History of Today 26 July: Important Events, Births and Deaths

Welcome to History of Today 26 July. On this page, you can read important historical events, famous births, notable deaths and general knowledge facts related to 26 July. This information is useful for UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, State PSC and other competitive exams.

Last updated on 26 July 2026, 01:00 AM

Important Events on 26 July in History

26 Jul 2016: The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Nineteen people are killed. Read more
26 Jul 2016: Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for president of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Read more
26 Jul 2016: Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth. Read more
26 Jul 2011: A Royal Moroccan Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashes near Guelmim Airport in Guelmim, Morocco. All 80 people on board are killed. Read more
26 Jul 2009: The militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacks a police station in Bauchi, leading to reprisals by the Nigeria Police Force and four days of violence across multiple cities. Read more
26 Jul 2008: Fifty-six people are killed and over 200 people are injured, in the Ahmedabad bombings in India. Read more
26 Jul 2005: Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003. Read more
26 Jul 2005: Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing over 5,000 people. Read more
26 Jul 1999: Kargil conflict officially comes to an end. The Indian Army announces the complete eviction of Pakistani intruders. Read more
26 Jul 1993: Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashes into a ridge on Mt. Ungeo on its third attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea. Sixty-eight of the 116 people on board are killed. Read more
26 Jul 1990: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. Read more
26 Jul 1989: A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Read more
26 Jul 1977: The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government. Read more
26 Jul 1974: Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country's first civil government after seven years of military rule. Read more
26 Jul 1971: Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo "J-Mission", and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle. Read more
26 Jul 1968: Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war. Read more
26 Jul 1963: Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster. Read more
26 Jul 1963: An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead. Read more
26 Jul 1963: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan. Read more
26 Jul 1958: Explorer program: Explorer 4 is launched. Read more
26 Jul 1957: Carlos Castillo Armas, dictator of Guatemala, is assassinated. Read more
26 Jul 1956: Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation. Read more
26 Jul 1953: Cold War: Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution. The movement took the name of the date: 26th of July Movement Read more
26 Jul 1953: Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid. Read more
26 Jul 1953: Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment repel a number of Chinese assaults against a key position known as The Hook during the Battle of the Samichon River, just hours before the Armistice Agreement is signed, ending the Korean War. Read more
26 Jul 1952: King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad. Read more
26 Jul 1951: Walt Disney's 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom. Read more
26 Jul 1948: U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States. Read more
26 Jul 1947: Cold War: U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council. Read more
26 Jul 1946: Aloha Airlines begins service from Honolulu International Airport. Read more
26 Jul 1945: The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power. Read more
26 Jul 1945: World War II: The Potsdam Declaration is signed in Potsdam, Germany. Read more
26 Jul 1945: World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war. Read more
26 Jul 1945: World War II: The USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with components and enriched uranium for the Little Boy nuclear bomb. Read more
26 Jul 1944: World War II: The Red Army enters Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, capturing it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jews survive out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation. Read more
26 Jul 1941: World War II: Battle of Grand Harbour, British forces on Malta destroy an attack by the Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS. Fort St Elmo Bridge covering the harbour is demolished in the process. Read more
26 Jul 1941: World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands freeze all Japanese assets and cut off oil shipments. Read more
26 Jul 1937: Spanish Civil War: End of the Battle of Brunete with the Nationalist victory. Read more
26 Jul 1936: Spanish Civil War: Germany and Italy decide to intervene in the war in support for Francisco Franco and the Nationalist faction. Read more
26 Jul 1936: King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Read more
26 Jul 1918: Emmy Noether's paper, which became known as Noether's theorem was presented at Göttingen, Germany, from which conservation laws are deduced for symmetries of angular momentum, linear momentum, and energy. Read more
26 Jul 1908: United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation). Read more
26 Jul 1899: Ulises Heureaux, the 27th President of the Dominican Republic, is assassinated. Read more
26 Jul 1897: Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India. Read more
26 Jul 1892: Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain. Read more
26 Jul 1891: France annexes Tahiti. Read more
26 Jul 1890: In Buenos Aires, Argentina the Revolución del Parque takes place, forcing President Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation. Read more
26 Jul 1887: Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement. Read more
26 Jul 1882: Premiere of Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal at Bayreuth. Read more
26 Jul 1882: The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa. Read more
26 Jul 1863: American Civil War: Morgan's Raid ends; At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces. Read more
26 Jul 1861: American Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Read more
26 Jul 1848: The University of Wisconsin–Madison is established by Nelson Dewey, first Governor of Wisconsin. Read more
26 Jul 1847: Liberia declares its independence from the United States. France and the United Kingdom are the first to recognize the new nation. Read more
26 Jul 1822: José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar. Read more
26 Jul 1822: First day of the three-day Battle of Dervenakia, between the Ottoman Empire force led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha and the Greek Revolutionary force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis. Read more
26 Jul 1814: The Swedish–Norwegian War begins. Read more
26 Jul 1803: The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom. Read more

Famous Births on 26 July

26 Jul 2000: Thomasin McKenzie, New Zealand actress Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie is a New Zealand actress. After a minor role in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), she rose to critical prominence for playing a young girl living in isolation in Debra Granik's drama film Leave No Trace (2018), winning the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance. Read more
26 Jul 1998: Achraf El Yakhloufi, Belgian politician Achraf El Yakhloufi is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, he has represented Antwerp since December 2024. Read more
26 Jul 1997: Sebastian Aho, Finnish ice hockey player Sebastian Antero Aho is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a forward and alternate captain for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected by Carolina in the second round, 35th overall, of the 2015 NHL entry draft, Aho made his NHL debut during the 2016–17 NHL season after playing in Finland's Liiga for Oulun Kärpät and Ässät. Internationally, Aho has won medals with Finland at the World Junior Championships, World Championships and Winter Olympics, including bronze at the 2026 Winter Olympics. He won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2026. Read more
26 Jul 1996: Olivia Breen, British Paralympic athlete Olivia Breen is a Welsh Paralympian athlete, who competes for Wales and Great Britain mainly in T38 sprint and F38 long jump events. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was selected for the T38 100m and 200m sprint and was also part of the T35-38 women's relay team. She has also represented Wales at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games winning gold in the F38 Long Jump in 2018 and gold in the T37/38 100m in 2022. Read more
26 Jul 1994: Ella Leivo, Finnish tennis player Ella Leivo is a Finnish tennis player. Read more
26 Jul 1993: Raymond Faitala-Mariner, New Zealand rugby league player Raymond Faitala-Mariner is a professional rugby league footballer who last played as a second-row forward for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both Samoa and New Zealand at international level. Read more
26 Jul 1993: Taylor Momsen, American singer-songwriter, model, and actress Taylor Michel Momsen is an American singer, songwriter, musician, model, and
actress. Momsen is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band The Pretty Reckless. The band formed in 2009. Prior to her music career, she started off as a child actress. She debuted as Cindy Lou Who in the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). Some of her other roles include, Alexandra Anami in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Molly in Underdog (2007), and Jenny Humphrey on The CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl. Read more
26 Jul 1992: Marika Koroibete, Fijian rugby player Marika Koroibete is a dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer. He plays for the Australia national rugby union team, and plays as a winger for Japanese rugby union club the Saitama Wild Knights. Read more
26 Jul 1991: Tyson Barrie, Canadian ice hockey player Tyson Barrie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current Vancouver Canucks analyst for Sportsnet. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, and Calgary Flames. He was drafted by the Avalanche in the third round, 64th overall, of the 2009 NHL entry draft. Read more
26 Jul 1991: Chinami Yoshida, Japanese curler Chinami Yoshida is a Japanese curler. She was the longtime third for Team Loco Solare, led by Satsuki Fujisawa. The team won the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Read more
26 Jul 1990: Bianca Santos, American actress Bianca Alexa Santos is an American actress known for her roles as Lexi Rivera in the Freeform drama series The Fosters and as Lucy Velez in the MTV comedy series Happyland. She also starred in the films Ouija (2014), The DUFF (2015), and Priceless (2016). Read more
26 Jul 1989: Jeon Yeo-been, South Korean actress Jeon Yeo-been is a South Korean actress. She rose to prominence with her performance in the independent film After My Death (2018), for which she received the Actress of the Year Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival and the Independent Star Award at the 2017 Seoul Independent Film Festival. Her subsequent work includes the television series Vincenzo (2021), A Time Called You (2023), Our Movie (2025), and Ms. Incognito (2025), the film Night in Paradise (2021), and the movie Dark Nuns(2025). Read more
26 Jul 1988: Yurie Omi, Japanese announcer and news anchor Yurie Omi
is a Japanese former announcer and news anchor for NHK. She left NHK in March 2021. She was famous for being the co-host of NHK's morning talk show Asaichi as well as its geographical television series Bura Tamori. Read more
26 Jul 1988: Sayaka Akimoto, Filipino–Japanese actress and singer Sayaka Akimoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and its spin-off unit Diva. Read more
26 Jul 1988: Anthony Smith, American Mixed Martial Artist Anthony J. Smith is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a challenger for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in March 2019. A professional since 2008, Smith has also competed for Strikeforce and Bellator. Read more
26 Jul 1987: Panagiotis Kone, Greek footballer Panagiotis Kone is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
26 Jul 1987: Alec Martinez, American ice hockey player Alec Martinez is an American professional ice hockey broadcaster and former player who played as a defenseman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, having won with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014 and with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. In 2014, he scored both the Western Conference Final-winning goal and the Stanley Cup Final-winning goal, both in overtime. Read more
26 Jul 1987: Jordie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player Phillip Jordan Ellis Benn is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. An undrafted defenceman, Benn played for the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs and Brynäs IF. He is the older brother of Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn. Read more
26 Jul 1987: Fredy Montero, Colombian footballer Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz, known as Fredy Montero (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfɾeði monˈteɾo], is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Real Cartagena. He was the all-time top scorer for the Seattle Sounders until being surpassed by Raúl Ruidíaz in 2024. He scored 79 goals with the club across two stints: from 2009 to 2012, and from 2021 to 2023. Montero has been called up to the Colombia national team five times, scoring once in an unofficial match against Catalonia. Read more
26 Jul 1986: Monica Raymund, American actress Monica Raymund is an American actress and director, known for her roles as Maria "Ria" Torres in the Fox crime drama Lie to Me (2009–2011), Dana Lodge in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife (2011–2012), Gabriela Dawson in the NBC drama Chicago Fire (2012–2019) and Jackie Quiñones in the Starz crime drama Hightown (2020–2024). Read more
26 Jul 1986: Leonardo Ulloa, Argentinian footballer José Leonardo Ulloa Fernández is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
26 Jul 1986: John White, English footballer John Alan White is an English former footballer who played as a defender and was most recently assistant manager at Chelmsford City. He previously played in the Football League for Colchester United and Southend United, where he made over 200 league appearances for both sides. Read more
26 Jul 1985: Marcus Benard, American football player Marcus Benard is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Jackson State Tigers. Read more
26 Jul 1985: Gaël Clichy, French footballer Gaël Dimitri Clichy is a French former professional footballer, who played as a left-back, and current manager. He is currently the head coach of Ligue 3 club Caen. Read more
26 Jul 1985: Audrey De Montigny, Canadian singer-songwriter Audrey De Montigny is a Canadian former singer. She placed fourth on the debut season of Canadian Idol. De Montigny was nominated for a 2005 Juno Award for her eponymous debut album. Read more
26 Jul 1985: Mat Gamel, American baseball player Mathew Lawrence Gamel is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers across the 2008 through 2012 seasons. Once considered among the best prospects in baseball, Gamel's career was limited by injuries. Read more
26 Jul 1984: Kyriakos Ioannou, Cypriot high jumper Kyriakos Ioannou is a retired Cypriot high jumper. He has twice won medals at the World Athletics Championships and was the bronze medallist at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He is the only medalist for Cyprus at the World Athletics Championships since its creation in 1983. He's also the Cypriot record holder in the high jump, both outdoors and indoors. Ioannou is a two-time medallist at the Commonwealth Games and took back-to-back gold medals at the Mediterranean Games in 2005 and 2009. Read more
26 Jul 1984: Benjamin Kayser, French rugby player Benjamin Kayser is a French former rugby union player. Read more
26 Jul 1984: Sabri Sarıoğlu, Turkish footballer Sabri Sarıoğlu is a Turkish former professional footballer who most notably played for Galatasaray and the Turkey national team. Read more
26 Jul 1983: Kelly Clark, American snowboarder Kelly Clark is an American snowboarder who won halfpipe gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Clark was born in Newport, Rhode Island. She started snowboarding when she was 7 years old, began competing in 1999, and became a member of the US Snowboard team in 2000. On January 25, 2019, at the Winter X Games in Aspen, she announced her retirement from the sport. Read more
26 Jul 1983: Stephen Makinwa, Nigerian footballer Stephen Ayodele Makinwa is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Makinwa also played for the Nigeria national team. His name, Ayodele, means "Joy has come home". Read more
26 Jul 1983: Roderick Strong, American wrestler Christopher Lindsey, better known by his ring name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler. As of April 2023, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Conglomeration and The Paragon stables. He is one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions in his first reign with Conglomerate stablemates Orange Cassidy and Kyle O'Reilly. Read more
26 Jul 1983: Naomi van As, Dutch field hockey player Naomi van As is a Dutch field hockey player who plays as a forward/midfielder for the Dutch club MHC Laren. Read more
26 Jul 1983: Ken Wallace, Australian kayaker Kenneth Maxwell Wallace is an Australian sprint canoeist who has competed since the mid-2000s, winning gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics and at several World Championships. Read more
26 Jul 1983: Delonte West, American basketball player Delonte Maurice West is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks. He also played professionally for the Fujian Xunxing and Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League. Prior to playing professionally, West played college basketball for the Saint Joseph's Hawks. Read more
26 Jul 1982: Gilad Hochman, Israeli composer Gilad Hochman is an Israeli composer of contemporary classical music based in Berlin, Germany. Read more
26 Jul 1982: Christopher Kane, Scottish fashion designer Christopher John Kane is a Scottish fashion designer based in London. Read more
26 Jul 1981: Abe Forsythe, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter Abraham Forsythe is an Australian film and television actor, director, writer and producer. He is the son of actor and comedian Drew Forsythe. Read more
26 Jul 1981: Maicon Sisenando, Brazilian footballer Maicon Douglas Sisenando, also known as Maicon Douglas or simply Maicon, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Read more
26 Jul 1980: Jacinda Ardern, 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is a former New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was a member of Parliament (MP) as a list MP from 2008 to 2017 and for Mount Albert from 2017 to 2023. Read more
26 Jul 1980: Dave Baksh, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Dave Baksh also known by his stage name Dave Brownsound, is a Canadian musician best known as the lead guitarist of rock band Sum 41. Baksh quit Sum 41 in 2006 to pursue his own career in his heavy metal/reggae project Brown Brigade. He rejoined Sum 41 in 2015 and has released three subsequent studio albums with the band. He also played guitar for Organ Thieves, with two of his fellow Brown Brigade members and currently plays with the Canadian deathpunk four-piece Black Cat Attack. In 2019, Baksh co-founded the merchandise company Loud & Immortal. Read more
26 Jul 1980: Robert Gallery, American football player Robert J. Gallery is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa and received unanimous All-American recognition. He was selected with the second overall pick by the Oakland Raiders in the 2004 NFL draft. He also played for the Seattle Seahawks. Since retiring from professional football, Gallery has become a mental health advocate and is the co-founder and president of Athletes for Care, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on athlete mental health, traumatic brain injury research, and psychedelic-assisted therapy advocacy. Read more
26 Jul 1979: Friedrich Michau, German rugby player Friedrich Michau is a German international rugby union player, playing for the FC St. Pauli Rugby in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team. Read more
26 Jul 1979: Derek Paravicini, English pianist Derek Paravicini is an English savant pianist. He resides in London. Read more
26 Jul 1979: Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player Peter Sarno is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who last played for Alleghe Hockey in the Italian Serie A. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1997 NHL entry draft, 141st overall, by the Edmonton Oilers. Read more
26 Jul 1979: Erik Westrum, American ice hockey player Erik Clinton Westrum is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Phoenix Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Read more
26 Jul 1979: Juliet Rylance, English actress Juliet van Kampen Rylance is an English actress, known for her roles in The Knick, McMafia and Perry Mason. Read more
26 Jul 1978: Eve Myles, Welsh actress Eve Myles is a Welsh actress. Her television roles include Ceri Lewis in the long-running BBC Wales drama series Belonging (2000–2009), Gwen Cooper in the BBC science-fiction series Torchwood (2006–2011), and Faith Howells in the bilingually produced BBC/S4C drama series Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher (2017–2020). Read more
26 Jul 1977: Joaquín Benoit, Dominican baseball player Joaquín Antonio Benoit Peña is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals. Read more
26 Jul 1977: Martin Laursen, Danish footballer and manager Martin Laursen is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the centre-back position. He played three seasons for Italian club A.C. Milan, with whom he won the 2003 UEFA Champions League and the 2004 Serie A championship. He also played for Italian clubs Hellas Verona and Parma, and was the team captain of English club Aston Villa. He was most recently the manager of Søllerød-Vedbæk. Read more
26 Jul 1977: Tanja Szewczenko, German figure skater Tanja Szewczenko is a German former figure skater. She is the 1994 World bronze medalist, 1997 Champions Series Final silver medalist, 1998 European bronze medalist, and 1993 World Junior bronze medalist. Read more
26 Jul 1976: Elena Kustarova, Russian ice dancer and coach Elena Vladimirovna Kustarova is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitor. She is a two-time World Junior medalist with Sergei Romashkin, a two-time Russian national medalist with Oleg Ovsyannikov, and the 1995 Russian silver medalist with Vazgen Azroyan. Read more
26 Jul 1975: Ingo Schultz, German sprinter Ingo Schultz is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres. Read more
26 Jul 1975: Joe Smith, American basketball player Joseph Leynard Smith is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward, he played for 12 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his 16-year career. Read more
26 Jul 1975: Liz Truss, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Mary Elizabeth Truss is a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down amid a government crisis, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. The member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk from 2010 to 2024, Truss held various Cabinet positions under three prime ministers – David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson – lastly as foreign secretary from 2021 to 2022. Read more
26 Jul 1974: Iron & Wine, American singer-songwriter Samuel Ervin Beam, better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released eight studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album. He occasionally tours with a full band. Read more
26 Jul 1974: Kees Meeuws, New Zealand rugby player and coach Kees Junior Meeuws is a New Zealand former rugby union prop and former assistant coach of the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, and also a real estate agent by trade and a painter by education. Meeuws played 42 tests for the All Blacks between 1998 and 2004, scoring 10 test tries. He played provincial rugby for Otago and Auckland, and played for the Blues in the Super 12.
In 2004, Meeuws left New Zealand to take up a contract with French club Castres Olympique, and in 2006 he left Castres for Agen after a falling-out with Castres coach Laurent Seigne. Following Agen's relegation after the 2006–07 season, Meeuws left Agen and returned to Castres, signing a two-year contract with the club. In May 2008, it was announced that Meeuws would be joining the Scarlets on a two-year deal. However, shortly into his Scarlets career, he suffered a long-term injury. In July 2009, having made just 12 appearances and scored 1 try, his contract with the Scarlets was cancelled by mutual consent. He returned to Otago in 2010 to play in the ITM Cup. Read more
26 Jul 1974: Dean Sturridge, English footballer and sportscaster Dean Constantine Sturridge is an English former professional footballer and football commentator for beIN Sports. Read more
26 Jul 1973: Kate Beckinsale, English actress Kathrin Romany Beckinsale is an English actress. The only child of the actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe, she debuted in the series premiere of the 1975 daytime drama Couples. Read more
26 Jul 1973: Mariano Raffo, Argentinian director and producer Mariano Raffo is an Argentine film director. He has made short films, music videos and documentaries. Read more
26 Jul 1972: Nathan Buckley, Australian footballer and coach Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football senior coach, player and commentator. Read more
26 Jul 1971: Khaled Mahmud, Bangladeshi cricketer and coach Khaled Mahmud Sujon is a former Bangladeshi cricketer and current head coach of Noakhali Express. He is also a former Test and One Day International captain. A medium-pace bowler and middle-order batsman, he played international cricket for Bangladesh from 1998 to 2006, captaining the team from 2003 to 2004. Read more
26 Jul 1971: Chris Harrison, American television personality Christopher Bryan Harrison is an American television and game show host, best known for his role as the host of the ABC reality television dating show The Bachelor from 2002–2021. He also hosted its spin-offs The Bachelorette from 2003–2021, Bachelor Pad from 2010–2012, Bachelor in Paradise from 2014-21, the first season of Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise in 2015, Bachelor Live in 2016, and The Bachelor Winter Games in 2018. He also served as the host of the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 2015–2019. Read more
26 Jul 1969: Greg Colbrunn, American baseball player and coach Gregory Joseph Colbrunn is an American former Major League baseball player and hitting coach. Primarily a first baseman during his active career, the Fontana, California, native played in the Major Leagues for 13 seasons (1992–2004) and seven different teams. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed at 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg). He served as the Boston Red Sox hitting coach during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Read more
26 Jul 1969: Tanni Grey-Thompson, Welsh baroness and wheelchair racer Carys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, is a British life peer, television presenter and former wheelchair racer. Read more
26 Jul 1968: Frédéric Diefenthal, French actor and director Frédéric Diefenthal is a French actor and director. Read more
26 Jul 1968: Jim Naismith, Scottish biologist and academic James Henderson Naismith is a Scot, Professor of Structural Biology and since autumn of 2023 the Head of the Mathematical, Physical, and Life Science Division (MPLS) Division at the University of Oxford. He is also currently Vice-President (non-clinical) of The Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of Jesus College. He was the acting and inaugural Director (2017-2023) of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and Director of the Research Complex at Harwell. He served as Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of St Andrews. He was a member of Council of the Royal Society (2021-2022) and the Vice-Chair of Council (2022-2024) of the European X-ray Free Electron Laser. Read more
26 Jul 1968: Olivia Williams, English actress Olivia Haigh Williams is an English actress who appears in British and American films and television. Williams studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years followed by three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her first significant screen role was as Jane Fairfax in the British television film Emma (1996), based on Jane Austen's novel. Read more
26 Jul 1967: Martin Baker, English organist and conductor Martin Baker is a British organist and choir director. He was the president of the Royal College of Organists, and from 2000 until 2019 the Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral. Read more
26 Jul 1967: Tim Schafer, American video game designer, founded Double Fine Productions Timothy John Schafer is an American video game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in July 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts. Schafer is best known as the designer of critically acclaimed games Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, Brütal Legend and Broken Age, co-designer of Day of the Tentacle, and assistant designer on The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. He is well known in the video game industry for his storytelling and comedic writing style, and has been given both a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developers Choice Awards, and a BAFTA Fellowship for his contributions to the industry. Read more
26 Jul 1967: Jason Statham, English actor Jason Statham is an English actor. He is known for being typecast as tough, gritty, or violent characters in action thriller films, and has been credited for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2010s. By 2017, his films had grossed over £1.1 billion, making him one of the industry's most bankable stars. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $8.5 billion worldwide. Read more
26 Jul 1966: Angelo di Livio, Italian footballer Angelo Di Livio is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and wing-back. He represented several Italian clubs in Serie A throughout his career, coming to prominence with Juventus, where he won several domestic and international titles. At international level he also played for the Italy national side in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships, reaching the final of UEFA Euro 2000. Read more
26 Jul 1965: Jeremy Piven, American actor and producer Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series Entourage (2004–2011) for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also played the title role in the British period drama Mr Selfridge (2013–2016) and portrayed Spence Kovak on Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom Ellen (1996–1998). Read more
26 Jul 1965: Jim Lindberg, American singer and guitarist James William Lindberg is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the 1980s, when he played in local bands in his early career, he is best known as the songwriter and lead singer of the punk rock band Pennywise, which he fronted from 1988 to 2009, and has again since 2012. He also founded The Black Pacific, who released a debut album in 2010. Read more
26 Jul 1964: Sandra Bullock, American actress and producer Sandra Annette Bullock is an American actress and film producer. The world's highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, and her accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Critics' Choice Movie Awards. She was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. Read more
26 Jul 1964: Ralf Metzenmacher, German painter and designer (died 2020) Ralf Metzenmacher was a German painter and designer. He was an exponent and pioneer of Retro-Art, a synthesis between art and product design. Metzenmacher saw his Retro-Art technique as a revitalization of 17th century still life painting and as a further development of pop art. Read more
26 Jul 1964: Anne Provoost, Belgian author Anne Provoost is a Flemish author. Read more
26 Jul 1964: Danny Woodburn, American actor and comedian Danny Woodburn is an American actor, comedian and activist for the disability rights movement linked to his dwarfism. Read more
26 Jul 1963: Stuart Long, American boxer and Catholic priest (died 2014) Stuart Ignatius Long was an American boxer and Catholic priest who developed a rare progressive muscle disorder. He was portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the 2022 biopic Father Stu. Read more
26 Jul 1963: Jeff Stoughton, Canadian curler Jeffrey R. Stoughton is a Canadian retired curler. He is a three-time Brier champion and two-time World champion as skip. Curling throughout his career out of the Charleswood Curling Club, Stoughton retired from competitive curling in 2015. Following his career, he served the National Men's Coach and Program Manager for Curling Canada, as well as being the head coach of the Canadian Mixed Doubles National Team. Read more
26 Jul 1961: Gary Cherone, American singer-songwriter Gary Francis Cherone is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme and Van Halen. Read more
26 Jul 1961: Andy Connell, English keyboard player and songwriter Andrew John Connell is an English keyboardist and composer. Along with Corinne Drewery, he is part of the duo that makes up Swing Out Sister. Read more
26 Jul 1961: Felix Dexter, Caribbean-English comedian and actor (died 2013) Felix Dexter was a Saint Kitts-born British actor, comedian and writer. Read more
26 Jul 1959: Rick Bragg, American author and journalist Rick Bragg is an American journalist and writer known for non-fiction books, especially those about his family in Alabama. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 recognizing his work at The New York Times. Read more
26 Jul 1959: Kevin Spacey, American actor and director Kevin Spacey Fowler is an American actor. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for twelve Primetime Emmy Awards. He was named an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2015. Read more
26 Jul 1958: Monti Davis, American basketball player (died 2013) DaMon William "Monti" Davis was an American professional basketball player. He was a 6-foot-7-inch (201 cm) 205 pounds (93 kg) forward and played collegiately at Tennessee State University. Read more
26 Jul 1958: Angela Hewitt, Canadian-English pianist Angela Hewitt is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations. Read more
26 Jul 1957: Norman Baker, Scottish politician Norman John Baker is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewes in East Sussex from the 1997 general election until his defeat in 2015. Read more
26 Jul 1957: Nana Visitor, American actress Nana Visitor is an American actress, best known for playing Major, later Colonel, Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire. Read more
26 Jul 1956: Peter Fincham, English screenwriter and producer Peter Arthur Fincham is a British television producer and executive. From 2008 until 2016, he was the director of television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following criticism over the handling of the Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work debacle. Read more
26 Jul 1956: Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater Dorothy Stuart Hamill is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles. Read more
26 Jul 1956: Tommy Rich, American wrestler Thomas Richardson is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion and Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. He primarily appeared in Georgia Championship Wrestling and Memphis throughout the 1980s, as well as World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling throughout the 1990s. He is a 1974 graduate of Hendersonville High School. Read more
26 Jul 1956: Tim Tremlett, English cricketer and coach Timothy Maurice Tremlett is a former English cricketer and current director of cricket of Hampshire County Cricket Club. He is the father of England Test cricketer Chris Tremlett who also played for Hampshire and later, Surrey. Tremlett was an all-rounder, a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, who had a first-class bowling average of 23.99 and a one-day average of 24.69. He played from 1976 until 1991, and helped Hampshire win the Sunday League title in 1978 and 1986. Read more
26 Jul 1955: Aleksandrs Starkovs, Latvian footballer and coach Aleksandrs Starkovs is a Latvian football coach and a former footballer who played as a forward. Most recently he coached FK Liepāja. Read more
26 Jul 1955: Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani businessman and politician, 11th President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari is a Pakistani politician who has served as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having served as the 11th president from 2008 to 2013. A member of the Pakistan People's Party, he is the first Pakistani head of state born after the country's independence and is also known for being the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Read more
26 Jul 1955: Joseph Christopher, American serial killer (died 1993) Joseph Gerard Christopher, also known as the Midtown Slasher and the .22 Caliber Killer, was an American serial killer who committed a series of stabbings and shootings against African American men and boys, killing twelve and injuring seven, between 1980 and 1981 in various New York cities and towns. Read more
26 Jul 1954: Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player and coach (died 1994) Vytautas "Vitas" Kevin Gerulaitis was an American professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1978. Gerulaitis won the men's singles title at the December 1977 Australian Open, and the men's doubles title at the 1975 Wimbledon Championships, partnering with Sandy Mayer. Gerulaitis also won two Italian Opens in 1977 and 1979, and the 1978 WCT Finals. Read more
26 Jul 1953: Felix Magath, German footballer and manager Wolfgang Felix Magath is a German football manager and former player. Read more
26 Jul 1953: Robert Phillips, American guitarist Robert Phillips is an American classical guitarist. Read more
26 Jul 1953: Henk Bleker, Dutch politician Hinderk "Henk" Bleker is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation in the First Rutte cabinet from 14 October 2010 to 5 November 2012. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was party chair from 20 June 2010 until 14 October 2010. Read more
26 Jul 1953: Earl Tatum, American professional basketball player William Earl Tatum is an American former professional basketball player from Mount Vernon, New York. He was a 6 ft 4+1⁄2 in (194 cm) 185 pounds (84 kg) guard who played high school basketball at Mount Vernon, where he was selected large-school player of the year by the New York State Sportswriters Association in 1972, and collegiately at Marquette University. Read more
26 Jul 1952: Glynis Breakwell, English psychologist and academic Dame Glynis Marie Breakwell is a British social psychologist, researcher and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath. In January 2014 she was listed in the Science Council's list of '100 leading UK practising scientists'. Her tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath was marred by controversy over her remuneration, culminating in her dismissal. Read more
26 Jul 1951: Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 2011) Richard Lionel Martin was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1982. He featured in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Sabres. He was most famous for playing on the Sabres' French Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert. Read more
26 Jul 1950: Nelinho, Brazilian footballer and manager Manoel Rezende de Mattos Cabral, known as Nelinho, is a Brazilian former association footballer who played as right back. He played for several clubs in his home country and abroad, including Belo Horizonte rivals Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro. Nelinho also represented the Brazil national team in two FIFA World Cups. Read more
26 Jul 1950: Nicholas Evans, English journalist, screenwriter, and producer (died 2022) Nicholas Benbow Evans was a British journalist, screenwriter, television and film producer and novelist. He was best known for his 1995 debut novel, The Horse Whisperer. It has sold over fifteen million copies, and has been adapted into a film. Read more
26 Jul 1950: Susan George, English actress and producer Susan Melody George is an English film and television actress. She is best known for appearing in films such as Straw Dogs (1971) with Dustin Hoffman, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) with Peter Fonda and Mandingo (1975) with Ken Norton. Read more
26 Jul 1950: Anne Rafferty, English lawyer and judge Dame Anne Judith Rafferty FRS is an English jurist, who served as a Lady Justice of Appeal of England and Wales from 2011 to 2020. She was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society in May 2026. Read more
26 Jul 1950: Rich Vogler, American race car driver (died 1990) Richard Frank Vogler was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989. Read more
26 Jul 1949: Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai businessman and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai former politician, businessman, and police officer who served as the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 until his overthrow in 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Read more
26 Jul 1949: Roger Taylor, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer Roger Meddows Taylor is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He achieved international fame as the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Queen. As a drummer, Taylor was recognised early in his career for his unique sound and was voted the eighth-greatest drummer in classic rock music history in a listener poll conducted by Planet Rock in 2005. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 as a member of Queen. Read more
26 Jul 1948: Luboš Andršt, Czech guitarist and songwriter (died 2021) Luboš Andršt was a Czech jazz fusion, rock, and blues guitarist, composer, producer, and guitar teacher. Known primarily for his electric rock-influenced guitar playing, he frequently played acoustic guitar on jazz fusion recordings in the 1970s. Since the late 1990s, he was best known as a key figure in the Czech blues and blues rock scene with his Luboš Andršt Blues Band, and shared the stage with a number of American blues musicians, including B.B. King. Read more
26 Jul 1948: Herbert Wiesinger, German figure skater Herbert Wiesinger is a German former pair skater who competed for West Germany. Read more
26 Jul 1946: Emilio de Villota, Spanish race car driver Emilio de Villota Ruíz is a Spanish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between 1976 and 1982. Read more
26 Jul 1945: Helen Mirren, English actress Dame Helen Mirren is an English actor. Regarded amongst Britain's greatest actors, Mirren is the recipient of many accolades including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, two Cannes Film Festival Awards, a Volpi Cup and a Laurence Olivier Award. She is the only person to have achieved both the US and UK Triple Crowns of Acting, and has also received the BAFTA Fellowship, Honorary Golden Bear, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Mirren was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003. Read more
26 Jul 1944: Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter (died 2022) Betty Davis was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter Miles Davis. Her AllMusic profile describes her as "a wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals … [who] combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis". Read more
26 Jul 1943: Peter Hyams, American director, screenwriter, and cinematographer Peter Hyams is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer known for directing the 1977 conspiracy thriller film Capricorn One, the 1981 science fiction-thriller Outland, the 1984 science fiction film 2010: The Year We Make Contact, the 1986 action/comedy Running Scared, the comic book adaptation Timecop, the action film Sudden Death, and the horror films The Relic and End of Days. Read more
26 Jul 1943: Mick Jagger, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor Sir Michael Philip Jagger is an English musician, songwriter, and film producer known as the lead singer and founder member of the Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the Stones' songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; their songwriting partnership is one of the most successful in rock music history. His career has spanned more than six decades, and he has been widely described as one of the most popular and influential front men in the history of rock music. His distinctive voice and energetic live performances, along with Richards's guitar style, have been the Rolling Stones' trademark throughout the band's career. Early in his career, Jagger gained notoriety for his romantic involvements and illicit drug use, and has often been portrayed as a countercultural figure. Read more
26 Jul 1942: Vladimír Mečiar, Slovak politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovakia Vladimír Mečiar is a Slovak former politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from June 1990 to May 1991, June 1992 to March 1994, and again from December 1994 to October 1998. He was the leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), a populist party in Slovakia. Read more
26 Jul 1942: Teddy Pilette, Belgian race car driver Theodore "Teddy" Pilette is a former racing driver from Belgium. He participated in four Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, the first on 12 May 1974 with Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team. Read more
26 Jul 1941: Jean Baubérot, French historian and sociologist Jean Baubérot, is a French historian and sociologist specializing in sociology of religions. He is the founder of the sociology of secularism. Read more
26 Jul 1941: Darlene Love, American singer and actress Darlene Wright, known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and also a solo recording artist. Read more
26 Jul 1941: Brenton Wood, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboard player (died 2025) Alfred Jesse Smith, known professionally as Brenton Wood, was an American singer and songwriter. Three 1967 singles of Wood's, "The Oogum Boogum Song", "Gimme Little Sign", and "Baby You Got It" were hits. Read more
26 Jul 1940: Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2011) Dobie Gray was an American singer and songwriter. Gray's music spanned multiple genres, including soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away". "Drift Away" was one of the biggest hits of 1973, has sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay. Read more
26 Jul 1940: Brian Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, Northern Irish-British academic and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (died 2019) Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 to 1997 and a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2005. Read more
26 Jul 1940: Bobby Rousseau, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2025) Joseph Jean-Paul Robert Rousseau was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1960 to 1974, most notably for the Montreal Canadiens. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1962 as NHL Rookie of the Year and won the Stanley Cup four times, all with the Canadiens. Prior to turning professional Rousseau played at the 1960 Winter Olympics with the Canadian national team, winning a silver medal. Read more
26 Jul 1939: Jun Henmi, Japanese author and poet (died 2011) Mayumi Shimizu , known by her pen name Jun Henmi , was a Japanese writer and poet. She was known for her works of fiction and nonfiction about people affected by World War II. Read more
26 Jul 1939: John Howard, Australian lawyer and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Australia John Winston Howard is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the second-longest in Australian history, after that of Robert Menzies. Read more
26 Jul 1939: Bob Lilly, American football player and photographer Robert Lewis Lilly, nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs. Lilly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. Read more
26 Jul 1939: Richard Marlow, English organist and conductor (died 2013) Richard Kenneth Marlow was an English choral conductor and organist. Read more
26 Jul 1938: Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (died 2010) Robert Alvin Von Hebb was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his 1966 hit "Sunny". Read more
26 Jul 1938: Keith Peters, Welsh physician and academic Sir David Keith Peters is a retired Welsh physician and academic. He was Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge from 1987 to 2005, where he was also head of the School of Clinical Medicine. Read more
26 Jul 1937: Ercole Spada, Italian automotive designer (died 2025) Ercole Spada was an Italian automobile designer. His most notable designs were produced in the 1960s, for the Zagato design studio house, where Spada was chief stylist. During this period some of the most notable sports cars by Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Maserati, as well as Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat and Lancia were clothed by Spada's designs. Read more
26 Jul 1936: Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player and coach (died 2012) Tsutomu Koyama was a Japanese volleyball player. He was a member of the Men's National Volleyball Team that claimed the bronze medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He later served as the head coach of the Men's National Team. Read more
26 Jul 1936: Lawrie McMenemy, English footballer and manager Lawrence McMenemy MBE is an English former football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war English football. Read more
26 Jul 1934: Tommy McDonald, American football player (died 2018) Thomas Franklin McDonald was an American professional football flanker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, the Los Angeles Rams, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Cleveland Browns. He played college football as a halfback for the Oklahoma Sooners. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. Read more
26 Jul 1933: Norm Siebern, American baseball player (died 2015) Norman Leroy Siebern was an American professional baseball player and scout. He appeared in 1,406 games over a 12-year career in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox between 1956 and 1968. A two-time World Series champion and four-time American League All-Star, his best season came in 1962 with the Athletics when he hit 25 home runs, with 117 runs batted in and a .308 batting average. He might be most remembered, however, as being one of the players the Yankees traded for Roger Maris on December 11, 1959. Read more
26 Jul 1931: Robert Colbert, American actor Robert Louis Colbert is an American retired actor best known for his leading role as Dr. Doug Phillips on the ABC television series The Time Tunnel and his two appearances as Brent Maverick, a third Maverick brother in the ABC/Warner Brothers western Maverick. Read more
26 Jul 1931: Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (died 2006) Telê Santana da Silva, also known as Telê Santana was a Brazilian football manager and former player. He was born in Itabirito, Minas Gerais. Read more
26 Jul 1930: Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, Brazilian lawyer and politician (died 2014) Plínio Soares de Arruda Sampaio was a Brazilian intellectual and political activist, who was affiliated with the Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL). He ran as a candidate for the presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil in 2010. Read more
26 Jul 1930: Barbara Jefford, English actress (died 2020) Barbara Mary Jefford was a British actress, best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 film of James Joyce's Ulysses. For Ulysses, Jefford was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress. She was also Olivier nominated in 1991 for playing Volumnia in Coriolanus at the Barbican. Read more
26 Jul 1929: Marc Lalonde, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice (died 2023) Marc Lalonde was a Canadian politician who served as a cabinet minister, political staffer and lawyer. A lifelong member of the Liberal Party, he is best known for having served in various positions of government from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, including serving as the Minister of Finance. Read more
26 Jul 1929: Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist and educator (died 2012) Alexis Sigismund Weissenberg was a Bulgarian-born French pianist. Read more
26 Jul 1928: Don Beauman, English race car driver (died 1955) Donald Bentley Beauman was a British racing driver who took part in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix. Read more
26 Jul 1928: Francesco Cossiga, Italian academic and politician, 8th President of Italy (died 2010) Francesco Maurizio Cossiga was an Italian politician who served as the president of Italy from 1985 to 1992. A member of Christian Democracy, he was Prime Minister of Italy from 1979 to 1980. Cossiga is widely considered one of the most prominent and influential politicians of the First Italian Republic. Read more
26 Jul 1928: Elliott Erwitt, French-American photographer and director (died 2023) Elliott Erwitt was a French-born American advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid photos of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings. He was a member of Magnum Photos since 1953. Read more
26 Jul 1928: Ibn-e-Safi, Indian-Pakistani author and poet (died 1980) Ibn-e-Safi, also spelt Ibne Safi, was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad, a Pakistani fiction writer, novelist, and poet who wrote in Urdu. The name Ibn-e-Safi is a Persian expression meaning “Son of Safi,” with Safi translating to “chaste” or “righteous.” Read more
26 Jul 1928: Joe Jackson, American talent manager, father of Michael Jackson (died 2018) Joseph Walter Jackson was an American talent manager and patriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers. He was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014. Read more
26 Jul 1928: Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (died 1999) Stanley Kubrick was an American filmmaker and photographer. A prominent figure of the New Hollywood era, Kubrick is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers. His films spanned a number of genres and gained recognition for their attention to detail, innovative cinematography, extensive set design, and dark humor. Read more
26 Jul 1928: Peter Lougheed, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (died 2012) Edgar Peter Lougheed was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth. Read more
26 Jul 1928: Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, Irish-born English politician (died 2025) Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, PC was a British Conservative politician. Read more
26 Jul 1927: Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricketer (died 2003) Gulabrai Sipahimalani "Ram" Ramchand was an Indian cricketer, cricket coach and administrator who played for the national team in 33 Test matches between 1952 and 1960. In his only series as captain, he led India to its first win against Australia. According to Wisden Asia, he was one of the first cricketers to have endorsed commercial brands. Read more
26 Jul 1926: James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2015) Jewel Franklin Guy, known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. During a career that spanned more than 60 years, Best, who was known for his high-pitched, exasperated voice, performed not only in feature films, but also in scores of television series. Read more
26 Jul 1925: Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (died 2000) Jerzy Einhorn was a Polish-born Swedish medical doctor, researcher and politician (Kristdemokrat). His Hebrew name was Chil Josef, after his paternal grandfather. Read more
26 Jul 1925: Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer (died 2015) Joseph Frederick Engelberger was an American physicist, engineer and entrepreneur. Often regarded as the "Father of Robotics". Licensing the original patent awarded to inventor George Devol, Engelberger developed the first industrial robot in the United States, the Unimate, in the 1950s. Later, he worked as entrepreneur and vocal advocate of robotic technology beyond the manufacturing plant in a variety of fields, including service industries, health care, and space exploration. Read more
26 Jul 1925: Gene Gutowski, Polish-American film producer (died 2016) Witold Bardach, better known as Gene Gutowski, was a Polish-American film producer who produced many of Roman Polanski's films, including Repulsion (1965), Cul-de-Sac (1966), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), and The Pianist (2002). Read more
26 Jul 1925: Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (died 2014) Ana María Matute Ausejo was a Spanish writer and member of the Real Academia Española. In 1959, she received the Premio Nadal for Primera memoria. The third woman to receive the Cervantes Prize for her literary oeuvre, she is considered one of the foremost novelists of the posguerra, the period immediately following the Spanish Civil War. Read more
26 Jul 1923: Jan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (died 2012) Stanley Melvin Berenstain and Janice Marian Berenstain were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book series The Berenstain Bears. Read more
26 Jul 1923: Bernice Rubens, Welsh author (died 2004) Bernice Rubens was a Welsh novelist. She became the first woman to win the Booker Prize in 1970, for The Elected Member. Read more
26 Jul 1923: Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (died 2002) James Hoyt Wilhelm, nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985. Read more
26 Jul 1922: Blake Edwards, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2010) Blake Edwards was an American filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he also directed several drama, musical, and detective films. Late in his career, he took up writing, producing and directing for theater. He received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen. Read more
26 Jul 1922: Jim Foglesong, American record producer (died 2013) James Staton Foglesong was an American country music producer and executive from the 1950s until the 1990s, based in Nashville, Tennessee. Read more
26 Jul 1922: Jason Robards, American actor (died 2000) Jason Nelson Robards Jr. was an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he gained a reputation as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Robards received numerous accolades and is one of 24 performers to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting having earned competitive wins for two Academy Awards, a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In addition to these plaudits, Robards was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Laurel Award and a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1979, earned the National Medal of Arts in 1997, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1999. Read more
26 Jul 1921: Tom Saffell, American baseball player and manager (died 2012) Thomas Judson Saffell was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics. Read more
26 Jul 1921: Jean Shepherd, American radio host, actor, and screenwriter (died 1999) Jean Parker Shepherd Jr. was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film A Christmas Story (1983), which he narrated and co-scripted on the basis of his own semi-autobiographical stories. Read more
26 Jul 1920: Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (died 1983) Robert Stanton Waterfield was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). A skilled player, he played in the NFL for eight seasons, primarily as a quarterback, but also as a safety, kicker, punter and sometimes return specialist with the Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. His No. 7 jersey was retired by the Rams in 1952. He was also a motion picture actor and producer. Read more
26 Jul 1919: Virginia Gilmore, American actress (died 1986) Virginia Gilmore was an American film, stage, and television actress. Read more
26 Jul 1919: James Lovelock, English biologist and chemist (died 2022) James Ephraim Lovelock was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating system. Read more
26 Jul 1918: Marjorie Lord, American actress (died 2015) Marjorie Lord was an American television and film actress. She played Kathy "Clancy" O'Hara Williams, opposite Danny Thomas's character on The Danny Thomas Show. Read more
26 Jul 1916: Dean Brooks, American physician and actor (died 2013) Dean Kent Brooks was an American physician and actor. Brooks was the superintendent of Oregon State Hospital for 27 years from 1955 to 1982. He was born in Colony, Kansas. Read more
26 Jul 1916: Jaime Luiz Coelho, Brazilian archbishop (died 2013) Jaime Luiz Coelho was a Brazilian archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. At his death at the age of 97 he was one of the oldest bishops in the Church and one of the oldest Brazilian bishops. Read more
26 Jul 1914: C. Farris Bryant, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Governor of Florida (died 2002) Cecil Farris Bryant was an American politician serving as the 34th governor of Florida. He also served on the United States National Security Council as director of the Office of Emergency Planning during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who also appointed Bryant chair of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Read more
26 Jul 1914: Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and bandleader (died 1993) Erskine Ramsay Hawkins was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1939) with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. The song became a hit during World War II, rising to No. 7 nationally and to No. 1 nationally. Vocalists who were featured with Erskine's orchestra include Ida James, Delores Brown, and Della Reese. Hawkins was named after Alabama industrialist Erskine Ramsay. Read more
26 Jul 1914: Ellis Kinder, American baseball player (died 1968) Ellis Raymond "Old Folks" Kinder was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox between 1946 and 1957. Kinder batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Atkins, Arkansas. Read more
26 Jul 1913: Kan Yuet-keung, Hong Kong banker, lawyer, and politician (died 2012) Sir Yuet-keung Kan was a Hong Kong banker, politician and lawyer who was successively appointed Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council in the 1960s and 1970s. He also served as chairman of the Bank of East Asia for 20 years. Read more
26 Jul 1909: Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 1994) George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958. Read more
26 Jul 1909: Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (died 1979) Vivian Vance was an American actress best known for playing landlady Ethel Mertz on the sitcom I Love Lucy (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, among other accolades. She also starred alongside Lucille Ball in The Lucy Show from 1962 until she left the series at the end of its third season in 1965. In 1991, she posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is most commonly identified as Lucille Ball’s longtime comedic foil from 1951 until her death in 1979. Read more
26 Jul 1908: Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourger sculptor (died 2002) Lucien Wercollier was a sculptor from Luxembourg. While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are of particular importance. Works by Wercollier can be found in public places and museums in Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United States. Read more
26 Jul 1906: Irena Iłłakowicz, German-Polish lieutenant (died 1943) Irena Morzycka-Iłłakowicz was a Polish second lieutenant of the National Armed Forces and intelligence agent. The daughter of Bolesław Morzycki and Władysława Zakrzewska and the sister of Jerzy, she was also a polyglot who spoke seven languages: Polish, French, English, Persian, Finnish, German and Russian. Read more
26 Jul 1905: Jack Morrison, Australian rugby league player (died 1994) Jack Morrison (1905−1994) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s for South Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown. Morrison was a foundation player for Canterbury-Bankstown and the club's first captain. Read more
26 Jul 1904: Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (died 1951) Frank Scott Hogg was a Canadian astronomer. Hogg was born in Preston, Ontario to Dr. James Scott Hogg and Ida Barberon. After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, Hogg received the second doctorate in astronomy awarded at Harvard University in 1929 where he pioneered in the study of spectrophotometry of stars and of spectra of comets. His supervisor there was Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. During World War II, he developed a two-star sextant for air navigation. He was the head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Toronto and director of the David Dunlap Observatory from 1946 until his death. During this time he pursued the observatory's major research program to study the motions of faint stars in the line of sight. He was married to fellow astronomer Helen Sawyer Hogg from 1930 until his death from a heart attack in 1951. The crater Hogg on the moon is co-named for him and Arthur Robert Hogg. Read more
26 Jul 1904: Edwin Albert Link, American industrialist and entrepreneur, invented the flight simulator (died 1981) Edwin Albert Link was an American inventor, entrepreneur and pioneer in aviation, underwater archaeology, and submersibles. He invented the flight simulator, which was called the "Blue Box" or "Link Trainer". It was commercialized in 1929, starting a now multibillion-dollar industry. In total, he obtained more than 27 patents for aeronautics, navigation and oceanographic equipment. Read more
26 Jul 1903: Estes Kefauver, American lawyer and politician (died 1963) Carey Estes Kefauver was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1949 and in the U.S. Senate from 1949 until his death in 1963. He was the winner of most of the 1952 Democratic Party presidential primaries, though he was not nominated at the convention. Read more
26 Jul 1900: Sarah Kafrit, Israeli politician and teacher (died 1983) Sarah Kafrit was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapai between 1951 and 1959. Read more
26 Jul 1897: Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (died 1974) Harold Dunbar Cooley was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented the Fourth Congressional district of North Carolina from 1934 to 1966. Read more
26 Jul 1897: Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (died 1976) Paul William Gallico was an American novelist and short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. He is perhaps best remembered for The Snow Goose, his most critically successful book, for the novel The Poseidon Adventure, primarily through the 1972 film adaptation, and for four novels about the beloved character of Mrs. Harris. Read more
26 Jul 1896: Tim Birkin, English soldier and race car driver (died 1933) Sir Henry Ralph Stanley Birkin, 3rd Baronet, known as
Tim Birkin, was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Read more
26 Jul 1895: Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (died 1964) Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, appearing with him on radio, television and film as the duo Burns and Allen. Read more
26 Jul 1894: Aldous Huxley, English novelist and philosopher (died 1963) Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives and poems. Read more
26 Jul 1893: George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (died 1959) George Grosz was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objectivity groups during the Weimar Republic. He emigrated to the United States in 1933, and became a naturalized citizen in 1938. Abandoning the style and subject matter of his earlier work, he exhibited regularly and taught for many years at the Art Students League of New York. In 1959 he returned to Berlin, where he died shortly afterwards. Read more
26 Jul 1892: Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (died 1966) Samuel Pond "Sad Sam" Jones was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox between 1914 and 1935. Jones batted and threw right-handed. His sharp breaking curveball also earned him the nickname "Horsewhips Sam". Read more
26 Jul 1890: Daniel J. Callaghan, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1942) Daniel Judson Callaghan was a United States Navy officer who served his country in two wars, in a three-decades-long career. Callaghan served on several ships during his first 20 years of service, including escort duties during World War I, and also filled some shore-based administrative roles. He later came to the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed Callaghan as his naval aide in 1938. Read more
26 Jul 1888: Reginald Hands, South African cricketer and rugby player (died 1918) Reginald Harry Myburgh Hands was a South African cricketer who played in one Test match in February 1914. He died in France as a result of injuries sustained on the Western Front during the First World War. His death was an indirect cause of the tradition of the two-minute silence, instigated by his father Sir Harry Hands when Mayor of Cape Town. Read more
26 Jul 1886: Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (died 1965) Lars Mauritz Hanson was a Swedish film and stage actor, internationally mostly remembered for his motion picture roles during the silent film era. Read more
26 Jul 1885: Roy Castleton, American baseball player (died 1967) Royal Eugene Castleton was a relief pitcher for the New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds. The first native of the state of Utah and the first Mormon to play in the major leagues, Castleton made his debut with the Highlanders on April 16, 1907, and played his final game with the Reds on May 29, 1910. Read more
26 Jul 1885: André Maurois, French soldier and author (died 1967) André Maurois was a French author. Read more
26 Jul 1882: Albert Dunstan, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Victoria (died 1950) Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan, KCMG was an Australian politician who served as the 33rd premier of Victoria from 1935 to 1943 and from 1943 to 1945 and as the third deputy premier of Victoria for five days in March 1935. A member of the Country Party, now the National Party, his term as premier was the second-longest in the state's history and the longest of any third-party premier. He was the first person to hold the office of premier in its own right, and not an additional duty taken up by the Treasurer, Attorney-General or Chief Secretary. Read more
26 Jul 1880: Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian playwright and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Ukrainian People's Republic (died 1951) Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko was a Ukrainian statesman, political activist, writer, playwright and artist who served as the first prime minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Prior to his entry onto the stage of Ukrainian politics, he was a long-time political activist, who lived abroad in Western Europe from 1906 to 1914 escaping persecution by Russian authorities. Read more
26 Jul 1879: Shunroku Hata, Japanese field marshal and politician, 48th Japanese Minister of War (died 1962) Shunroku Hata was a field marshal (gensui) in the Imperial Japanese Army who served as Minister of the Army from 1939 to 1940. He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank. In the aftermath of World War II Hata was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1948, but was paroled in 1955. Read more
26 Jul 1878: Edward B. Greene, American banking, mining, and steel company executive (died 1957) Edward Belden Greene was an American banking, mining, and steel company executive. He joined the Cleveland Trust Company in 1900, and by 1914 was a vice president. He later was a director and chairman of its executive committee, and served on state and federal emergency credit and banking organizations during the Great Depression. He left in 1933 to become chairman of the board of directors of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Mining Company. He oversaw the purchase of Corrigan, McKinney Steel, and later its sale. Read more
26 Jul 1878: Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (died 1937) Ernst Heinrich Hoppenberg was a German swimmer and water polo player who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the 200 metre events. He participated in Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and won two gold medals in the 200 metre backstroke and 200 m team race for Germany. Read more
26 Jul 1877: Jesse Livermore, American investor and security analyst, "Great Bear of Wall Street" (died 1940) Jesse Lauriston Livermore was an American stock trader. He is considered a pioneer of day trading and was the basis for the main character of Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, a best-selling book by Edwin Lefèvre. At one time, Livermore was one of the richest people in the world; however, at the time of his suicide, he had liabilities greater than his assets. Read more
26 Jul 1875: Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (died 1961) Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. He was a prolific author of over twenty books, illustrator, correspondent, and academic, best known for his concept of archetypes. Widely considered one of the most influential psychologists of all time, Jung's work has fostered not only scholarship, but also popular interest. His work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies. Read more
26 Jul 1875: Ernesta Di Capua, Italian botanist and explorer (died 1943) Ernesta Di Capua was an Italian botanist, taxonomist, and explorer. She was executed at the Auschwitz concentration camp for her Jewish heritage. The species Caralluma dicapuae was named in her honor. Read more
26 Jul 1875: Antonio Machado, Spanish poet and academic (died 1939) Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz, simply known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation of '98. His work, initially modernist, evolved towards an intimate form of symbolism with romantic traits. He gradually developed a style characterised by both an engagement with humanity on one side and an almost Taoist contemplation of existence on the other, a synthesis that, according to Machado, echoed the most ancient popular wisdom. In Gerardo Diego's words, Machado "spoke in verse and lived in poetry." Read more
26 Jul 1874: Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (died 1951) Serge Koussevitzky was a Russian and American conductor, composer, and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949. Read more
26 Jul 1865: Philipp Scheidemann, German journalist and politician, 10th Chancellor of Germany (died 1939) Philipp Heinrich Scheidemann was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the first quarter of the 20th century, he played a leading role in both his party and in the young Weimar Republic. During the German Revolution of 1918–1919 that broke out after Germany's defeat in World War I, Scheidemann proclaimed a German Republic from a balcony of the Reichstag building. In 1919, he was elected Reich Minister President by the National Assembly meeting in Weimar to write a constitution for the republic. He resigned the office the same year due to a lack of unanimity in the cabinet on whether or not to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Read more
26 Jul 1865: Rajanikanta Sen, Indian poet and composer (died 1910) Rajanikanta Sen, also known as Kantakobi, was a Bengali poet and composer, known for his devotional (bhakti) compositions, as well as his patriotic songs. Read more
26 Jul 1863: Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (died 1948) Jāzeps Vītols was a Latvian composer, pedagogue and music critic. He is considered one of the fathers of Latvian classical music. Read more
26 Jul 1858: Tom Garrett, Australian cricketer and lawyer (died 1943) Thomas William Garrett was an early Australian Test cricketer and, later, a distinguished public servant. Read more
26 Jul 1856: George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1950) George Bernard Shaw, known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Read more
26 Jul 1855: Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (died 1936) Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social groups, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. He co-founded the German Sociological Association together with Max Weber and Georg Simmel and many other founders. He was president of the society from 1909 to 1933, after which he was ousted for having criticized the Nazis. Tönnies was regarded as the first proper German sociologist and published over 900 works, contributing to many areas of sociology and philosophy. Tönnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel are considered the founding fathers of classical German sociology. Though there has been a resurgence of interest in Weber and Simmel, Tönnies has not drawn as much attention. Read more
26 Jul 1854: Philippe Gaucher, French dermatologist and academic (died 1918) Philippe Charles Ernest Gaucher was a French dermatologist born in the department of Nièvre. Read more
26 Jul 1844: Stefan Drzewiecki, Ukrainian-Polish engineer and journalist (died 1938) Stefan Drzewiecki was a Polish scientist, journalist, engineer, constructor and inventor, known for designing and constructing the world's first electric-powered submarine. He worked mainly in France and the Russian Empire. Read more
26 Jul 1842: Alfred Marshall, English economist and academic (died 1924) Alfred Marshall was an English economist and one of the most influential economists of his time. His book Principles of Economics (1890) was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years, and brought the ideas of supply and demand, marginal utility, and costs of production into a coherent whole, popularizing the modern neoclassical approach which dominates microeconomics to this day. As a result, he is known as the father of scientific economics. Read more
26 Jul 1841: Carl Robert Jakobson, Estonian journalist and politician (died 1882) Carl Robert Jakobson was an Estonian writer, politician and teacher active in the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire. He was one of the most important persons of the Estonian national awakening in the second half of the 19th century. Read more
26 Jul 1838: Silas Soule, American soldier and whistleblower of the Sand Creek Massacre (died 1865) Silas Stillman Soule was an American abolitionist, teenage conductor on the Underground Railroad, military officer, and early example of what would later be called a "whistleblower". He is honored as a hero for disobeying orders to participate in a massacre of Native Americans, and then giving evidence against his commander despite threats on his life. Read more
26 Jul 1829: Auguste Beernaert, Belgian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Belgium, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1912) Auguste Marie François Beernaert was the prime minister of Belgium from October 1884 to March 1894, and the 1909 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Read more
26 Jul 1819: Justin Holland, American guitarist and educator (died 1887) Justin Holland was an American classical guitarist, a music teacher, a community leader, an African American man who worked to help slaves on the Underground Railroad, and an activist for equal rights for African Americans. Read more
26 Jul 1802: Mariano Arista, Mexican general and politician, 42nd President of Mexico (died 1855) José Mariano Martín Buenaventura Ignacio Nepomuceno García de Arista Nuez was a Mexican soldier and politician who served as the 19th president of Mexico from 1851 to 1853. Read more

Notable Deaths on 26 July

26 Jul 2025: Tom Lehrer, American singer, comedian and mathematician (born 1928) Thomas Andrew Lehrer was an American musician. He recorded pithy, humorous, and often political songs that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs parodied popular musical forms, often with original melodies. Read more
26 Jul 2023: Sinéad O'Connor, Irish singer and musician (born 1966) Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor, also known as Shuhada' Sadaqat, was an Irish singer, songwriter, and activist. During her musical career, which encompassed several hit records and artist collaborations, O'Connor drew attention to issues such as child abuse, human rights, racism, and women's rights. She was also known for her outspoken public image, openly discussing her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political viewpoints, and struggles with mental health. Read more
26 Jul 2021: Joey Jordison, American musician (born 1975) Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison was an American musician. He was the original drummer of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, and the guitarist for the horror punk supergroup Murderdolls. Read more
26 Jul 2020: Olivia de Havilland, American actress (born 1916) Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland was a British, American and French actress. She appeared in 49 feature films throughout her career, with the major works of her cinematic career spanning from 1935 to 1988. Before her death in 2020 at the age of 104, she was the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner and was widely considered the last surviving major star from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Her younger sister, with whom she had a noted rivalry that was well documented in the media, was the Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine. Read more
26 Jul 2019: Russi Taylor, American voice actress (born 1944) Russi Taylor was an American voice actress. She was best known for voicing the character of Minnie Mouse in English from 1986 to 2019 and was married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, from 1991 until his death in 2009. She was the longest-tenured voice actress to voice the character, holding the role for 33 years. She also provided the voices of several characters in The Simpsons, most prominently Martin Prince, Uter Zorker, and Sherri and Terri. Read more
26 Jul 2019: Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Cuban Roman Catholic prelate (born 1936) Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino was a Cuban prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Havana from 1981 to 2016. He was appointed to the College of Cardinals in 1994, the second Cuban to hold that distinction. Read more
26 Jul 2018: Adem Demaçi, Kosovo Albanian politician and writer (born 1936) Adem Demaçi was a Kosovo Albanian author, politician, and human rights defender. He became notable during the breakup of Yugoslavia for suggesting the creation of Balkania in 1996, a hypothetical confederacy proposed as an independent successor state to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the Balkans. Read more
26 Jul 2018: John Kline, American basketball player (born 1931) John Kline was an American basketball player for the Harlem Globetrotters (1953–1959) who founded the Black Legends of Professional Basketball in 1996. Read more
26 Jul 2017: June Foray, American voice actress (born 1917) June Foray was an American voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney's Cinderella, Cindy Lou Who, Jokey Smurf, Granny from the Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Friz Freleng, Grammi Gummi from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears series, and Magica De Spell, among many others. Read more
26 Jul 2017: Patti Deutsch, American voice artist and comedic actress (born 1943) Patricia Deutsch Ross was an American actress who was known as a recurring panelist on the 1970s game shows Match Game and Tattletales. Read more
26 Jul 2017: Ronald Phillips, American criminal (born 1973) Ronald Ray Phillips was an Ohio death row inmate who was sentenced to death and executed for the 1993 rape and murder of Sheila Evans, the 3-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, Fae Amanda Evans, after an extended period of physical and sexual abuse against the child. Evans was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering for her involvement and sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison. She died of leukemia on July 8, 2008, aged 41, at the state prison hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Read more
26 Jul 2016: Solomon Feferman, American philosopher and mathematician (born 1928) Solomon Feferman was an American philosopher and mathematician who worked in mathematical logic. In addition to his prolific technical work in proof theory, computability theory, and set theory, he was known for his contributions to the history of logic and as a vocal proponent of the philosophy of mathematics known as predicativism, notably from an anti-platonist stance. Read more
26 Jul 2015: Bijoy Krishna Handique, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Mines (born 1934) Bijoy Krishna Handique was an Indian politician and a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Jorhat constituency of Assam and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party. He was the only son of Krishna Kanta Handique, a renowned Indologist. Handique was a senior Member of Parliament from the North Eastern Region and represented the Jorhat Lok Sabha, Assam for six consecutive terms from 1991 to 2009. He also served as a Rajya Sabha member from 1980 to 1986. He had been elected to the Assam State Assembly in 1972 from the Jorhat constituency. Read more
26 Jul 2015: Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (born 1926) Flora Isabel MacDonald was a Canadian politician and humanitarian. Canada's first female foreign minister, she was also one of the first women to vie for leadership of a major Canadian political party, the Progressive Conservatives. She became a close ally of Prime Minister Joe Clark, serving in his cabinet from 1979 to 1980, as well as in the cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1988. In her later life, she was known for her humanitarian work abroad. Jimmy Carter has said that 90% of the contribution to freeing American hostages in Iran should be attributed to her and Kenneth D. Taylor. The City of Ottawa recognised MacDonald on July 11, 2018, by naming a new bicycle and footbridge over the Rideau Canal the Flora Footbridge. Read more
26 Jul 2015: Leo Reise, Jr., Canadian ice hockey player (born 1922) Leo Charles Reise Jr. was a professional ice hockey player in the NHL and son of former pro Leo Reise. He was born in Stoney Creek, Ontario. Read more
26 Jul 2015: Ann Rule, American police officer and author (born 1931) Ann Rae Rule was an American author of true crime books and articles. She is best known for The Stranger Beside Me (1980), about the serial killer Ted Bundy, her co-worker and one-time friend, who was later revealed to be a murderer. Rule wrote over 30 true crime books, including Small Sacrifices, about Oregon child murderer Diane Downs. Many of Rule's books center on murder cases that occurred in the Pacific Northwest and her adopted home state of Washington. Read more
26 Jul 2014: Oleh Babayev, Ukrainian businessman and politician (born 1965) Oleh Meydanovych Babaiev was a Ukrainian politician and an owner of two professional football clubs in the Poltava Oblast. In 2010, he was elected Mayor of Kremenchuk. He was assassinated in his car in front of his house on July 26, 2014. Read more
26 Jul 2014: Charles R. Larson, American admiral (born 1936) Charles Robert Larson was an Admiral of the United States Navy. Read more
26 Jul 2014: Richard MacCormac, English architect, founded MJP Architects (born 1938) Sir Richard Cornelius MacCormac CBE, PPRIBA, FRSA, RA, was a modernist English architect and the founder of MJP Architects. Read more
26 Jul 2014: Sergei O. Prokofieff, Russian anthropologist and author (born 1954) Sergei Olegovich Prokofieff was a Russian anthroposophist. He was the grandson of the composer Sergei Prokofiev and his first wife Lina Prokofiev, and the son of Oleg Prokofiev and his first wife Sofia Feinberg (1928—2025). Born in Moscow, he studied fine arts and painting at the Moscow School of Art. He encountered anthroposophy in his youth, and soon made the decision to devote his life to it. Read more
26 Jul 2014: Roland Verhavert, Belgian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1927) Roland Verhavert was a Belgian film director. He directed 44 films between 1955 and 1993. He co-directed the 1955 film Seagulls Die in the Harbour, which was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. His 1974 film The Conscript was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival. Read more
26 Jul 2013: Luther F. Cole, American lawyer and politician (born 1925) Luther Francis Cole was an American lawyer and politician from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served as a state legislator and then as a judge. Read more
26 Jul 2013: Harley Flanders, American mathematician and academic (born 1925) Harley M. Flanders was an American mathematician, known for several textbooks and contributions to his fields: algebra and algebraic number theory, linear algebra, electrical networks, scientific computing. Read more
26 Jul 2013: Sung Jae-gi, South Korean philosopher and activist (born 1967) Sung Jae-gi was a South Korean men's rights activist. Sung was the leader of various masculinist and anti-feminist organizations, including the Association of Anti-Feminism and Male Liberation, Association for the Abolition of the Ministry of Women, and Man of Korea. Sung also ran a shelter for homeless men, male victims of violent crime, teenage runaways, and gay and transgender men. Read more
26 Jul 2013: George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1919) George Phydias Mitchell was an American businessman, real estate developer and philanthropist from Texas credited with pioneering the economic extraction of shale gas. Read more
26 Jul 2012: Don Bagley, American bassist and composer (born 1927) Donald Neff Bagley was an American jazz bassist. Read more
26 Jul 2012: Karl Benjamin, American painter and educator (born 1925) Karl Stanley Benjamin was an American painter of vibrant geometric abstractions, who rose to fame in 1959 as one of four Los Angeles–based Abstract Classicists and subsequently produced a critically acclaimed body of work that explores a vast array of color relationships. Working quietly at his home in Claremont, California, he developed a rich vocabulary of colors and hard-edge shapes in masterful compositions of tightly balanced repose or high-spirited energy. At once intuitive and systematic, the artist was, in the words of critic Christopher Knight, "a colorist of great wit and inventiveness." Read more
26 Jul 2012: Miriam Ben-Porat, Russian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (born 1918) Miriam Ben-Porat was an Israeli jurist. She was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Israel and the State Comptroller of Israel from 1988–1998. Read more
26 Jul 2012: Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (born 1942) Guadalupe Ontiveros was an American actress best known for portraying Rosalita in The Goonies, and Yolanda Saldívar in the film Selena. She acted in numerous films and television shows. Ontiveros was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on Desperate Housewives and received critical acclaim for her role in Chuck & Buck, for which Ontiveros won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress, and was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Read more
26 Jul 2012: James D. Watkins, American admiral and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Energy (born 1927) James David Watkins was a United States Navy admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations who served as the United States Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush administration, also chairing U.S. government commissions on HIV/AIDS and ocean policy. Watkins also served on the boards of various companies and other nongovernmental organizations and as the co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative. Read more
26 Jul 2011: Joe Arroyo, Colombian singer-songwriter and composer (born 1955) Álvaro Arroyo González was a Colombian salsa and tropical music singer, composer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest performers of Caribbean and salsa music in his country and across Latin America. In 2018, Billboard counted Arroyo's song "La Rebelión" as one of the "15 Best Salsa Songs Ever". Read more
26 Jul 2011: Tom Borton, American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer (born 1956) Thomas William Borton was an American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer, and was the founder and CEO of Los Angeles Post Music, Inc. Read more
26 Jul 2011: Richard Harris, American-Canadian football player and coach (born 1948) Richard Drew Harris was an American professional football player who was a defensive end who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was an All-American in 1970 for Grambling and was selected in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, the first defensive player chosen. Harris was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 1971 and was widely regarded as one of the fastest defensive linemen in professional football before being hobbled by knee injuries. Read more
26 Jul 2011: Sakyo Komatsu, Japanese author and screenwriter (born 1931) Sakyo Komatsu was a Japanese science fiction writer and screenwriter. He was one of the most well known and highly regarded science fiction writers in Japan. Read more
26 Jul 2011: Margaret Olley, Australian painter and philanthropist (born 1923) Margaret Hannah Olley was an Australian painter. She held over ninety solo exhibitions during her lifetime. Read more
26 Jul 2010: Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean politician (born 1945) Sivakant Tiwari, P.P.A.(E.), P.B.S., P.P.A.(E.)(L.), P.J.G., known professionally as S. Tiwari, was a senior legal officer of the Singapore Legal Service. He was educated at the University of Singapore, graduating in law in 1971. He then made the Legal Service his career, serving as head of the Ministry of Defence's legal department (1974), and head of the Attorney-General's Chambers' Civil Division (1987) and International Affairs Division (1995). He was lead counsel in three significant commissions of inquiry arising out of fatal incidents in the 1970s and 1980s. A skilled negotiator, Tiwari was a member of the Singapore delegation which dealt with the United States – Singapore Free Trade Agreement signed in 2003, and served as legal adviser to the delegation which established diplomatic relations between Singapore and the People's Republic of China. He was also on Singapore's legal team in a case concluded in 2003 that had been brought by Malaysia to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for provisional measures against alleged damage to its territorial waters due to land reclamation by Singapore, and in the territorial dispute with Malaysia over Pedra Branca before the International Court of Justice in 2007. Read more
26 Jul 2009: Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (born 1919) Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other disciplines, including musicians John Cage, David Tudor, Brian Eno, and graphic artists Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and Jasper Johns; and fashion designer Rei Kawakubo. Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance. Read more
26 Jul 2007: Lars Forssell, Swedish author, poet, and playwright (born 1928) Lars Hans Carl Abraham Forssell was a Swedish writer and member of the Swedish Academy. Forssell was a versatile writer who worked within many genres, including poetry, drama and songwriting. He was awarded the Bellman Prize in both 1968 and 1981 Read more
26 Jul 2007: Skip Prosser, American basketball player and coach (born 1950) George Edward "Skip" Prosser was an American college basketball coach who was head men's basketball coach at Wake Forest University at the time of his death. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take three separate schools to the NCAA tournament in their first year coaching. In 21 years as a collegiate coach, he made 18 postseason appearances. Read more
26 Jul 2005: Alexander Golitzen, Russian-born American production designer and art director (born 1908) Prince Alexander Golitzen (Golitsyn) was a Russian-born American production designer who oversaw art direction on more than 300 movies. Read more
26 Jul 2005: Jack Hirshleifer, American economist and academic (born 1925) Jack Hirshleifer was an American economist and long-time professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Read more
26 Jul 2005: Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1945) Jean Gilles "Captain Crunch" Marotte was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues. Read more
26 Jul 2004: William A. Mitchell, American chemist, created Pop Rocks and Cool Whip (born 1911) William A. Mitchell was an American food chemist who, while working for General Foods Corporation between 1941 and 1976, was the key inventor behind Pop Rocks, Tang, Cool Whip, and powdered egg whites. During his career he received over 70 patents. Read more
26 Jul 2001: Rex T. Barber, American colonel and pilot (born 1917) Rex Theodore Barber Sr. was a World War II fighter pilot from the United States. He is best known as a member of Operation Vengeance, the top secret mission to intercept the aircraft carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in April 1943. Read more
26 Jul 2001: Peter von Zahn, German journalist and author (born 1913) Peter von Zahn was a German author, film maker, and journalist. Read more
26 Jul 2000: John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (born 1915) John Wilder Tukey was an American mathematician and statistician, best known for the development of the fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, the box plot and for laying the foundations of the field of exploratory data analysis. The Tukey range test, the Tukey lambda distribution, the Tukey test of additivity, and the Teichmüller–Tukey lemma all bear his name. He is also credited with coining the term bit and the first published use of the word software. Read more
26 Jul 1999: Walter Jackson Bate, American author and critic (born 1918) Walter Jackson Bate was an American literary critic and biographer. He is known for Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography-winning biographies of Samuel Johnson (1978) and John Keats (1964).
Samuel Johnson also won the 1978 U.S. National Book Award in Biography. Read more
26 Jul 1999: Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (born 1917) Phaedon Gizikis was a Greek army general who was the last President of Greece under the junta from 1973 to 1974. Read more
26 Jul 1996: Max Winter, American businessman and sports executive (born 1903) Max Winter was a Minneapolis businessman and sport executive who helped found the Minnesota Vikings. Read more
26 Jul 1995: Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian-American guitarist and composer (born 1917) Laurindo José de Araújo Almeida Nóbrega Neto was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He was one of the pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades. Read more
26 Jul 1995: Raymond Mailloux, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1918) Raymond Mailloux was a Quebec politician and Cabinet Minister. A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, he was the Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the Charlevoix riding from 1962 to 1985. Read more
26 Jul 1995: George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (born 1907) George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and 3rd secretary of housing and urban development from 1969 to 1973. He was the father of Mitt Romney, who served as United States senator from Utah and as governor of Massachusetts and was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee; the husband of 1970 U.S. Senate candidate Lenore Romney; and the paternal grandfather of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel. Read more
26 Jul 1994: James Luther Adams, American theologian and academic (born 1901) James Luther Adams, an American professor at Harvard Divinity School, Andover Newton Theological School, and Meadville Lombard Theological School, and a Unitarian parish minister. He was among the most influential theologian among American Unitarian Universalists in the 20th century. Read more
26 Jul 1993: Matthew Ridgway, American general (born 1895) Matthew Bunker Ridgway was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Although he saw no combat service in World War I, he was intensively involved in World War II, where he was the first Commanding General (CG) of the 82nd Airborne Division, leading it in action in Sicily, Italy and Normandy, before taking command of the newly formed XVIII Airborne Corps in August 1944. He held the latter post until the end of the war in mid-1945, commanding the corps in the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity and the Western Allied invasion of Germany. Read more
26 Jul 1992: Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (born 1943) Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Read more
26 Jul 1988: Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani philosopher, scholar, and academic (born 1919) Fazlur Rahman Malik, commonly known as Fazlur Rahman, was a modernist scholar and Islamic philosopher from present-day Pakistan. Recognized as a leading liberal reformer within Islam, he focused on educational reform and promoting independent reasoning (ijtihad). His work has attracted both significant interest and criticism in Muslim-majority countries. His reformist ideas led to protests by over a thousand clerics, faqihs, muftis, and teachers in Pakistan, ultimately resulting in his exile. Read more
26 Jul 1986: W. Averell Harriman, American politician and diplomat, 11th United States Secretary of Commerce (born 1891) William Averell Harriman was an American politician, businessman, and scion of the wealthy Harriman family. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment bank, served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman, and was the 48th governor of New York. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for president in 1952 and 1956. Throughout his career, he was a key foreign policy advisor to Democratic presidents. Read more
26 Jul 1984: George Gallup, American mathematician and statistician, founded the Gallup Company (born 1901) George Horace Gallup was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a statistically based survey sampled measure of public opinion. Read more
26 Jul 1984: Ed Gein, American serial killer (born 1906) Edward Theodore Gein, also known as the Butcher of Plainfield and the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American murderer and body snatcher. His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he stole corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin. He also confessed to killing two women: tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954 and hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957. Read more
26 Jul 1971: Diane Arbus, American photographer and academic (born 1923) Diane Arbus was an American photographer. She photographed a wide range of subjects including strippers, carnival performers, nudists, people with dwarfism, children, mothers, couples, elderly people, and middle-class families. She photographed her subjects in familiar settings: their homes, on the street, in the workplace, in the park. "She is noted for expanding notions of acceptable subject matter and violates canons of the appropriate distance between photographer and subject. By befriending, not objectifying her subjects, she was able to capture in her work a rare psychological intensity." Read more
26 Jul 1970: Robert Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 11th Chief Justice of Canada (born 1896) Robert Taschereau was a lawyer who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Canada from 1963 to 1967, as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1940 to 1963, and briefly as the Administrator of the Government of Canada for one month from March to April 1967 following the death of Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier. Read more
26 Jul 1968: Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (born 1899) Cemal Tollu was a Turkish painter. He served in the Turkish War of Independence as a cavalry lieutenant. and witnessed the Fire of Manisa. In 1933 he founded the "D Group" with several other painters who were devoted to Cubism and Constructivism. In his later life he was to teach at the Fine Arts Academy of Istanbul until 1965. Read more
26 Jul 1964: Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (born 1884) Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, styled Viscount Curzon from 1900 to 1929, was a British naval officer, Member of Parliament, and racing driver and promoter. In the 1918 UK general election he won the Battersea South seat as the candidate of the Conservative Party, which he held until 1929. While in Parliament he took up motor racing, and later won the 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans race. He ascended to the House of Lords in 1929, succeeding his father as the 5th Earl Howe. In 1928, he co-founded the British Racing Drivers' Club with Dudley Benjafield and served as its president until his death in 1964. Read more
26 Jul 1960: Cedric Gibbons, British art director and production designer (born 1893) Austin Cedric Gibbons was an American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the Oscar statuette in 1928, but tasked the sculpting to George Stanley, a Los Angeles artist. He was nominated 39 times for the Academy Award for Best Production Design and won the Oscar 11 times, both of which are records. Read more
26 Jul 1957: Carlos Castillo Armas, Authoritarian ruler of Guatemala (1954-1957) Carlos Castillo Armas was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right National Liberation Movement (MLN) party, his authoritarian government was closely allied with the United States. Read more
26 Jul 1953: Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general and politician, 135th Prime Minister of Greece (born 1883) Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he became famous as "The Black Rider" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, where he commanded the 5/42 Evzone Regiment. Due to his fame, he retained his position despite the military reshuffle that commenced after the 1920 elections. After the Greek defeat in the war, along with other Venizelist officers he launched the 11 September 1922 Revolution that deposed King Constantine I of Greece and his government. The military-led government ruled until January 1924, when power was handed over to an elected National Assembly, which later declared the Second Hellenic Republic. In the interwar period, Plastiras remained a devoted Venizelist and republican. Trying to avert the rise of the royalist People's Party and the restoration of the monarchy, he led two coup attempts in 1933 and 1935, both of which failed, hastening the collapse of the Second Republic and forcing Plastiras to exile in France. Read more
26 Jul 1952: Eva Perón, Argentinian politician, 25th First Lady of Argentina (born 1919) María Eva Duarte de Perón, better known as Eva "Evita" Perón, was an Argentine politician, activist, and actress who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until her death in July 1952, as the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón. She was born into poverty in the rural village of Los Toldos, in the Pampas, as the youngest of five children. In 1934, at the age of 15, she moved to the nation's capital of Buenos Aires to pursue a career as a stage, radio, and film actress. She married Perón in 1945, when he was still an army colonel, and was propelled onto the political stage when he became President of Argentina in 1946. She became a central figure of Peronism and Argentine culture because of the Eva Perón Foundation, a charitable organization perceived by many Argentinians as highly impactful. Read more
26 Jul 1951: James Mitchell, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Western Australia (born 1866) Sir James Mitchell, was an Australian politician. He served as premier of Western Australia from 1919 to 1924 and from 1930 to 1933, as leader of the Nationalist Party. He then held viceregal office from 1933 to 1951, as acting governor from 1933 to 1948 and governor of Western Australia from 1948 until his death in 1951. Read more
26 Jul 1942: Roberto Arlt, Argentinian author and playwright (born 1900) Roberto Arlt was an Argentine novelist, storyteller, playwright, and journalist. Read more
26 Jul 1941: Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (born 1875) Henri Léon Lebesgue was a French mathematician known for his theory of integration, which was a generalization of the 17th-century concept of integration—summing the area between an axis and the curve of a function defined for that axis. His theory was published originally in his dissertation Intégrale, longueur, aire at the University of Nancy during 1902. Read more
26 Jul 1934: Winsor McCay, American cartoonist, animator, producer, and screenwriter (born 1871) Zenas Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip Little Nemo and the animated film Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). For contractual reasons, he worked under the pen name Silas on the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. Read more
26 Jul 1932: Fred Duesenberg, German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Company (born 1876) Frederick Samuel Duesenberg was a German-born American automobile and engine designer, manufacturer and sportsman who was internationally known as a designer of racecars and racing engines. Duesenberg's engineering expertise influenced the development of the automobile, especially during the 1910s and 1920s. He is credited with introducing an eight-cylinder engine, also known as the Duesenberg Straight-8 engine, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a first for American cars, in addition to other mechanical innovations. Duesenberg was also patentholder of his designs for a four-wheel hydraulic brake, an early automatic transmission, and a cooling system, among others. Fred and his younger brother, August "Augie" Duesenberg, shared the patents, filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918, for their "walking beam" four-cylinder engine and the Duesenberg Straight 8. Read more
26 Jul 1930: Pavlos Karolidis, Greek historian and academic (born 1849) Pavlos Karolidis or Karolides was a Greek historian who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Read more
26 Jul 1926: Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War, son of Abraham Lincoln (born 1843) Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and businessman. He was the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and the only one of their four children to live past age 18. Robert Lincoln became a business lawyer and company president, serving as both United States Secretary of War (1881–1885) and the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain (1889–1893). Read more
26 Jul 1925: Antonio Ascari, Italian race car driver (born 1888) Antonio Ascari was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari. Read more
26 Jul 1925: Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and philosopher (born 1848) Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was a mathematics professor at the University of Jena, and is understood by many to be the father of analytic philosophy, concentrating on the philosophy of language, logic, and mathematics. Though he was largely ignored during his lifetime, Giuseppe Peano (1858–1932), Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), and, to some extent, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) introduced his work to later generations of philosophers. Frege is widely considered to be one of the greatest logicians since Aristotle, and one of the most profound philosophers of mathematics ever. Read more
26 Jul 1925: William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (born 1860) William Jennings Bryan was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1896, 1900, and 1908 elections. He served in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895 and as the secretary of state under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915. Because of his faith in the wisdom of the common people, Bryan was often called "the Great Commoner", and because of his rhetorical power and early fame as the youngest presidential candidate, "the Boy Orator". Read more
26 Jul 1921: Howard Vernon, Australian actor (born 1848) Howard Vernon was an Australian actor best known for his performances in comic roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the J. C. Williamson company. Read more
26 Jul 1919: Edward Poynter, English painter and illustrator (born 1836) Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy. Read more
26 Jul 1915: James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (born 1837) Sir James Augustus Henry Murray, FBA was a British lexicographer and philologist. He was the primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) from 1879 until his death. Read more
26 Jul 1899: Ulises Heureaux, 22nd, 26th, and 27th President of the Dominican Republic (born 1845) Ulises Hilarión Heureaux Leibert nicknamed Lilís, was president of the Dominican Republic from September 1, 1882 to September 1, 1884, from January 6, 1887 to February 27, 1889 and again from April 30, 1889 maintaining power between his terms. Read more
26 Jul 1867: Otto, king of Greece (born 1815) Otto was King of Greece from the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece on 7 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed in October 1862. Read more
26 Jul 1863: Sam Houston, American general and politician, 7th Governor of Texas, and 6th Governor of Tennessee (born 1793) Samuel Houston was an American military general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two individuals to represent Texas in the United States Senate. He also served as the sixth governor of Tennessee and the seventh governor of Texas. Houston is the only individual to be elected governor of two different US states. Read more
26 Jul 1801: Maximilian Francis, archduke of Austria (born 1756) Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria was Elector of Cologne and Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from 1780 until his death. Influenced by Enlightenment ideals, he sought to implement reforms in various political fields. During the First Coalition War, his territories on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied and later annexed by France. He was the youngest child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. He was the last fully functioning Elector of Cologne and the second employer and patron of the young Ludwig van Beethoven. Read more

Why is 26 July Important in History?

26 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 26 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 26 July in history?

On 26 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.