Events

356 BC - The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
230 - Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope.
285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.
365 - A tsunami devastates the city of Alexandria, Egypt. The tsunami was caused by the Crete earthquake, which was estimated to be magnitude 8.5 or higher. Five thousand people perished in Alexandria, and 45,000 more died outside the city.
1242 - Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan.
1403 - Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
1545 - The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
1568 - Eighty Years' War: Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
1645 - Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
1656 - The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
1718 - The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
1774 - Russo-Turkish War (1768-74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
1789 - Ransacking of the Town hall by the citizens of Strasbourg.
1798 - Battle of the Pyramids takes place.
1831 - Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
1861 - American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
1865 - In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
1873 - At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
1877 - After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of nine rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
1904 - Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
1907 - The passenger steamer SS Columbia collides with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, causing the Columbia to sink killing 88 people.
1918 - U-156 shells Nauset Beach, in Orleans, Massachusetts.
1919 - The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
1925 - Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
1925 - Sir Malcolm Campbell, father of Donald Campbell, becomes the first man to break the 150 mph (241 km/h) land barrier at Pendine Sands in Wales. He drove a Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
1944 - World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam starting the battle. It would end on August 10.
1944 - World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators are executed in Berlin, Germany, for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
1949 - The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
1952 - The 7.3 Mw Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
1954 - First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
1959 - NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative.
1959 - Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
1960 - Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world's first female head of government
1961 - Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
1970 - After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
1972 - The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
1973 - In the Lillehammer affair in Norway, Israeli Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
1976 - Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
1977 - The start of the four-day-long Libyan/Egyptian War.
1983 - The world's lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at 89.2 °C (128.6 °F).
1995 - Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
2001 - At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyago, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
2005 - July 2005 London Bombings takes place.
2008 - Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first president of Nepal.
2011 - NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
2012 - Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.

Births

1620 - Jean Picard, French astronomer (died 1682)
1664 - Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (died 1721)
1693 - Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1768)
1710 - Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (died 1792)
1783 - Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (died 1853)
1810 - Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (died 1878)
1816 - Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (died 1899)
1851 - Sam Bass, American criminal (died 1878)
1858 - Maria Christina of Austria (died 1929)
1858 - Lovis Corinth, German painter (died 1925)
1858 - Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (died 1941)
1863 - C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (died 1948)
1866 - Carlos Schwabe, Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (died 1926)
1870 - Emil Orlík, Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (died 1932)
1875 - Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (died 1947)
1880 - Milan Rastislav Stefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (died 1919)
1882 - David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (died 1967)
1885 - Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1948)
1891 - Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (died 1969)
1893 - Hans Fallada, German author (died 1947)
1898 - Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (Carter Family) (died 1979)
1899 - Hart Crane, American poet (died 1932)
1899 - Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1961)
1903 - Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (died 1986)
1903 - Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (died 2010)
1908 - Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (died 1996)
1911 - Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (died 1980)
1911 - Umashankar Joshi, Indian author, poet, and scholar (died 1988)
1914 - Aleksander Kreek, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (died 1977)
1917 - Alan born Gold, Canadian lawyer and jurist (died 2005)
1920 - Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter, sculptor, and illustrator (died 2005)
1920 - Isaac Stern, Polish violinist and conductor (died 2001)
1921 - James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (died 2000)
1921 - John Horsley, English actor (died 2014)
1922 - Kay Starr, American singer and actress
1922 - Mollie Sugden, English actress and singer (died 2009)
1923 - Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1923 - Queenie Watts, English actress and singer (died 1980)
1924 - Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan
1924 - Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (died 2006)
1926 - Paul Burke, American actor (died 2009)
1926 - Norman Jewison, Canadian actor, director, and producer
1926 - Bill Pertwee, English actor (died 2013)
1926 - Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (died 2002)
1928 - Sky Low Low, Canadian wrestler (died 1998)
1929 - Bob Orton, American wrestler (died 2006)
1930 - Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and songwriter (died 2002)
1930 - Helen Merrill, American singer
1931 - Sonny Clark, American pianist and composer (died 1963)
1931 - Plas Johnson, American saxophonist (born Bumble and the Stingers and The Wrecking Crew)
1931 - Leon Schidlowsky, Chilean-Israeli painter and composer
1933 - John Gardner, American novelist, essayist, and critic (died 1982)
1934 - Chandu Borde, Indian cricketer and manager
1934 - Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author
1935 - Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician
1935 - Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (died 2006)
1935 - Kaye Stevens, American singer and actress (died 2011)
1938 - Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (died 1995)
1938 - Anton Kuerti, Austrian-Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
1938 - Janet Reno, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
1939 - Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
1939 - Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (died 2015)
1939 - John Negroponte, English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
1943 - Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (died 2002)
1943 - Edward Herrmann, American actor and singer (died 2014)
1943 - Henry McCullough, Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (died 2016)
1944 - John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (died 2012)
1944 - Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic
1944 - Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (died 2002)
1945 - Wendy Cope, English poet, critic, and educator
1945 - Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
1945 - John Lowe, English darts player
1945 - Barry Richards, South African cricketer
1946 - Ken Starr, American lawyer and judge, 39th Solicitor General of the United States
1946 - Timothy Harris, American author, screenwriter and producer
1947 - Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician
1948 - Snooty, American manatee
1948 - Beppe Grillo, Italian comedian, actor, and activist
1948 - Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
1948 - Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 - Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
1948 - Teruzane Utada, Japanese songwriter, producer, and manager
1949 - Christina Hart, American playwright and actress
1949 - Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (died 2003)
1950 - Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
1950 - Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer, English politician, Minister of State for Transport
1951 - Robin Williams, American actor, singer, and producer (died 2014)
1952 - John Barrasso, American physician and politician
1953 - Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor (The Wiggles and The Cockroaches)
1953 - Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
1955 - Taco, Indonesian-German singer-songwriter and producer
1955 - Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) (died 2003)
1955 - Dannel Malloy, American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
1955 - Henry Priestman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (The Christians, It's Immaterial, and Yachts)
1955 - Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
1956 - Michael Connelly, American author
1957 - Stefan Löfven, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden
1957 - Jon Lovitz, American comedian, actor, and producer
1958 - Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2015)
1959 - Gene Miles, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
1959 - Reha Muhtar, Turkish journalist
1959 - Paul Vautin, Australian rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
1960 - Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (died 1988)
1960 - Fritz Walter, German footballer
1961 - Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Faith No More, EZ-Street, Spastik Children, and Voodoocult)
1962 - Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
1963 - Greg Behrendt, American comedian, author, and guitarist (The Reigning Monarchs)
1963 - Dorce Gamalama, Indonesian singer-songwriter and actress
1963 - Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
1963 - Giant Silva, Brazilian basketball player, mixed martial artist, and wrestler
1964 - Steve Collins, Irish boxer and actor
1964 - Ross Kemp, English actor and producer
1964 - Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper and journalist
1965 - Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer and lawyer
1965 - Mike Bordick, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
1965 - Jovy Marcelo, Filipino race car driver (died 1992)
1966 - Arija Bareikis, American actress
1966 - Sarah Waters, Welsh author and academic
1968 - Brandi Chastain, American soccer player and sportscaster
1968 - Lyle Odelein, Canadian ice hockey player
1969 - Godfrey, American comedian and actor
1969 - Klaus Graf, German race car driver
1969 - Emerson Hart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Tonic)
1970 - Michael Fitzpatrick, American singer-songwriter (Fitz and The Tantrums)
1970 - Alysia Reiner, American actress and producer
1970 - Shawn Stasiak, American wrestler and chiropractor
1971 - Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
1971 - Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer
1971 - Nuno Markl, Portuguese comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1971 - Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (died 2014)
1972 - Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist (Skillet)
1974 - Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player and coach
1974 - René Reinumägi, Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
1975 - Christopher Barzak, American author and educator
1975 - Chris Bisson, English actor
1975 - Cara Dillon, Irish singer-songwriter (Equation)
1975 - Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sri Lankan cricketer
1975 - Mike Sellers, American football player
1977 - Paul Casey, English golfer
1977 - Jaime Murray, English actress
1978 - Justin Bartha, American actor
1978 - Anderson da Silva Gibin, Brazilian footballer
1978 - Josh Hartnett, American actor
1978 - Julian Huppert, English academic and politician
1978 - Damian Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (SuperHeavy)
1978 - Gary Teale, Scottish footballer
1979 - David Carr, American football player
1979 - Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
1979 - Luis Ernesto Michel, Mexican footballer
1979 - Andriy Voronin, Ukrainian footballer
1980 - Justin Griffith, American football player
1980 - Sandra Laoura, French skier
1980 - Chris Leben, American mixed martial artist
1980 - CC Sabathia, American baseball player
1981 - Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter and actress
1981 - Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
1981 - Claudette Ortiz, American singer and model (City High)
1981 - Joaquín Sánchez, Spanish footballer
1981 - Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Aventura)
1981 - Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
1982 - Jason Cram, Australian swimmer
1984 - Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
1984 - Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
1985 - Mati Lember, Estonian footballer
1985 - Von Wafer, American basketball player
1986 - Anthony Annan, Ghanaian footballer
1986 - Rebecca Ferguson, English singer-songwriter
1986 - Jason Thompson, American basketball player
1987 - Peter Doocy, American journalist
1987 - Bilel Mohsni, French footballer
1987 - Jesús Zavala, Mexican footballer
1988 - KB, American rapper (116 Clique)
1988 - DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
1988 - Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer
1989 - Rory Culkin, American actor
1989 - Marco Fabián, Mexican footballer
1989 - Chris Gunter, Welsh footballer
1989 - Kirill Nesterov, Russian footballer
1989 - Juno Temple, English actress
1990 - Chris Martin, English footballer
1990 - Jason Roy, English cricketer
1990 - Whitney Toyloy, Swiss model, Miss Switzerland 2008
1991 - Sara Sampaio, Portuguese model
1992 - Jessica Barden, English actress
1992 - Julia Beljajeva, Estonian fencer
1992 - Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
1993 - Aaron Durley, American baseball player

Deaths

1403 - Henry Percy, English soldier (born 1364)
1425 - Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1350)
1552 - Antonio de Mendoza, Spanish politician, 1st Viceroy of New Spain (born 1495)
1688 - James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1610)
1793 - Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, French admiral, explorer, and politician (born 1739)
1796 - Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (born 1759)
1798 - François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (born 1733)
1798 - Anthony Perry, Irish rebel leader (born ca. 1760)
1868 - William Bland, Australian surgeon and politician (born 1789)
1878 - Sam Bass, American criminal (born 1851)
1880 - Hiram Walden, American general and politician (born 1800)
1889 - Nelson Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (born 1813)
1899 - Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (born 1833)
1920 - Fiammetta Wilson, English astronomer and educator (born 1864)
1932 - Bill Gleason, American baseball player (born 1858)
1934 - Hubert Lyautey, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (born 1854)
1938 - Owen Wister, American lawyer and author (born 1860)
1941 - Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (born 1872)
1943 - Charley Paddock, American runner and actor (born 1900)
1944 - Claus von Stauffenberg, German soldier (born 1907)
1946 - Gualberto Villarroel, Bolivian soldier and politician, 45th President of Bolivia (born 1908)
1948 - Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (born 1904)
1967 - Jimmie Foxx, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1907)
1967 - Albert Lutuli, South African academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1898)
1967 - Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor and singer (born 1892)
1968 - Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and choreographer (born 1878)
1970 - Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov, Russian anthropologist and sculptor (born 1907)
1970 - Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (born 1945)
1972 - Ralph Craig, American sprinter and sailor (born 1889)
1972 - Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (born 1928)
1977 - Lee Miller, American model and photographer (born 1907)
1982 - Dave Garroway, American journalist and actor (born 1913)
1991 - Paul Warwick, English race car driver (born 1969)
1994 - Marijac, French author and illustrator (born 1908)
1997 - Olaf Kopvillem, Estonian-Canadian conductor and composer (born 1926)
1998 - Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (born 1923)
1998 - Robert Young, American actor and singer (born 1907)
2000 - Marc Reisner, American environmentalist and author (born 1948)
2002 - Esphyr Slobodkina, Russian-American author and illustrator (born 1908)
2003 - John Davies, English-New Zealand runner and coach (born 1938)
2004 - Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (born 1929)
2004 - Edward born Lewis, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
2005 - Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer and actor (The Steampacket and Bluesology) (born 1941)
2005 - Lord Alfred Hayes, English-American wrestler and manager (born 1928)
2006 - Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-American actor and singer (born 1933)
2006 - Ta Mok, Cambodian soldier and monk (born 1926)
2006 - J. Madison Wright Morris, American actress (born 1984)
2008 - Donald Stokes, English businessman (born 1914)
2009 - Les Lye, Canadian actor and screenwriter (born 1924)
2010 - Luis Corvalán, Chilean educator and politician (born 1916)
2010 - Ralph Houk, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1919)
2010 - John E. Irving, Canadian businessman (born 1932)
2012 - Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (born 1941)
2012 - Marie Kruckel, American baseball player (born 1924)
2012 - Ali Podrimja, Albanian poet and author (born 1942)
2012 - James D. Ramage, American admiral and pilot (born 1916)
2012 - Angharad Rees, English-born Welsh actress (born 1944)
2012 - Don Wilson, English cricketer and coach (born 1937)
2013 - Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (born 1988)
2013 - Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, Indian martial artist (born 1981)
2013 - Det de Beus, Dutch field hockey player (born 1958)
2013 - Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom, Colombian-French composer and educator (born 1971)
2013 - Fred Taylor, American football player and coach (born 1920)
2014 - Louise Abeita, Isleta Pueblo (Native American) writer, poet, and educator (born 1926)
2014 - Dan Borislow, American businessman, invented the magicJack (born 1961)
2014 - Lettice Curtis, English engineer and pilot (born 1915)
2014 - Hans-Peter Kaul, German lawyer and judge (born 1943)
2014 - Rilwanu Lukman, Nigerian engineer and politician (born 1938)
2014 - Kevin Skinner, New Zealand rugby player and boxer (born 1927)
2015 - Robert Broberg, Swedish singer-songwriter (born 1940)
2015 - E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1931)
2015 - Nicholas Gonzalez, American physician (born 1947)
2015 - Czeslaw Marchaj, Polish-English sailor and academic (born 1918)
2015 - Dick Nanninga, Dutch footballer (born 1949)
2016 - Dennis Green, American football player and coach (born 1949)