History of Today 31 July: Important Events, Births and Deaths

Welcome to History of Today 31 July. On this page, you can read important historical events, famous births, notable deaths and general knowledge facts related to 31 July. This information is useful for UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, State PSC and other competitive exams.

Last updated on 31 July 2026, 01:00 AM

Important Events on 31 July in History

31 Jul 2014: Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270. Read more
31 Jul 2012: Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics. Read more
31 Jul 2008: East Coast Jets Flight 81 crashes near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport in Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all eight people on board. Read more
31 Jul 2007: Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end. Read more
31 Jul 2006: Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl. Read more
31 Jul 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. Read more
31 Jul 1997: FedEx Express Flight 14 crashes at Newark International Airport, injuring five. Read more
31 Jul 1992: The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations. Read more
31 Jul 1992: Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board. Read more
31 Jul 1992: China General Aviation Flight 7552 crashes during takeoff from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108. Read more
31 Jul 1992: Space Shuttle program: Atlantis is launched on STS-46 to deploy the European Retrievable Carrier and the Tethered Satellite System. Read more
31 Jul 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. Read more
31 Jul 1988: Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia. Read more
31 Jul 1987: A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people. Read more
31 Jul 1975: The Troubles: Three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland. Read more
31 Jul 1973: A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89. Read more
31 Jul 1972: The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy. Read more
31 Jul 1971: Apollo program: the Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover. Read more
31 Jul 1970: Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy. Read more
31 Jul 1966: The pleasure cruiser MV Darlwyne disappeared off the Cornwall coast with the loss of all 31 aboard. Read more
31 Jul 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. Read more
31 Jul 1948: At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated. Read more
31 Jul 1948: USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships. Read more
31 Jul 1945: Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria. Read more
31 Jul 1941: The 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." Read more
31 Jul 1941: World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners. Read more
31 Jul 1938: Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia). Read more
31 Jul 1938: Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis. Read more
31 Jul 1932: The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections. Read more
31 Jul 1917: World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium. Read more
31 Jul 1904: Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation. Read more
31 Jul 1874: Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University. Read more
31 Jul 1865: The first narrow-gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia. Read more
31 Jul 1856: Christchurch, New Zealand, is chartered as a city. Read more

Famous Births on 31 July

31 Jul 2003: Calvin Ramsay, Scottish footballer Calvin William Ramsay is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Liverpool. Read more
31 Jul 2002: João Gomes, Brazilian singer João Fernando Gomes Valério is a Brazilian singer and songwriter who came to national prominence with his debut album Eu tenho a senha. One song from the album, "Meu Pedaço de Pecado", was the most played song among Brazil's Spotify users as of 1 July 2021, and also appeared in Spotify's Top 50 Global chart the same month. Read more
31 Jul 2002: Will Penisini, Australian-Tongan rugby league player Viliami Penisini is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League. Read more
31 Jul 2000: Kim Sae-ron, South Korean actress (died 2025) Kim Sae-ron was a South Korean actress. Kim began her career in 2001 as a child model and transitioned to acting in 2009 with the film A Brand New Life (2009). She gained recognition through The Man from Nowhere (2010), earning herself a Baeksang Arts Awards for Best New Actress nomination. She later starred in the television series Listen to My Heart (2011), The Queen's Classroom (2013), and Hi! School: Love On (2014), along with the film A Girl at My Door (2014). Her first adult lead role was in the series Secret Healer (2016). Read more
31 Jul 1998: Rico Rodriguez, American actor Rico Rodriguez is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Manny Delgado on the ABC sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020). He received several Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance. He has also appeared in numerous other television shows and movies—both as himself and other characters—before, during, and after the show's run, such as Epic Movie, Endgame, El Americano: The Movie, and Nickelodeon's The Substitute and Unfiltered. Read more
31 Jul 1997: Bobbi Althoff, American podcaster and influencer Bobbi Althoff is an American podcaster and influencer known for her viral interviews with Drake, Lil Yachty, Offset, and other celebrities. Read more
31 Jul 1997: Thomas Bryant, American basketball player Thomas Jermaine Bryant is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers from 2015 to 2017. Bryant was a member of the Denver Nuggets team that won the 2023 NBA Finals. Read more
31 Jul 1995: Lil Uzi Vert, American hip hop artist Symere Bysil Woods, known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Known for their eclectic fashion style and genre-blending music, they are considered an influential figure in contemporary hip-hop. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commercial mixtape Luv Is Rage (2015), which led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records, to whom they signed under DJ Drama's Generation Now imprint. Read more
31 Jul 1993: Linus Ullmark, Swedish professional hockey player Sven Linus Ullmark is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
31 Jul 1992: José Fernández, Cuban-American baseball player (died 2016) José Delfín Fernández Gómez was a Cuban-born American professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a member of the Miami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 243 pounds (110 kg) during his playing career. He was affectionately known as "Niño" to his teammates and fans due to the youthful exuberance with which he played the game. Read more
31 Jul 1992: Ryan Johansen, Canadian ice hockey player Ryan Johansen is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A centre, he played minor hockey in the Greater Vancouver area until joining the junior ranks with the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for one season. In 2009–10, he moved to the major junior level with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). After his first WHL season, he was selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2010 NHL entry draft. He would play five seasons with them before being traded to the Nashville Predators for Seth Jones in January 2016. Playing parts of eight seasons with Nashville, he was a key part of seven straight postseason berths for the Predators, including a trip to the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. Nearing the end of his contract as the Predators declined, he was traded to the Avalanche in the 2023 off-season. Read more
31 Jul 1992: Kyle Larson, American race car driver Kyle Miyata Larson is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro SS for JR Motorsports. Read more
31 Jul 1991: Réka Luca Jani, Hungarian tennis player Réka Luca Jani is a Hungarian former professional tennis player. Read more
31 Jul 1989: Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player Victoria Fiodaraŭna Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in singles by the WTA and held the position for a total of 51 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 2012. Azarenka has won 21 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two Grand Slams at the 2012 and 2013 Australian Opens, becoming the first Belarusian to win a major singles title. Read more
31 Jul 1989: Alexis Knapp, American actress Alexis Merizalde Knapp is an American actress and singer. She portrays Stacie Conrad in the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017) and Alexis in the party film Project X (2012). She also appeared on the first season of the TBS comedy Ground Floor. Read more
31 Jul 1988: Alex Glenn, New Zealand rugby league player Alex Glenn is a former professional rugby league footballer who captained and played as a second-row and centre for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. He played for both the Cook Islands and New Zealand at international level. Read more
31 Jul 1988: A. J. Green, American football player Adriel Jeremiah "A. J." Green is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, earning first-team All-American honors before being selected by the Bengals with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. He is regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers of his era. Read more
31 Jul 1988: Charlie Carver, American actor and writer Charles Carver Martensen is an American actor and writer. His better known roles include Porter Scavo on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives (2008–2012), Ethan on the MTV television series Teen Wolf, Scott Frost on the first season of the HBO television series The Leftovers (2014), and as Cowboy in both The Boys in the Band on Broadway and the subsequent 2020 film of the same name. His identical twin brother Max Carver has frequently portrayed the twin of his characters. Read more
31 Jul 1987: Michael Bradley, American soccer player Michael Sheehan Bradley is an American former professional soccer player who is currently the head coach of the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. Read more
31 Jul 1986: Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player Evgeni Vladimirovich Malkin is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a centre and alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Geno", Malkin began his career with his hometown club Metallurg Magnitogorsk, playing for their junior and senior teams. He was then selected second overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, though an international transfer dispute delayed the start of his NHL career until 2006. Malkin is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the modern NHL era and a quintessential piece of the Pittsburgh Penguins' salary cap era success. Read more
31 Jul 1986: Brian Orakpo, American football player Brian Ndubisi Orakpo is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Texas, was recognized as a unanimous All-American, and was selected by the Washington Redskins with the thirteenth overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft. He also played for Tennessee Titans, and was selected to four Pro Bowls. Read more
31 Jul 1985: Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer Daniel Ciofani is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Read more
31 Jul 1985: Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist Rémy Di Gregorio is a French road bicycle racer, who is currently suspended from the sport following a positive in-competition doping test for darbepoetin alfa, a re-engineered form of erythropoietin (EPO). He has previously competed for Française des Jeux (2005–2010), Astana (2011), Cofidis (2012), and Delko–Marseille Provence KTM (2014–2018) in his professional career. Read more
31 Jul 1982: Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player. Read more
31 Jul 1982: DeMarcus Ware, American football player DeMarcus Omar Ware is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football for the Troy State Trojans as a defensive end, winning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. Ware was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys, where he transitioned to outside linebacker. Read more
31 Jul 1981: Titus Bramble, English footballer Titus Malachi Bramble is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Read more
31 Jul 1981: Vernon Carey, American football player Vernon A. Carey Sr. is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for eight seasons with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Dolphins with the 19th overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft after playing college football for the Miami Hurricanes. Read more
31 Jul 1981: Paul Whatuira, New Zealand rugby league player Paul Whatuira is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL in 2011. A New Zealand international centre, he won National Rugby League premierships with the Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers and achieved success with the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. Read more
31 Jul 1980: Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish race car driver Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish former rally driver, and a current Rally-Raid driver, who drove in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 he finished runner-up to Sébastien Loeb. Hirvonen's co-driver was Jarmo Lehtinen from the 2003 season until his retirement in 2014, Lehtinen had replaced Miikka Anttila who co-drove with Hirvonen in the 2002 season. Read more
31 Jul 1980: Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby player Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a centre and on the wing. Read more
31 Jul 1979: Jaco Erasmus, South African-Italian rugby player Jaco Erasmus is a South African-born Italian rugby union naturalized player. He plays as a flanker. Read more
31 Jul 1979: J. J. Furmaniak, American baseball player Jason Joseph "J. J." Furmaniak is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played in the major leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland Athletics. Read more
31 Jul 1979: Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer Per Billeskov Krøldrup is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Read more
31 Jul 1979: Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer Carlos Marchena López is a Spanish former professional footballer. Mainly a central defender with an aggressive approach, he also played as a defensive midfielder. Read more
31 Jul 1979: B. J. Novak, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, author, and producer. He gained traction as a comedian during the early 2000s before becoming an actor for the MTV reality prank show Punk'd (2003). Read more
31 Jul 1978: Zac Brown, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist The Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown, Jimmy De Martini, John Driskell Hopkins, Coy Bowles, Chris Fryar (drums), Clay Cook, Matt Mangano, Daniel de los Reyes (percussion), and Caroline Jones. Read more
31 Jul 1978: Will Champion, English drummer (Coldplay) William Champion is an English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and percussionist of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned to play numerous instruments during his youth, being influenced by Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and traditional Irish folk music. His energetic drumming style is largely focused on the essential elements of the songs and he occasionally takes lead vocal duties on live performances. Read more
31 Jul 1978: Nick Sorensen, American football player and sportscaster Nicholas Carl Sorensen is an American professional football coach and former safety who is currently the special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Read more
31 Jul 1978: Justin Wilson, English race car driver (died 2015) Justin Boyd Wilson was a British professional open-wheel racing driver who competed in Formula One (F1) in 2003, the Champ Car World Series (CCWS) from 2004 to 2007 and the IndyCar Series from 2008 to 2015. He won the first Formula Palmer Audi (FPA) in 1998, the International Formula 3000 Championship (IF3000) with Nordic Racing in 2001, and co-won the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona for Michael Shank Racing. Read more
31 Jul 1976: Joshua Cain, American guitarist and producer Joshua Allen Cain is a guitarist and record producer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the co-founder and lead guitarist of American pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack. Cain is also a music producer with multiple past projects; comprising an EP for Epitaph-signed band Sing It Loud and two songs from Metro Station's debut album. Read more
31 Jul 1976: Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer and manager Paulo César Wanchope Watson, more commonly known as Paulo Wanchope, is a Costa Rican football coach and former professional footballer who last coached Deportivo Saprissa. Read more
31 Jul 1975: Randy Flores, American baseball player and coach Randy Alan Flores is an American professional baseball executive and former pitcher who is the assistant general manager and director of scouting for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Cardinals, and Minnesota Twins. Read more
31 Jul 1975: Andrew Hall, South African cricketer Andrew James Hall is a former South African first-class cricketer who played from 1999 until 2011. He played as an all-rounder who bowled fast-medium pace and has been used as both an opening batsman and in the lower order. He was born in Johannesburg in South Africa in 1975 and educated at Hoërskool Alberton in Alberton, Gauteng. Read more
31 Jul 1975: Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager Gabriel Stefan Kapler, nicknamed "Kap", is an American professional baseball executive and former outfielder and manager who serves as the general manager of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Read more
31 Jul 1974: Emilia Fox, English actress Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an English actress and presenter whose career is primarily in British television. Her feature film debut was in Roman Polanski's film The Pianist (2002). Her other motion pictures include the Italian–French–British romance-drama The Soul Keeper (2002), for which she won the Flaiano Film Award for Best Actress; the drama The Republic of Love (2003); the comedy-drama Things to Do Before You're 30 (2005); the black comedy Keeping Mum (2005); the romantic comedy-drama Cashback (2006); the drama Flashbacks of a Fool (2008); the drama Ways to Live Forever (2010); the drama-thriller A Thousand Kisses Deep (2011); and the fantasy-horror drama Dorian Gray (2009). Read more
31 Jul 1974: Leona Naess, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist Leona Kristina Naess is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, Comatised, in March 2000, which produced the single "Charm Attack". Read more
31 Jul 1974: Jonathan Ogden, American football player Jonathan Phillip Ogden is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an offensive tackle with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was selected by the Ravens with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft, making him the first Ravens draft selection in franchise history. He was an 11-time Pro Bowl selection and a nine-time All-Pro. A member of the Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV, Ogden is widely considered one of the greatest offensive linemen of all time. Read more
31 Jul 1973: Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player and coach Nathan Brown is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the assistant coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. Read more
31 Jul 1971: Gus Frerotte, American football player and coach Gustave Joseph Frerotte is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL draft. He played college football at Tulsa. Read more
31 Jul 1971: Eve Best, English actress Emily "Eve" Frances Finlay Best is an English actress and director. She is known for her television roles as Dr Eleanor O'Hara in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie (2009–2015), First Lady Dolley Madison in the American Experience television special (2011), Monica Chatwin in the BBC miniseries The Honourable Woman (2014) and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen in HBO's House of the Dragon (2022–2024). She also played Wallis Simpson in the 2010 film The King's Speech. Read more
31 Jul 1970: Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian author and poet Ahmad Akbarpour Ahmad Akbarpūr Persian pronunciation: [æhˈmæd(-e) ækbærpuːr], born July 31, 1970, in Chah Varz, Lamerd, Fars province, is a novelist and author of short stories and children's books. Read more
31 Jul 1970: Ben Chaplin, English actor Benedict John Greenwood, better known as Ben Chaplin, is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in films, including Feast of July (1995), The Thin Red Line (1998), Lost Souls (2000), Birthday Girl (2001), Murder by Numbers (2002), Stage Beauty (2004), The New World (2005), Me and Orson Welles (2008), London Boulevard (2010), Twixt (2011), The Wipers Times (2013), War Book (2014), Snowden (2016), and September 5 (2024). His TV roles include Soldier Soldier (1991), World Without End (2012) and The Nevers (2021–2023). Read more
31 Jul 1970: Andrzej Kobylański, Polish footballer and manager Andrzej Kobylański born 31 July 1970) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker or midfielder. In 2012, he was the assistant manager for Cracovia, and held the role of sporting director for Korona Kielce from 2013 to mid-2014. Read more
31 Jul 1970: Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player, coach, and sportscaster Giorgos Sigalas is a Greek retired professional basketball player and is the current head coach for Iraklis of the Greek Basketball League. Read more
31 Jul 1969: Antonio Conte, Italian footballer and manager Antonio Conte is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He has worked in Italy and abroad, with his most recent managerial stint being at Serie A club Napoli. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Read more
31 Jul 1969: Loren Dean, American actor Loren Dean is an American actor who has appeared on stage and in feature films, including as the title character in Billy Bathgate, as well as Apollo 13, Rosewood, Space Cowboys, and Ad Astra. He appeared in a recurring role on the television series Bones. Read more
31 Jul 1969: Kenneth D. Schisler, American lawyer and politician Kenneth D. Schisler is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates and former chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission. Read more
31 Jul 1968: Saeed-Al-Saffar, Emirati cricketer Saeed-al-Saffar is an Emirati former cricketer who has represented the UAE at the international level, most notably in the One Day International the Emirates side played against the Netherlands in Lahore in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. He also competed for the UAE in the 1996–97 and 2001 versions of the ICC Trophy, which is the qualifying competition for the World Cup played by non-Test nations. Read more
31 Jul 1968: Julian Richards, Welsh director and producer Julian Richards is a Welsh film director. He is associated with the Cool Cymru era of culture and arts in Wales. Read more
31 Jul 1967: Tony Massenburg, American basketball player Tony Arnel Massenburg is an American former professional basketball player. Massenburg was on the active roster of 12 different teams, which was an NBA record shared with Joe Smith, Jim Jackson, Chucky Brown, and Ish Smith; until Ish played with the Denver Nuggets, his 13th team, in the 2022–23 season. In 2005, while on the San Antonio Spurs, Massenburg became the first player in NBA history to win a championship after playing for at least 12 different franchises. Read more
31 Jul 1967: Tim Wright, Welsh composer Tim Wright, known professionally as CoLD SToRAGE, is a Welsh video game music composer best known for his work on Wipeout 2097. His compositions for the game drew on 1990s UK big beat and electronic music trends, influenced by artists such as The Chemical Brothers. This style helped define Wipeout 2097's futuristic racing soundtrack and contributed to the popularisation of electronic music in video games. Wright has also contributed to the soundtracks of Shadow of the Beast II, Agony, Lemmings, and Colony Wars. Read more
31 Jul 1966: Dean Cain, American actor, producer, and screenwriter Dean George Cain is an American actor best known for portraying Superman in the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Cain was also the host of Ripley's Believe It or Not! and appeared in the sports drama series Hit the Floor. Read more
31 Jul 1965: Scott Brooks, American basketball player and coach Scott William Brooks is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994. Read more
31 Jul 1965: John Laurinaitis, American wrestler and producer John Hodger Laurinaitis, also known by his former ring name Johnny Ace, is an American retired professional wrestler and business executive. Read more
31 Jul 1965: Ian Roberts, English-Australian rugby league player and actor Ian Roberts is a British-born Australian actor and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he played club football with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wigan, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and North Queensland Cowboys. In 1995 Roberts became the first high-profile Australian sports person and first rugby footballer in the world to come out to the public as gay. Read more
31 Jul 1965: J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, philanthropist, producer, and screenwriter. She is best known for writing Harry Potter, a seven-volume series about a young wizard which is the best-selling book series in history, with over 600 million copies sold. She also writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith. Read more
31 Jul 1964: Jim Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist James Corr is an Irish musician, singer, songwriter and DJ. He is a member of the Irish folk/rock band the Corrs, the other members being his three younger sisters Andrea, Sharon and Caroline. Read more
31 Jul 1964: Urmas Hepner, Estonian footballer and coach Urmas Hepner is an Estonian former footballer, who is currently coaching Levadia Tallinn's reserves, as well as working in the club's youth system. In 1992 Hepner was named Estonian Footballer of the Year. Read more
31 Jul 1963: Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), English DJ and musician Norman Quentin Cook, known professionally as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of samples from eclectic genres, combined with pop structures, processed rhythms and "sloganistic" vocals. Read more
31 Jul 1963: Fergus Henderson, English chef and author Fergus Henderson is an English chef who founded the restaurant St. John on St John Street in London. He is known for his use of offal and other neglected cuts of meat as a consequence of his philosophy of nose to tail eating. Following in the footsteps of his parents, Brian and Elizabeth Henderson, he trained as an architect at the Architectural Association in London. Most of his dishes are derived from traditional British cuisine and the wines are all French. Read more
31 Jul 1963: Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Brian Norman Skrudland is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. Read more
31 Jul 1962: John Chiang, American lawyer and politician, 31st California State Controller John Chiang is an American politician who served as the 33rd Treasurer of California from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 31st Controller of California from 2007 to 2015 and on the California State Board of Equalization from 1997 to 2007. Read more
31 Jul 1962: Kevin Greene, American football player and coach (died 2020) Kevin Darwin Greene was an American professional football player who was a linebacker and defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1985 through 1999. He had 160 sacks in his career, which ranks third among NFL career sack leaders, and was voted to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016. Read more
31 Jul 1962: Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, martial artist, author, and film producer. In a film career spanning more than forty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, though he is best known for his action films. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his work in The Waterdance (1992) and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in the film One Night Stand (1997). Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $3.6 billion worldwide. Read more
31 Jul 1962: Troy Murray, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2026) Troy Norman Murray was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Murray was born in Calgary, Alberta, but grew up in St. Albert, Alberta. Before playing collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota, he was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as the 57th overall pick in the 1980 NHL entry draft. In 1982, he represented Canada's national junior team, winning a gold medal at the World Junior Championships and returned with the senior team at the 1987 World Championships. He began his professional career with the Blackhawks in 1982 and spent the next nine seasons with the team, winning the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward in 1986. In 1992, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets, before returning to the Blackhawks and the stops with the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Stanley Cup with his final NHL team, the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 before retiring from playing in 1997. Post retirement, he was the colour analyst on Blackhawks radio and TV broadcasts. Read more
31 Jul 1961: Frank Gardner, English captain and journalist Francis Rolleston Gardner is a British journalist, author and retired British Army Reserve officer. He is currently the BBC's Security Correspondent, and since the September 11 attacks on New York has specialised in covering stories related to the war on terror. Read more
31 Jul 1961: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nigerian banker, royal Muhammadu Sanusi II, ; born 31 July 1961), known by the religious title Khalifa Sanusi II, is the spiritual leader (khalifa) of the Tijanniyah Sufi order in Nigeria and the emir of the ancient city-state of Kano. He is a member of the Dabo dynasty and the grandson of Muhammadu Sanusi I. He succeeded his great-uncle Ado Bayero to the throne on 8 June 2014, assuming the regnal name Muhammadu Sanusi II. He spent most of his reign advocating for cultural reform in Northern Nigeria.
In 2020, he was deposed by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and was succeeded by his cousin Aminu Ado Bayero. On 23 May 2024, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reinstated Sanusi as emir of Kano. Read more
31 Jul 1960: Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Dale Robert Hunter is a Canadian junior ice hockey executive and former player. He played as a centre in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 19 seasons with the Quebec Nordiques, Washington Capitals, and the Colorado Avalanche. He is currently the co-owner, president, and head coach of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Formerly, he was the head coach of the Capitals. Read more
31 Jul 1960: Malcolm Ross, Scottish guitarist and songwriter Malcolm Ross is a Scottish guitarist. His career started when he played guitar in the Scottish band Josef K. They released a string of singles and an album, The Only Fun in Town, on Postcard Records in the early 1980s. Read more
31 Jul 1959: Stanley Jordan, American guitarist, pianist, and songwriter Stanley Jordan is an American jazz guitarist noted for his playing technique, which involves tapping his fingers on the fretboard of the guitar with both hands. Read more
31 Jul 1959: Andrew Marr, Scottish journalist and author Andrew William Stevenson Marr is a Scottish journalist, author, broadcaster and presenter. Beginning his career as a political commentator at The Scotsman, he subsequently edited The Independent newspaper from 1996 to 1998 and was political editor of BBC News from 2000 to 2005. Read more
31 Jul 1959: Kim Newman, English journalist and author Kim James Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He focuses on film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven – and alternative history. He has won the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award, and the BSFA award. Read more
31 Jul 1958: Bill Berry, American drummer and songwriter William Thomas Berry is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guitar and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M. albums. In 1995, Berry suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm onstage and collapsed. After a successful recovery, he left the music industry two years later to become a farmer, and has since maintained a low profile, making sporadic reunions with R.E.M. and appearing on other artists' recordings. His departure made him the only member of the band not to remain with them during their entire run. Berry eventually returned to the industry in 2022. Read more
31 Jul 1958: Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality Mark Cuban is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is the former principal owner and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and co-owner of 2929 Entertainment. From 2012 to 2025, he was one of the "sharks" on the ABC reality television series Shark Tank. Read more
31 Jul 1958: Suzanne Giraud, French music editor and composer Suzanne Giraud is a French music educator and composer of contemporary music. Her works are marked by a predilection for percussion, voices and strings; they resonate with her artistic, poetic and architectural inspirations.
She has been a member of the Académie Charles Cros since January 2024. Read more
31 Jul 1957: Daniel Ash, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Daniel Gaston Ash is an English musician, songwriter and singer. Daniel Ash was born from a French mother and English father. He was born in England and spent his childhood in Northampton. He became prominent in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the goth rock band Bauhaus, which spawned two related bands led by Ash: Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets and more recently Ashes and Diamonds. He also reunited with bandmate Kevin Haskins to form Poptone, a retrospective of their respective careers, featuring Kevin's daughter Diva Dompe on bass. He has also recorded several solo albums. Several guitarists have listed Ash as an influence, including Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Hide of X Japan and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Read more
31 Jul 1957: Mark Thompson, English business executive Sir Mark John Thompson is a British–American media executive who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ancestry, the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, and CEO of CNN. He is the former president and CEO of The New York Times Company. From 2004 to 2012, he was Director-General of the BBC, and before that was the Chief Executive of Channel 4. In 2009 Thompson was ranked as the 65th most powerful person in the world by Forbes magazine. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2017. Read more
31 Jul 1956: Michael Biehn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Michael Connell Biehn is an American actor, primarily known for his roles in science fiction films directed by James Cameron; as Sgt. Kyle Reese in The Terminator (1984), Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in Aliens (1986), and Lt. Hiram Coffey in The Abyss (1989). His other films include The Fan (1981), The Seventh Sign (1988), Navy SEALs (1990), Tombstone (1993), The Rock (1996), Mojave Moon (1996), Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001), Clockstoppers (2002), and Planet Terror (2007). On television, he has appeared in Hill Street Blues (1984), The Magnificent Seven (1998–2000), and Adventure Inc. (2002–2003). He also provided the voice for Sergeant Rex "Power" Colt in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Read more
31 Jul 1956: Bill Callahan, American football player and coach William E. Callahan is an American football coach who is the offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). Callahan was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2002 and 2003, leading them to Super Bowl XXXVII, where the Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was also the head coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 2004 to 2007 and interim head coach for the Washington Redskins in 2019. Callahan is considered to be one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL. His son, Brian, was the head coach of the Titans. Read more
31 Jul 1956: Ron Kuby, American lawyer and radio host Ronald L. Kuby is an American criminal defense and civil rights attorney. Kuby is also a radio talk show host, and television commentator. He has hosted radio programs on WABC (AM) in New York City and Air America radio. Read more
31 Jul 1956: Deval Patrick, American lawyer and politician, 71st Governor of Massachusetts Deval Laurdine Patrick is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African-American governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic governor of the state since Michael Dukakis left office in 1991. Patrick served from 1994 to 1997 as the United States assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division under President Bill Clinton. He was briefly a candidate for president of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Read more
31 Jul 1956: Lynne Rae Perkins, American author and illustrator Lynne Rae Perkins is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Read more
31 Jul 1956: Lynn "Lynja" Yamada Davis, American online celebrity chef (died 2024) Lynn Yamada Davis, mononymously better known by her online alias Lynja, was an American online celebrity chef known for her viral TikTok and YouTube Shorts videos from 2020 until her death in 2024. Praised for her quick-styled editing and references to popular internet memes, "Cooking with Lynja" accumulated over 13.9 million subscribers on YouTube and over 22 million followers on TikTok as of February 2025. Read more
31 Jul 1954: Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player Derek Robert Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings between 1975 and 1983. He was selected by the Sabres in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. Read more
31 Jul 1953: Ted Baillieu, Australian architect and politician, 46th Premier of Victoria Edward Norman Baillieu is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2010 to 2013. He was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2014, representing the electorate of Hawthorn. He was elected leader of the Liberal Party in opposition in 2006, and served as Premier from 2010 until 2013 after winning the 2010 state election. He resigned as Premier on 6 March 2013, and was succeeded by Denis Napthine. Read more
31 Jul 1953: Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer and coach Stephen James Cook is a former South African association footballer and cricketer who played in three cricket Test matches and four One Day Internationals from 1991 to 1993. His son Stephen Cook played for Gauteng and the national side, the Proteas. He holds the unique distinction of having faced the first ball of South Africa's international cricket match since readmission. Read more
31 Jul 1953: Hugh McDowell, English cellist (died 2018) Hugh Alexander McDowell was an English cellist and member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and related acts. Read more
31 Jul 1952: Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player Christopher Alfred Ahrens is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played six seasons in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota North Stars, and four games in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers. Read more
31 Jul 1952: Alan Autry, American football player, actor, and politician, 23rd Mayor of Fresno, California Carlos Alan Autry Jr. is an American actor, politician, and former football player. During his brief career in the National Football League, he played as a quarterback and was known as Carlos Brown. Read more
31 Jul 1952: Helmuts Balderis, Latvian ice hockey player and coach Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis is a former Soviet and Latvian professional ice hockey player. He played on the right wing and participated at the 1980 Winter Olympics, where the Soviet team unexpectedly lost to the United States. He played part of a single season in the National Hockey League after being drafted in 1989 by the Minnesota North Stars, becoming the oldest player to be drafted by an NHL team at the age of 36. In 1998, he was inducted into International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. Read more
31 Jul 1952: João Barreiros, Portuguese author and critic João Manuel Rosado Barreiros, also known by the pseudonym José de Barros, is a Portuguese science fiction writer, editor, translator and critic. Read more
31 Jul 1952: Faye Kellerman, American author Faye Marder Kellerman is an American writer of mystery novels, in particular the "Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus" series, as well as three nonseries books, The Quality of Mercy, Moon Music, and Straight into Darkness. Read more
31 Jul 1951: Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley is an Australian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. Goolagong won 86 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including seven singles majors, and 46 doubles titles, including seven doubles majors. Read more
31 Jul 1950: Richard Berry, French actor, director, and screenwriter Richard Berry is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1972. He starred in The Violin Player, which was entered into the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. Read more
31 Jul 1949: Alan Meale, English journalist and politician Sir Joseph Alan Meale is a former British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mansfield from 1987 to 2017. He was the longest-standing MP in Mansfield's history. Read more
31 Jul 1948: Russell Morris, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist Russell Norman Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recognised Morris' status when he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Read more
31 Jul 1947: Karl Green, English bass player and songwriter Herman's Hermits are an English pop rock group formed in 1963 in Manchester and fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous transatlantic hits in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion. Between March and August 1965 in the United States, the group logged twenty-four consecutive weeks in the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 100 with five singles, including the two number ones "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am". Read more
31 Jul 1947: Richard Griffiths, English actor (died 2013) Richard Thomas Griffiths was an English actor. He was known for his portrayals of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films (2001–2011), Uncle Monty in Withnail and I (1987), and Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky (1994–1997). He received numerous accolades in his career and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2008. Read more
31 Jul 1947: Mumtaz, Indian actress Mumtaz Askari Madhvani, known mononymously as Mumtaz is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Initially starting out as a child actor and later appearing in B-grade films, she established herself as one of the leading and highest-paid actresses of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Known for portraying feisty, vivacious women on screen in romantic and action dramas, Mumtaz is the recipient of a Filmfare Award and was honoured the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Read more
31 Jul 1947: Hubert Védrine, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Hubert Yves Pierre Védrine is a French retired senior civil servant and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2002. A member of the Socialist Party (PS), he was an advisor and later secretary general at the Élysée under President François Mitterrand. Following his retirement from politics, Védrine became an advisor at Moelis & Company. Read more
31 Jul 1947: Ian Beck, English children's illustrator and author Ian Archibald Beck is an English children's illustrator and author. In addition to his numerous children's books, he is also known for his cover illustration on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. More than a million copies of his books have been sold worldwide. Beck was Master of the Art Workers' Guild in 1999. Read more
31 Jul 1946: Gary Lewis, American pop-rock musician Gary Lewis is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Read more
31 Jul 1945: William Weld, American lawyer and politician, 68th Governor of Massachusetts William Floyd Weld is an American attorney, businessman, author, and politician who served as the 68th governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. Weld was Gary Johnson’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election for the Libertarian party. Weld also ran for president in 2020. Read more
31 Jul 1944: Geraldine Chaplin, American actress and screenwriter Geraldine Leigh Chaplin is an actress, whose extensive career has included multilingual roles in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German films. Born in the United States and raised in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, she holds American, British, and Spanish citizenship. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of his eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill, and thus a granddaughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Read more
31 Jul 1944: Jonathan Dimbleby, English journalist and author Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, author and historian. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of television presenter David Dimbleby. Read more
31 Jul 1944: Sherry Lansing, American film producer Sherry Lansing is an American former film studio executive serving as chairwoman of Universal Music Group's board of directors and as a director on the board of Paramount Skydance Corporation. She previously served as chairwoman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, and president of production at 20th Century Fox prior to her retirement. From 1999 to 2022, she was on the University of California Board of Regents. Read more
31 Jul 1944: Robert C. Merton, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Robert Cox Merton is an American economist, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate, and professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to continuous-time finance, particularly the first continuous-time option pricing model, the Black–Scholes–Merton model. Read more
31 Jul 1944: David Norris, Irish scholar and politician David Patrick Bernard Norris is an Irish scholar, former independent Senator, and civil rights activist. Internationally, Norris is credited with having "managed, almost single-handedly, to overthrow the anti-homosexuality law which brought about the downfall of Oscar Wilde", a feat he achieved in 1988 after a fourteen-year campaign. He has also been credited with being "almost single-handedly responsible for rehabilitating James Joyce in once disapproving Irish eyes". Read more
31 Jul 1943: William Bennett, American journalist and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Education William John Bennett is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as the third United States secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W. Bush. Read more
31 Jul 1943: Lobo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Roland Kent LaVoie, better known by his stage name Lobo, is an American singer-songwriter who was successful in the 1970s, scoring several U.S. Top 10 hits including "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", "I'd Love You to Want Me", and "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend". These three songs, along with "Where Were You When I Was Falling in Love", gave Lobo four chart toppers on the Easy Listening/Hot Adult Contemporary chart. Read more
31 Jul 1941: Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (died 2004) Amarsinh Bhilabhai Chaudhary was an Indian politician. He became the first adivasi to serve as the Chief Minister of Gujarat when he took office in 1985. Read more
31 Jul 1940: Stanley R. Jaffe, American film producer and director (died 2025) Stanley Richard Jaffe was an American film producer. His producing credits included Fatal Attraction, The Accused and Kramer vs. Kramer, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Read more
31 Jul 1939: Steuart Bedford, English pianist and conductor (died 2021) Steuart John Rudolf Bedford was an English orchestral and opera conductor and pianist. Read more
31 Jul 1939: Susan Flannery, American actress Susan Flannery is an American actress and director. She made her screen debut appearing in the 1965 Western film Guns of Diablo and later appeared in some television series. From 1966 to 1975, Flannery starred as Laura Horton on the NBC daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives for which she received her first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Read more
31 Jul 1939: France Nuyen, Vietnamese-French actress France Nuyen is a French-American actress, model, and psychological counselor. She is known to film audiences for playing romantic leads in South Pacific (1958), Satan Never Sleeps (1962), and A Girl Named Tamiko, and for playing Ying-Ying St. Clair in The Joy Luck Club (1993). She also originated the title role in the Broadway play The World of Suzie Wong, based on the novel of the same name. She is a Theatre World Award winner and Golden Globe Award nominee. Read more
31 Jul 1935: Yvon Deschamps, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer Yvon Deschamps is a Québécois author, actor, comedian and producer best known for his monologues. His social-commentary-tinged humour propelled him to prominence in Quebec popular culture in the 1970s and 1980s. A long time comedian and still active, Deschamps is now perceived the greatest in Quebec history. Read more
31 Jul 1935: Geoffrey Lewis, American actor and screenwriter (died 2015) Geoffrey Bond Lewis was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films and television shows, and was principally known for his film roles alongside Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford. He often portrayed villains or eccentric characters. Read more
31 Jul 1933: Cees Nooteboom, Dutch journalist, author, and poet (died 2026) Cornelis Johannes Jacobus Maria "Cees" Nooteboom was a Dutch novelist, poet and journalist. After the attention received by his novel Rituals, which won the Pegasus Prize, it was the first of his novels to be translated into an English-language edition, published in 1983 by Louisiana State University Press of the United States. LSU Press published his two earlier novels in English in the following years, as well as other works up until 1990. Harcourt and Grove Press have since published some of his works in English. Read more
31 Jul 1932: Ted Cassidy, American actor and screenwriter (died 1979) Theodore Crawford Cassidy was an American actor. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction works, such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and he played Lurch on The Addams Family TV series of the mid-1960s. He also narrated the intro sequence for the 1977 live-action The Incredible Hulk TV series and provided the growls and roars for the Hulk for the first two seasons before his death, with actor Charles Napier providing the title character's vocals for the remainder of the series. Read more
31 Jul 1932: John Searle, American philosopher and academic (died 2025) John Rogers Searle was an American philosopher widely noted for contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy. He began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1959 and was Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy of Mind and Language and Professor of the Graduate School until June 2019, when his status as professor emeritus was revoked after he was found to have engaged in sexual harassment and retaliation against a former student and employee, in violation of the university's sexual harassment policies. Read more
31 Jul 1931: Nick Bollettieri, American tennis player and coach (died 2022) Nicholas James Bollettieri was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova. Bollettieri was also a tour traveling coach, the last time having been for and with Boris Becker for a span of two years. Read more
31 Jul 1931: Kenny Burrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Kenneth Earl Burrell is an American jazz guitarist, singer and composer known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 Billboard Top Twenty hit Verve album Organ Grinder Swing. Burrell has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters. Read more
31 Jul 1929: Lynne Reid Banks, English author (died 2024) Lynne Reid Banks was a British author of books for children and adults, including The Indian in the Cupboard, which has sold over 15 million copies and has been successfully adapted to film. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, published in 1960, was an instant and lasting best seller. It was later made into a movie of the same name and led to two sequels, The Backward Shadow and Two is Lonely. Banks also wrote a biography of the Brontë family, entitled Dark Quartet, and a sequel about Charlotte Brontë, Path to the Silent Country. Read more
31 Jul 1929: Gilles Carle, Canadian director and screenwriter (died 2009) Gilles Carle, was a Canadian filmmaker and painter, who was a key figure in the development of a commercial Quebec cinema. Read more
31 Jul 1929: Don Murray, American actor (died 2024) Donald Patrick Murray was an American actor, screenwriter, and film director. His debut film role as Bo Decker in Bus Stop (1956), opposite Marilyn Monroe, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently had several major leading and supporting roles in films during the 1950s and '60s, including A Hatful of Rain (1957), Shake Hands with the Devil, One Foot in Hell, Advise & Consent, and Baby the Rain Must Fall. Read more
31 Jul 1929: José Santamaría, Uruguayan footballer and manager (died 2026) José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias was a professional football player and manager. A central defender, he spent his 18-year club career with Nacional and Real Madrid, winning 12 titles with the latter including four European Cups. Read more
31 Jul 1928: Bill Frenzel, American lieutenant and politician (died 2014) William Eldridge Frenzel was an American politician and businessman who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Frenzel previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1963 to 1971. Read more
31 Jul 1927: Peter Nichols, English author and playwright (died 2019) Peter Richard Nichols was an English playwright, screenwriter, director and journalist. Read more
31 Jul 1926: Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (died 2011) Bernard N. Nathanson was an American physician, abortion rights advocate turned anti-abortion activist, and a prominent figure in the abortion debate in the United States. He was originally a co-founder in 1969 of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), later renamed National Abortion Rights Action League and the former director of New York City's Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health. He was the narrator for the controversial 1984 anti-abortion film The Silent Scream. Read more
31 Jul 1926: Hilary Putnam, American mathematician, computer scientist, and philosopher (died 2016) Hilary Whitehall Putnam was an American philosopher, mathematician, computer scientist, and figure in analytic philosophy in the second half of the 20th century. He contributed to the studies of philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of science. Outside philosophy, Putnam contributed to mathematics and computer science. Together with Martin Davis he developed the Davis–Putnam algorithm for the Boolean satisfiability problem and he helped demonstrate the unsolvability of Hilbert's tenth problem. Read more
31 Jul 1925: Carmel Quinn, Irish singer, actress and writer (died 2021) Carmel Quinn was an Irish-American entertainer who appeared on Broadway, television and radio after immigrating to the United States in 1954. Read more
31 Jul 1925: John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (died 1994) John Burley Swainson was a Canadian-American politician and jurist who served as the 42nd governor of Michigan from 1961 to 1963. Read more
31 Jul 1924: Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (died 2015) James Andrew "Jimmy" Evert was an American tennis coach and player. He was the father of Chris Evert, who was one of the world's top women tennis players in the 1970s and 1980s. Read more
31 Jul 1923: Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American songwriter and producer, founded Atlantic Records (died 2006) Ahmet Ertegun was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Read more
31 Jul 1923: Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer, invented Kevlar (died 2014) Stephanie Louise Kwolek was a Polish-American chemist known for inventing Kevlar. Her career at the DuPont company spanned more than 40 years. Read more
31 Jul 1922: Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (died 2007) Henry Albert Bauer was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (1948–1959) and Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as the manager of the Athletics in both Kansas City (1961–62) and in Oakland (1969), as well as the Baltimore Orioles (1964–68), guiding the Orioles to the World Series title in 1966. A four-game sweep over the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers, it was the first world championship in the franchise's history. Read more
31 Jul 1921: Peter Benenson, English lawyer and activist, founded Amnesty International (died 2005) Peter Benenson was a British barrister, human rights activist and the founder of the human rights group Amnesty International (AI); a global movement of more than 10 million people, currently, and in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end abuses on human rights and to secure the release of political prisoners. Read more
31 Jul 1921: Donald Malarkey, American sergeant and author (died 2017) Donald George Malarkey was an American politician and soldier who served as a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Malarkey was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Scott Grimes. Read more
31 Jul 1921: Whitney Young, American activist (died 1971) Whitney Moore Young Jr. was an American civil rights leader. Trained as a social worker, he spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively worked for equitable access to socioeconomic opportunity for the historically disenfranchised. Young was influential in the United States federal government's War on Poverty in the 1960s. Read more
31 Jul 1920: James E. Faust, American religious leader, lawyer, and politician (died 2007) James Esdras Faust was an American religious leader, lawyer, and politician. Faust was Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1995 until his death, an LDS Church apostle for 29 years, and a general authority of the church for 35 years. Read more
31 Jul 1919: Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricketer (died 2003) Colonel Hemchandra "Hemu" Ramachandra Adhikari was an Indian cricketer, representing his country both as a player and a coach in a career that spanned three decades. He received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, the highest honour bestowed by the BCCI on a former player. Read more
31 Jul 1919: Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (died 2006) Curtis Edward Gowdy was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s. He coined the nickname "The Granddaddy of Them All" for the Rose Bowl Game, taking the moniker from Cheyenne Frontier Days in his native Wyoming. Read more
31 Jul 1919: Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (died 1987) Primo Michele Levi was a Jewish Italian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor and writer. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works include: If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland; and The Periodic Table (1975), a collection of mostly autobiographical short stories, each named after a chemical element which plays a role in each story, which the Royal Institution named the best science book ever written. Read more
31 Jul 1918: Paul D. Boyer, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2018) Paul Delos Boyer was an American biochemist, analytical chemist, and a professor of chemistry at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on the "enzymatic mechanism underlying the biosynthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)" with John E. Walker, making Boyer the first Utah-born Nobel laureate; the remainder of the Prize in that year was awarded to Danish chemist Jens Christian Skou for his discovery of the Na+/K+-ATPase. Read more
31 Jul 1918: Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 2010) Henry Jones Jr. was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments. Read more
31 Jul 1918: Frank Renouf, New Zealand businessman and financier (died 1998) Sir Francis Henry Renouf was a New Zealand stockbroker and financier. Read more
31 Jul 1916: Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (died 1986) Syed Sibt-e-Hasan was an eminent scholar, journalist and political activist of Pakistan. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Socialism and Marxism in Pakistan, as well as the moving spirit behind the Progressive Writers Association. Read more
31 Jul 1916: Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2006) William Clyde Hitchcock was an American professional baseball infielder, coach, manager and scout. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he was primarily a third baseman, second baseman and shortstop who appeared in 703 games over nine years with five American League teams. After 18 years as a coach, manager, and scout he became an executive in Minor League Baseball, serving as president of the Double-A Southern League from 1971 to 1980. His older brother, Jimmy Hitchcock, played briefly for the 1938 Boston Bees. Read more
31 Jul 1916: Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (died 1979) William Selden Todman was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Read more
31 Jul 1914: Paul J. Christiansen, American conductor and composer (died 1997) Paul Joseph Christiansen was an American choral conductor and composer. As the youngest son of F. Melius Christiansen, he was brought up into the Lutheran Choral Tradition and quickly developed his own style of conducting and composing that furthered the tradition started by his father. He spent the bulk of his career developing The Concordia Choir and conducted the choir from 1937-1986. He is also credited with establishing the Concordia Christmas Concert which is seen yearly by more than 30,000 people. Read more
31 Jul 1914: Mario Bava, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1980) Mario Bava was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish technical ingenuity, feature recurring themes and imagery concerning the conflict between illusion and reality, as well as the destructive capacity of human nature. Widely regarded as a pioneer of Italian genre cinema and one of the most influential and greatest filmmakers of all time, he is popularly referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Macabre". Read more
31 Jul 1914: Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (died 1983) Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza was a French actor and comedian. His acting style is remembered for its high-energy performance and his wide range of facial expressions and tics. A considerable part of his best-known acting was directed by Jean Girault. Read more
31 Jul 1913: Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1984) Bryan Aldwyn Hextall was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the top wingers of the 1940s, he led the NHL in goal scoring twice and in points once. Additionally, he was named a first-team All-Star three times, and a second-team All-Star once. Read more
31 Jul 1912: Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (died 2008) William Alfred Brown, was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Test matches between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history. After the interruption of World War II, Brown was a member of the team dubbed "The Invincibles", who toured England in 1948 without defeat under the leadership of Don Bradman. In a match in November 1947, Brown was the unwitting victim of the first instance of "Mankading". Read more
31 Jul 1912: Milton Friedman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2006) Milton Friedman was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the complexity of stabilization policy. With George Stigler, Friedman was among the intellectual leaders of the Chicago school of economics, a neoclassical school of economic thought associated with the faculty at the University of Chicago that rejected Keynesianism in favor of monetarism before shifting their focus to new classical macroeconomics in the mid-1970s. Several students, young professors and academics who were recruited or mentored by Friedman at Chicago went on to become leading economists, including Nobel laureates Gary Becker (1992), Robert Fogel (1993), and Robert Lucas Jr. (1995). Read more
31 Jul 1912: Irv Kupcinet, American football player and journalist (died 2003) Irving Kupcinet was an American newspaper columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, television talk-show host, and radio personality based in Chicago, Illinois. He was popularly known by the nickname "Kup". Read more
31 Jul 1911: George Liberace, American violinist (died 1983) George Liberace was an American musician and television performer. Read more
31 Jul 1909: Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian theorist and author (died 1999) Erik Maria Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn was an Austrian-American nobleman and polymath, whose areas of interest included philosophy, history, political science, economics, linguistics, art and theology. He opposed the ideas of the French Revolution, as well as those of communism and Nazism. Describing himself as a "conservative arch-liberal" or "extreme liberal", Kuehnelt-Leddihn often argued that majority rule in democracies is a threat to individual liberties. He declared himself a monarchist and an enemy of all forms of totalitarianism, although he also supported what he defined as "non-democratic republics", such as Switzerland and the early United States. Kuehnelt-Leddihn cited the U.S. Founding Fathers, Tocqueville, Burckhardt, and Montalembert as the primary influences for his skepticism towards democracy. Read more
31 Jul 1907: Neil Robinson, American baseball player (died 1983) Cornelius Randall Robinson, known professionally as Neil Robinson, was a major league baseball player in the segregated Negro leagues. Also known by the nicknames Neal and Shadow, he primarily played as a center fielder in the 1930s and 1940s, but as a semipro player he alternated between the outfield, shortstop, and third baseman. For the majority of his twenty-three year career, Robinson played for the Memphis Red Sox. Prior to being acquired by Memphis, he played one season for the Homestead Grays and three seasons with the Cincinnati Tigers. Read more
31 Jul 1904: Brett Halliday, American engineer, surveyor, and author (died 1977) Brett Halliday is the primary pen name of Davis Dresser, an American mystery and western writer. Halliday is best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne mysteries he wrote, and later commissioned others to continue. Dresser also wrote westerns, non-series mysteries, and romances under the names Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne. Read more
31 Jul 1902: Gubby Allen, Australian-English cricketer and soldier (died 1989) Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen CBE was a cricketer who captained England in eleven Test matches. In first-class matches, he played for Middlesex and Cambridge University. A fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, Allen later became an influential cricket administrator who held key positions in the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which effectively ruled English cricket at the time; he also served as chairman of the England selectors. Read more
31 Jul 1901: Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (died 1985) Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor of the École de Paris. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making. He is perhaps best known for founding the art brut movement, and for the collection of works—Collection de l'art brut—that this movement spawned. Dubuffet enjoyed a prolific art career, both in France and in America, and was featured in many exhibitions throughout his lifetime. Read more
31 Jul 1894: Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (died 1972) Frederick Charles Keenor was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former schoolteacher. A hard tackling defender, he appeared sporadically for the team in the Southern Football League before his spell at the club was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Keenor served in the 17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, led by Major Frank Buckley, which became known as the Football Battalion. He fought in the Battle of the Somme, suffering a severe shrapnel wound to his thigh in 1916. He returned to Britain and after a lengthy rehabilitation he ended the war as a physical training instructor, reaching the rank of sergeant. He also appeared as a guest player for Brentford during the war. Read more
31 Jul 1892: Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist and publisher, founded Worldwide Church of God (died 1986) Herbert W. Armstrong was an American evangelist who founded the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). An early pioneer of radio and television evangelism, Armstrong preached what he claimed was the comprehensive combination of doctrines in the entire Bible, in the light of the New Covenant scriptures, which he maintained to be the restored true Gospel. These doctrines and teachings have been referred to as Armstrongism by non-adherents. Read more
31 Jul 1892: Joseph Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (died 1959) Joseph Charbonneau was a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Montreal from 1940 to 1950. Read more
31 Jul 1887: Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (died 1969) Johannes "Hans" Freyer was a German sociologist and philosopher of the conservative revolutionary movement. Read more
31 Jul 1886: Salvatore Maranzano, Italian-American mob boss (died 1931) Salvatore Maranzano, nicknamed Little Caesar, was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. He instigated the Castellammarese War in 1930 to seize control of the American Mafia, winning the war after the murder of rival faction head Joe Masseria in April 1931. He then briefly became the Mafia's capo di tutti capi and formed the Five Families in New York City but was murdered on September 10, 1931, on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who established the Commission, in which families shared power to prevent future turf wars. Read more
31 Jul 1886: Fred Quimby, American animation producer (died 1965) Frederick Clinton Quimby was an American animation producer best known for producing the Tom and Jerry cartoon series, for which he won seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Films. He was the executive in charge of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, which included, among others and at various times, animators and directors Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, Tex Avery, Michael Lah, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the creators of Tom and Jerry. MGM's cartoon characters included Droopy, Butch Dog, Barney Bear, and others, and they also released multiple one-shot cartoons. Read more
31 Jul 1886: Larry Doyle, American baseball player (died 1974) Lawrence Joseph Doyle, nicknamed "Laughing Larry", was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1920 who played almost his entire career for the New York Giants. The National League's outstanding second baseman during the 1910s, he was awarded the 1912 Chalmers Award as the league's best player, and won the 1915 batting title with a .320 average. The team captain and top everyday star on three consecutive pennant winners (1911–1913), his .408 career slugging average was the top mark by an NL second baseman when he retired, as were his career totals in hits (1887), doubles (299), triples (123), total bases (2654) and extra base hits (496). He ended his career among the major league leaders in career games, putouts, assists, total chances and double plays at second base, and set Giants franchise records for career games, at bats and doubles, each of which was broken by Bill Terry. Read more
31 Jul 1884: Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, Polish-German economist and politician (died 1945) Carl Friedrich Goerdeler was a German conservative politician, monarchist, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was opposed to the Holocaust. Read more
31 Jul 1880: Premchand, Indian author and playwright (died 1936) Dhanpat Rai Srivastava, better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand, was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Read more
31 Jul 1877: Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (died 1970) Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus née Kensit was a South African botanist and taxonomist, and the longtime curator of the Bolus Herbarium, from 1903. Bolus also has the legacy of authoring more land plant species than any other female scientist, in total naming 1,494 species. Read more
31 Jul 1875: Jacques Villon, French painter (died 1963) Jacques Villon, also known as Gaston Duchamp, was a French Cubist and abstract painter and printmaker. Read more
31 Jul 1867: S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (died 1966) Sebastian Spering Kresge was an American merchant and businessman. He created and owned two chains of department stores: the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the Kresge-Newark traditional department store chain. The discounter was renamed the Kmart Corporation in 1977. Read more
31 Jul 1860: Mary Vaux Walcott, American painter and illustrator (died 1940) Mary Morris Vaux Walcott was an American artist and naturalist known for her watercolor paintings of wildflowers. She has been called the "Audubon of Botany." Read more
31 Jul 1858: Richard Dixon Oldham, English seismologist and geologist (died 1936) Richard Dixon Oldham FRS was a British geologist who made the first clear identification of the separate arrivals of P-waves, S-waves and surface waves on seismograms and the first clear evidence that the Earth has a central core. Read more
31 Jul 1858: Marion Talbot, American educator (died 1948) Marion Talbot was an American educator who served as Dean of Women at the University of Chicago from 1895 to 1925, and an influential leader in the higher education of women in the United States during the early 20th century. In 1882, while still a student, she co-founded the American Association of University Women with her mentor Ellen Swallow Richards. During her long career at the University of Chicago, Talbot fought tenaciously and often successfully to improve support for women students and faculty, and against efforts to restrict equal access to educational opportunities. Read more
31 Jul 1854: José Canalejas, Spanish academic and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (died 1912) José Canalejas y Méndez was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1910 until his assassination in 1912. Read more
31 Jul 1854: Arthur Barclay, 15th president of Liberia (died 1938) Arthur Barclay was the 15th president of Liberia from 1904 to 1912. Read more
31 Jul 1847: Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (died 1905) Ignacio Cervantes Kawanagh was a Cuban pianist and composer. He was influential in the creolization of Cuban music. Read more
31 Jul 1843: Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and author (died 1918) Peter Rosegger was an Austrian writer and poet from Krieglach in the province of Styria. He was a son of a mountain farmer and grew up in the woodlands and mountains of Alpl. Rosegger went on to become a most prolific poet and author as well as an insightful teacher and visionary. Read more
31 Jul 1839: Ignacio Andrade, Venezuelan general and politician, 25th President of Venezuela (died 1925) Ignacio Andrade Troconis was a military man and politician. He was known as a member of the Liberal yellow party, and served as the president of Venezuela from 1898 until 1899 – his election was declaredly clouded by fraud. Read more
31 Jul 1837: William Quantrill, American captain (died 1865) William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. Read more
31 Jul 1836: Vasily Sleptsov, Russian author and activist (died 1878) Vasily Alekseyevich Sleptsov, was a Russian writer, playwright, journalist and social reformer. Read more
31 Jul 1835: Henri Brisson, French lawyer and politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (died 1912) Eugène Henri Brisson was a French statesman, who was twice Prime Minister of France, between 1885–1886 and in 1898. Read more
31 Jul 1835: Paul Du Chaillu, French-American anthropologist and explorer (died 1903) Paul Belloni Du Chaillu was a French-American traveler, zoologist, and anthropologist. He became famous in the 1860s as the first modern European outsider to confirm the existence of gorillas, and later the Pygmy people of central Africa. He later researched the prehistory of Scandinavia. Read more
31 Jul 1826: Juhani Aataminpoika, Finnish serial killer (died 1854) Juhani Aataminpoika alias Kerpeikkari, was a Finnish serial killer. He killed 12 people in southern Finland between October and November of 1849. He has been characterized as the first serial killer in Finland. Read more
31 Jul 1826: William S. Clark, American colonel and politician (died 1886) William Smith Clark was an American professor of chemistry, botany, and zoology; a colonel during the American Civil War; and a leader in agricultural education. Raised and schooled in Easthampton, Massachusetts, Clark spent most of his adult life in Amherst, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1848 and obtained a doctorate in chemistry from Georgia Augusta University in Göttingen in 1852. He then served as professor of chemistry at Amherst College from 1852 to 1867. During the Civil War, he was granted leave from Amherst to serve with the 21st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, eventually achieving the rank of colonel and the command of that unit. Read more
31 Jul 1816: George Henry Thomas, American general (died 1870) George Henry Thomas was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War, and despite being a Virginian whose home state would join the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, he was a Southern Unionist who chose to remain in the U.S. Army. Read more
31 Jul 1803: John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, co-designed the USS Princeton and the Novelty Locomotive (died 1889) John Ericsson was a Swedish-American engineer and inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Read more
31 Jul 1800: Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist and academic (died 1882) Friedrich Wöhler FRS(For) HonFRSE was a German chemist known for his work in both organic and inorganic chemistry, being the first to isolate the chemical elements beryllium and yttrium in pure metallic form. He was the first to prepare several inorganic compounds, including silane and silicon nitride. Read more

Notable Deaths on 31 July

31 Jul 2024: Paul Bucha, United States Army Medal of Honor recipient (born 1943) Paul William Bucha was an American Vietnam War veteran and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was a foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Read more
31 Jul 2024: Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian politician, political leader of Hamas (born 1962/1963) Ismail Haniyeh was a Palestinian politician who served as third chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until his assassination in July 2024. He also served as the prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority from March 2006 until June 2014 and the first Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip from June 2007 until February 2017, where he was succeeded by Yahya Sinwar. Read more
31 Jul 2023: Angus Cloud, American actor (born 1998) Conor Angus Cloud Hickey was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Fezco O'Neill in the HBO drama series Euphoria (2019–2026), and had roles in the films North Hollywood (2021), The Line (2023), Abigail and The Garfield Movie. He also appeared in music videos by Noah Cyrus, Juice Wrld, Becky G, and Karol G. At age 25, Cloud died from an accidental overdose in Oakland, California. Read more
31 Jul 2022: Fidel V. Ramos, 12th President of the Philippines (born 1928) Fidel Valdez Ramos, popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reach the rank of five-star general. Rising from second lieutenant to commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Ramos is credited for revitalizing and renewing international confidence in the Philippine economy during his six years in office. Read more
31 Jul 2022: Bill Russell, NBA Hall of Fame player and coach (born 1934) William Felton Russell was an American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that played for 12 NBA championships and won 11 during his 13-year career. Russell is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Read more
31 Jul 2020: Alan Parker, English filmmaker (born 1944) Sir Alan William Parker was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts, many of which won awards for creativity, he began screenwriting and directing films. Read more
31 Jul 2019: Harold Prince, Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (born 1928) Harold Smith Prince, commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theater director and producer known for his work in musical theater. Read more
31 Jul 2018: Tony Bullimore, British sailor & businessman (born 1939) Tony Bullimore was a British businessman and international yachtsman. During the 1996–97 Vendée Globe solo round-the-world yacht race, his vessel lost its keel and capsized in the Southern Ocean. He survived for four days inside the upturned hull before being located and rescued by the Australian Navy. Read more
31 Jul 2017: Jeanne Moreau, French actress (born 1928) Jeanne Moreau was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Read more
31 Jul 2016: Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (born 1955) Chiyonofuji Mitsugu , born Mitsugu Akimoto , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and the 58th yokozuna of the sport. Read more
31 Jul 2016: Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (born 1928) Seymour Aubrey Papert was a South African-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, and of the constructionist movement in education. He was co-inventor, with Wally Feurzeig and Cynthia Solomon, of the Logo programming language. Read more
31 Jul 2015: Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (born 1940) Alan Stuart Cheuse was an American writer, editor, professor of literature, and radio commentator. A longtime NPR book commentator, he was also the author of five novels, five collections of short stories and novellas, a memoir and a collection of travel essays. In addition, Cheuse was a regular contributor to All Things Considered. His short fiction appeared in respected publications like The New Yorker, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, Prairie Schooner, among other places. He taught in the Writing Program at George Mason University and the Community of Writers. Read more
31 Jul 2015: Howard W. Jones, American surgeon and academic (born 1910) Howard Wilbur Jones, Jr. was an American gynecological surgeon and in vitro fertilization (IVF) specialist. Jones and his wife, Georgeanna Seegar Jones, were two of the earliest reproductive medicine specialists in the United States. They established the reproductive medicine center that was responsible for the birth of the first IVF baby in the U.S. He wrote articles on the beginning of human personhood and testified before legislators on the same subject. He was one of the early physicians to perform sex reassignment surgeries. Read more
31 Jul 2015: Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1927) Walter William Pierce was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball between 1945 and 1964 who played most of his career for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team's star pitcher in the decade from 1952 to 1961, when they posted the third best record in the major leagues, and received the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award for the American League (AL) in 1956 and 1957 after being runner-up in both 1953 and 1955. A seven-time All-Star, he led the AL in complete games three times despite his slight build, and in wins, earned run average (ERA) and strikeouts once each. He pitched four one-hitters and seven two-hitters in his career, and on June 27, 1958 came within one batter of becoming the first left-hander in 78 years to throw a perfect game. Read more
31 Jul 2015: Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (born 1954) Roderick George Toombs, known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. Read more
31 Jul 2015: Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (born 1926) Richard Schultz Schweiker was an American businessman and politician who served as the 14th U.S. secretary of health and human services under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. representative from 1961 to 1969 and a U.S. senator from 1969 to 1981 from Pennsylvania. Schweiker was Reagan's running mate during his unsuccessful 1976 presidential campaign. Read more
31 Jul 2014: Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (born 1925) Warren Gamaliel Bennis was an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies.
Bennis was University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California. Read more
31 Jul 2014: Nabarun Bhattacharya, Indian journalist and author (born 1948) Nabarun Bhattacharya was an Indian writer who wrote in the Bengali language. He was born at Berhampore, West Bengal. He was the only child of actor and playwright Bijon Bhattacharya and writer and activist Mahashweta Devi. His maternal grandfather was a writer from the Kallol era Manish Ghatak. Visionary filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak was his great-uncle. Read more
31 Jul 2014: Jeff Bourne, English footballer (born 1948) Jeffrey Albert Bourne was an English footballer who played as a striker. Born in Linton, Derbyshire, he spent most of his early career in the lower English divisions before moving to the United States, where he played six seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the second division American Soccer League. He led the ASL in scoring in 1983. Read more
31 Jul 2014: Wilfred Feinberg, American lawyer and judge (born 1920) Wilfred Feinberg was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Read more
31 Jul 2013: Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (born 1922) Michael George Ansara was a Syrian‐American actor. He was often cast in Arab and Native American roles. His work in both film and television spanned several genres, including historical epics, Westerns, and science fiction. Read more
31 Jul 2013: Michel Donnet, English-Belgian general and pilot (born 1917) Michel G. L. "Mike" Donnet, was a Belgian pilot who served in the Belgian Army and British Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He shot down four enemy aircraft confirmed, and achieved the RAF rank of wing commander. After the war, he returned to the Belgian Air Force, and held several important commands before retiring in 1975. Read more
31 Jul 2013: John Graves, American captain and author (born 1920) John Alexander Graves III was an American writer known for his book Goodbye to a River. Read more
31 Jul 2013: Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (born 1930) Trevor Storer was a British businessman and founder of the Pukka Pies company in 1963, which was originally called Trevor Storer's Home Made Pies. He was the author of Bread Salesmanship, which became the training manual for Allied Bakeries in the 1960s. Originally making his pies in his own home, he built the company up until retiring at the age of 65, but remained chairman until his death. As of his time of his death, the company turned over £40 million a year. Read more
31 Jul 2012: Mollie Hunter, Scottish author and playwright (born 1922) Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith was a Scottish writer known as Mollie Hunter. She wrote fantasy for children, historical stories for young adults, and realistic novels for adults. Many of her works are inspired by Scottish history, or by Scottish or Irish folklore, with elements of magic and fantasy. Read more
31 Jul 2012: Alfredo Ramos, Brazilian footballer and coach (born 1924) Alfredo Ramos Castilho, was a Brazilian footballer in the defense role. He was simply known as Alfredo or Polvo by fans. Read more
31 Jul 2012: Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (born 1925) Eugene Luther Gore Vidal was an American writer and public intellectual known for his cynical epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays criticized the social and sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. Vidal was heavily involved in politics, and unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the United States House of Representatives, and later in 1982 to the United States Senate. Read more
31 Jul 2012: Tony Sly, American musician, singer-songwriter (born 1970) Anthony James Sly was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acoustic solo work, with two acoustic split albums he released with Lagwagon front man Joey Cape and two solo albums. Read more
31 Jul 2009: Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (born 1933) Sir Robert William Robson was an English football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town. Read more
31 Jul 2009: Harry Alan Towers, English-Canadian screenwriter and producer (born 1920) Harry Alan Towers was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties. Towers was married to the actress Maria Rohm, who appeared in many of his films. Read more
31 Jul 2005: Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, 1st President of the European Central Bank (born 1935) Willem Frederik "Wim" Duisenberg was a Dutch politician, economist and senior official who served as the first President of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2003. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he previously was Minister of Finance from 1973 to 1977 and presided over De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, from 1982 to 1997. Read more
31 Jul 2004: Virginia Grey, American actress (born 1917) Virginia Grey was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films and several radio and television shows from the 1930s to the early 1980s. She was romantically involved with Clark Gable for several years, after his wife, Carole Lombard's, untimely death. Read more
31 Jul 2003: Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (born 1933) Guido Crepax, was an Italian comics artist. He is most famous for his character Valentina, created in 1965 and very representative of the spirit of the 1960s. The Valentina series of books and strips became noted for Crepax's sophisticated drawing, and for the psychedelic, dreamlike storylines, generally involving a strong dose of eroticism. His work was often politically motivated too, inspired by his Communist convictions. A film based on his work called Baba Yaga, featuring the character Valentina, was made in 1973. Read more
31 Jul 2001: Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (born 1914) Francisco da Costa Gomes, ComTE GOA was a Portuguese military officer and politician who was the president of Portugal from 1974 to 1976. Earlier on, he had been deployed to Angola as part of the Portuguese Colonial War. Read more
31 Jul 2001: Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (born 1910) Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the heir apparent to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and a member of the Waffen-SS. Read more
31 Jul 2000: William Keepers Maxwell Jr., American editor, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (born 1908) William Keepers Maxwell Jr. was an American editor, novelist, short story writer, essayist, children's author, and memoirist. He served as a fiction editor at The New Yorker from 1936 to 1975. An editor devoted to his writers, Maxwell became a mentor and confidant to many authors. Read more
31 Jul 1997: Bảo Đại, Vietnamese emperor (born 1913) Bảo Đại, born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was de jure emperor of Đại Nam, which consisted of the French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin within French Indochina, covering the present-day central and northern Vietnam. Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932. Read more
31 Jul 1993: Baudouin, King of Belgium (born 1930) Baudouin was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo, before it became independent in 1960 and became the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Read more
31 Jul 1992: Leonard Cheshire, English captain and pilot (born 1917) Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire was a British Royal Air Force pilot, officer and philanthropist. Read more
31 Jul 1990: Albert Leduc, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1902) Joseph Albert Florimond Leduc was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League from 1925 to 1935. with the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, and Montreal Canadiens. He won Stanley Cup twice, in 1930, and 1931, both with Montreal. Read more
31 Jul 1987: Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905) Joseph Edward Levine was an American film distributor, financier and producer. At the time of his death, it was said he was involved in one or another capacity with 497 films. Levine was responsible for the American releases of Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, Attila and Hercules, which helped revolutionize American film marketing, and was founder and president of Embassy Pictures. Read more
31 Jul 1986: Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (born 1900) Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through Japanese territory, risking his career and the lives of his family. The fleeing Jews were refugees from German-occupied Western Poland and Soviet-occupied Eastern Poland, as well as residents of Lithuania. Read more
31 Jul 1985: Eugene Carson Blake, American religious leader (born 1906) Eugene Carson Blake was an American Presbyterian Church leader. Read more
31 Jul 1981: Omar Torrijos, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (born 1929) Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was a Panamanian military officer, politician, and revolutionary who was the military leader of Panama, as well as the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially the president of Panama, but instead held self-imposed and all-encompassing titles, including "Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution". Torrijos took power in a coup d'état and instituted a number of social reforms. Read more
31 Jul 1980: Pascual Jordan, German physicist, author, and academic (born 1902) Ernst Pascual Jordan was a German theoretical and mathematical physicist who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. He contributed much to the mathematical form of matrix mechanics, and developed canonical anticommutation relations for fermions. He introduced Jordan algebras in an effort to formalize quantum field theory; the algebras have since found numerous applications within mathematics. Read more
31 Jul 1980: Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (born 1924) Mohammed Rafi was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice; his songs varied from fast, peppy numbers to patriotic songs, sad numbers to highly romantic songs, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans to classical songs. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona and style of the actor lip-syncing the song on screen in the movie. He received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award in India. In 1967, the Government of India honored him with the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri. In 2001, Rafi was honoured with the "Best Singer of the Millennium" title by Hero Honda and Stardust magazine. In 2013, Rafi was voted for the Greatest Voice in Hindi Cinema in a CNN-IBN poll. Read more
31 Jul 1979: Beatrix Lehmann, English actress and director (born 1903) Beatrix Alice Lehmann was a British actress, theatre director, writer and novelist. Read more
31 Jul 1973: Azumafuji Kin'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 40th Yokozuna (born 1921) Azumafuji Kin'ichi was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Taitō, Tokyo. He was the sport's 40th yokozuna, and later a professional wrestler. Read more
31 Jul 1972: Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium, 1st President of the United Nations General Assembly (born 1899) Paul-Henri Charles Spaak was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat, and statesman who thrice served as the prime minister of Belgium and later as the second secretary general of NATO. Nicknamed "Mr. Europe", he was a leader in the formation of the institutions that evolved into the current European Union, along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer. Read more
31 Jul 1971: Walter P. Carter, American soldier and activist (born 1923) Walter Percival Carter was an activist and central figure in Baltimore, Maryland during the Civil Rights Movement. He earned that designation by organizing demonstrations against discrimination throughout Maryland. Carter is best known for his work as the chairman of the Baltimore chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) from 1960 to 1963 and as the Maryland coordinator for the 1963 March on Washington. A hospital, an elementary school, a recreation center, a college library, and a day-care center in Baltimore have been named in his memory. Read more
31 Jul 1968: Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (born 1911) Jack Charles Allan Pizzey was a Queensland Country Party politician. He was Premier of Queensland, in a coalition with the Liberal Party, from 17 January 1968 until his death on 31 July that year. To date, he is the most recent premier of an Australian state to die in office. Read more
31 Jul 1966: Bud Powell, American pianist (born 1924) Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory, Powell's application of complex phrasing to the piano influenced both his contemporaries and later pianists including Walter Davis Jr., Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Barry Harris. Read more
31 Jul 1964: Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (born 1923) James Travis Reeves was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. One of the earliest pioneers and practitioners of the Nashville sound, he played a central role in the sonic development of country music in the 1960s. Known as "Gentleman Jim", his songs continued to chart for years after his death in a plane crash. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame. Read more
31 Jul 1958: Eino Kaila, Finnish philosopher and psychologist, attendant of the Vienna circle (born 1890) Eino Sakari Kaila was a Finnish philosopher, critic and teacher. He worked in numerous fields including psychology, physics and theater, and attempted to find unifying principles behind various branches of human and natural sciences. Read more
31 Jul 1954: Onofre Marimón, Argentine race car driver (born 1923) Onofre Agustín Marimón was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One at 12 Grands Prix between 1951 and 1954. Read more
31 Jul 1953: Robert A. Taft, American soldier and politician (born 1889) Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. was an American politician and lawyer who represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1939 until his death in 1953. A member of the Republican Party, he briefly served as Senate majority leader and was a leader of the conservative coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats who blocked expansion of the New Deal. Often referred to as "Mr. Republican", he co-sponsored the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, which banned closed shops, created the framework of right-to-work states, and tightened other regulations on labor unions and practices. Read more
31 Jul 1951: Cho Ki-chon, North Korean poet (born 1913) Cho Ki-chon was a Soviet-born North Korean poet. He is regarded as a national poet and "founding father of North Korean poetry" whose distinct Soviet-influenced style of lyrical epic poetry in the socialist realist genre became an important feature of North Korean literature. He was nicknamed "Korea's Mayakovsky" after the writer whose works had had an influence on him and which implied his breaking from the literature of the old society and his commitment to communist values. Since a remark made by Kim Jong Il on his 2001 visit to Russia, North Korean media has referred to Cho as the "Pushkin of Korea". Read more
31 Jul 1944: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and poet (born 1900) Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry, known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Read more
31 Jul 1943: Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (born 1905) Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37. Read more
31 Jul 1942: Francis Younghusband, British Army Officer, explorer and spiritual writer (born 1863) Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband was a British Army officer, explorer and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British expedition to Tibet, led by him, and for his writings on Asia and foreign policy. Younghusband held positions including British commissioner to Tibet and president of the Royal Geographical Society. Read more
31 Jul 1940: Udham Singh, Indian activist (born 1899) Udham Singh was an Indian revolutionary belonging to Ghadar Party and HSRA, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in British India, on 13 March 1940. The assassination was done in revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919, for which O'Dwyer was responsible and of which Singh himself was a survivor. Singh was subsequently tried and convicted of murder and hanged in July 1940. While in custody, he used the name Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, which represents the three major religions in India and his anti-colonial sentiment. Read more
31 Jul 1920: Ion Dragoumis, Greek philosopher and diplomat (born 1878) Ion Dragoumis was a Greek diplomat, philosopher, writer and revolutionary. Read more
31 Jul 1917: Francis Ledwidge, Irish soldier and poet (born 1881) Francis Edward Ledwidge was a 20th-century Irish poet. From Slane, County Meath, and sometimes known as the "poet of the blackbirds", he was later also known as a First World War war poet. He befriended the established writer Lord Dunsany, who helped with the publication of his works. He was killed in action at Ypres in 1917. Read more
31 Jul 1917: Hedd Wyn, Welsh language poet (born 1887) Hedd Wyn was a Welsh-language poet who was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod. Evans, who had been awarded several chairs for his poetry, was inspired to take the Bardic name Hedd Wyn from the way sunlight penetrated the mist in the Meirionnydd valleys. Read more
31 Jul 1914: Jean Jaurès, French journalist and politician (born 1859) Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès, commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès, was a French socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became a social democrat and one of the first possibilists and in 1902 the leader of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. The two parties merged in 1905 into the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). An antimilitarist, he was assassinated in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I but remains one of the main historical figures of the French Left. As a heterodox Marxist, Jaurès rejected the concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat and tried to conciliate idealism and materialism, individualism and collectivism, democracy and class struggle, and patriotism and internationalism. Read more
31 Jul 1913: John Milne, British geologist and mining engineer. (born 1850) John Milne was a British geologist and mining engineer who worked on a horizontal seismograph. Read more
31 Jul 1891: Jean-Baptiste Capronnier, Belgian stained glass painter (born 1814) Jean-Baptiste Capronnier was a Belgian stained glass painter. Born in Brussels in 1814, he had much to do with the modern revival of glass-painting, and first made his reputation by his study of the old methods of workmanship, and his clever restorations of old examples, and copies made for the Brussels archaeological museum. He carried out windows for various churches in Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, the UK including Howden Minster and elsewhere, and his work was commissioned also for France, Italy and England. At the Paris Exhibition of 1855 he won the only medal given for glasspainting. He died in Schaerbeek in 1891. Read more
31 Jul 1886: Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1811) Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of his era, and his piano works continue to be widely performed and recorded. Read more
31 Jul 1884: Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (born 1869) Kiến Phúc was a child emperor of Vietnam, who reigned for less than 8 months, 1883–1884, as the 7th emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty. Read more
31 Jul 1875: Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (born 1808) Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a War Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket in the 1864 presidential election, coming to office as the American Civil War concluded. Johnson favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union without protection for the newly freed people who were formerly enslaved, as well as pardoning ex-Confederates. This led to conflict with the Republican Party-dominated U.S. Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1868. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote. Read more
31 Jul 1864: Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (born 1800) Louis Christophe François Hachette was a French publisher who established a Paris publishing house designed to produce books and other material to improve the system of school instruction. Publications were initially focused on the classics and subsequently expanded to include books and magazines of all types. The firm is currently part of a global publishing house. Read more
31 Jul 1805: Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian soldier (born 1756) Dheeran Chinnamalai was a chieftain who ruled the odanilai region of the present day western Tamil Nadu. He fought against the British East India Company, was later captured and hanged by the British. Read more

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