July 24 is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 160 days remaining until the end of the year. [edit] 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 Francis I of France.
- 1567 – Mary Queen of Scots is forced to abdicate 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 aeroplanes 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 is carried out by 14 Tamil Tiger commandos, all died in this attack. They destroyed 11 Aircrafts (mostly military) and damaged 15, there are no civilian casualties. This incident slowed down Sri Lankan economy.
- 2002 – Democrat 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.
[edit] Births - 923 – Emperor Suzaku of Japan (d. 952)
- 1529 – Karl II, Margrave of Baden-Durlach, governor of the Margravate of Durlach (d. 1577)
- 1561 – Maria of Palatinate-Simmern, Duchess of Södermanland (d. 1589)
- 1574 – Thomas Platter the Younger, Swiss-born physician (d. 1628)
- 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 (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 – Princess Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1919)
- 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, English 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'ichirō 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, Coast Salish (Native Canadian) actor (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Zelda Fitzgerald, American artist (d. 1948)
- 1904 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (d. 1991)
- 1904 – Richard B. Morris, American constitutional, legal, diplomatic historian (d. 1989)
- 1908 – Cootie Williams, American trumpeter (d. 1985)
- 1910 – Harry Horner, American art director (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Britton Chance, American biochemist
- 1914 – Ed Mirvish, Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Enrique Fernando, Filipino 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, American politician (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
- 1934 – Sante Kimes, American 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 and artist
- 1938 – John Sparling, New Zealand cricketer
- 1940 – Stanley Hauerwas, American theologian
- 1940 – Dan Hedaya, American actor
- 1942 – Chris Sarandon, American actor
- 1945 – Hugh Ross, Canadian scientist and Christian apologist
- 1945 – Azim Premji, Indian businessman
- 1946 – Leo Gallagher, American comedian
- 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
- 1956 – Charles Crist, American politician
- 1956 – Pat Finn, American game show host and producer
- 1957 – Pam Tillis, American singer
- 1958 – Jim Leighton, Scottish goalkeeper
- 1961 – Kerry Dixon, English footballer
- 1962 – Johnny O'Connell, American race car driver
- 1963 – Paul Geary, American musician
- 1963 – Julie Krone, American jockey
- 1963 – Karl Malone, American basketball player
- 1964 – Barry Bonds, American baseball player
- 1964 – John Rosengren, American writer and author
- 1964 – Banana Yoshimoto, Japanese author
- 1964 – Christopher Gudgeon, Professor of history
- 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 – Kaiō 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
- 1975 – Dafydd James, Welsh rugby player
- 1976 – Rafer Alston, American basketball player
- 1976 – Nate Bump, American baseball player
- 1976 – Tiago Monteiro, Portuguese racing 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 – Mark Andrew Smith, American graphic novelist
- 1979 – José Valverde, American baseball player
- 1980 – Wilfred Bungei, Kenyan runner
- 1980 – Gauge, American pornographic actress
- 1981 – Summer Glau, American actress
- 1982 – Élise Crombez, Belgian model
- 1982 – Thiago Medeiros, Brazilian racing driver
- 1982 – Anna Paquin, Canadian-born New Zealand actress
- 1983 – Daniele De Rossi, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Dhani Lennevald, Swedish singer
- 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 footballer
- 1988 – Luke Mitchell, Scottish murderer
- 1990 – Daveigh Chase, American actress
- 1998 – Bindi Irwin, Australian entertainer
[edit] 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 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese writer (b. 1892)
- 1957 – Sacha Guitry, French actor, director, screenwriter and playwright (b. 1885)
- 1962 – Wilfrid Noyce, English mountaineer (b. 1917)
- 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 – Marjorie Cameron, American writer, painter, actress, and occultist (b. 1922)
- 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)
- 2009 – E. Lynn Harris, American Author (b. 1955)
[edit] Holidays and observances Roman Catholicism [edit] External links
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