July 23 is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 161 days remaining until the end of the year.

[edit] Events

• 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.
• 1793 - The Prussians conquer Mayence.
• 1829 - In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
• 1833 - Cornerstones are laid for the construction of the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio.
• 1840 - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
• 1862 - American Civil War: Henry W. Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
• 1874 - Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa.
• 1881 - The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded.
• 1903 - The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
• 1914 - Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia rejects those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.
• 1926 - Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
• 1929 - The Fascist government in Italy bans the use of foreign words.
• 1936 - In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of socialist and communist parties.
• 1940 - United States' Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles's declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• 1942 - The Holocaust: The Treblinka extermination camp is opened.
• 1942 - World War II: Operation Edelweiss begins.
• 1945 - The post war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
• 1952 - Establishment of the European Coal and Steel community.
• 1952 - General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser - the real power behind the coup) in the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt.
• 1956 - The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs.
• 1961 - The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) is founded in Nicaragua.
• 1962 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.
• 1962 - The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
• 1967 - 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned).
• 1968 - Glenville Shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization led by Ahmed Evans and the Cleveland Police Department occurs. During the shootout, a riot begins that lasted for five days.
• 1968 - The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft takes place when a 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers is taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The aircraft was en route from Rome, Italy, to Lod, Israel.
• 1970 - Qaboos ibn Sa’id becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Sa’id ibn Taimur.
• 1972 - The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
• 1982 - The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
• 1983 - The Sri Lankan Civil War begins with the killing of 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In the subsequent government-organised pogrom of Black July, about 1,000 Tamils are slaughtered, some 400,000 Tamils flee to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, India and many find refuge in Europe and Canada.
• 1983 - Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
• 1984 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
• 1986 - In London, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
• 1988 - General Ne Win, effective ruler of Burma since 1962, resigns after pro-democracy protests.
• 1992 - A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that it is necessary to limit rights of homosexual people and non-married couples.
• 1992 - Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
• 1995 - Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and becomes visible to the naked eye nearly a year later.
• 1997 - Digital Equipment Company files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
• 1999 - Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan is crowned King Mohammed VI of Morocco on the death of his father.
• 1999 - ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan.
• 2005 - Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
• 2008 - Cape Verde joins the World Trade Organization, becoming its 153rd member.

[edit] Births

• 645 - Yazid I, Sixth caliph of Islam (d. 683)
• 1301 - Duke Otto of Austria (d. 1339)
• 1339 - King Louis I of Naples (d. 1384)
• 1503 - Anna Jagello, Queen of the Romans (d. 1547)
• 1649 - Pope Clement XI (d. 1721)
• 1705 - Francis Blomefield, English topographer (d. 1752)
• 1775 - Etienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812)
• 1777 - Philipp Otto Runge, German painter (d. 1810)
• 1796 - Franz Berwald, Swedish composer (d. 1868)
• 1823 - Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian Catholic priest and archbishop (d. 1894)
• 1838 - Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (d. 1910)
• 1851 - Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (d. 1930)
• 1856 - Lokmanya Tilak, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1920)
• 1864 - Apolinario Mabini, Filipino political theoretician and Prime Minister (d. 1903)
• 1865 - Max Heindel, Danish Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic (d. 1919)
• 1884 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (d. 1950)
• 1885 - Georges V. Matchabelli, Perfumer (d. 1935)
• 1886 - Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish League of Nations official (d. 1978)
• 1886 - Walter H. Schottky, German physicist (d. 1976)
• 1888 - Raymond Chandler, American-born author (d. 1959)
• 1892 - Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (d. 1975)
• 1894 - Arthur Treacher, English character actor (d. 1975)
• 1895 - Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)
• 1898 - Jacob Marschak, American economist (d. 1977)
• 1898 - Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1987)
• 1899 - Gustav Heinemann, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1976)
• 1901 - Hank Worden, American actor and rodeo cowboy (d. 1992)
• 1906 - Vladimir Prelog, Croatian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
• 1906 - Chandrasekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (d. 1931)
• 1912 - Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979)
• 1913 - Michael Foot, English politician
• 1914 - Virgil Finlay, American horror illustrator (d. 1971)
• 1918 - Bueno de Mesquita Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005)
• 1918 - Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1920 - Amalia Rodrigues, Portuguese fado singer (d. 1999)
• 1921 - Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1923 - Luis Aloma, Cuban baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1923 - Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (d. 1958)
• 1923 - Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer (d. 2001)
• 1924 - Gavin Lambert, British-born screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1927 - Gérard Brach, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
• 1928 - Hubert Selby Jr., American author (d. 2004)
• 1931 - Te Atairangi Kaahu, Māori Queen (d. 2006)
• 1931 - Guy Fournier, French Canadian author and screenwriter
• 1931 - Claude Fournier, French Canadian film director and screenwriter
• 1933 - Bert Convy, American game show host and performer (d. 1991)
• 1935 - Jim Hall, American race car driver and constructor (Chaparral Cars)
• 1935 - Hein Heinsen, Danish artist
• 1936 - Don Drysdale, American baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1936 - Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• 1937 - Dave Webster, Led his football team to a National Championship in 1958
• 1938 - Juliet Anderson, American pornographic actress
• 1938 - Ronny Cox, American actor
• 1938 - Götz George, German actor
• 1938 - Charles Harrelson, American convicted murderer; father of Woody Harrelson (d. 2007)
• 1938 - Bert Newton, Australian actor and television show host
• 1940 - Don Imus, American talk radio host
• 1941 - Richie Evans, 9 time NASCAR Modified Champion (died at Martinsville in 1985)
• 1942 - Myra Hindley, English murderer (d. 2002)
• 1942 - Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian politician
• 1943 - Dr. Randall Forsberg, American nuclear freeze advocate (d. 2007)
• 1943 - Tony Joe White, American singer and songwriter
• 1947 - Gardner Dozois, American author
• 1947 - David Essex, English singer
• 1947 - Torsten Palm, Swedish racing driver
• 1948 - John Cushnahan, Northern Irish politician
• 1948 - John Hall, American politician and former rock musician
• 1949 - Clive Rice, South African cricketer
• 1950 - Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American judge
• 1950 - Blair Thornton, Canadian guitarist (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
• 1950 - Alan Turner, Australian cricketer
• 1951 - Edie McClurg, American actress
• 1952 - Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player (d. 1995)
• 1952 - Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer
• 1953 - Graham Gooch, English cricketer
• 1957 - Theo van Gogh, Dutch film director (d. 2004)
• 1957 - Nick Galis, Greek basketball player
• 1959 - Nancy Savoca, American filmmaker
• 1960 - Al Perez, American professional wrestler
• 1961 - Martin Gore, English musician and songwriter (Depeche Mode)
• 1961 - Woody Harrelson, American actor
• 1961 - André Ducharme, Canadian (Québécois) humorist (Rock et Belles Oreilles) and author
• 1961 - Michael Durant, American Helicopter pilot, shot down and held captive in Mogadishu, Somalia
• 1962 - Eriq La Salle, American actor
• 1964 - Ed Forchion, American marijuana activist
• 1965 - Rob Dickinson, English musician
• 1965 - Slash, American guitarist (Guns N' Roses)
• 1966 - Samantha Beckinsale, English actress
• 1967 - Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor
• 1968 - Nick Menza, American musician, drummer
• 1968 - Gary Payton, American basketball player
• 1968 - Stephanie Seymour, American supermodel
• 1970 - Charisma Carpenter, American actress
• 1970 - Thea Dorn, German writer
• 1971 - Dalvin DeGrate, American singer
• 1971 - Alison Krauss, American singer and fiddler
• 1971 - Chris Michalek, American musician
• 1971 - Christopher Lee, Singaporean actor and model
• 1972 - Marlon Wayans, American actor
• 1972 - Floyd Reifer, West Indian cricketer
• 1973 - Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player
• 1973 - Omar Epps, American actor
• 1973 - Francis Healy, Scottish rock musician (Travis)
• 1973 - Monica Lewinsky, American White House intern
• 1973 - Himesh Reshammiya, Indian Bollywood composer, singer and actor.
• 1974 - Terry Glenn, American football player
• 1974 - Maurice Greene, American athlete
• 1974 - Stephanie March, American actress
• 1974 - Sonny Siaki, Samoan-born professional wrestler
• 1974 - Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
• 1974 - Kathryn Hahn, American actress
• 1975 - Seong Hyeon-ah, South Korean actress
• 1975 - Surya Sivakumar, Tamil actor
• 1976 - Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
• 1976 - Jonathan Gallant, Canadian musician (Billy Talent)
• 1977 - Neicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1977 - Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player
• 1978 - Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
• 1978 - Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer
• 1979 - Perro Aguayo, Jr., Mexican professional wrestler
• 1979 - Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian racing driver
• 1979 - Richard Sims, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1980 - Michelle Williams, American singer (Destiny's Child)
• 1981 - Steve Jocz, Canadian drummer (Sum 41)
• 1981 - Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
• 1982 - Gerald Wallace, American basketball player
• 1983 - Andrew Eiden, American actor
• 1983 - Bec Hewitt, Australian actress
• 1983 - Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
• 1984 - Brandon Roy, American professional basketball player
• 1984 - Matthew Murphy, English musician (The Wombats)
• 1985 - Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
• 1986 - Ayaka Komatsu, Japanese model and actress
• 1986 - Nelson Philippe, French racing driver
• 1986 - Reece Ritchie, English actor
• 1988 - Pippa Bennett-Warner, English actress
• 1989 - Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
• 1996 - Rachel G. Fox, American actress

[edit] Deaths

• 1227 - Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist (b. 1148)
• 1373 - Saint Birgitta, Swedish saint (b. 1303)
• 1403 - Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (executed) (b. 1343)
• 1531 - Louis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, Marshal of Normandy and husband of Diane de Poitiers
• 1584 - John Day, English printer (b. 1522)
• 1692 - Gilles Ménage, French scholar (b. 1613)
• 1727 - Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1757 - Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1685)
• 1764 - Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (b. 1703)
• 1773 - George Edwards, English naturalist (b. 1693)
• 1781 - John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-born Continental Congressman (b. 1724)
• 1793 - Roger Sherman, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1721)
• 1853 - Andries Pretorius, Boer leader (b. 1798)
• 1875 - Isaac Singer, American inventor and entrepreneur (b. 1811)
• 1878 - Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician (b. 1804)
• 1885 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
• 1916 - Sir William Ramsay, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
• 1920 - Conrad Kohrs, German-born rancher (b. 1835)
• 1923 - Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (b. 1878)
• 1924 - Frank Frost Abbott, American classical scholar (b. 1850)
• 1930 - Glenn Curtiss, American aviation pioneer (b. 1878)
• 1932 - Tenby Davies, Welsh half-mile world champion runner (b. 1884)
• 1942 - Adam Czerniakow, Polish engineer (suicide) (b. 1880)
• 1942 - Andy Ducat, Former England cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
• 1948 - D. W. Griffith, American film director (b. 1875)
• 1951 - Henri Philippe Pétain, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856)
• 1951 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884)
• 1955 - Cordell Hull, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
• 1966 - Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1968 - Henry Hallett Dale, English scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
• 1971 - Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910)
• 1979 - Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (b. 1898)
• 1980 - Mollie Steimer, anarchist agitator and American political prisoner (b. 1897)
• 1980 - Sarto Fournier, Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908)
• 1980 - Keith Godchaux, American pianist (Grateful Dead) (b. 1948)
• 1982 - Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
• 1983 - Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899)
• 1985 - Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (b. 1923)
• 1989 - Donald Barthelme, American author (b. 1931)
• 1990 - Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese development of television (b. 1899)
• 1993 - James R. Jordan, Sr., father of Michael Jordan (b. 1936)
• 1996 - Aliki Vougiouklaki, Greek actress (b. 1934)
• 1997 - Chuhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (b. 1904)
• 1999 - King Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
• 2001 - Eudora Welty, American author (b. 1909)
• 2002 - Leo McKern, Australian actor (b. 1920)
• 2002 - William Luther Pierce, American author and activist (b. 1933)
• 2002 - Chaim Potok, American novelist and rabbi (b. 1929)
• 2003 - James E. Davis, New York City councilman (murdered) (b. 1962)
• 2004 - Mehmood, Indian actor (b. 1932)
• 2004 - Carlos Paredes, Portuguese musician and composer (b. 1925)
• 2004 - Piero Piccioni, Italian musician, conductor and composer (b. 1921)
• 2004 - Serge Reggiani, French singer and actor (b. 1922)
• 2005 - Ted Greene, American jazz guitarist and teacher (b. 1946)
• 2006 - Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and journalist (b. 1927)
• 2007 - Tor Kamata, American/Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1937)
• 2007 - Ron Miller, American songwriter and record producer (b. 1933)
• 2007 - Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (b. 1914)
• 2008 - Kurt Furgler, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1924)

[edit] Holidays and observances

• Egypt - Revolution Day (1952)
• Roman Empire - Neptunalia held in honor of Neptune
• Rastafari movement - Celebration of the birthday of Haile Selassie

Roman Catholic

• Saint Liborius, bishop of Le Mans, confessor [northern Germany]
• Saint Bridget of Sweden, widow [Bamberg, Mainz, Münster, Riga]

Eastern Orthodox

• St. Ezekiel the Prophet
• Heiromartyr Phocas

[edit] External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada