Events
477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.
390 BC – Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
362 – Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire.
452 – Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it.
645 – Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.
1195 – Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo.
1290 – King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
1334 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.
1389 – France and England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13-year peace, the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years' War.
1391 – Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia.
1555 – The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain.
1792 John Paul Jones, the Revolutionary War naval hero, dies in his apartment. Commander Jones, remembered as one of the most daring and successful naval commanders of the American Revolution, was born in Scotland, on July 6, 1747.
1806 – A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, kills around 200 people.
1812 – The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars.
1841 – Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
1857 – Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French.
1862 – First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
1870 – The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.
1872 – The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections be held by secret ballot.
1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
1936 Spanish Civil War begins as a revolt by right-wing Spanish military officers in Spanish Morocco and spreads to mainland Spain.
1942 – World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia.
1942 – The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.
1944 – World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.
1966 – Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
1966 – A racially charged incident in a bar sparks the six-day Hough riots in Cleveland, Ohio; 1,700 Ohio National Guard troops intervene to restore order.
1968 – Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.
1969 – U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal basin at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger, campaign specialist Mary Jo Kopechne.
1976 – Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
1982 – Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos ("peasants" or "country people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
1984 – McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
1992 – A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web.
1994 – The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Community Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300.
1994 – Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.
1995 – On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee.
1996 – Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec's costliest natural disasters ever.
1996 – Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army's base, killing over 1200 soldiers.
2012 – At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.
2013 – The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Births[edit]
1439 – John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1507)
1501 – Isabella of Austria (d. 1526)
1504 – Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss pastor and reformer (d. 1575)
1534 – Zacharius Ursinus, German theologian (d. 1583)
1552 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1612)
1634 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1695)
1659 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (d. 1743)
1670 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1747)
1702 – Maria Clementina Sobieska, Polish noble (d. 1735)
1718 – Saverio Bettinelli, Italian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1808)
1720 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (d. 1793)
1724 – Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria (d. 1780)
1750 – Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden (d. 1803)
1796 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
1811 – William Makepeace Thackeray, English author and poet (d. 1863)
1818 – Louis Gerhard De Geer, Swedish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1896)
1821 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (d. 1910)
1837 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian priest and activist (d. 1873)
1845 – Tristan Corbière, French poet (d. 1875)
1848 – W. G. Grace, English cricketer and physician (d. 1915)
1853 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
1864 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1937)
1867 – Margaret Brown, American philanthropist and activist (d. 1932)
1871 – Giacomo Balla, Italian painter (d.1958)
1871 – Sada Yacco, Japanese actress and dancer (d. 1946)
1881 – Larry McLean, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1921)
1884 – Alberto di Jorio, Italian cardinal (d. 1979)
1886 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (d. 1945)
1887 – Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian military officer and politician, Minister President of Norway (d. 1945)
1889 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (d. 1977)
1890 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1983)
1892 – Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian footballer (d. 1969)
1893 – David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier (d. 1968)
1895 – Olga Spessivtseva, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1991)
1895 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (d. 1954)
1897 – Ernest Eldridge, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1935)
1898 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (d. 1979)
1899 – Ernst Scheller, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Marburg (d. 1942)
1900 – Nathalie Sarraute, French lawyer and author (d. 1999)
1902 – Jessamyn West, American author (d. 1984)
1902 – Chill Wills, American actor (d. 1978)
1906 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American academic and politician (d. 1992)
1906 – Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
1908 – Peace Pilgrim, American mystic and activist (d. 1981)
1908 – Lupe Vélez, Mexican-American actress and dancer (d. 1944)
1908 – Beatrice Aitchison, American mathematician, statistician, and transportation economist (d. 1997)
1909 – Bishnu Dey, Indian poet, critic, and academic (d. 1982)
1909 – Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1989)
1909 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (d. 1978)
1909 – Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
1910 – Diptendu Pramanick, Indian businessman (d. 1989)
1911 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1913 – Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
1914 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (d. 2000)
1914 – Oscar Heisserer, French footballer (d. 2004)
1915 – Carequinha, Brazilian clown and actor (d. 2006)
1915 – Roxana Cannon Arsht, American judge (d. 2003)
1915 – Louis Le Bailly, British Royal Navy officer (d. 2010)
1917 – Henri Salvador, French singer and guitarist (d. 2008)
1917 – Paul Streeten, Austrian-born British economics professor
1918 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
1920 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1982)
1921 – Peter Austin, English brewer, founded Ringwood Brewery (d. 2014)
1921 – Aaron T. Beck, American psychiatrist and academic
1921 – John Glenn, American colonel, astronaut, and politician (d. 2016)
1921 – Richard Leacock, English-French director and producer (d. 2011)
1922 – Thomas Kuhn, American physicist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1996)
1923 – Jerome H. Lemelson, American engineer and businessman (d. 1997)
1923 – Michael Medwin, English actor
1924 – Inge Sørensen, Danish swimmer (d. 2011)
1924 – Tullio Altamura, Italian actor
1925 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner and hurdler (d. 2004)
1925 – Friedrich Zimmermann, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 2012)
1925 – Raymond Jones, Australian Modernist architect
1925 – Windy McCall, American baseball relief pitcher
1926 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (d. 1987)
1926 – Nita Bieber, American actress
1926 – Bernard Pons, French politician and medical doctor
1926 – Maunu Kurkvaara, Finnish film director and screenwriter
1927 – Kurt Masur, German conductor and educator (d. 2015)
1927 – Antonio García-Trevijano, Spanish republican, political activist, and author
1927 – Keith MacDonald, Canadian politician
1928 – Andrea Gallo, Italian priest and author (d. 2013)
1928 – Baddiewinkle, American internet personality
1929 – Dick Button, American figure skater and actor
1929 – Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 2000)
1932 – Robert Ellis Miller, American director and screenwriter
1933 – Jean Yanne, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1933 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet and playwright (d. 2017)
1934 – Edward Bond, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
1934 – Darlene Conley, American actress (d. 2007)
1935 – Tenley Albright, American figure skater and physician
1935 – Jayendra Saraswathi, Indian guru, 69th Shankaracharya
1937 – Roald Hoffmann, Polish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1937 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
1938 – John Connelly, English footballer (d. 2012)
1938 – Ian Stewart, Scottish keyboard player and manager (d. 1985)
1938 – Paul Verhoeven, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
1939 – Brian Auger, English rock and jazz keyboard player
1939 – Dion DiMucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1939 – Jerry Moore, American football player and coach
1940 – James Brolin, American actor
1940 – Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
1941 – Frank Farian, German songwriter and producer
1941 – Lonnie Mack, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1941 – Martha Reeves, American singer and politician
1942 – Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
1942 – Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician, 84th President of the Swiss Confederation
1943 – Joseph J. Ellis, American historian and author
1944 – David Hemery, English hurdler and author
1945 – Pat Doherty, Irish republican politician
1946 – Kalpana Mohan, Indian actress
1946 – John Naughton, Scottish-Irish journalist, author, and academic
1947 – Steve Forbes, American publisher and politician
1948 – Carlos Colón Sr., Puerto Rican-American wrestler and promoter
1948 – Jeanne Córdova, American journalist and activist (d. 2016)
1948 – Graham Spanier, 16th President of Pennsylvania State University
1948 – Hartmut Michel, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1949 – Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer and coach
1950 – Richard Branson, English businessman, founded Virgin Group
1950 – Jack Dongarra, American computer scientist and academic
1950 – Kostas Eleftherakis, Greek footballer
1950 – Glenn Hughes, American disco singer (Village People) and actor (d. 2001)
1950 – Jack Layton, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician (d. 2011)
1950 – Mark Udall, American educator and politician
1951 – Elio Di Rupo, Belgian chemist, academic, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Belgium
1951 – Margo Martindale, American actress
1954 – Ricky Skaggs, American singer-songwriter, mandolin player, and producer
1955 – Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
1957 – Nick Faldo, English golfer and sportscaster
1957 – Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1960 – Simon Heffer, English journalist and author
1961 – Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
1961 – Alan Pardew, English footballer and manager
1961 – Pasi Rautiainen, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager
1962 – Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian, producer, and screenwriter
1963 – Marc Girardelli, Austrian-Luxembourgian skier
1963 – Martín Torrijos, Panamanian economist and politician, 35th President of Panama
1964 – Wendy Williams, American talk show host
1965 – Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian soprano
1966 – Dan O'Brien, American decathlete and coach
1967 – Vin Diesel, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Grant Bowler, New Zealand-Australian actor
1968 – Scott Gourley, Australian rugby player
1969 – Elizabeth Gilbert, American author
1969 – The Great Sasuke, Japanese wrestler and politician
1971 – Penny Hardaway, American basketball player and coach
1971 – Sukhwinder Singh, Indian singer-songwriter and actor
1974 – Alan Morrison, British poet
1975 – Torii Hunter, American baseball player
1975 – Daron Malakian, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1975 – M.I.A., English rapper and producer
1976 – Elsa Pataky, Spanish actress
1976 – Go Soo-hee, South Korean actress
1977 – Alexander Morozevich, Russian chess player and author
1978 – Adabel Guerrero, Argentinian actress, singer, and dancer
1978 – Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player and sportscaster
1978 – Ben Sheets, American baseball player and coach
1978 – Mélissa Theuriau, French journalist
1978 – Joo Sang-wook, South Korean actor
1979 – Deion Branch, American football player
1979 – Joey Mercury, American wrestler and producer
1980 – Kristen Bell, American actress
1981 – Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
1982 – Ryan Cabrera, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1982 – Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress, singer, and film producer
1982 – Dominika Luzarová, Czech tennis player
1983 – Carlos Diogo, Uruguayan footballer
1983 – Aaron Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and drummer
1983 – Mikk Pahapill, Estonian decathlete
1983 – Jan Schlaudraff, German footballer
1985 – Chace Crawford, American actor
1985 – Panagiotis Lagos, Greek footballer
1986 – Natalia Mikhailova, Russian ice dancer
1987 – Tontowi Ahmad, Indonesian badminton player
1988 – Änis Ben-Hatira, German-Tunisian footballer
1988 – César Villaluz, Mexican footballer
1989 – Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Sebastian Mielitz, German footballer
1989 – Yohan Mollo, French footballer
1993 – Michael Lichaa, Australian rugby league player
Deaths
707 – Emperor Monmu of Japan (b. 683)
715 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Umayyad general (b. 695)
912 – Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor (b. 852)
924 – Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat, Abbasid vizier (b. 855)
928 – Stephen II, patriarch of Constantinople
1100 – Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight (b. 1016)
1185 – Stefan, first Archbishop of Uppsala (b. before 1143)
1194 – Guy of Lusignan, king consort of Jerusalem (b. c. 1150)
1232 – John de Braose, Marcher Lord of Bramber and Gower
1270 – Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury
1300 – Gerard Segarelli, Italian religious leader, founded the Apostolic Brethren (b. 1240)
1450 – Francis I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1414)
1488 – Alvise Cadamosto, Italian explorer (b. 1432)
1566 – Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish bishop and historian (b. 1484)
1591 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (b. 1550)
1608 – Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1546)
1610 – Caravaggio, Italian painter (b. 1571)
1639 – Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, German general (b. 1604)
1695 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1634)
1698 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (b. 1633)
1721 – Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
1730 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (b. 1644)
1756 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch poet and playwright (b. 1683)
1792 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American admiral and diplomat (b. 1747)
1817 – Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)
1837 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (b. 1777)
1863 – Robert Gould Shaw, American colonel (b. 1837)
1872 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 26th President of Mexico (b. 1806)
1884 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (b. 1829)
1890 – Lydia Becker, English journalist, author, and activist, co-founded the Women's Suffrage Journal (b. 1827)
1892 – Thomas Cook, English travel agent, founded the Thomas Cook Group (b. 1808)
1899 – Horatio Alger, American novelist and journalist (b. 1832)
1916 – Benjamin C. Truman, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
1925 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (b. 1840)
1932 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French author and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (b. 1855)
1937 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (b. 1908)
1938 – Marie of Romania (b. 1875)
1944 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1870)
1947 – Evald Tipner, Estonian footballer and ice hockey player (b. 1906)
1948 – Herman Gummerus, Finnish historian, academic, and politician (b. 1877)
1949 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator (b. 1870)
1949 – Francisco Javier Arana, Guatemalan Army colonel and briefly Guatemalan head of state (b.1905)
1950 – Carl Clinton Van Doren, American critic and biographer (b. 1885)
1952 – Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect and historian (b. 1862)
1954 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (b. 1895)
1966 – Bobby Fuller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
1968 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
1969 – Mary Jo Kopechne, American educator and secretary (b. 1940)
1973 – Jack Hawkins, English actor (b. 1910)
1975 – Vaughn Bodē, American illustrator (b. 1941)
1982 – Roman Jakobson, Russian–American linguist and theorist (b. 1896)
1984 – Lally Bowers English actress (b. 1914)
1984 – Grigori Kromanov, Estonian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
1985 – Louisa Ghijs, Belgian-German actress (b. 1902)
1987 – Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter, journalist and congressman (b. 1907)
1988 – Nico, German singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1938)
1988 – Joly Braga Santos, Portuguese composer and conductor (b. 1924)
1989 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (b. 1954)
1990 – Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1896)
1990 – Yun Posun, South Korean politician, 2nd President of South Korea (b. 1897)
2001 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
2002 – Metin Toker, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1924)
2004 – André Castelot, Belgian-French historian and author (b. 1911)
2004 – Émile Peynaud, French wine maker (b. 1912)
2005 – Amy Gillett, Australian cyclist and rower (b. 1976)
2005 – William Westmoreland, American general (b. 1914)
2007 – Jerry Hadley, American tenor (b. 1952)
2007 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (b. 1908)
2009 – Henry Allingham, English soldier (b. 1896)
2009 – Jill Balcon, English actress (b. 1925)
2012 – Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Lithuanian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
2012 – Jean François-Poncet, French politician and diplomat, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
2012 – Dawoud Rajiha, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1947)
2012 – Assef Shawkat, Syrian general and politician (b. 1950)
2012 – Hasan Turkmani, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1935)
2012 – Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor (b. 1942)
2013 – Vaali, Indian poet, songwriter, and actor (b. 1931)
2013 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and academic (b. 1953)
2014 – Andreas Biermann, German footballer (b. 1980)
2014 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
2014 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
2015 – Alex Rocco, American actor (b. 1936)
Holidays and observancesChristian feast day:
Arnulf of Metz
Bartolomé de las Casas (Episcopal Church (USA))
Bruno of Segni
Camillus de Lellis (optional memorial, United States only)
Eadburh (or Edburga) of Bicester
Elizabeth Ferard (Church of England)
Frederick of Utrecht
Goneri of Brittany
Gundenis
Marina of Aguas Santas
Maternus of Milan
Minnborinus of Cologne
Pambo
Philastrius (or Filaster)
Symphorosa
Teneu (or Theneva)
Theodosia of Constantinople
July 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constitution Day (Uruguay)
Nelson Mandela International Day