Events

• 708 – Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708).

• 1350 – Battle of Winchelsea (or Les Espagnols sur Mer): The English naval fleet under King Edward III defeats a Castilian fleet of 40 ships.

• 1475 – The Treaty of Picquigny ends a brief war between France and England.

• 1498 – Vasco da Gama decides to depart Calicut and return to Portugal.

• 1521 – The Ottoman Turks capture Nándorfehérvár, now known as Belgrade.

• 1526 – Battle of Mohács: The Ottoman Turks led by Suleiman the Magnificent defeat and kill the last Jagiellonian king of Hungary and Bohemia.

• 1541 – The Ottoman Turks capture Buda, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom.

• 1655 – Warsaw falls without resistance to a small force under the command of Charles X Gustav of Sweden during The Deluge.

• 1756 – Frederick the Great attacks Saxony, beginning the Seven Years' War.

• 1758 – The first American Indian Reservation is established, at Indian Mills, New Jersey.

• 1786 – Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers, begins in response to high debt and tax burdens.

• 1825 – Portugal recognizes the Independence of Brazil.

• 1831 – Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction.

• 1833 – The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire.

• 1842 – Treaty of Nanking signing ends the First Opium War.

• 1861 – American Civil War: US Navy squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.

• 1862 – Second Battle of Bull Run

• 1869 – The Mount Washington Cog Railway opens, making it the world's first rack railway.

• 1871 – Emperor Meiji orders the Abolition of the han system and the establishment of prefectures as local centers of administration. (Traditional Japanese date: July 14, 1871).

• 1885 – Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle.

• 1898 – The Goodyear tire company is founded.

• 1907 – The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers.

• 1910 – Japan changes Korea's name to Chōsen and appoints a governor-general to rule its new colony.

• 1911 – Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California.

• 1915 – US Navy salvage divers raise F-4, the first U.S. submarine sunk in accident.

• 1916 – The United States passes the Philippine Autonomy Act.

• 1918 – Bapaume taken by Australian Corps and Canadian Corps in the Hundred Days Offensive

• 1922 – Turkish forces set fire to Smyrna in Asia Minor.

• 1930 – The last 36 remaining inhabitants of St Kilda are voluntarily evacuated to other parts of Scotland.

• 1943 – German-occupied Denmark scuttles most of its navy;Germany dissolves the Danish government.

• 1944 – Slovak National Uprising takes place as 60,000 Slovak troops turn against the Nazis.

• 1949 – Soviet atomic bomb project: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, known as First Lightning or Joe 1, at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.

• 1958 – United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

• 1966 – The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

• 1970 – Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, East Los Angeles, California. Police riot kills three people, including journalist Ruben Salazar.

• 1982 – The synthetic chemical element Meitnerium, atomic number 109, is first synthesized at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany.

• 1991 – Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party.

• 1991 – Libero Grassi, an Italian businessman from Palermo is killed by the Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands.

• 1996 – Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, a Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev Tu-154, crashes into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, killing all 141 aboard.

• 1997 – At least 98 villagers are killed by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria GIA in the Rais massacre, Algeria.

• 2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.

• 2005 – Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing more than 1,836 and causing over $80 billion in damage.

• 2007 – 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident: six US cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads are flown without proper authorization from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base.

Births

• 1619 – Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French minister of finance (d. 1683)

• 1628 – John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath, English royalist statesman (d. 1701)

• 1632 – John Locke, English philosopher (d. 1704)

• 1694 – Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1715)

• 1725 – Charles Townshend, English politician (d. 1767)

• 1728 – Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, Electress of Bavaria (d. 1797)

• 1756 – Heinrich Graf von Bellegarde, Austrian field marshal and statesman (d. 1845)

• 1756 – Jan Śniadecki, Polish mathematician (d. 1830)

• 1777 – Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, founder of Sinology (d. 1853)

• 1780 – Jean Ingres, French painter (d. 1867)

• 1805 – Frederick Maurice, English theologian (d. 1872)

• 1809 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and writer (d. 1894)

• 1810 – Juan Bautista Alberdi, founding father of the Argentine Republic (d. 1884)

• 1811 – Henry Bergh, founder of American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1888)

• 1842 – Alfred Shaw, English cricketer (d. 1907)

• 1843 – David B. Hill, Governor of New York (d. 1910)

• 1844 – Edward Carpenter, English poet (d. 1929)

• 1857 – Sandford Schultz, English cricketer (d. 1937)

• 1862 – Andrew Fisher, 5th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1928)

• 1862 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian poet Nobel laureate (d. 1949)

• 1871 – Albert Lebrun, French politician (d. 1950)

• 1876 – Charles F. Kettering, American inventor (d. 1958)

• 1876 – Kim Gu, President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (d. 1949)

• 1898 – Preston Sturges, American filmmaker (d. 1959)

• 1901 – Aurèle Joliat, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)

• 1904 – Werner Forssmann, German physician Nobel laureate (d. 1979)

• 1905 – Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey player (d. 1979)

• 1910 – Vivien Thomas, African American surgeon (d. 1985)

• 1912 – Wolfgang Suschitzky, Austrian/Polish cinematographer

• 1912 – Barry Sullivan, American actor (d. 1994)

• 1912 – Sohn Kee-chung, Korean runner (d. 2002)

• 1913 – Len Butterfield, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1999)

• 1915 – Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (d. 1982)

• 1915 – Nathan Pritikin, American nutritionist (d. 1985)

• 1916 – Luther Davis, American playwright (d. 2008)

• 1916 – George Montgomery, American actor (d. 2000)

• 1917 – Isabel Sanford, American actress (d. 2004)

• 1920 – Charlie Parker, American musician (d. 1955)

• 1922 – Mr. Blackwell, American fashion critic (d. 2008)

• 1923 – Richard Attenborough, English film director

• 1923 – Marmaduke Hussey, BBC Chairman (d. 2006)

• 1923 – Hiralal Gaekwad, Indian cricketer

• 1924 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican songwriter (d. 2005)

• 1924 – Dinah Washington, American singer (d. 1963)

• 1926 – Betty Lynn, American actress

• 1926 – María Dolores Pradera, Spanish melodic singer

• 1928 – Charles Gray, English actor (d. 2000)

• 1929 – Thom Gunn, British poet (d. 2004)

• 1930 – Jacques Bouchard, Canadian advertising executive (d. 2006)

• 1931 – Stelios Kazantzidis, Greek singer (d. 2001)

• 1931 – Lise Payette, Quebec politician, writer and columnist

• 1933 – Arnold Koller, Swiss Federal Councilor

• 1934 – John Guy, New Zealand cricketer

• 1934 – Dimitris Papamichael, Greek actor and director (d. 2004)

• 1935 – William Friedkin, American film director

• 1936 – John McCain, American politician

• 1937 – James Florio, American politician

• 1938 – Elliott Gould, American actor

• 1938 – Robert Rubin, United States Secretary of the Treasury

• 1939 – Joel Schumacher, American film director

• 1940 – James Brady, American White House Press Secretary and gun control activist

• 1940 – Gary Gabelich, American race car driver (d. 1984)

• 1941 – Robin Leach, English television host

• 1942 – James Glennon, American cinematographer (d. 2006)

• 1942 – John Heuser, Electron microscopist

• 1943 – Mohamed Amin, Kenyan photojournalist (d. 1996)

• 1945 – Wyomia Tyus, American athlete

• 1946 – Bob Beamon, American long jumper

• 1946 – Dimitris Christofias, Cypriot politician and sixth President of the Republic of Cyprus

• 1947 – Temple Grandin, American animal welfare and autism expert

• 1947 – James Hunt, English raceing driver (d. 1993)

• 1950 – Doug DeCinces, American baseball player

• 1950 – Dave Reichert, American politician and sheriff

• 1952 – Karen Hesse, American children's writer

• 1952 – Dave Malone, American rock guitarist

• 1952 – Deborah Van Valkenburgh, American actress

• 1953 – James Quesada, Nicaraguan/American anthropologist

• 1954 – Michael P. Kube-McDowell, American science fiction novelist

• 1955 – Frank Hoste, Belgian cyclist

• 1955 – Diamanda Galas, American singer

• 1956 – GG Allin, American rock singer (d. 1993)

• 1956 – Mark Morris, American choreographer

• 1957 – Jerry D. Bailey, American racing jockey

• 1958 – Lenny Henry, British writer, comedian and actor

• 1958 – Michael Jackson, American entertainer and pop singer (d. 2009)

• 1959 – Ernesto Rodrigues, Portuguese composer

• 1959 – Akkineni Nagarjuna, Indian Telugu actor

• 1959 – Timothy Perry Shriver, member of the Kennedy Family

• 1959 – Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut

• 1959 – Rebecca De Mornay, American actress

• 1960 – Todd English, American chef

• 1960 – Tony MacAlpine, American guitarist

• 1961 – Carsten Fischer, German field-hockey player

• 1961 – Rodney McCray, American basketball player

• 1962 – Hiroki Kikuta, Japanese composer

• 1962 – Carl Banks, American football player

• 1962 – Ian James Corlett, Canadian voice actor

• 1963 – Elizabeth Fraser, Scottish singer

• 1965 – Will Perdue, American basketball player

• 1965 – Dina Spybey, American actress

• 1967 – Anton Newcombe, American musician (The Brian Jonestown Massacre)

• 1968 – Me'Shell NdegéOcello, American singer

• 1969 – Joe Swail, Northern Irish snooker player

• 1970 – Chris Daugherty, Winner of Survivor: Vanuatu

• 1971 – Henry Blanco, Venezuelan baseball player

• 1971 – Carla Gugino, American actress

• 1972 – Bae Yong Joon, South Korean actor

• 1973 – Adam Sessler, American TV show host

• 1973 – Olivier Jacque, motorcyclist

• 1974 – Kumi Tanioka, Japanese composer

• 1975 – Dante Basco, Filipino/American actor

• 1976 – Stephen Carr, Irish footballer

• 1976 – Kevin Kaesviharn, American football player

• 1976 – Pablo Mastroeni, American soccer player

• 1976 – Jon Dahl Tomasson, Danish footballer

• 1977 – John Patrick O'Brien, American footballer

• 1977 – Aaron Rowand, American baseball player

• 1977 – Devean George, American basketball player

• 1977 – Roy Oswalt, American baseball player

• 1977 – Charlie Pickering, Australian comedian

• 1977 – Jo Weil, German actor

• 1978 – Celestine Babayaro, Nigerian footballer

• 1979 – Chieu Luu, Canadian journalist

• 1979 – Ryan Shealy, American baseball player

• 1979 – Stijn Devolder, Belgian cyclist

• 1980 – David Desrosiers, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)

• 1980 – Chris Simms, American football player

• 1980 – David West, American basketball player

• 1980 – Nicholas Tse, Hong Kong singer and actor

• 1980 – Mohammad Sheikh, Kenyan cricketer

• 1981 – Lanny Barbie, Canadian pornographic actress

• 1981 – Geneviève Jeanson, French Canadian cyclist

• 1981 – Jay Ryan (Jay Bunyan), Australian actor

• 1981 – Dennis Oh, Korean-American actor

• 1982 – Leon Washington, American football player

• 1985 – Jeffrey Licon, American actor

• 1985 – Marc Rzepczynski, American baseball player

• 1986 – Lauren Collins, Canadian actress

• 1986 – Lea Michele, American actress and singer

• 1987 – Tony Kane, Irish footballer

• 1990 – Nicole Anderson, American actress

• 1992 – Mallu Magalhães, Brazilian singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 886 – Basil I, Byzantine Emperor (b. 811)

• 1093 – Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1057)

• 1123 – King Eystein I of Norway (b. c. 1088)

• 1395 – Duke Albert III of Austria (b. 1349)

• 1442 – John VI, Duke of Brittany (b. 1389)

• 1526 – King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia (killed in battle) (b. 1506)

• 1542 – Cristovão da Gama, Portuguese soldier (b. c. 1516)

• 1657 – John Lilburne, English dissenter (b. 1614)

• 1712 – Gregory King, English statistician (b. 1648)

• 1769 – Edmund Hoyle, English author and teacher (b. 1672)

• 1780 – Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect (b. 1713)

• 1799 – Pope Pius VI (b. 1717)

• 1844 – Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish founder of the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers (b. 1762)

• 1856 – Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, British Christian writer (b. 1778)

• 1866 – Tokugawa Iemochi, 14th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan (b. 1846)

• 1877 – Brigham Young, American religious leader and western settler (b. 1801)

• 1889 – Stefan Dunjov, Banat Bulgarian military figure (b. 1815)

• 1891 – Pierre Lallement, inventor of the bicycle

• 1904 – Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1840)

• 1930 – William Archibald Spooner, English writer (b. 1844)

• 1931 – David T. Abercrombie, Abercrombie & Fitch founder (b. 1867)

• 1935 – Queen Astrid of Belgium (b. 1905)

• 1946 – Adolphus Busch III, American brewing magnate and President and CEO of the Anheuser-Busch Company (b. 1891)

• 1951 – Sydney Chapman, British economist and civil servant (b. 1871)

• 1966 – Sayyid Qutb, Egyptian theoretician (b. 1906)

• 1968 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American soldier and planner (b. 1881)

• 1971 – Nathan Leopold, American convicted murderer (Leopold and Loeb) (b. 1904)

• 1972 – Lale Andersen, German singer (b. 1905)

• 1975 – Eamon de Valera, first Taoiseach and third President of Ireland (b. 1882)

• 1976 – Jimmy Reed, American blues singer (b. 1925)

• 1976 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, musician, revolutionary and philosopher (b. 1899)

• 1977 – Jean Hagen, American actress (b. 1923)

• 1977 – Brian McGuire, Australian racing driver (b. 1945)

• 1981 – Lowell Thomas, American writer and broadcaster (b. 1892)

• 1982 – Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (b. 1915)

• 1983 – Simon Oakland, American actor (b. 1915)

• 1984 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian statesman (b. 1901)

• 1985 – Evelyn Ankers, English actress (b. 1918)

• 1987 – Archie Campbell, American country music comedian (b. 1914)

• 1987 – Lee Marvin, American actor (b. 1924)

• 1989 – Peter Scott, English explorer, naturalist, and painter (b. 1909)

• 1991 – Libero Grassi, Italian businessman killed by the Mafia (b. 1924)

• 1992 – Felix Guattari, French philosopher and social theorist (b. 1930)

• 1992 – Teddy Turner, comedian (b. 1917)

• 1995 – Frank Perry, American film director (b. 1930)

• 2000 – Willie Maddren, English footballer (b. 1951)

• 2001 – Graeme "Shirley" Strachan, Australian singer (Skyhooks), TV and radio star (b. 1952)

• 2001 – Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor (b. 1926)

• 2002 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (b. 1920)

• 2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, Iraqi political leader (b. 1939)

• 2003 – Patrick Procktor, English artist (b. 1936)

• 2003 – Michel Constantin, French film actor (b. 1924)

• 2004 – Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (b. 1942)

• 2007 – Richard Jewell, central figure in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing (b. 1962)

• 2007 – Pierre Messmer, French politician and Prime Minister (b. 1916)

• 2007 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea (b. 1920)

• 2007 – James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand industrialist (b. 1914)

• 2008 – Geoffrey Perkins, British comedy producer (b. 1953)

• 2008 – Michael Schoenberg, Geophysicist (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

• Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Eastern Catholicism, and Roman Catholic Church commemorate the Beheading of St. John the Baptist with a feast day.

• Slovakia – Slovak National Uprising Day (1944, against the Nazis).

• The first day of Thoth – which is the first day of the Egyptian calendar. Thoth is the Ibis-headed god of knowledge.