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Today July 31st 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
30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian s forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781).
904 – Thessalonica falls to the Arabs, who destroy the city.
1423 – Hundred Years War: Battle of Cravant – the French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.
1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
1588 – The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
1655 – Russo-Polish War (1654-1667): the Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.
1658 – Aurangzeb is proclaimed Moghul emperor of India.
1667 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: Treaty of Breda ends the conflict.
1703 – Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
1741 – Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.
1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Marquis de Lafayette be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States.
1790 – First U.S. patent is issued to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.
1865 – The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia.
1913 – The Balkan States signs an armistice at Bucharest.
1919 – German national assembly adopts the Weimar constitution (which comes into force on August 14)
1930 – The radio mystery program The Shadow is aired for the first time.
1932 – The NSDAP wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
1936 – The International Olympic Committee announces that the 1940 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo. However, the games are given back to the IOC after the Second Sino-Japanese War breaks out, and are eventually cancelled altogether because of World War II.
1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanta (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia)
1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius in Persepolis.
1940 – A doodlebug train in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio collides with a multi-car freight train heading in the opposite direction, killing 43 people.
1941 – Holocaust: under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.
1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
1945 – John K. Giles attempts to escape from Alcatraz prison.
1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
1951 – Japan Airlines is established.
1954 – First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
1956 – Jim Laker sets an extraordinary record at Old Trafford in the fourth Test, taking nineteen wickets in a first-class match (the previous best was seventeen).
1961 – At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning because of rain.
1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
1972
Northeast Airlines flies its last flight before being integrated into Delta Air Lines the next day.
Operation Motorman: British troops move into the no-go areas of Belfast and Derry, Northern Ireland. End of Free Derry.
1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner crashes while landing in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
1975 – In Detroit, Michigan, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing.
1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 – NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo.
1981 – General Omar Torrijos of Panama dies in a plane crash.
1981 – 42-day strike of Major League Baseball ends in the United States.
1987 – A rare, class F-4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage.
1988 – 32 people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Malaysia.
1991 – The Medininkai Massacre in Lithuania. Soviet OMON attacks Lithuanian customs post in Medininkai, killing 7 officers and severely wounding one other.
1992 – A Thai Airways Airbus A300-310 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing 113.
1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector – NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon s surface.
2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother Raúl Castro. This leads to a celebration in Little Havana (La Pequeña Habana in Spanish), Miami, Florida, where many Cuban Americans participated.
2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
Births
1143 – Emperor Nijo of Japan (d. 1165)
1396 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
1598 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1654)
1702 – Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter (d. 1768)
1704 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (d. 1752)
1718 – John Canton, English physicist (d. 1772)
1724 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer (d. 1801)
1737 – Princess Augusta of Great Britain (d. 1813)
1777 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentine statesman and priest (d. 1849)
1803 – John Ericsson, Swedish inventor and engineer (d. 1889)
1816 – George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
1825 – William S. Clark, American senator and scholar (d. 1886)
1835 – Henri Brisson, French statesman (d. 1912)
1835 – Paul du Chaillu, French explorer (d. 1903)
1837 – William Quantrill, American Civil War rebel guerrilla leader (d. 1865)
1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet (d. 1918)
1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, British geologist (d. 1936)
1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist (d. 1940)
1867 – Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant and philanthropist (d. 1966)
1880 – Munshi Premchand, Indian Author (d. 1936)
1883 – Fred Quimby, American film producer (d. 1965)
1884 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (d. 1945)
1886 – Salvatore Maranzano, Sicilian-born American organized crime figure (d. 1931)
1887 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist (d. 1969)
1892 – Joseph Charbonneau, French-Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1959)
1894 – Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
1901 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
1904 – Brett Halliday, American writer (d. 1977)
1911 – George Liberace, American musician (d. 1983)
1912 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 2006)
1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American newspaper columnist (d. 2003)
1913 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian hockey player (d. 1984)
1914 – Louis de Funès, French actor and comedian (d. 1983)
1916 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player and official (d. 2006)
1916 – Bill Todman, American game show producer (d. 1979)
1916 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist
1918 – Paul D. Boyer, American chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate
1918 – Hank Jones, American pianist
1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sports announcer (d. 2006)
1919 – Primo Levi, Italian author and chemist (d. 1987)
1920 – James Esdras Faust, American religious leader (d. 2007)
1921 – Whitney Young, American civil rights activist (d. 1971)
1921 – Peter Benenson, British founder of Amnesty International (d. 2005)
1922 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
1923 – Ahmet Ertegün, Turkish-born record company executive (d. 2006)
1923 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis coach and father of Chris Evert
1926 – Hilary Putnam, American philosopher
1929 – Don Murray, American actor
1929 – José Santamaria, Uruguayan footballer
1929 – Lynne Reid Banks, British author
1930 – Oleg Popov, Russian clown
1931 – Kenny Burrell, American guitarist
1931 – Nick Bollettieri, American tennis coach
1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor (d. 1979)
1932 – John Searle, American philosopher
1933 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch writer
1935 – Yvon Deschamps, French-Canadian author and humorist
1935 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor
1936 – Vic Davalillo, Venezuelan baseball player
1939 – France Nuyen, French actress
1940 – Carol J. Clover, American academic
1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician
1943 – William Bennett, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
1943 – Susan Flannery, American actress
1943 – Lobo, American singer and songwriter
1943 – Sab Shimono, Japanese-American actor
1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
1944 – Jonathan Dimbleby, British journalist and television presenter
1944 – Robert C. Merton, American mathematician
1945 – Gary Lewis, American vocalist (Gary Lewis & the Playboys)
1945 – William Weld, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
1946 – Bob Welch, American musician
1946 – Karen Zerby, American religious leader
1950 – Lane Davies, American actor
1950 – Steve Miller, American writer
1951 – Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis player
1951 – Barry Van Dyke, American actor
1952 – Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
1952 – Alan Autry, American football player and politician
1952 – Helmuts Balderis, Latvian hockey player
1952 – João Barreiros, Portuguese writer
1953 – Ted Baillieu, Australian Politician
1953 – James Read, American actor
1953 – Jimmy Cook, former South African cricketer
1954 – Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 – Jakie Quartz, French singer
1956 – Michael Biehn, American actor
1956 – Deval Patrick, 71st Governor of Massachusetts
1956 – Bill Callahan, American football coach
1957 – Daniel Ash, British musician (Bauhaus)
1957 – Leon Durham, American baseball player
1957 – Dirk Blocker, American actor
1958 – Bill Berry, American musician (R.E.M.)
1958 – Mark Cuban, American businessman and basketball team owner
1959 – Stanley Jordan, American jazz guitarist
1960 – Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player
1962 – John Chiang, American politician
1962 – Kevin Greene, American football player
1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor
1963 – Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player
1963 – Norman Cook, British musician (The Housemartins, Freak Power, Beats International, Fatboy Slim)
1964 – Jim Corr, Irish singer and musician (The Corrs)
1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball player
1965 – John Laurinaitis, American professional wrestler
1965 – J. K. Rowling, British writer
1965 – Julian Richards, British film director
1966 – Dean Cain, American actor
1967 – Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress (d. 2005)
1967 – Mitsuo Iwata, Japanese seiyu
1968 – Saeed-Al-Saffar, Former UAE cricketer
1969 – David Cash, American professional wrestler
1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
1969 – Kenneth D. Schisler, American politician
1970 – Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian writer
1971 – Gus Frerotte, American football player
1971 – John Lowery, American guitarist
1973 – Chandra North, American supermodel
1973 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player
1974 – Emilia Fox, English actress
1974 – Jonathan Ogden, American football player
1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball player
1975 – Simon Hirst, British radio DJ
1975 – Mike Lincoln, American baseball player
1975 – Poesy Liang, Founder of Helping Angels
1975 – Allan von Schenkel, American musician
1975 – Andrew Hall, Former South African cricketer
1976 – Joshua Cain, American musician (Motion City Soundtrack)
1976 – Annie Parisse, American actress
1976 – Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer
1977 – Tim Couch, American football player
1978 – Will Champion, English musician (Coldplay)
1978 – Zeta Makripoulia, Greek actress, model and TV presenter
1978 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver
1979 – J. J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
1979 – Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
1979 – Jade Kwan, Hong Kong singer
1979 – Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
1979 – B. J. Novak, American actor
1980 – Mils Muliaina, New Zealand and Waikato rugby player
1981 – Eric Lively, American actor
1981 – J.Son Dinant, American comedian
1981 – Ira Losco, Maltese singer
1981 – Matthew Sanders, American singer (Avenged Sevenfold)
1982 – Blessing Mahwire, Zimbabwean cricketer
1984 – Glenn Holt, American football player
1986 – Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
1987 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
1987 – Brittany Byrnes, Australian Actress
1989 – Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player
1990 – Olga Galchenko, Russian juggler
Deaths
855 – Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim Jurisprudent (b. 780)
1396 – William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1342)
1508 – Na od, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1494)
1556 – Ignatius Loyola, Spanish priest and founder of the Jesuits
1653 – Thomas Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
1726 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1695)
1750 – King John V of Portugal (b. 1689)
1784 – Denis Diderot, French philosopher and encylopedist (b. 1713)
1864 – Louis Hachette, French publisher (b. 1800)
1875 – Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
1886 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer (b. 1811)
1914 – Jean Jaurès, French politician (d. 1859)
1917 – Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b. 1881)
1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh poet (b. 1887)
1943 – Hedley Verity, English Test cricketer (b. 1905)
1944 – Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French pilot and writer (b. 1900)
1953 – Robert Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio and Presidential candidate (b. 1889)
1954 – Onofre Marimón, Argentine racing driver (b. 1923)
1964 – Jim Reeves, American singer (b. 1923)
1966 – Bud Powell, American jazz pianist (b. 1924)
1970 – Walter Briggs, Jr., American sports executive (b. 1912)
1972 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
1980 – Pascual Jordan, German physicist (b. 1902)
1980 – Mohd. Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
1986 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
1986 – Teddy Wilson, American jazz pianist (b. 1912)
1988 – Trinidad Silva, American actor (b. 1950)
1990 – Albert Leduc, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
1993 – King Baudouin I of Belgium (b. 1930)
1996 – Seagram Miller, American rapper (b. 1970)
2001 – Poul Anderson, American author (b. 1926)
2001 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, 16th President of Portugal (b. 1914)
2001 – Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (b. 1910)
2003 – Guido Crepax, Italian comics artist (b. 1933)
2004 – Virginia Grey, American actress (b. 1917)
2004 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (b. 1927)
2005 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch banker (b. 1935)
2006 – Paul Eells, American sportscaster (b. 1935)
Holidays and observances
Hari Pahlawan – Malaysian warrior s day.
Ka Hae Hawai‘i – Hawaiian Flag Day.
End of the Trinity term (sitting of the High Court of Justice of England).
Saint Germanus (died 448), bishop of Auxerre, confessor [Bruges; Paris]
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits
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