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Jul 31
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jul_31" .
July 31 is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 153 days remaining until the end of the year.
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
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 Charlotte of Wales (d. 1813 )
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
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 , South African cricketer
1954 - Derek Smith , Canadian ice hockey player
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 seiyū
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 - 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 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
External links
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