Events

• 1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II of France.

• 1698 – The Darien scheme begins with five ships, bearing about 1,200 people, departing Leith for the Isthmus of Panama.

• 1769 – The de Portolá Expedition establishes a base in California, and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).

• 1771 – Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.

• 1789 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille and free seven prisoners.

• 1790 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris celebrate the constitutional monarchy and national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.

• 1791 – The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.

• 1798 – The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.

• 1865 – First ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.

• 1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.

• 1900 – Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.

• 1902 – The Campanile in St Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.

• 1916 – Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action in the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.

• 1933 – Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.

• 1943 – In Joplin, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of a African American.

• 1948 – Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot near the Italian Parliament.

• 1958 – Iraqi Revolution: in Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces lead by Abdul Karim Kassem, who becomes the nation's new leader.

• 1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.

• 1969 – Football War: after Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, rioting breaks out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.

• 1969 – The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn from circulation.

• 1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source Operating System Revolution. Linus Torvalds release his Linux soon afterwards.

• 2000 – A powerful solar flare, later named the Bastille Day event, causes a geomagnetic storm on Earth.

• 2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.

• 2003 – The United States Government admits to the existence of "Area 51".

• 2007 – Russia withdraws from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

Births

• 1454 – Poliziano, Florentine humanist (d. 1494)

• 1602 – Jules Mazarin, French statesman and cardinal (d. 1661)

• 1608 – George Goring, Lord Goring, English royalist soldier (d. 1657)

• 1610 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)

• 1634 – Pasquier Quesnel, French Jansenist theologian (d. 1719)

• 1671 – Jacques D'Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)

• 1675 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (d. 1747)

• 1676 – Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian, and poet (d. 1763)

• 1696 – William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (d. 1761)

• 1721 – John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters (d. 1807)

• 1743 – Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet (d. 1816)

• 1785 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American writer, journalist (d. 1851)

• 1801 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist (d. 1858)

• 1816 – Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher (d. 1882)

• 1829 – Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1896)

• 1834 – James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American painter (d. 1903)

• 1858 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English suffragette (d. 1928)

• 1859 – Willy Hess, German violinist (d. 1928)

• 1860 – Owen Wister, American author (d. 1938)

• 1862 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and graphic artist (d. 1918)

• 1865 – Arthur Capper, Newspaper publisher and politician (d. 1951)

• 1868 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy, and administrator (d. 1926)

• 1872 – Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (d. 1939)

• 1874 – Khedive Abbas II of Egypt (d. 1944)

• 1885 – King Sisavang Vong of Laos (d. 1959)

• 1888 – Scipio Slataper, Italian writer and essayist (d. 1915)

• 1891 – Alexander M. Volkov, Russian novelist and mathematician (d. 1977)

• 1893 – Clarence J. Brown, Newspaper publisher and politician (d. 1965)

• 1896 – Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish anarchist (d. 1936)

• 1898 – A. B. "Happy" Chandler, American politician and baseball commissioner (d. 1991)

• 1901 – Gerald Finzi, British composer (d. 1956)

• 1903 – Irving Stone, American writer (d. 1989)

• 1906 – Tom Carvel, Greek-born businessman and inventor (d. 1990)

• 1910 – William Hanna, American animator (d. 2001)

• 1911 – Terry-Thomas, British actor (d. 1990)

• 1912 – Northrop Frye, Canadian literary critic (d. 1991)

• 1912 – Woody Guthrie, American folk musician (d. 1967)

• 1913 – Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)

• 1918 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish film and theatre director (d. 2007)

• 1918 – Arthur Laurents, American playwright, novelist, and director

• 1919 – Lino Ventura, Italian-born actor (d. 1987)

• 1921 – Leon Garfield, English children's author (d. 1996)

• 1921 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)

• 1922 – Robin Olds, American World War II and Vietnam War ace fighter pilot (d. 2007)

• 1922 – Elfriede Rinkel, Nazi concentration camp guard

• 1923 – Dale Robertson, American actor

• 1923 – Willie Steele, American Olympic gold medalist (d. 1989)

• 1924 – James W. Black, Scottish pharmacologist, Nobel laureate

• 1926 – Harry Dean Stanton, American actor

• 1927 – John Chancellor, American television commentator (d. 1996)

• 1928 – Nancy Olson, American actress

• 1930 – Polly Bergen, American actress

• 1932 – Roosevelt Grier, American football player and actor

• 1933 – Robert Bourassa, Quebec politician (d. 1996)

• 1937 – Yoshiro Mori, Japanese politician

• 1938 – Jerry Rubin, American activist (d. 1994)

• 1938 – Richard Rust, American actor (d. 1994)

• 1939 – Karel Gott, Czech singer

• 1939 – Sid Haig, American actor

• 1939 – George E. Slusser, American scholar and writer

• 1940 – Susan Howatch, English author

• 1941 – Maulana Karenga, American author and activist

• 1941 – Andreas Khol, Austrian politician

• 1942 – Javier Solana, Spanish European Union foreign policy chief

• 1943 – Christopher Priest, English novelist

• 1944 – Billy McCool, American baseball player

• 1946 – Vincent Pastore, American actor

• 1946 – John Wood, Australian actor

• 1947 – Claudia Kennedy, U.S. Army officer

• 1947 – Navin Ramgoolam, Prime Minister of Mauritius

• 1950 – Gwen Guthrie, American singer (d. 1999)

• 1951 – Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)

• 1952 – Franklin Graham, American evangelist

• 1952 – Eric Laneuville, American director, Actor, Producer

• 1952 – Joel Silver, American film producer

• 1952 – Bob Casale, AKA Bob 2, American Musician (Devo)

• 1955 – L. Brent Bozell, American author and pundit

• 1956 – Vladimir Kulich, Czech actor

• 1958 – Robert Jensen, American journalist and activist

• 1958 – Joe Keenan, American screenwriter, television producer and novelist.

• 1960 – Jane Lynch, American actress

• 1960 – Anna Bligh, Australian politician

• 1960 – Kyle Gass, American musician and actor (Tenacious D)

• 1960 – Angelique Kidjo, Beninese singer

• 1961 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor

• 1962 – Jeff Olson, American musician

• 1963 – Phil Rosenthal, American newspaper columnist

• 1966 – Tanya Donelly, American musician (Belly)

• 1966 – Juliet Cesario, American actress

• 1966 – Ellen Reid, Canadian musician (Crash Test Dummies)

• 1966 – Matthew Fox, American actor

• 1966 – Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator

• 1967 – Robin Ventura, American baseball player

• 1967 – Patrick J. Kennedy, politician

• 1968 – Kazushi Sakuraba, Japanese mixed martial artist/professional wrestler

• 1970 – Nina Siemaszko, American actress

• 1971 – Mark LoMonaco, American professional wrestler

• 1971 – Joey Styles, American wrestling commentator

• 1971 – Marie-Chantal Toupin, French Canadian singer

• 1971 – Nick McCabe, British musician (The Verve)

• 1971 – Howard Webb, British Football Referee

• 1972 – Deborah Mailman, Australian actress

• 1973 – Halil Mutlu, Bulgaria-born Turkish weightlifter

• 1973 – Adam Quinn, American bagpipe player

• 1973 – Paul Methric, American musician

• 1973 – Candela Peña, Spanish actress

• 1974 – David Mitchell, English comedian and actor

• 1975 – Taboo, American rapper

• 1975 – Tim Hudson, American baseball player

• 1976 – Geraint Jones, English cricketer

• 1976 – Kirsten Sheridan, Irish film director and screenwriter

• 1977 – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden

• 1979 – Bernie Castro, Dominican baseball player

• 1979 – Axel Teichmann, German cross-country skier

• 1980 – George Smith, Australian rugby union footballer

• 1980 – Jed Madela, Filipino singer

• 1981 – Lee Mead, English actor

• 1982 – Dmitry Chaplin, So You Think You Can Dance finalist

• 1983 – Wesley Dening, Australian TV personality

• 1984 – Chris Steele, Canadian musician, (Alexisonfire)

• 1984 – Nilmar, Brazilian Footballer

• 1985 – Billy Celeski, Australian footballer

• 1987 – Adam Johnson, English footballer

• 1988 – James Vaughan, English footballer

Deaths

• 664 – Deusdedit of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury

• 937 – Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria

• 1223 – King Philip II of France (b. 1165)

• 1575 – Richard Taverner, English Bible translator

• 1614 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint (b. 1550)

• 1671 – Méric Casaubon, English classical scholar (b. 1599)

• 1723 – Claude Fleury, French historian (b. 1640)

• 1742 – Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (b. 1662)

• 1766 – František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (b. 1674)

• 1774 – James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley and Kilmaine, British field marshal (b. 1682)

• 1780 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher (b. 1713)

• 1789 – Jacques de Flesselles, French provost (assassinated) (b. 1721)

• 1789 – Bernard-René de Launay, governor of the Bastille, murdered during the Storming of the Bastille (b. 1740)

• 1790 – Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)

• 1816 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan revolutionary (b. 1750)

• 1817 – Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, Swiss author (b. 1766)

• 1827 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist (b. 1788)

• 1834 – Edmond Charles Genêt, French ambassador to the United States during the French Revolution (b. 1763)

• 1850 – August Neander, German theologian (b. 1789)

• 1876 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English Methodist chapel builder (b. 1816)

• 1881 – Billy the Kid, American outlaw (b. 1859)

• 1904 – Paul Kruger, Boer resistance leader (b. 1824)

• 1907 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and inventor (b. 1838)

• 1910 – Marius Petipa, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1818)

• 1917 – Octave Lapize, French cyclist (b. 1887)

• 1918 – Quentin Roosevelt, American Aviator, son of Theodore Roosevelt (b. 1897)

• 1925 – Pancho Villa, Filipino world boxing champion (b. 1901)

• 1939 – Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter, decorative artist (b. 1860)

• 1954 – Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)

• 1954 – Jackie Saunders, American silent screen actress (b. 1892)

• 1965 – Adlai Stevenson, United States Presidential candidate (b. 1900)

• 1966 – Julie Manet, French painter (b. 1878)

• 1967 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian writer (b. 1880)

• 1968 – Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (b. 1892)

• 1968 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek Prime Minister (b. 1907)

• 1970 – Preston Foster, American stage and film actor (b. 1900)

• 1974 – Carl Spaatz, American Air Force general (b. 1891)

• 1975 – Madan Mohan, Indian Bollywood film director (b. 1924)

• 1984 – Ernest Tidyman, American writer (b. 1928)

• 1989 – Frank Bell, British educator (b. 1916)

• 1993 – Léo Ferré, French singer and songwriter (b. 1916)

• 1994 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1940)

• 1996 – Jeff Krosnoff, CART driver (b. 1964)

• 1998 – Richard McDonald, American fast food pioneer (b. 1909)

• 2000 – William Roscoe Estep, American Baptist historian (b. 1920)

• 2000 – René Ríos Boettiger, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1911)

• 2000 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (b. 1944)

• 2002 – Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906)

• 2003 – Éva Janikovszky, Hungarian novelist (b. 1926)

• 2003 – François-Albert Angers, French Canadian economist (b. 1909)

• 2005 – Joe Harnell, American musician, composer and arranger (b. 1924)

• 2005 – Cicely Saunders, English Nurse, physician and writer (b. 1918)

• 2007 – John Ferguson Sr, former professional hockey player (b. 1938)

• 2008 – Henki Kolstad, Norwegian actor (b. 1915)

• 2009 – Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Polish actor (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances

• France and all French dependencies: Bastille Day

• Iraq: Republic Day

• Sweden: Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, an official flag day.

• Saint Idus

• Saint Libertus (d. 743)

• Saint Ulric (d. 1093)

• Saint Camillus de Lellis (d. 1614) (RC, except USA)

• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (d. 1680) (RC, obligatory Memorial, USA)