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Today July 24th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1132 – Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily.
1148 – Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade.
1411 – Battle of Harlaw, one of the bloodiest battles in Scotland, takes place.
1487 – Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands strike against ban on foreign beer.
1534 – French explorer Jacques Cartier plants a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula and takes possession of the territory in the name of the Francis I of France.
1567 – Mary Queen of Scots is deposed and replaced by her 1 year old son James VI.
1701 – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founds the trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later becomes the city of Detroit, Michigan.
1715 – A Spanish treasure fleet of 10 ships under Admiral Ubilla leaves Havana, Cuba for Spain. Seven days later, 9 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure is salvaged from these wrecks.
1814 – War of 1812: General Phineas Riall advances toward the Niagara River to halt Jacob Brown s American invaders.
1823 – Slavery is abolished in Chile.
1832 – Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by using Wyoming s South Pass.
1847 – After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City. Celebrations of this event include the Pioneer Day Utah state holiday and the Days of 47 Parade.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Kernstown – Confederate General Jubal Anderson Early defeats Union troops led by General George Crook in an effort to keep them out of the Shenandoah Valley.
1866 – Reconstruction: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. State to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.
1901 – O. Henry is released from prison in Austin, Texas after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank.
1911 – Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas.
1915 – The passenger ship S.S. Eastland capsizes in central Chicago, with the loss of 845 lives.
1923 – The Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, is signed in Switzerland by Greece, Bulgaria and other countries that fought in World War I.
1924 – The World Chess Federation FIDE is founded in Paris.
1927 – The Menin Gate war memorial is unveiled at Ypres.
1929 – The Kellogg-Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, goes into effect (it is first signed in Paris on August 27, 1928 by most leading world powers).
1931 – A fire at a home for the elderly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania kills 48 people.
1935 – The world s first children s railway opens in Tbilisi, USSR.
1935 – The dust bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109°F (44°C) in Chicago and 104°F (40°C) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1937 – Alabama drops rape charges against the so-called Scottsboro Boys.
1938 – First ascent of the Eiger north face.
1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah begins: British and Canadian airplanes bomb Hamburg by night, those of the Americans by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives will have killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.
1948 – Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian makes his first appearance in the cartoon Haredevil Hare.
1950 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station begins operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket.
1956 – At New York City s Copacabana Club, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together. They began performing together on July 25, 1946.
1956 – Khartoum University College is awarded university status becoming the University of Khartoum.
1959 – At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a Kitchen Debate.
1965 – Vietnam War: four F-4C Phantoms escorting a bombing raid at Kang Chi are the targets of antiaircraft missiles in the first such attack against American aircraft in the war. One is shot down and the other three sustain damage.
1966 – Michael Pelkey makes the first BASE jump from El Capitan along with Brian Schubert. Both came out with broken bones. BASE jumping has now been banned from El Cap.
1967 – During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! (Long live free Quebec!). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delighted many Quebecers but angered the Canadian government and many English Canadians.
1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean.
1972 – Bugojno group is caught by Yugoslav security forces.
1974 – Watergate scandal: the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.
1974 – After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus the Greek military junta collapses and democracy is restored.
1977 – End of a four day long Libyan-Egyptian War.
1982 – Heavy rain causes a mudslide that destroys a bridge at Nagasaki, Japan, killing 299.
1983 – George Brett batting for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, has a game-winning home run nullified in the Pine Tar Incident.
1990 – Iraqi forces start massing on the Kuwait-Iraq border.
1998 – Russell Eugene Weston Jr. bursts into the United States Capitol and opens fire killing two police officers. He is later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial.
2001 – Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office.
2001 – Bandaranaike Airport attack was carried out by 14 Tamil Tiger commandos, all died in this attack. They destroyed 11 Aircrafts (mostly military) and damaged 15, there were no civilian casualities. This incident slowed down Sri Lankan economy.
2002 – James Traficant is expelled from the United States House of Representatives on a vote of 420 to 1.
2005 – Lance Armstrong wins his seventh consecutive Tour de France.
2007 – Libya frees all six of the Medics in the HIV trial in Libya.
Births
1660 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician (d. 1718)
1725 – John Newton, English cleric and hymnist (d. 1807)
1757 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Russian painter (d. 1825)
1783 – Simón Bolívar, South American liberator (d. 1830)
1786 – Joseph Nicollet, French mathematician and explorer (d. 1843)
1794 – Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish geologist (d. 1865)
1802 – Alexandre Dumas, père, French writer (d. 1870)
1803 – Adolphe Charles Adam, French composer (d. 1856)
1821 – William Poole, American gang member (New York City s Bowery Boys) (d. 1855)
1826 – Ivan Bloch, Polish military theorist and peace activist (d. 1902)
1851 – Friedrich Schottky, German mathematician (d. 1935)
1853 – William Gillette, American actor and author (d. 1937)
1856 – Charles Émile Picard, French mathematician (d. 1941)
1857 – Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
1860 – Alfons Mucha, Czech artist (d. 1939)
1864 – Frank Wedekind, German writer (d. 1918)
1867 – Edward Frederic Benson, English writer (d. 1940)
1867 – Fred Tate, England cricketer (d. 1943)
1867 – Vicente Acosta, Salvadoran poet (d. 1908)
1874 – Oswald Chambers, Scottish minister and writer (d. 1917)
1877 – Calogero Vizzini, Sicilian mafioso (d. 1954)
1878 – Lord Dunsany, Irish writer (d. 1957)
1880 – Ernest Bloch, Swiss composer (d. 1959)
1880 – Kristian Hellström, Swedish athlete (d. 1946)
1886 – Jun ichiro Tanizaki, Japanese novelist (d. 1965)
1888 – Arthur Richardson, Australian cricketer (d. 1973)
1895 – Robert Graves, English author (d. 1985)
1897 – Amelia Earhart, American aviator (disappeared 1937)
1899 – Chief Dan George, Meti actor (d. 1981)
1900 – Zelda Fitzgerald, American artist, wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (d. 1948)
1904 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (d. 1991)
1908 – Cootie Williams, American trumpeter (d. 1985)
1910 – Harry Horner, American art director (d. 1994)
1914 – Ed Mirvish, Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario (d. 2007)
1915 – Enrique Fernando, Philippino jurist (d. 2004)
1916 – John D. MacDonald, American novelist, (d. 1986)
1917 – Robert Farnon, Canadian-born conductor, composer, and arranger (d. 2005)
1917 – Jack Moroney, Australian cricketer (d. 1999)
1918 – Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist
1919 – Robert Marsden Hope, Australian Justice (d. 1999)
1919 – Ferdinand Kübler, Swiss cyclist
1920 – Bella Abzug, U.S. Congresswoman from New York (d. 1998)
1921 – Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian operatic tenor (d. 2008)
1922 – Madeleine Ferron, French Canadian writer
1929 – Alfred Binns, West Indian cricketer
1931 – Ermanno Olmi, Italian director
1931 – Éric Tabarly, French sailor (d. 1998)
1933 – Doug Sanders, American golfer
1933 – John Aniston, American actor; father of Jennifer Aniston
1934 – Sante Kimes, American convicted con artist and murderess
1935 – Pat Oliphant, Australian political cartoonist
1935 – Derek Varnals, South African cricketer
1936 – Ruth Buzzi, American actress and comedian
1936 – Mark Goddard, American actor
1937 – Manoj Kumar, Indian actor
1938 – Eugene J. Martin, American painter, artist
1938 – John Sparling, New Zealand cricketer
1940 – Stanley Hauerwas, American theologian
1940 – Dan Hedaya, American actor
1942 – Chris Sarandon, American actor
1945 – Azim Premji, Indian businessman
1947 – Zaheer Abbas, Pakistani cricketer
1947 – Robert Hays, American actor
1947 – Peter Serkin, American pianist
1949 – Yves Duteil, French singer and songwriter
1949 – Michael Richards, American comedian
1951 – Lynda Carter, American actress
1951 – Chris Smith, British politician
1952 – Gus Van Sant, American film director
1953 – Claire McCaskill, American politician, junior senator from Missouri
1956 – Charles Crist, Governor of Florida
1956 – Pat Finn, American game show host and producer
1957 – Pam Tillis, American singer
1961 – Kerry Dixon, English footballer
1962 – Johnny O Connell, American race car driver
1963 – Paul Geary, American musician (Extreme)
1963 – Julie Krone, American jockey
1963 – Karl Malone, American basketball player
1964 – Barry Bonds, American baseball player
1964 – Banana Yoshimoto, Japanese author
1965 – Andrew Gaze, Australian basketball player
1965 – Kadeem Hardison, American actor
1965 – Doug Liman, American film director
1966 – Martin Keown, English footballer
1968 – Kristin Chenoweth, American singer and actress
1968 – Colleen Doran, American comic book writer and artist
1968 – Malcolm Ingram, Canadian director
1968 – Laura Leighton, American actress
1969 – Rick Fox, Bahamian basketball player
1969 – Jennifer Lopez, American actress and singer
1970 – Stephanie Adams, American model and author
1971 – Dino Baggio, Italian footballer
1971 – John Partridge, English singer
1972 – Kaio Hiroyuki, Japanese sumo wrestler
1972 – Rev. Jen Miller, American performance artist
1975 – Jamie Langenbrunner, American ice hockey player
1975 – Eric Szmanda, American actor
1975 – Torrie Wilson, American wrestler
1976 – Rafer Alston, American basketball player
1976 – Nate Bump, American baseball player
1976 – Tiago Monteiro, Portuguese Formula One driver
1977 – Danny Dyer, English actor and television presenter
1977 – Mehdi Mahdavikia, Iranian football player
1979 – Rose Byrne, Australian actress
1979 – Lee Si-yeon, South Korean actress
1979 – Stat Quo, American rapper
1979 – Valerio Scassellati, Italian racing driver
1979 – Anne-Gaëlle Sidot, French tennis player
1979 – José Valverde, American baseball player
1980 – Gauge, American pornographic actress
1980 – Wilfred Bungei, Kenyan middle-distance runner
1981 – Summer Glau, American actress
1982 – Elise Crombez, Belgian model
1982 – Thiago Medeiros, Brazilian racing driver
1982 – Anna Paquin, Canadian-born New Zealand actress
1983 – Daniele De Rossi, Italian footballer
1984 – John Dhani Lennevald, Swedish singer (A-Teens)
1985 – Patrice Bergeron, Canadian hockey player
1985 – Teagan Presley, American pornographic actress
1986 – Andrei Lutai, Russian figure skater
1986 – Megan Park, Canadian actress
1987 – Mara Wilson, American actress
1988 – Ricky Petterd, Australian rules footballer
1988 – Luke Mitchell, Scottish murderer
1990 – Daveigh Chase, American actress
1998 – Bindi Irwin, Australian entertainer; daughter of Steve Irwin
Deaths
1115 – Matilda, Countess of Tuscany (b. 1046)
1129 – Shirakawa, Emperor of Japan (b. 1053)
1240 – Konrad von Thüringen, fifth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
1568 – Prince Don Carlos of Spain (b. 1545)
1594 – John Boste, Catholic saint and martyr (b. 1544)
1739 – Benedetto Marcello, Italian composer (b. 1686)
1768 – Nathanial Lardner, English theologian (b. 1684)
1862 – Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States (b. 1782)
1908 – Vicente Acosta, Salvadoran poet (b. 1867)
1910 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian painter (b. 1841)
1927 – Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Japanese writer (b. 1892)
1957 – Sacha Guitry, French actor, director, screenwriter and playwright (b. 1885)
1965 – Constance Bennett, American actress (b. 1904)
1966 – Tony Lema, American golfer (b. 1934)
1969 – Witold Gombrowicz, Polish novelist and dramatist (b. 1904)
1970 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman (b. 1897)
1974 – James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
1980 – Uttam Kumar, Indian actor (b. 1926)
1980 – Peter Sellers, British comedian and actor (b. 1925)
1986 – Fritz Albert Lipmann, American biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1991 – Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish-born Yiddish author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1992 – Arletty, French singer and actress (b. 1898)
1992 – Sam Berger, Canadian football owner (b. 1900)
1993 – Rene Requiestas, Filipino comedian (b. 1957)
1995 – Jerry Lordan, English composer and singer (b. 1934)
1995 – George Rodger, British photojournalist (b. 1908)
1996 – Alphonso Roberts, West Indian cricketer and politician (b. 1937)
1997 – William J. Brennan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1906)
1997 – Saw Maung, Burmese dictator (b. 1928)
2000 – Ahmad Shamlou, Iranian poet (b. 1925)
2001 – Georges Dor, Canadian author, composer, singer and playwright (b. 1931)
2005 – Richard Doll, English epidemiologist (b. 1912)
2007 – Albert Ellis, American psychologist (b. 1913)
2007 – Chaney Kley, American Actor (b. 1972)
2008 – Norman Dello Joio, American composer (b. 1913)
Holidays and observances
Ecuador – Simón Bolívar Day.
Utah – Pioneer Day (1847).
Ancient Latvia – Jekaupa Diena held.
In the United States, National Tequila Day is July 24.
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