History of Today 24 July: Important Events, Births and Deaths

Welcome to History of Today 24 July. On this page, you can read important historical events, famous births, notable deaths and general knowledge facts related to 24 July. This information is useful for UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, State PSC and other competitive exams.

Last updated on 24 July 2026, 01:00 AM

Important Events on 24 July in History

• 24 Jul 2025: Angara Airlines Flight 2311 crashes on approach to Tynda Airport, killing all 48 people on board. Read more
• 24 Jul 2024: A Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ200 crashes during takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal killing 18. Read more
• 24 Jul 2019: Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after defeating Jeremy Hunt in a leadership contest, succeeding Theresa May. Read more
• 24 Jul 2014: Air Algérie Flight 5017 loses contact with air traffic controllers 50 minutes after takeoff. It was travelling between Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Algiers. The wreckage is later found in Mali. All 116 people on board are killed. Read more
• 24 Jul 2013: Santiago de Compostela derailment: A high-speed train derails in Spain rounding a curve with an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit at 190 km/h (120 mph), killing 78 passengers. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the city of Girkê Legê. Read more
• 24 Jul 2009: Aria Air Flight 1525 crashes at Mashhad International Airport, killing 16. Read more
• 24 Jul 2001: The Bandaranaike Airport attack is carried out by 14 Tamil Tiger commandos, resulting in military and civilian casualties and destroyed aircraft. Read more
• 24 Jul 1999: Air Fiji flight 121 crashes while en route to Nadi, Fiji, killing all 17 people on board. Read more
• 24 Jul 1998: Russell Eugene Weston Jr. bursts into the United States Capitol and opens fire killing two police officers. He is later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial. Read more
• 24 Jul 1987: US supertanker SS Bridgeton collides with mines laid by IRGC causing a 43-square-meter dent in the body of the oil tanker. Read more
• 24 Jul 1987: Hulda Crooks, at 91 years of age, climbed Mt. Fuji. Crooks became the oldest person to climb Japan's highest peak. Read more
• 24 Jul 1983: The Black July anti-Tamil riots begin in Sri Lanka, killing between 400 and 3,000. Black July is generally regarded as the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Read more
• 24 Jul 1983: George Brett playing for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, has a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident". Read more
• 24 Jul 1982: Heavy rain causes a mudslide that destroys a bridge at Nagasaki, Japan, killing 299. Read more
• 24 Jul 1980: The Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia wins the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the swimming event at Olympic level. Read more
• 24 Jul 1977: End of a four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War. Read more
• 24 Jul 1974: Watergate scandal: The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor. Read more
• 24 Jul 1969: Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Read more
• 24 Jul 1967: During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! ("Long live free Quebec!"); the statement angered the Canadian government and many Anglophone Canadians. Read more
• 24 Jul 1966: Michael Pelkey makes the first BASE jump from El Capitan along with Brian Schubert. Both came out with broken bones. BASE jumping has now been banned from El Cap. Read more
• 24 Jul 1963: The ship Bluenose II was launched in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The schooner is a major Canadian symbol. Read more
• 24 Jul 1959: At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. vice president Richard Nixon and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev have a "Kitchen Debate". Read more
• 24 Jul 1950: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station begins operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket. Read more
• 24 Jul 1943: World War II: Operation Gomorrah begins: British and Canadian aeroplanes bomb Hamburg by night, and American planes bomb the city by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives will have killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings. Read more
• 24 Jul 1935: The Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109 °F (43 °C) in Chicago and 104 °F (40 °C) in Milwaukee. Read more
• 24 Jul 1929: The Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, goes into effect (it is first signed in Paris on August 27, 1928, by most leading world powers). Read more
• 24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial is unveiled at Ypres. Read more
• 24 Jul 1924: Themistoklis Sofoulis becomes Prime Minister of Greece. Read more
• 24 Jul 1923: The Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, is signed in Switzerland by Greece, Bulgaria and other countries that fought in World War I. Read more
• 24 Jul 1922: The draft of the British Mandate of Palestine was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations; it came into effect on 26 September 1923. Read more
• 24 Jul 1915: The passenger ship SS Eastland capsizes while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew are killed in the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes. Read more
• 24 Jul 1911: Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas". Read more
• 24 Jul 1910: The Ottoman Empire captures the city of Shkodër, putting down the Albanian Revolt of 1910. Read more
• 24 Jul 1901: O. Henry is released from prison in Columbus, Ohio, after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank. Read more
• 24 Jul 1866: Reconstruction: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to Congress following the American Civil War. Read more
• 24 Jul 1864: American Civil War: Battle of Kernstown: Confederate General Jubal Early defeats Union troops led by General George Crook in an effort to keep them out of the Shenandoah Valley. Read more
• 24 Jul 1847: After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City. Read more
• 24 Jul 1847: Richard March Hoe, American inventor, patented the rotary-type printing press. Read more

Famous Births on 24 July

• 24 Jul 2001: Ryan Johnson, American ice hockey player Ryan Johnson is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 31st overall, by the Sabres in the 2019 NHL entry draft. Read more
• 24 Jul 2001: Drake London, American football player Drake London is an American professional football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected eighth overall by the Falcons in the 2022 NFL draft. Read more
• 24 Jul 1998: Bindi Irwin, Australian conservationist, zookeeper, and actress Bindi Sue Irwin is an Australian conservationist, zookeeper, actress, and television personality. The daughter of conservationists Steve and Terri Irwin, she serves as the chief executive officer of Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. Read more
• 24 Jul 1998: Sophie Wotschke, Austrian politician Sophie Wotschke is an Austrian politician of NEOS. She was elected member of the National Council in the 2024 legislative election, and has served as leader of JUNOS since 2022. Read more
• 24 Jul 1998: Cailee Spaeny, American actress Cailee Spaeny is an American actress. Her first major roles were in the science fiction film Pacific Rim Uprising and the neo-noir film Bad Times at the El Royale. Her television roles include appearances in the miniseries Devs (2020), Mare of Easttown (2021), and the second season of the anthology series Beef (2026). For producing the latter, she earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Read more
• 24 Jul 1996: Joe Mixon, American football player Joseph Tyler Mixon is an American professional football running back. Mixon played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2016. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft. Read more
• 24 Jul 1995: Valentine Holmes, Australian rugby league player Valentine John Holmes is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or winger for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League and Queensland Maroons in State of Origin. Read more
• 24 Jul 1995: Kyle Kuzma, American basketball player Kyle Alexander Kuzma is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Utah Utes and was named first-team all-conference in the Pac-12 as a junior in 2016–17. Kuzma was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft with the 27th overall pick, and he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. He won an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020 before being traded to the Washington Wizards in 2021. Read more
• 24 Jul 1995: Meisei Chikara, Japanese sumo wrestler Meisei Chikara is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Setouchi, Kagoshima. He debuted in sumo wrestling in July 2011 and made his makuuchi debut in July 2018. His highest rank has been sekiwake. He wrestles for Tatsunami stable. Unusually for a top-class sumo wrestler, he uses his given name as his shikona. Read more
• 24 Jul 1994: Phillip Lindsay, American football player Phillip Lindsay is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Denver, Colorado, grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and attended South High School in Denver where he became the school's all-time leading rusher with 4,587 yards. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and set the school record in all-purpose yards (5,760) and yards from scrimmage (4,683). He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos in 2018. Lindsay became the first undrafted offensive rookie to make the Pro Bowl. He is the only NFL player since 1950 to record 700 or more career touches without a fumble. Read more
• 24 Jul 1992: Mikaël Kingsbury, Canadian skier Mikaël Kingsbury is a Canadian freestyle skier He achieved eminence early in his career after earning the 2009–10 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year award. He is a 13-time FIS Freestyle World Cup title-holder for overall moguls and nine-time title-holder for overall freestyle, owning the records for most men's Moguls World Cup titles and Overall Freestyle World Cup titles. He also holds the records for 100 career World Cup moguls wins and 13 consecutive Freestyle World Cup event wins. He is the first man to have won both the moguls and dual moguls World Championship events, and has won the most medals at the Freestyle World Championships of any male competitor in history, having won a medal in 15 of the 16 events he has competed in. Kingsbury also won the Olympic silver medal in 2014, 2022 and 2026, and the gold medal in men's moguls at the 2018 Winter Olympics and men's dual moguls at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Read more
• 24 Jul 1991: Emily Bett Rickards, Canadian actress Emily Bett Rickards is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Felicity Smoak on The CW series Arrow, her first television credit. She reprised the role in the Arrowverse shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl and voiced the character on the animated web series Vixen. Read more
• 24 Jul 1991: Elliot Rodger, English-American mass murderer (died 2014) Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger was a British-American mass murderer and misogynistic terrorist who perpetrated the 2014 Isla Vista attacks, where he murdered six people and injured fourteen others, before he fatally shot himself. The murders he committed, his suicide, and his manifesto have been named as early influences on the incel and manosphere subculture. Read more
• 24 Jul 1991: Trevor van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player Trevor van Riemsdyk, often known by his initials TVR, is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Stanley Cup in 2015, his rookie season, with the Chicago Blackhawks and has also played for the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals. Read more
• 24 Jul 1989: Maurkice Pouncey, American football player LaShawn Maurkice Pouncey is an American former professional football player who was a center for 11 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators, where he was a member of a BCS National Championship team, recognized as a consensus All-American, and won the 2009 Rimington Trophy, awarded annually to the best college football center. He was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. Pouncey was a nine-time Pro Bowler and named to five All-Pro teams, and was also named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. He is the twin brother of former NFL center Mike Pouncey. Read more
• 24 Jul 1988: Han Seung-yeon, South Korean singer and dancer Han Seung-yeon, known mononymously as Seungyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as the vocalist of the South Korean girl group Kara, and for her role in Hello, My Twenties!. Read more
• 24 Jul 1988: Nichkhun, Thai-American singer-songwriter and actor Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul, better known mononymously as Nichkhun, is a Thai and American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and model. Based in South Korea as a member of the South Korean boy band 2PM, Nichkhun is widely considered to be the first Southeast Asian individual to debut in a K-pop idol group and achieve success. Read more
• 24 Jul 1988: Ricky Petterd, Australian footballer Ricky Petterd is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Read more
• 24 Jul 1987: Nathan Gerbe, American ice hockey player Nathan David Gerbe is an American former professional ice hockey player. Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL entry draft, Gerbe played for the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. At 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) tall, Gerbe is the shortest skater in NHL history, and the second shortest player in NHL history behind goaltender Roy Worters. Read more
• 24 Jul 1987: Zack Sabre Jr., English wrestler Luke James Uggles Eatwell, known by his ring name Zack Sabre Jr. and its abbreviated form ZSJ, is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the second and current leader of The Mighty Don't Kneel (TMDK) stable. Read more
• 24 Jul 1987: Mara Wilson, American actress Mara Elizabeth Wilson is an American actress. As a child, she played Natalie Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), the title character in Matilda (1996), and Annabel Greening in A Simple Wish (1997). Following her role as Lily in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000), Wilson took a 12-year hiatus from acting to focus on writing. She returned to acting in 2012 and has predominantly worked in web series. Read more
• 24 Jul 1986: Natalie Tran, Australian actress and online producer Natalie Tran, also known online as communitychannel, is an Australian comedian, actress, television presenter, and former YouTuber. She became known on YouTube for her comedy videos, in which she discusses everyday issues. Read more
• 24 Jul 1985: Patrice Bergeron, Canadian ice hockey player Patrice Bergeron-Cleary is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League, all with the Boston Bruins. He served as team captain from 2021 until his retirement in 2023. Bergeron played junior hockey with the Acadie–Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for one full season before being selected 45th overall by the Bruins in the 2003 NHL entry draft. He made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL after his draft and joined the Bruins in the 2003–04 season. In international play, Bergeron competed for Canada and won gold medals at the 2004 World Championships, 2005 World Junior Championships, 2010 Winter Olympics, 2012 Spengler Cup, and 2014 Winter Olympics. Bergeron is a member of the Triple Gold Club after winning the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011. He scored two goals, including the Stanley Cup-winning goal, in game seven against the Vancouver Canucks. Read more
• 24 Jul 1985: Aries Merritt, American hurdler Aries Merritt is an American track and field athlete who specialized in the 110 metre hurdles. Until June 2026, he held the world record in that event with a time of 12.80 s set on September 7, 2012. He won the gold medal in the 110 metre hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Read more
• 24 Jul 1985: Lukáš Rosol, Czech tennis player Lukáš Rosol is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 26, achieved on 22 September 2014. Read more
• 24 Jul 1983: Daniele De Rossi, Italian footballer and manager Daniele De Rossi is an Italian football manager and former professional player, currently in charge as the head coach of Serie A club Genoa. He usually played in the center midfield, specifically a central defensive midfielder. As a football player, he is known for his long career with hometown club Roma, as well as winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy. Read more
• 24 Jul 1983: Asami Mizukawa, Japanese actress Asami Mizukawa is a Japanese actress. Read more
• 24 Jul 1982: Mewelde Moore, American football player Mewelde Jaem Cadere Moore is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. Moore also played with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning Super Bowl XLIII. He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave, just down the road from his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he was a standout performer at Belaire High School. Read more
• 24 Jul 1982: Elisabeth Moss, American actress Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor, director, and producer. She is best known for portraying Peggy Olson in the AMC series Mad Men (2007–2015) and June Osborne in the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale (2017–2025), which she also produced. She has received several accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a nomination for a Tony Award. Read more
• 24 Jul 1982: Anna Paquin, Canadian-New Zealand actress Anna Helene Paquin is a Canadian and New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, she made her acting debut in the romantic drama film The Piano (1993), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the age of 11, becoming the second-youngest winner in Oscar history. As a child actress, she had roles in Fly Away Home (1996), Jane Eyre (1996), Amistad (1997), The Member of the Wedding (1997), and A Walk on the Moon (1999), as well as in Cameron Crowe's comedy drama film Almost Famous (2000). Read more
• 24 Jul 1981: Doug Bollinger, Australian cricketer Douglas Erwin Bollinger is a former Australian cricketer. He has played first-class cricket for the New South Wales cricket team and international cricket for Australia. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm fast bowler. Bollinger has played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club and Kent County Cricket Club in England, for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and for Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers in domestic T20 competition. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 5 February 2018. Bollinger was a member of the Australian squad which won the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Read more
• 24 Jul 1981: Nayib Bukele, Salvadoran politician, 81st President of El Salvador Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who has served as the 43rd president of El Salvador since 2019. Read more
• 24 Jul 1981: Summer Glau, American actress Summer Glau is an American actress best known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy television series: as River Tam in Firefly (2002) and its continuation film Serenity (2005), as Tess Doerner in The 4400 (2005–2007), as Cameron in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009), and as Isabel Rochev / Ravager in Arrow (2013–2014). Read more
• 24 Jul 1980: Joel Stroetzel, American guitarist Joel Michael Stroetzel is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist from the Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. Read more
• 24 Jul 1979: Rose Byrne, Australian actress Mary Rose Byrne is an Australian actress. Renowned for her versatility across screen and stage, she is particularly recognised for her leading roles in blockbuster comedies, independent dramas, and horror films. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Silver Bear and a Volpi Cup, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. She is one of the few actors to be nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting. Read more
• 24 Jul 1979: Jerrod Niemann, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Jerrod Lee Niemann is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one single for Category 5 Records (2006); three albums for Sea Gayle Music/Arista Nashville: Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury (2010), Free the Music (2012), and High Noon (2014); and one album, This Ride (2017), for Curb Records. These albums have produced a combined ten Top 40 entries on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including the Platinum Number 1 singles "Lover, Lover" and "Drink to That All Night" and Gold Top 5 single "What Do You Want". He has also co-written three singles for Garth Brooks: the chart topping Chris LeDoux tribute "Good Ride Cowboy", as well as "That Girl Is a Cowboy" and "Midnight Sun". Jamey Johnson, Lee Brice, Blake Shelton, Colbie Caillat, Diamond Rio, The Cadillac Three, Mark Chesnutt, John Anderson, Neal McCoy, Christian Kane, and Julie Roberts have also recorded Niemann's songs. Read more
• 24 Jul 1978: Andy Irons, American surfer (died 2010) Philip Andrew Irons was an American professional surfer. He began surfing with his brother Bruce on the shallow and dangerous waves of Kauai, Hawaii, before being spotted by a local surfboard brand and flown to North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii, to compete and develop his skill. Read more
• 24 Jul 1976: Rafer Alston, American basketball player Rafer Jamel Alston, is an American retired professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Skip to My Lou", Alston first gained basketball fame as a streetball player before joining the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Milwaukee Bucks. While in the NBA from 1999 to 2010, he played for six teams, including the 2008–09 Orlando Magic team that made the NBA Finals. Read more
• 24 Jul 1976: Tiago Monteiro, Portuguese racing driver and manager Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2005 to 2006, and World Touring Car from 2007 to 2022. Read more
• 24 Jul 1976: Rashida Tlaib, American politician Rashida Harbi Tlaib is an American lawyer and politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2019, representing the state's 12th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Read more
• 24 Jul 1975: Tracey Crouch, English politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics Dame Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford from 2010 to 2024. Crouch was appointed as Minister for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness in 2017, but resigned in 2018 due to a delay over the introduction of reduced limits on the stakes of fixed odds betting terminals. Read more
• 24 Jul 1975: Jamie Langenbrunner, American ice hockey player Jamie Craig Langenbrunner is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is a member of the 1998–99 Dallas Stars and 2002–03 New Jersey Devils teams that won the Stanley Cup, and was the captain of the silver medal-winning United States national team in the 2010 Winter Olympics. He currently serves as Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Nashville Predators. Read more
• 24 Jul 1975: Torrie Wilson, American model, fitness competitor, actress and professional wrestler Torrie Anne Wilson is an American retired professional wrestler, model and fitness competitor. She is best known for her tenures in WWE and WCW. Read more
• 24 Jul 1974: Andy Gomarsall, English rugby player Andrew Charles Thomas Gomarsall MBE is an English former rugby union player who played at scrum-half for Leeds Carnegie and England. Read more
• 24 Jul 1973: Amanda Stretton, English racing driver and journalist Amanda Birgitte Stretton is an English racing driver, broadcaster and motoring journalist. Read more
• 24 Jul 1972: Kaiō Hiroyuki, Japanese sumo wrestler Kaiō Hiroyuki is a former professional sumo wrestler from Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan. Read more
• 24 Jul 1971: Dino Baggio, Italian footballer Dino Baggio is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Read more
• 24 Jul 1971: Patty Jenkins, American film director and screenwriter Patricia Lea Jenkins is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She has directed the feature films Monster (2003), Wonder Woman (2017), and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020). Read more
• 24 Jul 1969: Rick Fox, Bahamian basketball player Ulrich Alexander "Rick" Fox is a Bahamian-Canadian former basketball player, three-time NBA champion, actor, businessman and politician. He played in the National Basketball Association for both the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He was the owner of the eSports franchise Echo Fox until his departure from the franchise in October 2019. In 2026, he was appointed to the Senate of the Bahamas as an opposition senator. Read more
• 24 Jul 1969: Jennifer Lopez, American actress, singer, and dancer Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking barriers for Latino Americans in Hollywood and helping propel the Latin pop movement in music. She is also known for her cultural impact through fashion, branding, and shifting mainstream beauty standards. Read more
• 24 Jul 1968: Kristin Chenoweth, American actress and singer Kristin Dawn Chenoweth is an American actress and singer, with credits in musical theatre, film, and television. In 1999, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway. In 2003, Chenoweth was nominated for a second Tony Award for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked. Her television roles include Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing and Olive Snook on the comedy drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. Read more
• 24 Jul 1968: Malcolm Ingram, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter Malcolm "Mo" Ingram is a Canadian independent film director and podcaster. Read more
• 24 Jul 1968: Troy Kotsur, American actor Troy Michael Kotsur is an American actor. Born deaf, Kotsur made his acting debut in the late 1980s working with the National Theatre of the Deaf. His television debut was in a 2001 episode of Strong Medicine. His film debut was in the 2007 thriller The Number 23. His accolades include a BAFTA Award, an Academy Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe Award. Read more
• 24 Jul 1968: Laura Leighton, American actress Laura Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Sydney Andrews in the television series Melrose Place (1993–1997) and its continuation (2009–2010), and as Ashley Marin in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017). Read more
• 24 Jul 1966: Aminatou Haidar, Sahrawi human rights activist Aminatou Ali Ahmed Haidar, sometimes spelled as Aminetou, Aminatu or Aminetu, is a Sahrawi human rights activist and an advocate of the independence of Western Sahara. She is often called the "Sahrawi Gandhi" or "Sahrawi Pasionaria" for her nonviolent protests. She is the president of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA). She was imprisoned from 1987 to 1991 and from 2005 to 2006 on charges related to her independence advocacy. In 2009, she attracted international attention when she staged a hunger strike in Lanzarote Airport after being denied re-entry into Moroccan Western Sahara. Haidar has won several international human rights awards for her work, including the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, 2009 Civil Courage Prize and 2019 Right Livelihood Award. Read more
• 24 Jul 1966: Martin Keown, English footballer and coach Martin Raymond Keown is an English football pundit and former professional footballer. A defender, he played from 1984 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal, where he made over 400 appearances for the club and won ten honours. Read more
• 24 Jul 1965: Andrew Gaze, Australian basketball player and sportscaster Andrew Barry Casson Gaze is an Australian basketball coach and former player. He played 22 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Melbourne Tigers from 1984 to 2005, winning the league's MVP award seven times and winning the scoring title 14 times. He also guided the Tigers to two NBL championships, in 1993 and 1997, and was named an All-NBL First Team member for a record 15 consecutive years. Gaze has been described as one of the greatest players Australia has ever produced. Read more
• 24 Jul 1965: Kadeem Hardison, American actor, director, and screenwriter Kadeem Hardison is an American actor. The son of fashion model Bethann Hardison, he rose to prominence after landing the role of Dwayne Wayne on the television series A Different World, a spin-off of the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. He is also known for playing Craig Cooper, the title character's father, in the Disney Channel series K.C. Undercover. Hardison has also appeared in the first season of the Showtime comedy Black Monday and starred as Bowser in the Netflix series Teenage Bounty Hunters. Read more
• 24 Jul 1964: Barry Bonds, American baseball player Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants from 1993 to 2007. He is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Read more
• 24 Jul 1964: Pedro Passos Coelho, Portuguese economist and politician, 118th Prime Minister of Portugal Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho is a Portuguese politician and university guest lecturer who was the
  117th prime minister of Portugal, in office from 2011 to 2015. He was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) between 2010 and 2018. Read more
• 24 Jul 1963: Karl Malone, American basketball player and coach Karl Anthony Malone, nicknamed "the Mailman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz, and in his last season, the Los Angeles Lakers. During his tenure with the Jazz, he formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton and together they led the team to two NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998, losing both times to the Chicago Bulls. Malone's 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history and he holds the records for most free throws made and attempted, in addition to being tied for the second-most first-team All-NBA selections with Kobe Bryant (11), both behind LeBron James (13). Read more
• 24 Jul 1961: Kerry Dixon, English footballer and manager Kerry Michael Dixon is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
• 24 Jul 1960: Catherine Destivelle, French rock climber and mountaineer Catherine Destivelle is a French rock climber and mountaineer who is considered one of the greatest and most important climbers in the history of the sport. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s for sport climbing by winning the first major female climbing competitions, and by being the first woman to redpoint a 7c+/8a sport climbing route with Fleur de Rocaille in 1985, and an 8a+ (5.13c) route with Choucas in 1988. During this period, she was considered the strongest female sport climber in the world along with Lynn Hill; however, in 1990 she retired to focus on alpine climbing. Read more
• 24 Jul 1958: Jim Leighton, Scottish footballer and coach James Leighton is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Leighton started his career with Aberdeen, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the management of Alex Ferguson. Ferguson then signed Leighton for Manchester United in 1988, but dropped him after he conceded three goals in the 1990 FA Cup Final. Leighton then had spells with Arsenal, Reading, Dundee and Sheffield United, and rebuilt his career after joining Hibernian in 1993. He returned to Aberdeen in 1997, leading to a career total of over 600 appearances in the league alone. Read more
• 24 Jul 1958: Joe Barry Carroll, American basketball player Joe Barry Carroll is an American former professional basketball player and author who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After retiring from basketball, he became a wealth advisor, philanthropist, artist, author of the memoir Growing Up… In Words and Images, and recipient of the Hank Aaron Champion for Justice award. Read more
• 24 Jul 1957: Pam Tillis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress Pamela Yvonne Tillis is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the eldest child of country singer Mel Tillis. After recording unsuccessful pop material for Elektra and Warner Records in the early 1980s, Tillis shifted to country music. In 1989, she signed with Arista Nashville, entering top-40 on Hot Country Songs for the first time with "Don't Tell Me What to Do" in 1990. This was the first of five singles from her breakthrough album Put Yourself in My Place. Read more
• 24 Jul 1956: Charlie Crist, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of Florida Charles Joseph Crist Jr. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2012; he was previously a Republican before becoming an independent in 2010. Read more
• 24 Jul 1954: Jorge Jesus, Portuguese footballer and manager Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Portugal national team. Read more
• 24 Jul 1953: Jon Faddis, American trumpet player, composer, and conductor Jon Faddis is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known for his ability to closely mirror the sound of trumpet icon Dizzy Gillespie, who was his mentor along with pianist Stan Kenton and trumpeter Bill Catalano. Read more
• 24 Jul 1953: Tadashi Kawamata, Japanese contemporary artist Tadashi Kawamata is a Japanese installation artist. After first studying painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, Kawamata discovered his interest in the practice of installation. Using recuperated construction materials, like wood planks, he began building rudimentary partitions in gallery spaces and apartments to explore the perception of space. Read more
• 24 Jul 1953: Claire McCaskill, American lawyer and politician Claire Conner McCaskill is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as state auditor of Missouri from 1999 to 2007. McCaskill is the most recent Democrat to have represented Missouri in the U.S. Senate. Read more
• 24 Jul 1953: James Newcome, English bishop James William Scobie Newcome is a retired English Anglican bishop and former Lord Spiritual. From 2009 until retirement, he was the Bishop of Carlisle, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Carlisle; he was also a member of the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual from October 2013. From 2002 to 2009, he was the Bishop of Penrith, the suffragan bishop in the same diocese. Read more
• 24 Jul 1952: Gus Van Sant, American director, producer, and screenwriter Gus Green Van Sant Jr. is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent filmmaker, and is considered to be one of the most prominent auteurs of the new queer cinema movement. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures, especially within gay culture. Read more
• 24 Jul 1951: Lynda Carter, American actress Lynda Jean Carter is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant, best known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in the television series Wonder Woman (1975–1979). Before her acting career, she was crowned Miss World USA in 1972, and she finished in the top 15 at the Miss World 1972 pageant. Read more
• 24 Jul 1951: Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury, English politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Christopher Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury, is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury from 1983 to 2005 and was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2005 and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 2025. Read more
• 24 Jul 1950: Jadranka Stojaković, Yugoslav singer-songwriter (died 2016) Jadranka Stojaković was a Bosnian singer-songwriter popular in the former Yugoslavia, known for her unique voice. Her best known hits are "Sve smo mogli mi", "Što te nema", and "Bistre vode Bosnom teku". Read more
• 24 Jul 1949: Michael Richards, American actor and comedian Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor and comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom Seinfeld from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first entering the national spotlight when he was featured on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special, and went on to become a series regular on ABC's Fridays. Read more
• 24 Jul 1948: Marc Racicot, American politician, 21st Governor of Montana Marc Racicot is an American attorney, lobbyist, and former Republican politician who served as the 21st governor of Montana from 1993 until 2001. After leaving office, Racicot worked as a lobbyist for the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani. His notable clients included Enron, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and the Recording Industry Association of America. Read more
• 24 Jul 1947: Zaheer Abbas, Pakistani cricketer and manager Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani PP,, popularly known as Zaheer Abbas, is a Pakistani former cricketer. He is among the few professional cricketers who used to wear spectacles in the cricket ground. In 1982/1983, he became the first batsman to score three consecutive centuries in one-day internationals. Sometimes known as 'the Asian Bradman', Zaheer Abbas is regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the history of cricket. In August 2020, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Read more
• 24 Jul 1946: Gallagher, American comedian and actor (died 2022) Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr., known simply as Gallagher, was an American comedian who became one of the most recognizable comedic performers of the 1980s for his prop-based and observational style. His signature routine involved the "Sledge-O-Matic", a large mallet-like tool which he used to smash various items, most notably watermelons. For more than 30 years, he played between 100 and 200 shows a year, destroying tens of thousands of melons. Read more
• 24 Jul 1946: Hervé Vilard, French singer-songwriter Hervé Vilard is a French pop singer, who first became famous in the 1960s. His first single "Capri c'est fini" became an international hit in 1965 and rendered him instantaneously famous. The song sold 3.3 million copies. "Nous" (1979), "Reviens" (1981) and "Méditerranéenne" (1983) are among his other big hits. He is famous in Latin America, as he settled there between 1969 and 1978, singing in Spanish. Read more
• 24 Jul 1945: Frank Close, English physicist and academic Francis Edwin Close is a particle physicist who is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. Read more
• 24 Jul 1945: Azim Premji, Indian businessman and philanthropist Azim Hashim Premji is an Indian billionaire businessman and philanthropist who was the chairman of Wipro. Premji remains a non-executive member of the board and founding chairman. In 2010, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. He was listed among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, in 2004 and 2011. For years, he has been regularly listed one among The 500 Most Influential Muslims. He also serves as the Chancellor of Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Premji was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, by the Government of India. Read more
• 24 Jul 1945: Hugh Ross, Canadian-American astrophysicist and astronomer Hugh Norman Ross is a Canadian astrophysicist, Christian apologist, and old-Earth creationist. Read more
• 24 Jul 1945: Anthony Watts, English geologist, geophysicist, and academic Anthony Brian Watts is a British marine geologist and geophysicist and Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics in the Department of Earth Sciences, at the University of Oxford. Read more
• 24 Jul 1942: Heinz, German-English singer-songwriter and bass player (died 2000) Heinz Burt was a German-born British rock and roll bassist and singer of the 1960s, who performed under the stage name Heinz. He was also known as a member of the instrumental group the Tornados. Read more
• 24 Jul 1942: David Miner, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer David Miner, sometimes credited as David Minor, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, perhaps best known as a member of The Great Society in the 1960s. He co-founded The Great Society along with Jerry, Darby, and Grace Slick as well as Bard Du Pont, in the sense that he was there from the start. Miner sang most of the lead vocals in the early days of the band and wrote a number of songs, including "That's How It Is", "You Can't Cry", and "Daydream Nightmare Love". Read more
• 24 Jul 1942: Chris Sarandon, American actor Chris Sarandon is an American actor. He is well known for playing Jerry Dandrige in Fright Night (1985), Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride (1987), Detective Mike Norris in Child's Play (1988), and Jack Skellington's speaking voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Leon Shermer in Dog Day Afternoon (1975). Read more
• 24 Jul 1941: John Bond, English banker and businessman Sir John Reginald Hartnell Bond is the chairman of Swiss mining company Xstrata. He previously served as chairman of HSBC Holdings plc, spending a total of 45 years with the bank. Read more
• 24 Jul 1940: Dan Hedaya, American actor Daniel G. "Dan" Hedaya is an American actor best-known for his supporting roles in films such as Blood Simple, The Addams Family, Clueless, The Usual Suspects, A Night at the Roxbury, and Mulholland Drive. Read more
• 24 Jul 1939: Walt Bellamy, American basketball player and coach (died 2013) Walter Jones "The Big Bell" Bellamy was an American professional basketball player. He played 14 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association, playing for four different teams. As a star for Indiana University in basketball, he was invited to join the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team. In the Games that year, the team won every game by an average of over 40 points and is considered among the best amateur level basketball teams of all time. Bellamy was the first overall pick of the 1961 draft, where he was selected by the expansion team Chicago Packers. In his rookie season, he averaged 31.6 points per game and 19 rebounds on his way to winning Rookie of the Year in what has been called one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history. Read more
• 24 Jul 1938: Eugene J. Martin, American painter (died 2005) Eugene James Martin
  was an African-American visual artist. Read more
• 24 Jul 1937: Manoj Kumar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2025) Harikrishan Giri Goswami, professionally known as Manoj Kumar, was an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most accomplished actors of Indian cinema. He is noted for his acting in patriotism-themed films. In a career spanning over four decades, he worked in 55 films. Read more
• 24 Jul 1937: Quinlan Terry, English architect, designed the Brentwood Cathedral John Quinlan Terry CBE is a British architect. He was educated at Bryanston School and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He was a pupil of architect Raymond Erith, with whom he formed the partnership Erith & Terry. Read more
• 24 Jul 1936: Ruth Buzzi, American actress and comedian (died 2025) Ruth Ann Buzzi was an American actress, singer and comedian. She appeared on stage, in films, and on television. She was best known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973, for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received five Emmy nominations. Read more
• 24 Jul 1936: Mark Goddard, American actor (died 2023) Mark Goddard was an American actor who starred in a number of television programs. He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in the CBS series Lost in Space (1965–1968). He also played Detective Sgt. Chris Ballard, in The Detectives, starring Robert Taylor. Read more
• 24 Jul 1935: Aaron Elkins, American author and academic Aaron Elkins is an American mystery writer. He is best known for his series of novels featuring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver—the 'skeleton detective'. Read more
• 24 Jul 1935: Pat Oliphant, Australian cartoonist (died 2026) Patrick Bruce Oliphant was an Australian-born American political cartoonist whose career spanned more than 60 years. His body of work primarily focused on American and global politics, culture, and corruption; he is particularly known for his caricatures of American presidents and other powerful leaders. Over the course of his long career, Oliphant produced thousands of daily editorial cartoons, dozens of bronze sculptures, and a large oeuvre of drawings and paintings. He retired in 2015. Read more
• 24 Jul 1935: Mel Ramos, American painter, illustrator, and academic (died 2018) Melvin John Ramos was an American figurative painter, specializing most often in paintings of female nudes, whose work incorporates elements of realist and abstract art. Read more
• 24 Jul 1935: Les Reed, English pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2019) Leslie David Reed was an English songwriter, arranger, musician and light-orchestra leader. His major songwriting partners were Gordon Mills, Barry Mason, and Geoff Stephens, although he wrote songs with many others such as Roger Greenaway, Roger Cook, Peter Callander, and Johnny Worth. Read more
• 24 Jul 1935: Derek Varnals, South African cricketer (died 2019) George Derek Varnals was a South African cricketer who played in three Test matches in the 1964–65 season. Read more
• 24 Jul 1934: Willie Davis, American football player (died 2020) Willie Delford Davis was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). Davis played college football for the Grambling Tigers before being drafted 181st in the 1956 NFL draft. He spent 12 seasons in the NFL, playing for the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers. Read more
• 24 Jul 1934: P. S. Soosaithasan, Sri Lankan accountant and politician (died 2017) Pilesiyan Sosai Soosaithasan was a Sri Lankan Tamil accountant, politician and Member of Parliament. Read more
• 24 Jul 1933: Doug Sanders, American golfer (died 2020) George Douglas Sanders was an American professional golfer who won 20 events on the PGA Tour and had four runner-up finishes at major championships. Read more
• 24 Jul 1932: Gustav Andreas Tammann, German astronomer and academic (died 2019) Gustav Andreas Tammann was a Swiss astronomer and academic. He served as director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Basel; as a member of the European Space Agency Space Telescope Advisory Team, and as Member of Council of the European Southern Observatory. His research interests included supernovae and the extragalactic distance scale. Tammann was a former President of the International Astronomical Union Commission on Galaxies. Read more
• 24 Jul 1931: Ermanno Olmi, Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (died 2018) Ermanno Olmi was an Italian film director and screenwriter best known for directing Il Posto (1961) and The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1977), which won the Palme d'Or. Throughout his career Olmi blended Italian neorealism with Christian humanism, with many of his films following humble characters through the spiritual trials of harsh conditions. Read more
• 24 Jul 1931: Éric Tabarly, French commander (died 1998) Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly was a French naval officer and yachtsman, a naval architect and boat designer too. He developed a passion for offshore racing very early on and won several ocean races such as the Ostar in 1964 and 1976, ending English domination in this specialty. Several of his wins broke long standing records. He owed his successes to his exceptional mastery of sailing and of each one of his boats, to both physical and mental stamina and, in some cases, to technological improvements built into his boats. Through his victories, Tabarly inspired an entire generation of ocean racers and contributed to the development of nautical activities in France. Read more
• 24 Jul 1930: Alfred Balk, American journalist and author (died 2010) Alfred Balk was an American reporter, nonfiction author and magazine editor who wrote groundbreaking articles about housing segregation, the Nation of Islam, the environment and Illinois politics. His refusal to identify a confidential source led to a landmark court case. During a career-long emphasis on media improvement, he served on the Twentieth Century Fund's task force that established a National News Council, consulted for several foundations, served as secretary of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller's Committee on the Employment of Minority Groups in the News Media, and produced a film, That the People Shall Know: The Challenge of Journalism, narrated by Walter Cronkite. He wrote and co-authored books on a variety of topics, ranging from the tax exempt status of religious organizations to globalization to the history of radio. Read more
• 24 Jul 1928: Keshubhai Patel, Indian politician, tenth Chief Minister of Gujarat (died 2020) Keshubhai Patel was an Indian politician who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1995 and again from 1998 to 2001. He was a six-time member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly. He was a member of RSS since 1940s, of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1960s, Janata Party in 1970s, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 1980. He left the BJP in 2012 and formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party. He was elected from Visavadar in the 2012 state assembly election but resigned in 2014 due to ill health and merged his party with BJP. Read more
• 24 Jul 1927: Alex Katz, American painter and sculptor Alex Katz is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Since 1951, Katz's work has been the subject of more than 200 solo exhibitions and nearly 500 group exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. He is well known for his large paintings, whose bold simplicity and heightened colors are considered as precursors to Pop Art. Read more
• 24 Jul 1927: Zara Mints, Russian-Estonian philologist and academic (died 1990) Zara Grigoryevna Mints was a Slavic literary scientist active in the University of Tartu. She was the wife of Juri Lotman. Read more
• 24 Jul 1926: Grace Glueck, American arts journalist (died 2022) Grace Glueck was an American arts journalist. She worked for The New York Times from 1951 until the early 2010s. Read more
• 24 Jul 1924: Wilfred Josephs, English composer (died 1997) Wilfred Josephs was an English composer. Read more
• 24 Jul 1924: Aris Poulianos, Greek anthropologist and archaeologist (died 2021) Aris Poulianos was a Greek anthropologist and archaeologist. Read more
• 24 Jul 1922: Madeleine Ferron, Canadian radio host and author (died 2010) Madeleine Ferron was a Canadian writer. Read more
• 24 Jul 1921: Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian tenor and actor (died 2008) Giuseppe Di Stefano was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the mid-1940s until the early 1990s. Called "Pippo" by both fans and friends, he was known as the "Golden Voice" or "The Most Beautiful Voice", as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli.
  Luciano Pavarotti said he modeled himself after Di Stefano. In an interview Pavarotti said "Di Stefano is my idol. There is a solar voice…It was the most incredible, open voice you could hear. The musicality of Di Stefano is as natural and beautiful as the voice is phenomenal". Di Stefano was also the tenor who most inspired José Carreras. He died on 3 March 2008 as a result of injuries from an attack by unknown assailants. Read more
• 24 Jul 1921: Billy Taylor, American pianist and composer (died 2010) Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Read more
• 24 Jul 1920: Bella Abzug, American lawyer and politician (died 1998) Bella Abzug, nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus. She was a leading figure in what came to be known as ecofeminism. Read more
• 24 Jul 1920: Constance Dowling, American model and actress (died 1969) Constance Dowling was an American model turned actress of the 1940s and 1950s. Read more
• 24 Jul 1919: Robert Marsden Hope, Australian lawyer and judge (died 1999) Robert Marsden Hope, was a Justice of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and Royal Commissioner on three occasions, most notably the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security. As a judge Hope was known for his legal positivism and as a royal commissioner he "instilled a sense of impartiality". Read more
• 24 Jul 1919: Kenneth S. Kleinknecht, NASA manager (died 2007) Kenneth Samuel Kleinknecht worked for the United States National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics as an engineer and continued at NASA to become a manager of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo CSM, Skylab, Shuttle, and Spacelab. After retiring from NASA, he worked for Lockheed Martin for 9 years. Read more
• 24 Jul 1918: Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist and educator (died 2012) Ruggiero Ricci was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini. Read more
• 24 Jul 1917: Robert Farnon, Canadian trumpet player, composer, and conductor (died 2005) Robert Joseph Farnon was a Canadian composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a composer of original works, he was commissioned by film and television producers for theme and incidental music. In later life he composed a number of more serious orchestral works, including three symphonies, and was recognised with four Ivor Novello awards and the Order of Canada. Read more
• 24 Jul 1917: Jack Moroney, Australian cricketer (died 1999) John Moroney was an Australian cricketer who played in seven Test matches from 1949 to 1951. Read more
• 24 Jul 1916: John D. MacDonald, American colonel and author (died 1986) John Dann MacDonald was an American writer of novels and short stories. A prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many set in his adopted home of Florida, he was one of the most successful American novelists of his time. MacDonald sold an estimated 70 million books. Read more
• 24 Jul 1915: Enrique Fernando, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 13th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (died 2004) Enrique Fausto Medina Fernando Sr. was the 13th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. A noted constitutionalist and law professor, he served in the Supreme Court for 18 years, including 6 years as Chief Justice. Read more
• 24 Jul 1914: Frances Oldham Kelsey, Canadian pharmacologist and physician (died 2015) Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey was a Canadian-American pharmacologist and physician who had a 45-year career with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As a reviewer, she refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the lack of evidence regarding the drug's safety. Her concerns proved to be justified when it was shown that thalidomide caused serious birth defects. Kelsey's career intersected with the passage of laws strengthening FDA oversight of pharmaceuticals. Kelsey was the first woman to receive a PhD in pharmacology and the second woman to receive the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service, awarded to her by John F. Kennedy in 1962. Read more
• 24 Jul 1914: Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (died 2007) Yehuda Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish, was an American-Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario who lived in Toronto, Ontario. He is known for his flagship business, Honest Ed's, a landmark discount store in downtown Toronto, and as a patron of the arts, instrumental in promoting live theatre in Toronto. Read more
• 24 Jul 1914: Alan Waddell, Australian walker (died 2008) Alan Mossman Waddell was an Australian walker who received national and international media attention for walking every street in over 280 suburbs in Sydney. Read more
• 24 Jul 1913: Britton Chance, American biologist and sailor (died 2010) Britton Chance was an American biochemist, biophysicist, scholar, and inventor whose work helped develop spectroscopy as a way to diagnose medical problems. He was "a world leader in transforming theoretical science into useful biomedical and clinical applications" and is considered "the founder of the biomedical photonics." He received the National Medal of Science in 1974. Read more
• 24 Jul 1912: Essie Summers, New Zealand author (died 1998) Essie Summers was a New Zealand writer whose romance novels sold more than 19 million copies in 105 countries. She was known as New Zealand's "Queen of Romance." Read more
• 24 Jul 1910: Harry Horner, American director and production designer (died 1994) Harry Horner was a Czech-born American art director who made a successful career in Hollywood as an Oscar-winning art director and as a feature film and television director. He was the father of Academy Award-winning film composer James Horner. Read more
• 24 Jul 1909: John William Finn, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2010) John William Finn was a sailor in the United States Navy who, as a chief petty officer and aviation ordnanceman, received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. Though ordnancemen are only responsible for performing maintenance on guns and handling of munitions, Finn – when the Japanese bombed Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay during the 7 December attack – earned the medal by firing a machine gun from an exposed position throughout the attack, despite being repeatedly wounded. He continued to serve in the Navy and in 1942 was commissioned an ensign. In 1947 he was reverted to chief petty officer, eventually rising to lieutenant before his 1956 retirement. In his later years he made many appearances at events celebrating veterans. At the time of his death, Finn was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, the last living recipient from the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the last living United States Navy recipient of World War II. Read more
• 24 Jul 1900: Zelda Fitzgerald, American author, visual artist and ballet dancer (died 1948) Zelda Fitzgerald was an American novelist, painter, writer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, to a wealthy Southern family, she became locally famous for her beauty and high spirits. In 1920, she married writer F. Scott Fitzgerald after the popular success of his debut novel, This Side of Paradise. The novel catapulted the young couple into the public eye, and she became known in the national press as the first American flapper. Because of their wild antics and incessant partying, she and her husband became regarded in the newspapers as the enfants terribles of the Jazz Age. Alleged infidelity and bitter recriminations soon undermined their marriage. After Zelda traveled abroad to Europe, her mental health deteriorated, and she had suicidal and homicidal tendencies, which required psychiatric care. Her doctors diagnosed her with schizophrenia, although later posthumous diagnoses posit bipolar disorder. Read more
• 24 Jul 1899: Chief Dan George, Canadian actor (died 1981) Chief Dan George was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band whose Indian reserve is located on Burrard Inlet in the southeast area of the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He also was an actor, musician, poet and author. The Chief's best-known written work is My Heart Soars. As an actor, he is best remembered for portraying Old Lodge Skins opposite Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and for his role in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), as Lone Watie, opposite Clint Eastwood. Read more
• 24 Jul 1897: Amelia Earhart, American pilot and author (died 1937) Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviator and aviation pioneer who became one of the most celebrated figures of early flight. Read more
• 24 Jul 1895: Robert Graves, English poet, novelist, critic (died 1985) Robert Ranke Graves, whose second name is sometimes given as von Ranke, was an English poet, novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celticists and students of Irish mythology. Read more
• 24 Jul 1889: Agnes Meyer Driscoll, American cryptanalyst (died 1971) Agnes Meyer Driscoll, known as "Miss Aggie" or "Madame X'", was an American
  cryptanalyst during both World War I and World War II and was known as "the first lady of naval cryptology." Read more
• 24 Jul 1888: Arthur Richardson, Australian cricketer and coach (died 1973) Arthur John Richardson was an Australian Test cricketer who played nine Tests matches for Australia. Read more
• 24 Jul 1886: Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Japanese author (died 1965) Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portrayals of the dynamics of family life within the context of the rapid changes in 20th-century Japanese society. Frequently, his stories are narrated in the context of a search for cultural identity in which the West and Japanese tradition are juxtaposed. Read more
• 24 Jul 1884: Maria Caserini, Italian actress (died 1969) Maria Caserini was an Italian stage and film actress, as well as a pioneer of filmmaking during the early 20th century. She often starred in adaptations of stage and film productions for the works of William Shakespeare. Read more
• 24 Jul 1880: Ernest Bloch, Swiss-American composer and educator (died 1959) Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the most significant Swiss composers in history. Several of his most notable compositions reflect his Jewish heritage. As well as producing musical scores, Bloch had an academic career that culminated in his recognition as Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952. Read more
• 24 Jul 1878: Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, Irish author, poet, and playwright (died 1957) Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany, commonly known as Lord Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. He published more than 90 books during his lifetime, and his output consisted of hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, and essays; further works were published posthumously. Having gained a name in the 1910s as a writer in the English-speaking world, he is best known today for the 1924 fantasy novel The King of Elfland's Daughter, and his first book, The Gods of Pegāna, which depicts a fictional pantheon. Many critics feel his early work laid the grounds for the fantasy genre. Read more
• 24 Jul 1877: Calogero Vizzini, Italian mob boss (died 1954) Calogero Vizzini, also commonly known as "Don Calò", was a Sicilian Mafia boss of Villalba in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily. He was considered to be one of the most influential and legendary Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954. In the media, Don Calò was often depicted as the "boss of bosses" – although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra. Read more
• 24 Jul 1874: Oswald Chambers, Scottish minister and author (died 1917) Oswald Chambers was an early-20th-century Scottish Baptist evangelist and teacher who was aligned with the Holiness Movement. He is best known for the daily devotional My Utmost for His Highest. Read more
• 24 Jul 1867: Fred Tate, English cricketer and coach (died 1943) Frederick William Tate was an English cricketer who played in one Test in 1902. This was the famous match at Old Trafford which England lost by 3 runs, and with it the series. Tate had the misfortune to drop a crucial swerving lofted pull off the left-handed Australian captain, Joe Darling, the bowler being the leg-spinner Len Braund from the now Brian Statham End: just forward of square leg, in front of the refreshment stall, slightly in from the boundary, rail/tram-line side of the ground. England lost their ninth wicket in their second innings with eight runs wanted for victory. Tate joined Wilfred Rhodes and edged his first ball for four, but the fourth ball he received from Saunders bowled him. The patch of turf on which Tate dropped the catch is now in the pavilion lawn at Whalley Range Cricket Club, after Old Trafford lifted its playing area in August 2008, as is that where Clem Hill took his famous running catch in front of the pavilion in the same game. The England captain, Archie MacLaren, was born in Whalley Range and grew up there. Read more
• 24 Jul 1864: Frank Wedekind, German actor and playwright (died 1918) Benjamin Franklin Wedekind was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes, is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the development of epic theatre. Read more
• 24 Jul 1863: Tommy McCarthy, American baseball player (died 1922) Thomas Francis Michael McCarthy was an American Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Read more
• 24 Jul 1860: Princess Charlotte of Prussia (died 1919) Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen was Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen from 1914 to 1918 as the wife of Bernhard III, the duchy's last ruler. Born at the Neues Palais in Potsdam, she was the second child and eldest daughter of Prince Frederick of Prussia, a member of the House of Hohenzollern who became Crown Prince of Prussia in 1861 and German Emperor in 1888. Through her mother Victoria, Princess Royal, Charlotte was the eldest granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Read more
• 24 Jul 1860: Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter and illustrator (died 1939) Alfons Maria Mucha, known in English as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, he was widely known for his distinctly stylised and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, as well as designs, which became among the best-known images of the period. Read more
• 24 Jul 1857: Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1943) Henrik Pontoppidan was a Danish realist writer who shared with Karl Gjellerup the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1917 for "his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark." Pontoppidan's novels and short stories — informed with a desire for social progress but despairing, later in his life, of its realization — present an unusually comprehensive picture of his country and his epoch. As a writer he was an interesting figure, distancing himself both from the conservative environment in which he was brought up and from his socialist contemporaries and friends. He was the youngest and in many ways the most original and influential member of the Modern Break-Through. Read more
• 24 Jul 1857: Juan Vicente Gómez, Venezuelan general and politician, 27th President of Venezuela (died 1935) Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón was a Venezuelan military general, politician and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions during this time, ruling as an unelected military strongman behind puppet governments in between. Read more
• 24 Jul 1856: Émile Picard, French mathematician and academic (died 1941) Charles Émile Picard was a French mathematician. He was elected the fifteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française in 1924. Read more
• 24 Jul 1851: Friedrich Schottky, Polish-German mathematician and theorist (died 1935) Friedrich Hermann Schottky was a German mathematician who worked on elliptic, abelian, and theta functions and introduced Schottky groups and Schottky's theorem. Read more
• 24 Jul 1826: Jan Gotlib Bloch, Polish theorist and activist (died 1902) Jan Gotlib "Bogumił" Bloch was a Polish banker and railway financier who devoted his private life to the study of modern industrial warfare. Born Jewish and a convert to Calvinism, he went to considerable lengths to oppose the prevalent antisemitic policies of the Tsarist government in Congress Poland, and was sympathetic to the fledgling Zionist movement. Read more
• 24 Jul 1821: William Poole, American boxer and gangster (died 1855) William Poole, also known as Bill the Butcher, was the leader of the Washington Street Gang, which later became known as the Bowery Boys gang. He was a local leader of the Know Nothing political movement in mid-19th-century New York City. Read more
• 24 Jul 1803: Adolphe Adam, French composer and critic (died 1856) Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle (1841) and Le corsaire (1856), his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau (1836) and Si j'étais roi (1852) and his Christmas carol "Minuit, chrétiens!". Read more
• 24 Jul 1803: Alexander J. Davis, American architect (died 1892) Alexander Jackson Davis was an American architect known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Read more
• 24 Jul 1802: Alexandre Dumas, French novelist and playwright (died 1870) Alexandre Dumas, also known as Alexandre Dumas père, was a French novelist and playwright. Read more

Notable Deaths on 24 July

• 24 Jul 2025: Hulk Hogan, American professional wrestler and actor (born 1953) Terry Gene Bollea, better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, was an American professional wrestler and media personality. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most recognized wrestlers of all time, Hogan won multiple championships worldwide, most notably being a six-time WWF/WWE Champion. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Hogan also competed in promotions such as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Read more
• 24 Jul 2025: Cleo Laine, English singer and actress (born 1927) Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth was a British singer and actress known for her scat singing. She was the wife of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec and singer Jacqui Dankworth. Laine had popular success with singles such as "You'll Answer To Me" and appeared in a range of musical theatre productions. She received a number of awards and honours including appointment as an OBE in 1979, and a Grammy in 1986; she became a dame in 1997. Read more
• 24 Jul 2024: Shafin Ahmed, Bangladeshi bassist and singer-songwriter (born 1961) Shafin Ahmed was a Bangladeshi rock bassist, singer-songwriter, record producer and politician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and bassist for the Bangladeshi rock band Miles, where he and his elder brother Hamin Ahmed joined in 1979 and have led the band. Read more
• 24 Jul 2024: Hamzah Haz, Indonesian journalist and politician, 9th Vice President of Indonesia (born 1940) Hamzah Haz was an Indonesian politician who served as the ninth vice president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 under President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Prior to serving as vice president, Hamzah served as a cabinet minister and a member of the People's Representative Council (DPR). He also chaired the United Development Party (PPP) from 1998 to 2007, and was the party's presidential candidate in the 2004 Indonesian presidential election. Read more
• 24 Jul 2024: Dmytro Kiva, Ukrainian engineer and designer (born 1942) Dmytro Semenovich Kiva was a Ukrainian engineer and academic who was a recipient of the Hero of Ukraine, Order of Merit and Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Additionally, he was once the President–General designer at Antonov. Read more
• 24 Jul 2023: George Alagiah, BBC News journalist and broadcaster (born 1955) George Maxwell Alagiah was a British newsreader, journalist and television presenter for the BBC. From 2007 until 2022, he was the presenter of the BBC News at Six and the main presenter of GMT on BBC World News from its launch in 2010 until 2014. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours. Read more
• 24 Jul 2023: Trevor Francis, Britain's first "£1 million football player" (born 1954) Trevor John Francis was an English footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player following his transfer from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. He scored the winning goal for Forest in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmö. He won the European Cup again with the club the following year. At international level, he played for England 52 times between 1976 and 1986, scoring 12 goals, and played at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Read more
• 24 Jul 2022: David Warner, English actor (born 1941) David Hattersley Warner was an English actor who portrayed a variety of villainous characters, as well as more sympathetic roles, in a career spanning six decades across stage and screen. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Read more
• 24 Jul 2021: Dale Snodgrass, United States Naval Aviator and air show performer (born 1949) Dale Snodgrass was a United States Navy aviator and air show performer who according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review was considered one of the greatest fighter pilots of all time. Read more
• 24 Jul 2021: Rodney Alcala, American serial killer (born 1943) Rodney James Alcala, also known as John Berger and John Burger, was an American serial killer and convicted sex offender who was sentenced to death in California for five murders committed between 1977 and 1979. He pleaded guilty and received two sentences, both twenty-five years to life, for two further murders committed in New York State. He was also indicted for one murder in Wyoming, although the charges filed there were dropped. While Alcala has been conclusively linked to nine murders, the true number of victims remains unknown and could be as high as 130. Read more
• 24 Jul 2017: Harshida Raval, Indian Gujarati playback singer Harshida Raval was a singer from Gujarat, India. She had worked as a playback singer in Gujarati cinema as well as Sugam Sangeet and devotional music. She died on 24 July 2017 at Ahmedabad. Read more
• 24 Jul 2016: Marni Nixon, American actress and singer (born 1930) Margaret Nixon McEathron, known professionally as Marni Nixon, was an American soprano and ghost singer for featured actresses in musical films. She was the singing voice of leading actresses on the soundtracks of several musicals, including Deborah Kerr in The King and I and An Affair to Remember, Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, although her roles were concealed from audiences when the films were released. Several of the songs she dubbed appeared on AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs list. Read more
• 24 Jul 2015: Peg Lynch, American actress and screenwriter (born 1916) Margaret Frances "Peg" Lynch was an American writer, actress, and sitcom creator. The BBC dubbed her, “the woman who invented sitcom”. Read more
• 24 Jul 2015: Ingrid Sischy, South African-American journalist and critic (born 1952) Ingrid Barbara Sischy was a South African-born American writer and editor who specialized in covering art, photography, and fashion. She rose to prominence as the editor of Artforum from 1979 to 1988, and was editor-in-chief of Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine from 1989 to 2008. Until her death in 2015, she and her partner Sandra Brant edited the Italian, Spanish and German editions of Vanity Fair. Read more
• 24 Jul 2014: Ik-Hwan Bae, Korean-American violinist and educator (born 1956) Ik-Hwan Bae was a South Korean-born American concert violinist. A native of Seoul, he made his professional debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 12. He attended New York City's prestigious High School of Performing Arts, graduating in 1975. While there, Bae also studied with Ivan Galamian at Juilliard's Pre-School. He went on to graduate from Juilliard four years later. His performances in recitals and concerto concerts took him to most of the major cities in Europe, Asia and the United States. Read more
• 24 Jul 2014: Dale Schlueter, American basketball player (born 1945) Dale Wayne Schlueter was an American professional basketball player born in Tacoma, Washington. Read more
• 24 Jul 2014: Hans-Hermann Sprado, German journalist and author (born 1956) Hans-Hermann "Hannes" Sprado was a German journalist and author. Until his death he was editor-in-chief and publisher of the popular science magazine P.M. Magazin. Read more
• 24 Jul 2013: Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (born 1921) Sol Gareth "Garry" Davis was an international peace activist best known for renouncing his American citizenship and interrupting the United Nations in 1948 to advocate for world government as a way to end nationalistic wars. Read more
• 24 Jul 2013: Fred Dretske, American philosopher and academic (born 1932) Frederick Irwin "Fred" Dretske was an American philosopher noted for his contributions to epistemology and the philosophy of mind. Read more
• 24 Jul 2013: Virginia E. Johnson, American psychologist and sexologist (born 1925) Virginia E. Johnson was an American sexologist and a member of the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team. Along with her collaborator, William H. Masters, she pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunctions and disorders from 1957 until the 1990s. Read more
• 24 Jul 2013: Pius Langa, South African lawyer and jurist, 19th Chief Justice of South Africa (born 1939) Pius Nkonzo Langa SCOB was Chief Justice of South Africa from June 2005 to October 2009. Formerly a human rights lawyer, he was appointed as a puisne judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa upon its inception in 1995. He was the Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa from November 2001 until May 2005, when President Thabo Mbeki elevated him to the Chief Justiceship. He was South Africa's first black African Chief Justice. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: Chad Everett, American actor and director (born 1937) Raymon Lee Cramton, known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. He played Dr. Joe Gannon in the television drama Medical Center, which aired from 1969 to 1976. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (born 1938) Sherman Alexander Hemsley was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family and The Jeffersons (1975–1985), Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen (1986–1991), and B. P. Richfield on the ABC series Dinosaurs. For his work on The Jeffersons, Hemsley was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. Hemsley also won an NAACP Image Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series or Special in 1982. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: Larry Hoppen, American singer and guitarist (born 1951) Orleans is an American pop rock band formed in 1972 in Woodstock, New York, by John Hall, Larry Hoppen, and Wells Kelly. Larry's younger brother, bassist Lance Hoppen, and drummer Jerry Marotta joined the band in 1972 and 1976, respectively. The band is best known for its hits "Dance with Me" ; "Still the One", from the album Waking and Dreaming; and "Love Takes Time". The group's name evolved from the music it was playing when it formed; their music is inspired in part by Louisiana artists, including Allen Toussaint and the Neville Brothers. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: Robert Ledley, American physiologist and physicist, invented the CT scanner (born 1926) Robert Steven Ledley, professor of physiology and biophysics and professor of radiology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, pioneered the use of electronic digital computers in biology and medicine. In 1959, he wrote two influential articles in Science: "Reasoning Foundations of Medical Diagnosis" and "Digital Electronic Computers in Biomedical Science". Both articles encouraged biomedical researchers and physicians to adopt computer technology. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: Themo Lobos, Chilean author and illustrator (born 1928) Themístocles Nazario Lobos Aguirre, better known as Themo Lobos, was a Chilean cartoonist. He created the characters Máximo Chambónez, Ferrilo, Nick Obre, and Alaraco, with his most famous work being Mampato, a character first developed, briefly, by Eduardo Armstrong and Óscar Vega; Lobos then wrote and illustrated his adventures from 1968 to 1978. He was also the publisher of the comic-book Cucalón, which collected all his previous characters and stories. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, President of Ghana (born 1944) John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as the 11th president of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 Ghanaian presidential election. He was previously the third vice president from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and he contested unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office. Read more
• 24 Jul 2012: Gregorio Peces-Barba, Spanish jurist and politician (born 1938) Gregorio Peces-Barba Martínez was a Spanish politician and jurist. He was one of the seven jurists who wrote the Spanish Constitution of 1978, acting as a representative of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Read more
• 24 Jul 2011: Frank Dietrich, German politician (born 1966) Frank Dietrich was a German politician and member of the CDU. He was a member of the final East German Volkskammer before reunification and from 1990 to 1994 was a member of the Landtag of Brandenburg. Read more
• 24 Jul 2011: Dan Peek, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1950) Daniel Milton Peek was an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder of the band America, and later a "pioneer" in contemporary Christian music. Read more
• 24 Jul 2011: Harald Johnsen, Norwegian bassist and composer (born 1970) Harald Gill Johnsen was a Norwegian jazz double bassist, known for his contributions in bands like Køhn/Johansen Sextet and Tord Gustavsen Trio, and a series of recordings with such as Sonny Simmons, Sigurd Køhn, Nils-Olav Johansen, Jan Erik Kongshaug, Frode Barth, Per Oddvar Johansen and Ditlef Eckhoff. Read more
• 24 Jul 2011: David Servan-Schreiber, French physician, neuroscientist, and author (born 1961) David Servan-Schreiber was a French physician, neuroscientist and author. He was a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He was also a lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. Read more
• 24 Jul 2011: Skip Thomas, American football player (born 1950) Alonzo "Skip" Thomas III, nicknamed "Dr. Death", was an American professional football player. A cornerback, Thomas played college football at Arizona Western Junior College before transferring to the University of Southern California. After college, he spent six seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) before retiring from football. Read more
• 24 Jul 2010: Alex Higgins, Northern Irish snooker player (born 1949) Alexander Gordon Higgins was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion, remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, and known as the "People's Champion" for his popularity and charisma, he is often credited as being a key figure in snooker's success as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s. Read more
• 24 Jul 2009: Jack Le Goff, French equestrian (born 1931) Jack Louis Joseph Marie Le Goff was a French equestrian, best known as the coach of the American three-day eventing team from 1970 to 1984. He coached the team to multiple international championships, winning 18 international medals, including several in the Olympics. Le Goff is known for having a large impact on the American eventing world, and the era in which he coached has been called the golden era for American equestrianism. Read more
• 24 Jul 2008: Norman Dello Joio, American pianist and composer (born 1913) Norman Dello Joio was an American composer active for over half a century. Best known for his choral music, he won a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1957. Read more
• 24 Jul 2007: Albert Ellis, American psychologist and author (born 1913) Albert Ellis was an American psychologist and psychotherapist who founded rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). He held MA and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University, and was certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He also founded, and was the President of, the New York City-based Albert Ellis Institute. He is generally considered to be one of the originators of the cognitive revolutionary paradigm shift in psychotherapy and an early proponent and developer of cognitive-behavioral therapies. Read more
• 24 Jul 2007: Nicola Zaccaria, Greek opera singer (born 1923) Nicola Zaccaria, born Nicholas Angelos Zachariou was a Greek bass. Read more
• 24 Jul 2005: Richard Doll, English physiologist and epidemiologist (born 1912) Sir William Richard Shaboe Doll was a British physician who became an epidemiologist in the mid-20th century and made important contributions to that discipline. He was a pioneer in research linking smoking to health problems. With Ernst Wynder, Bradford Hill and Evarts Graham, he was credited with being the first to prove that smoking increased the risk of lung cancer and heart disease. Read more
• 24 Jul 2001: Georges Dor, Canadian author, playwright, and composer (born 1931) Georges Dor was a Canadian author, composer, playwright, singer, poet, translator, and theatrical producer and director. Read more
• 24 Jul 2000: Ahmad Shamloo, Iranian poet and journalist (born 1925) Ahmad Shamlou, also known under his pen name A. Bamdad was an Iranian poet, writer, and journalist. Shamlou was arguably the most influential poet of modern Iran. His initial poetry was influenced by and in the tradition of Nima Yooshij. In fact, Abdolali Dastgheib, Iranian literary critic, argues that Shamlou is one of the pioneers of modern Persian poetry and has had the greatest influence, after Nima, on Iranian poets of his era. Shamlou's poetry is complex, yet his imagery, which contributes significantly to the intensity of his poems, is accessible. As the base, he uses the traditional imagery familiar to his Iranian audience through the works of Persian masters like Hafez and Omar Khayyam. For infrastructure and impact, he uses a kind of everyday imagery in which personified oxymoronic elements are spiked with an unreal combination of the abstract and the concrete thus far unprecedented in Persian poetry, which distressed some of the admirers of more traditional poetry. Read more
• 24 Jul 1997: William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and jurist (born 1906) William Joseph Brennan Jr. was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1956 to 1990. He was the eighth-longest serving justice in Supreme Court history, and was known for being a leader of the Court's liberal wing. Read more
• 24 Jul 1997: Saw Maung, Burmese general and politician, seventh Prime Minister of Burma (born 1928) Saw Maung was a Burmese military leader and statesman who served as Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and Prime Minister of Burma from 1988 until 1992, when he was deposed by rival generals who disapproved Saw Maung decisions that were in favor of Aung San Suu Kyi. Besides this, he was the 8th Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw. He was the first Burmese general to get the rank of Senior General, which was created for him in 1990. Read more
• 24 Jul 1996: Alphonso Theodore Roberts, Vincentian cricketer and activist (born 1937) Alphonso (Alfie) Theodore Roberts was a Vincentian political activist and cricketer. Read more
• 24 Jul 1995: George Rodger, English photographer and journalist (born 1908) George William Adam Rodger was a British photojournalist. He was noted for his work in Africa, and for photographing mass deaths at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the end of the World War II. Read more
• 24 Jul 1994: Helen Cordero, Cochiti Pueblo (Native American) Pueblo potter (born 1915) Helen Cordero was a Cochiti Pueblo potter from Cochiti, New Mexico. She was renowned for her storyteller pottery figurines, a motif she invented, based upon the traditional "singing mother" motif. Read more
• 24 Jul 1992: Arletty, French actress and singer (born 1898) Léonie Marie Julie Bathiat, known professionally as Arletty, was a French actress, singer, and fashion model. As an actress she is particularly known for classics directed by Marcel Carné, including Hotel du Nord (1938), Le jour se lève (1939) and Children of Paradise (1945). She was found guilty of treason for an affair with a German officer during World War II. Read more
• 24 Jul 1992: Sam Berger, Canadian lawyer and businessman (born 1900) Samuel Berger, was a Canadian owner of the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Rough Riders and Montreal Alouettes and president of the CFL. Read more
• 24 Jul 1991: Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish-American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902) Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish-born Jewish American novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator in the United States. Some of his works were adapted for the theater. He wrote and published first in Yiddish and later translated his own works into English with the help of editors and collaborators. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. A leading figure in the Yiddish literary movement, he was awarded two U.S. National Book Awards, one in Children's Literature for his memoir A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw (1970) and one in Fiction for his collection A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories (1974). Read more
• 24 Jul 1986: Fritz Albert Lipmann, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899) Fritz Albert Lipmann was a German-American biochemist and a co-discoverer in 1945 of coenzyme A. For this, together with other research on coenzyme A, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1953. Read more
• 24 Jul 1986: Qudrat Ullah Shahab, Pakistani civil servant and author (born 1917) Qudrat Ullah Shahab was an eminent Urdu writer, civil servant and diplomat from Pakistan. Read more
• 24 Jul 1985: Ezechiele Ramin, Italian missionary and martyr (born 1953) Ezechiele "Lele" Ramin, MCCJ was an Italian Comboni missionary and artist. He was described as a martyr of charity by Pope John Paul II after his murder in Brazil while defending the rights of the farmers and the Suruí natives of the Rondônia area against local landowners. His cause for beatification was opened in 2016, granting him the title of a Servant of God. Read more
• 24 Jul 1980: Peter Sellers, English actor and comedian (born 1925) Peter Sellers was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence with his performances on the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show. Sellers was featured on a number of hit comic songs and became internationally acclaimed for his film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series. Read more
• 24 Jul 1974: James Chadwick, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1891) Sir James Chadwick was a British experimental physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935 for his discovery of the neutron. In 1941, he wrote the final draft of the MAUD Report, which inspired the U.S. government to begin serious atomic bomb research efforts. He was the head of the British team that worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He was knighted in Britain in 1945 for his achievements in nuclear physics. Read more
• 24 Jul 1970: Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman, philanthropist, and civil servant (born 1897) Chevalier Peter Bertram Cypriano Castellino de Noronha was a businessman and civil servant of Kanpur, India. He was knighted by Pope Paul VI in 1965 for his work for the Christian community in India. Read more
• 24 Jul 1969: Witold Gombrowicz, Polish author and playwright (born 1904) Witold Marian Gombrowicz was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937, he published his first novel, Ferdydurke, which presented many of his usual themes: problems of immaturity and youth, creation of identity in interactions with others, and an ironic, critical examination of class roles in Polish society and culture. Read more
• 24 Jul 1966: Tony Lema, American golfer (born 1934) Anthony David Lema was an American professional golfer who rose to fame in the mid-1960s and won a major title, the 1964 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. He died two years later at age 32 in an aircraft accident near Chicago. Read more
• 24 Jul 1965: Constance Bennett, American actress and producer (born 1904) Constance Campbell Bennett was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. Bennett frequently played society women, focusing on melodramas in the early 1930s and then taking more comedic roles in the late 1930s and 1940s. She is best remembered for her leading roles in What Price Hollywood? (1932), Bed of Roses (1933), Topper (1937), Topper Takes a Trip (1938), and had a prominent supporting role in Greta Garbo's last film, Two-Faced Woman (1941). Read more
• 24 Jul 1962: Wilfrid Noyce, English mountaineer and author (born 1917) Cuthbert Wilfrid Francis Noyce was an English mountaineer and author. He was a member of the 1953 British Expedition that made the first ascent of Mount Everest. Read more
• 24 Jul 1957: Sacha Guitry, French actor and director (born 1885) Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and followed his father into the theatrical profession. He became known for his stage performances, particularly in boulevardier roles. He was also a prolific playwright, writing 115 plays throughout his career. He was married five times, always to rising actresses whose careers he furthered. Probably his best-known wife was Yvonne Printemps to whom he was married between 1919 and 1932. Read more
• 24 Jul 1927: Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese author (born 1892) Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name Chōkōdō Shujin (澄江堂主人), was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He took his own life at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital. Read more
• 24 Jul 1910: Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (born 1841) Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi was a Russian landscape painter of Urum origin. Read more
• 24 Jul 1908: Vicente Acosta, Salvadoran journalist and poet (born 1867) Vicente Acosta was a Salvadoran poet. Read more
• 24 Jul 1908: Sigismondo Savona, Maltese educator and politician (born 1835) Sigismondo Savona was a Maltese educator and politician who played a prominent role in the Language Question which defined the politics of the Crown Colony of Malta in the late 19th century. Read more
• 24 Jul 1891: Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (born 1827) Hermann Raster was an American editor, abolitionist, writer, and anti-temperance political boss who served as chief editor and part-owner of the Illinois Staats-Zeitung, a widely circulated newspaper in the German language in the United States, between 1867 and 1891. Together with publisher A.C. Hesing, Raster exerted considerable control over the German vote in the Midwest and forced the Republican Party to formally adopt an anti-prohibition platform in 1872, known as the Raster Resolution. He was appointed as Collector of Internal Revenue for the First District of Illinois by President Ulysses S. Grant but resigned from this post shortly thereafter. Raster returned to Europe in 1890 when his health began to fail him and died filling a minor diplomatic role in Berlin. Today he is best remembered for his extensive correspondence with Western intellectual and political figures of the time, such as Joseph Pulitzer, Elihu Washburne, and Francis Wayland Parker, much of which is preserved at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Read more
• 24 Jul 1862: Martin Van Buren, American lawyer and politician, eighth President of the United States (born 1782) Martin Van Buren was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. Van Buren co-founded the Democratic Party with Andrew Jackson and became Jackson's vice president from 1833 to 1837. Read more
• 24 Jul 1851: Matooskie, First Nations woman Matooskie, also known as Anne "Nancy" McKenzie, was a First Nations woman of the Chipewyan (Dënesųłı̨né) nation in Canada. The daughter of Scottish-Canadian fur trader Roderick Mackenzie, Matooskie was abandoned by her father as a young girl, and was left in the care of North West Company trader John Stuart. She was later abandoned by her first husband, John George McTavish. Supported by the Hudson's Bay Company, Matooskie and her family moved to various Hudson's Bay outposts across Western Canada, before settling at Fort Vancouver in the Columbia District following the death of her second husband. In the later years before her death in 1851, she accompanied her daughter and son-in-law. Read more

Why is 24 July Important in History?

24 July is important because many political, cultural, scientific, educational and social events took place on this date. These facts are useful for students, exam aspirants and readers interested in daily history and general knowledge.

History of Today 24 July for Competitive Exams

Questions based on today in history, famous personalities, historical events and important dates are often asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, Defence and State PSC examinations.

👉 View complete History of Today archive

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 24 July in history?

On 24 July, many important historical events, famous births and notable deaths occurred across the world.

Why is History of Today important for exams?

History of Today helps students remember important dates, events and personalities for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway and PSC.

Where can I read daily history facts?

You can read daily history facts on this History of Today section, updated regularly with important events, births and deaths.