Arkansas Razorbacks" sportscaster for 38 years (b.
1935)
*
Hari Pahlawan -
Malaysian warriors day.
*
La Hae Hawai‘i -
Hawaiian Flag Day.
*
Republic of the Congo -
Upswing of the Revolution.
*
Roman Catholicism - the feasts of at least 3 saints:
**St.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the
Jesuits)
**St.
Helen of Skofde**St.
John Columbini**St.
Conrode (son of
Leo and
Kurt /
El Gauchito Gil's former wife)
Baseball Non-Waiver Trading Deadline.
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
Epic Idiot: On This DayJuly 30 -
August 1 -
June 30 -
August 31 --
listing of all days
