Events
Pre-1600
- 762 – Baghdad is founded.
- 1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council.
- 1502 – Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage.
1601–1900
- 1609 – Beaver Wars: At Ticonderoga (now Crown Point, New York), Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs on behalf of his native allies.
- 1619 – In Jamestown, Virginia, the first Colonial European representative assembly in the Americas, the Virginia General Assembly, convenes for the first time.
- 1627 – An earthquake kills about 5,000 people in Gargano, Italy.
- 1635 – Eighty Years' War: The Siege of Schenkenschans begins; Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, begins the recapture of the strategically important fortress from the Spanish Army.
- 1645 – English Civil War: Scottish Covenanter forces under the Earl of Leven launch the Siege of Hereford, a remaining Royalist stronghold.
- 1656 – The Battle of Warsaw ends with a Swedish-Brandenburger victory over a larger Polish-Lithuanian force.
- 1676 – Nathaniel Bacon issues the "Declaration of the People of Virginia", beginning Bacon's Rebellion against the rule of Governor William Berkeley.
- 1729 – Founding of Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1733 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States is constituted in Massachusetts.
- 1756 – In Saint Petersburg, Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers.
- 1811 – Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed by the Spanish in Chihuahua City, Mexico.
- 1859 – First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
- 1863 – American Indian Wars: Representatives of the United States and tribal leaders including Chief Pocatello (of the Shoshone) sign the Treaty of Box Elder.
- 1863 – Valuev Circular banned the publication of religious, educational and training books in Ukrainian in the Russian Empire.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of the Crater: Union forces attempt to break Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia by exploding a large bomb under their trenches.
- 1865 – The steamboat Brother Jonathan sinks off the coast of Crescent City, California, killing 225 passengers, the deadliest shipwreck on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. at the time.
- 1866 – Armed Confederate veterans in New Orleans riot against a meeting of Radical Republicans, killing 48 people and injuring another 100.
- 1871 – The Staten Island Ferry Westfields boiler explodes, killing over 85 people.
1901–present
- 1912 – Japan's Emperor Meiji dies and is succeeded by his son Yoshihito, who is now known as the Emperor Taishō.
- 1916 – The Black Tom explosion in New York Harbor kills four and destroys some $20,000,000 worth of military goods.
- 1930 – In Montevideo, Uruguay wins the first FIFA World Cup by beating Argentina.
- 1932 – Premiere of Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award winning cartoon short.
- 1945 – World War II: sinks the , killing 883 seamen. Most die during the following four days, until an aircraft notices the survivors.
- 1956 – A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto.
- 1962 – The Trans-Canada Highway, the then-longest national highway in the world, is officially opened.
- 1965 – U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
- 1966 – England defeats West Germany to win the FIFA World Cup at Wembley Stadium 4–2 after extra time.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. president Richard Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and U.S. military commanders.
- 1971 – Apollo program: On Apollo 15, David Scott and James Irwin in the Apollo Lunar Module Falcon land on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.
- 1971 – An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collide over Morioka, Iwate, Japan, killing 162.
- 1974 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again.
- 1978 – The 730: Okinawa Prefecture changes its traffic on the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand side.
- 1980 – Vanuatu gains independence.
- 1980 – Israel's Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law.
- 1981 – As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, took to the streets in Łódź to protest food ration shortages in Communist Poland.
- 1990 – Ian Gow, Conservative Member of Parliament, is assassinated at his home by the IRA in a car bombing after he assured the group that the British government would never surrender to them.
- 2003 – In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.
- 2003 – Three years after the death of the last Pyrenean ibex, Celia, a clone of her is born only to subsequently die from lung defects. Within minutes, the Pyrenean ibex becomes the first and so-far only species to have ever gone de-extinct as well as go extinct twice.
- 2006 – The world's longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.
- 2006 – An Israeli airstrike kills 28 Lebanese civilians, including 16 children.
- 2011 – Marriage of Queen Elizabeth II's eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips to former rugby union footballer Mike Tindall.
- 2012 – A train fire kills 32 passengers and injures 27 on the Tamil Nadu Express in Andhra Pradesh, India.
- 2012 – A power grid failure in Delhi leaves more than 300 million people without power in northern India.
- 2014 – Twenty killed and 150 are trapped after a landslide in Maharashtra, India.
- 2020 – NASA's Mars 2020 mission was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
- 2024 – A series of landslides occurs in Kerala, India, causing over 420 fatalities.
- 2025 – A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hits Russia, causing tsunamis over the Pacific Ocean.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1470 – Hongzhi, emperor of the Ming dynasty (died 1505)
- 1511 – Giorgio Vasari, Italian painter, historian, and architect (died 1574)
- 1549 – Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1609)
1601–1900
- 1641 – Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist (died 1673)
- 1751 – Maria Anna Mozart, Austrian pianist (died 1829)
- 1763 – Samuel Rogers, English poet and art collector (died 1855)
- 1781 – Maria Aletta Hulshoff, Dutch feminist and pamphleteer (died 1846)
- 1809 – Charles Chiniquy, Canadian-American priest and theologian (died 1899)
- 1818 – Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet (died 1848)
- 1818 – Jan Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, 16th and 19th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 1897)
- 1825 – Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian engineer and author (died 1893)
- 1832 – George Lemuel Woods, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd Governor of Oregon (died 1890)
- 1855 – Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, German-Swiss businessman (died 1919)
- 1857 – Thorstein Veblen, American economist and sociologist (died 1929)
- 1859 – Henry Simpson Lunn, English minister and humanitarian, founded Lunn Poly (died 1939)
- 1862 – Nikolai Yudenich, Russian general (died 1933)
- 1863 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (died 1947)
- 1872 – Princess Clémentine of Belgium (died 1955)
- 1881 – Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1940)
- 1890 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (died 1975)
- 1898 – Henry Moore, English sculptor and illustrator (died 1986)
- 1899 – Gerald Moore, English pianist (died 1987)
1901–present
- 1901 – Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1955)
- 1904 – Salvador Novo, Mexican poet and playwright (died 1974)
- 1909 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (died 1993)
- 1910 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (died 2003)
- 1913 – Lou Darvas, American soldier and cartoonist (died 1987)
- 1914 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author, 6th President of the International Olympic Committee (died 1999)
- 1920 – Walter Schuck, German lieutenant and pilot (died 2015)
- 1921 – Grant Johannesen, American pianist and educator (died 2005)
- 1922 – Henry W. Bloch, American banker and businessman, co-founded H&R Block (died 2019)
- 1924 – C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist (died 2020)
- 1925 – Stan Stennett, Welsh actor and trumpet player (died 2013)
- 1925 – Alexander Trocchi, Scottish author and poet (died 1984)
- 1926 – Betye Saar, American artist
- 1926 – George Shanard, American politician and businessman (died 2012)
- 1927 – Richard Johnson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015)
- 1927 – Pete Schoening, American mountaineer (died 2004)
- 1927 – Victor Wong, American actor (died 2001)
- 1928 – Sulochana Latkar, Indian actress (died 2023)
- 1928 – Joe Nuxhall, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2007)
- 1929 – Sid Krofft, Canadian-American puppeteer and producer (died 2026)
- 1931 – Dominique Lapierre, French historian and author (died 2022)
- 1931 – Marina Popovich, Soviet pilot, engineer and military officer (died 2017)
- 1934 – Bud Selig, 9th Major League Baseball Commissioner
- 1936 – Buddy Guy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1936 – Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (died 2020)
- 1938 – Hervé de Charette, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1938 – Terry O'Neill, English photographer (died 2019)
- 1939 – Peter Bogdanovich, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2022)
- 1939 – Eleanor Smeal, American activist, founded the Feminist Majority Foundation
- 1940 – Patricia Schroeder, American lawyer and politician (died 2023)
- 1940 – Clive Sinclair, English businessman, founded Sinclair Radionics and Sinclair Research (died 2021)
- 1941 – Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1942 – Pollyanna Pickering, English environmentalist and painter (died 2018)
- 1943 – Henri-François Gautrin, Canadian physicist and politician
- 1944 – Gerry Birrell, Scottish race car driver (died 1973)
- 1944 – Peter Bottomley, English politician
- 1944 – Frances de la Tour, English actress
- 1945 – Patrick Modiano, French novelist and screenwriter, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1945 – David Sanborn, American saxophonist and composer (died 2024)
- 1946 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver and sportscaster (died 1994)
- 1946 – Jeffrey Hammond, English bass player
- 1947 – William Atherton, American actor and producer
- 1947 – Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1947 – Jonathan Mann, American physician and author (died 1998)
- 1947 – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California
- 1948 – Billy Paultz, American basketball player
- 1948 – Jean Reno, Spanish-French actor
- 1948 – Otis Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (died 2010)
- 1949 – Duck Baker, American guitarist
- 1949 – Sonia Proudman, English lawyer and judge (died 2023)
- 1950 – Harriet Harman, English lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Frank Stallone, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1951 – Alan Kourie, South African cricketer
- 1951 – Gerry Judah, Indian-English painter and sculptor
- 1952 – Stephen Blackmore, English botanist and author
- 1954 – Ken Olin, American actor, director, and producer
- 1955 – Rat Scabies, English drummer and producer
- 1955 – Christopher Warren-Green, English violinist and conductor
- 1956 – Delta Burke, American actress
- 1956 – Réal Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1956 – Georg Gänswein, German prelate, Prefect of the Pontifical Household, and former personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI
- 1956 – Anita Hill, American lawyer and academic
- 1956 – Soraida Martinez, American painter and educator
- 1957 – Antonio Adamo, Italian director and cinematographer
- 1957 – Bill Cartwright, American basketball player and coach
- 1957 – Clint Hurdle, American baseball player and manager
- 1957 – Nery Pumpido, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1958 – Kate Bush, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1958 – Liz Kershaw, English radio broadcaster
- 1958 – Daley Thompson, English decathlete and trainer
- 1960 – Jennifer Barnes, American-English musicologist and academic
- 1960 – Richard Linklater, American director and screenwriter
- 1960 – Brillante Mendoza, Filipino independent film director
- 1961 – Laurence Fishburne, American actor and producer
- 1962 – Alton Brown, American chef, author, and producer
- 1962 – Jay Feaster, American ice hockey player and manager
- 1962 – Yakub Memon, Indian accountant and terrorist (died 2015)
- 1963 – Peter Bowler, English-Australian cricketer
- 1963 – Lisa Kudrow, American actress and producer
- 1963 – Antoni Martí, Andorran architect and politician
- 1963 – Chris Mullin, American basketball player, coach, and executive
- 1964 – Ron Block, American singer-songwriter and banjo player
- 1964 – Vivica A. Fox, American actress
- 1964 – Alek Keshishian, Lebanese-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Jürgen Klinsmann, German footballer and manager
- 1964 – Laine Randjärv, Estonian lawyer and politician, 6th Estonian Minister of Culture
- 1965 – Tim Munton, English cricketer
- 1966 – Kerry Fox, New Zealand actress and screenwriter
- 1966 – Craig Gannon, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1966 – Allan Langer, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1966 – Sean Patrick Maloney, American politician
- 1966 – Louise Wener, English author and singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Terry Crews, American actor and football player
- 1972 – Jim McIlvaine, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1973 – Kenton Cool, English mountaineer
- 1973 – Ümit Davala, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1973 – Anastasios Katsabis, Greek footballer
- 1973 – Markus Näslund, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
- 1973 – Sonu Nigam, Indian playback singer and actor
- 1973 – Clementa C. Pinckney, American minister and politician (died 2015)
- 1974 – Radostin Kishishev, Bulgarian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Jason Robinson, English rugby league footballer, and rugby union footballer and coach
- 1974 – Hilary Swank, American actress and producer
- 1975 – Graham Nicholls, English author and activist
- 1975 – Kate Starbird, American basketball player and computer scientist
- 1977 – Diana Bolocco, Chilean model and journalist;
- 1977 – Misty May-Treanor, American volleyball player and coach
- 1977 – Jaime Pressly, American actress
- 1977 – Bootsy Thornton, American basketball player
- 1977 – Ian Watkins, Welsh former Lostprophets singer-songwriter and convicted child sex offender (died 2025)
- 1979 – Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rican basketball player and singer
- 1979 – Chad Keegan, South African cricketer and coach
- 1979 – Graeme McDowell, Northern Irish golfer
- 1979 – Maya Nasser, Syrian journalist (died 2012)
- 1980 – Seth Avett, American folk-rock singer-songwriter and musician
- 1980 – Justin Rose, South African-English golfer
- 1981 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (died 2017)
- 1981 – Juan Smith, South African rugby union footballer
- 1981 – Hope Solo, American soccer player
- 1981 – Indrek Turi, Estonian decathlete
- 1982 – Jehad Al-Hussain, Syrian footballer
- 1982 – James Anderson, English cricketer
- 1982 – Martin Starr, American actor and comedian
- 1984 – Trudy McIntosh, Australian artistic gymnast
- 1984 – Kevin Pittsnogle, American basketball player
- 1984 – Gina Rodriguez, American actress
- 1989 – Aleix Espargaró, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1989 – Wayne Parnell, South African cricketer
- 1990 – Chris Maxwell, Welsh footballer
- 1990 – Tom Morris, Australian journalist
- 1991 – Diana Vickers, English singer-songwriter
- 1992 – Hannah Cockroft, English wheelchair racer
- 1993 – Jacob Faria, American baseball player
- 1993 – André Gomes, Portuguese footballer
- 1993 – Margarida Moura, Portuguese tennis player
- 1993 – Miho Miyazaki, Japanese singer
- 1994 – Nelydia Senrose, Malaysian actress
- 1995 – Hirving Lozano, Mexican footballer
- 1996 – Nina Stojanović, Serbian tennis player
- 1996 – Dylan Larkin, American hockey player
- 1999 – Joey King, American actress
- 1870 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet and journalist (born 1818)
- 1875 – George Pickett, American general (born 1825)
- 1889 – Charlie Absolom, England cricketer (born 1846)
- 1898 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (born 1815)
- 1900 – Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1844)
1901–present
- 1912 – Emperor Meiji of Japan (born 1852)
- 1918 – Joyce Kilmer, American soldier, journalist, and poet (born 1886)
- 1920 – Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner (born 1848)
- 1930 – Joan Gamper, Swiss-Spanish footballer and businessman, founded FC Barcelona (born 1877)
- 1938 – John Derbyshire, English swimmer and water polo player (born 1878)
- 1941 – Hugo Celmiņš, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (born 1877)
- 1947 – Joseph Cook, English-Australian miner and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1860)
- 1965 – Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Japanese author and playwright (born 1886)
- 1970 – Walter Murdoch, Scottish-Australian academic (born 1874)
- 1970 – George Szell, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (born 1897)
- 1971 – Thomas Hollway, Australian politician, 36th Premier of Victoria (born 1906)
- 1975 – James Blish, American author and critic (born 1921)
- 1977 – Emory Holloway, American scholar, author, and educator (born 1885)
- 1983 – Howard Dietz, American songwriter and publicist (born 1896)
- 1983 – Lynn Fontanne, English actress (born 1887)<!-- never became US citizen -->
- 1985 – Julia Robinson, American mathematician and theorist (born 1919)
- 1989 – Lane Frost, American professional bull rider (born 1963)
- 1990 – Ian Gow, British Member of Parliament who was assassinated by the IRA (born 1937)
- 1992 – Brenda Marshall, Filipino-American actress and singer (born 1915)
- 1992 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (born 1914)
- 1994 – Konstantin Kalser, German-American film producer and advertising executive (born 1920)
- 1996 – Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (born 1903)
- 1998 – Buffalo Bob Smith, American television host (born 1917)
- 2001 – Anton Schwarzkopf, German engineer (born 1924)
- 2003 – Steve Hislop, Scottish motorcycle racer (born 1962)
- 2003 – Sam Phillips, American record producer, founded Sun Records (born 1923)
- 2005 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (born 1905)
- 2005 – John Garang, Sudanese colonel and politician, 6th President of South Sudan (born 1945)
- 2006 – Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist and author(born 1946)
- 2006 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (born 1924)
- 2006 – Murray Bookchin, American philosopher and author (born 1921)
- 2006 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (born 1904)
- 2006 – Akbar Mohammadi, Iranian activist (born 1972)
- 2007 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1912)
- 2007 – Teoctist Arăpașu, Romanian patriarch (born 1915)
- 2007 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1918)
- 2007 – Bill Walsh, American football player and coach (born 1931)
- 2008 – Anne Armstrong, American businesswoman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (born 1927)
- 2009 – Mohammed Yusuf, Nigerian militant leader, founded Boko Haram (born 1970)
- 2009 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (born 1926)
- 2011 – Bob Peterson, American basketball player (born 1932)
- 2012 – Maeve Binchy, Irish author, playwright, and journalist (born 1939)
- 2012 – Bill Doss, American singer and guitarist (born 1968)
- 2012 – Stig Ossian Ericson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1923)
- 2012 – Les Green, English footballer and manager (born 1941)
- 2012 – Jonathan Hardy, New Zealand-Australian actor and screenwriter (born 1940)
- 2012 – Bill Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1960)
- 2012 – Mary Louise Rasmuson, American colonel (born 1911)
- 2013 – Cecil Alexander, American architect, designed the State of Georgia Building (born 1918)
- 2013 – Berthold Beitz, German businessman (born 1913)
- 2013 – Robert Neelly Bellah, American sociologist and author (born 1927)
- 2013 – Harry F. Byrd Jr., American lieutenant, publisher, and politician (born 1914)
- 2013 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1924)
- 2013 – Ossie Schectman, American basketball player (born 1919)
- 2013 – Benjamin Walker, Indian-English author, poet, and playwright (born 1913)
- 2014 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (born 1924)
- 2014 – Harun Farocki, German director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944)
- 2014 – Julio Grondona, Argentinian businessman (born 1931)
- 2014 – Peter Hall, English geographer, author, and academic (born 1932)
- 2014 – Dick Smith, American make-up artist (born 1922)
- 2014 – Dick Wagner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1942)
- 2015 – Lynn Anderson, American singer (born 1947)
- 2015 – Stuart Baggs, English businessman (born 1988)
- 2015 – Endel Lippmaa, Estonian physicist (born 1930)
- 2015 – Francis Paul Prucha, American historian and academic (born 1921)
- 2015 – Alena Vrzáňová, Czech figure skater (born 1931)
- 2016 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1925)
- 2018 – Michael A. Sheehan, American author, former government official and military officer (born 1955)
- 2020 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician, President (1988–2000), Vice President (1984–1988) and mayor of Taipei (1978–1981) (born 1923)
- 2020 – Herman Cain, American businessman and political activist (born 1945)
- 2021 – Shona Ferguson, Botswana-born, South African actor and executive producer (born 1974)
- 2022 – Pat Carroll, American actress and comedian (born 1927)
- 2022 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress, singer and dancer (born 1932)
- 2023 – Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian (born 1952)
- 2024 – Onyeka Onwenu, Nigerian singer, actress and politician (born 1952)
- 2025 – David Argue, Australian actor (born 1959)
- 2025 – George Nigh, American politician, 17th and 22nd Governor of Oklahoma (born 1927)
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day:
- Abdon and Sennen
- Hatebrand
- Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda
- Peter Chrysologus
- Robert Barnes (Lutheran)
- Rufinus of Assisi
- Tatwine
- Ursus of Auxerre
- Solanus Casey
- July 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Feast of the Throne (Morocco)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Vanuatu from the United Kingdom and France in 1980.
- International Day of Friendship (international), and its related observances:
- Día del Amigo (Paraguay)
- Martyrs Day (South Sudan)