July 31

Birthdays:

1979~ B.J. Novak (né Benjamin Joseph Novak), American actor, best known for his role in the TV sit-com, The Office.

1965~ J.K. Rowling (née Joanne Rowling), British writer of the Harry Potter series.

1962~ Wesley Snipes (né Wesley Trent Snipes), American actor.

1956~ Deval Patrick (né Deval Laurdine Patrick), 71^st Governor of Massachusetts.  He was Governor from January 2007 until January 2015.

1952~ Faye Kellerman (née Faye Marder), American author of mystery stories.

1951~ Evonne Goolagong (née Evonne Faye Goolagong), Australian tennis player.

1945~ William Weld (né William Floyd Weld), 68^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He was Governor from January 1991 until July 1997.

1944~ Geraldine Chaplin (née Geraldine Leigh Chaplin), American actress.

1944~ Robert Merton (né Robert Cox Merton), American mathematician and recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.

1943~ William Bennett (né William John Bennett) 3^rd United States Secretary of Education.  He served in the Ronald Reagan administration from February 1985 until September 1988.  He also served as the 1^st Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the George H.W. Bush administration from March 1989 until December 1990.

1926~ Hilary Putnam (né Hilary Whitehall Putnam, d. Mar. 13, 2016), American mathematician and computer scientist.  He died at age 89.

1924~ Anthony Acevedo (néAnthony Claude Acevedo, d. Feb. 11, 2018), American medic who documented the horrors of Nazi concentration camps.  He had been captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge.  He received a Red Cross care package that contained a diary and fountain pen.  He began to meticulously document his Holocaust ordeal.  He died at age 93.

1923~ Stephanie Kwolek (née Stephanie Louise Kwolek, d. June 18, 2014), American chemist and inventor of Kevlar.  She died at age 90.

1921~ Peter Benenson (d. Feb. 25, 2005), British barrister who Amnesty International. He died at age 83.

1919~ Primo Levi (né Primo Michele Levi, d. Apr. 11, 1987), Italian chemist and author.  He was a Holocaust survivor and much of his writings reflected his time in Auschwitz concentration camp.  He committed suicide at age 67 by throwing himself down a flight of stairs.

1919~ Curt Gowdy (né Curtis Edward Gowdy, d. Feb. 20, 2006), American sportscaster.  He died of leukemia at age 86.

1918~ Paul Boyer (né Paul Delos Boyer, d. June 2, 2018), American biochemist and 1997 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry.  He died at age 99.

1912~ Milton Friedman (d. Nov. 16, 2006), American economist and recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 94.

1892~ Herbert W. Armstrong (d. Jan. 16, 1986), American evangelist.  He was an early pioneer in radio and televanglism.  He died at age 93.

1867~ Sebastian S. Kresge (né Sebastian Spering Kresge, d. Oct. 18, 1966), American merchant and founder of the S.S. Kresge retail organization and the K-Mart and Cresge’s Department Stores.  He died at age 99.

1860~ Mary Vaux Walcott (née Mary Morris Vaux, d. Aug. 22, 1940), American painter.  She is best known for her watercolors of wildflowers.  She died a month after her 80^th birthday.

1704~ Gabriel Cramer (d. Jan. 4, 1752), Swiss mathematician.  He died at age 47.

1527~ Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Oct. 12, 1576).  He was married to Maria of Spain.  He died at age 49.

Events that Changed the World:

2006~ Fidel Castro (1926 ~ 2016) handed over power of Cuba to his brother, Raúl Castro (b. 1931), in what was intended to be for a temporary period of time.

2002~ Nine people were killed when a bomb exploded in a cafeteria on the Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem.

1973~ Delta Flight 723 crash landed in the fog at Logan International airport.  89 people were killed.

1964~ The American space probe, Ranger 7, transmitted pictures of the moon’s surface.

1948~ The New York International Airport in Idlewild Field was dedicated.  The airport was later renamed and is now known as the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

1932~ The Nazi Party won more than 38% of the vote in the German elections.

1930~ The radio mystery series, The Shadow, was first broadcast.

1790~ The first United States patent was issued.  Samuel Hopkins (1743 ~ 1818) was the recipient of the patent for his invention of a potash process.

1703~ Daniel Defoe (1659 ~ 1731) was placed in a pillory after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet.  He was charged with the crime of seditious libel.

1492~ The Jews were expelled from Spain by order of the Alhambra Decree, which took effect on this date.  The Alhambra Decree was not formally revoked until December 1968.

1009~ Pope Sergius IV (970 ~ 1012) became the 142^nd Catholic Pope.

781~ The oldest recorded volcanic eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.

Good-Byes:

2017~ Jeanne Moreau (b. Jan. 23, 1928), French actress.  She died at age 89.

2016~ Seymour Papert (né Seymour Aubrey Papert, b. Feb. 29, 1928), South African mathematician and computer scientist.  He died at age 88.

2015~ Richard Schweiker (né Richard Schultz Schwieker, b. June 1, 1926), 14^th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.  He served in this office under the Ronald Reagan administration from January 1981 until February 1983.  He was 89 at the time of his death.

2015~ Howard W. Jones, Jr. (néHoward Wilbur Jones, Jr., b. Dec. 30, 1910), American medical doctor who pioneered in vitro fertilization in the United States.  When he turned 65, he refused to stop working, despite having reached the mandatory retirement age at Johns Hopkins University.  Instead, in 1975, he began a gynecological practice with his wife, Georgeanna Jones (1912 ~ 2005), a reproductive endocrinologist, and set up the first in vitro fertilization clinic in the United States.  Elizabeth Carr, born on December 28, 1981, was first “test tube” baby born in the United States.  He died at age 104.

2012~ Gore Vidal (né Eugene Louis Vidal, b. Oct. 3, 1925), American author and literary juggernaut who charted America’s decline. He died at age 86.

2011~ Matthew Perry (né Matthew James Perry, Jr., b. Aug. 3, 1921), African-American Federal District Court Judge and attorney tirelessly who fought for civil rights.  He died 3 days before his 90^th birthday.

2010~ Mitch Miller (né Mitchell William Miller, b. July 4, 1911), American musician and entertainer.  He died 27 days after his 99^th birthday.

1966~ Isabel Martin Lewis (née Isabel Martin, b. July 11, 1881), American astronomer. She was the first woman hired by the United States Naval Observatory.  She was born in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.  She died 20 days after her 74^th birthday.

1944~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (b. June 29, 1900), French pilot and writer, best known for The Little Prince.  During World War II, while on a reconnaissance mission in July 1944, he disappeared and was presumed killed.  He was 44 years old.

1895~ Richard Morris Hunt (b. Oct 31, 1827), American architect and designer of the New York Tribune Building.  He was born in Brattleboro, Vermont.  He died at age 67.

1886~ Franz Liszt (b. Oct. 22, 1811), Hungarian pianist and composer.  He died at age 74.

1875~ Andrew Johnson (b. Dec. 29, 1808), 17^th President of the United States. He took Office following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.  He was the first president to be impeached, which was the result of a bitter disagreement between him and Congress over how to treat the South following the Civil War.  He died at age 66.

1726~ Nicolaus II Bernoulli (b. Feb. 6, 1695), Swiss mathematician.  He died of a fever at age 31.

1653~ Thomas Dudley (b. Oct. 12, 1576), Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He served as the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony for several terms.  He died at age 76.

1556~ Ignatius of Loyola (b. Oct. 23, 1491), Spanish theologian and founder of the Society of Jesus.  He died at age 64.

July 30

Birthdays:

1977~ Jaime Pressly (née Jaime Elizabeth Pressly), American actress.

1974~ Hilary Swank (née Hilary Ann Swank), American actress.

1969~ Simon Baker, Australian actor best known for his role as Patrick Jane on The Mentalist.

1963~ Lisa Kudrow (née Lisa Valerie Kudrow), American actress.

1961~ Laurence Fishburne (né Laurence John Fishburne, III), American actor.

1960~ Richard Linklater (né Richard Stuart Linklater), American film director.

1958~ Kate Bush (née Catherine Bush), English musician.

1956~ Delta Burke (née Delta Ramona Leah Burke), American actress.

1956~ Anita Hill (née Anita Faye Hill), American academic and attorney.  She became a household name when she testified as a witness against the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

1954~ Ken Olin (né Kenneth Edward Olin), American actor.

1948~ Jean Reno (né Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez), Moroccan-French actor.

1947~ Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist who first discovered the HIV virus.  She was the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1947~ Arnold Schwarzenegger (né Arnold Alois Schwartzenegger), Austrian-born body builder, actor and politician.  He was the 38^th Governor of California.  He married into the Kennedy family when he married Maria Shriver.  They were divorced in 2011.

1945~ Patrick Modiano (né Jean Patrick Modiano), French author and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1939~ Eleanor Smeal (née Eleanor Marie Cutri), American women’s rights activist.  She served as the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

1936~ Buddy Guy (né George Guy), American blues guitarist and singer who was born in Louisiana.

1934~ Bud Selig (né Allan Huber Selig), Major League Baseball Commissioner.  He served as the Commissioner from July 1998 until January 2015.

1929~ Darrell H. Winfield (d. Jan. 12, 2015), American rancher and cowboy who defined the Marlboro Man.  He was the real-life cowboy who appeared in the Marlboro cigarette advertisements.  He was 85 years old.

1922~ Mary Doyle Keefe (d. Apr. 21, 2015), American petite model who became “Rosie the Riveter.”  She was born in Bennington, Vermont. She was 92 years old.

1922~ Henry W. Bloch (né Henry Wollman Bloch), American banker, businessman and co-founder of H&R Block.

1898~ Henry Moore (né Henry Spencer Moore, d. Aug. 31, 1986), English sculptor.  He died a month after his 88^th birthday.

1890~ Casey Stengel (né Charles Dillon Stengel, d. Sept. 29, 1975), American baseball player and manager.  He died at age 85.

1863~ Henry Ford (d. Apr. 7, 1947), American automobile manufacturer and pioneer.  He founded the Ford Motor Company.  He died at age 83.

1818~ Emily Brontë (née Emily Jane Brontë, d. Dec. 19, 1848), English novelist.  She is best known for her novels Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. She died at age 30.

1549~ Ferdinando I de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. Feb. 17, 1609).  He died at age 59.

1470~ Hongzhi (d. June 9, 1505), 10^th Chinese Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.  He reigned from September 1487 until his death 18 years later.  He died at age 34.

Events that Changed the World:

1975~ Jimmy Hoffa (1913 ~ 1975) disappeared.  In 1982, on the 7^th anniversary of his disappearance, he was declared legally dead.

1974~ After being ordered by the United States Supreme Court in the United States v. Nixon, President Richard Nixon released the subpoenaed White House tapes that were part of the Watergate scandal.

1971~ The Apollo 15 Mission Lunar Module, Falcon, landed on the moon with the first Lunar Rover.  The crew consisted of David Scott (b. 1932), James Irwin (1930 ~ 1991), and Alfred Worden (b. 1932).

1965~ President Lyndon Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.

1956~ The United States Congress issued a joint resolution, which President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed, authorizing the words, “In G~d we Trust” as the United States national motto.

1930~ The Uruguayan soccer team defeated Argentina to win the first FIFA World Cup.  The games were played in Montevideo, Uruguay.  The first tournament consisted of thirteen teams: 7 from South America, 4 from Europe and 2 from North America.

1866~ In New Orleans, Louisiana, the Democratic government ordered police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting.  Forty people were killed and over 150 others were injured during the raid.

1756~ The Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia was presented to Empress Elizabeth (1709 ~ 1762).

1729~ The city of Baltimore, Maryland was founded.

1629~ An earthquake in Naples, Italy killed about 10,000 people.

1419~ The first Defenestration of Prague occurred when a crowd of radical Hussites killed seven members of the Prague city council.

Good-Byes:

2015~ Lynn Anderson (née Lynn Rene Anderson, b. Sept. 26, 1947), American singer.  She died at age 67 of a heart attack.

2014~ Dick Smith (né Richard Emerson Smith, b. June 26, 1922), American make-up artist who transformed Hollywood.  He died at age 92.

2013~ Berthold Beitz (b. Sept. 26, 1913), German industrialist who saved Jews.  In 1973, he received the Righteous Among the Nations award.  He died at age 99.

2012~ Maeve Binchy (née Anne Maeve Binchy, b. May 28, 1939), Irish novelist.  She died at age 73.

2007~ Ingmar Bergman (né Ernest Ingmar Bergman, b. July 14, 1918), Swedish film maker.  He died 2 weeks after his 89^th birthday.

2003~ Sam Phillips (né Samuel Cornelius Phillips, b. Jan. 5, 1923), American record producer and founder of Sun Records.  He died at age 80.

1998~ Buffalo Bob Smith (né Robert Emil Schmidt, b. Nov. 27, 1917), American actor and television host best known for hosting The Howdy Doody Show.  He was born in Buffalo, New York.  He died of cancer at age 80.

1996~ Claudette Colbert (née Émilie Claudette Chauchion, b. Sept. 13, 1903), French actress.  She died at age 92.

1992~ Joe Shuster (né Joseph Shuster, b. July 10, 1914), Canadian-born illustrator who, along with Jerry Siegel, created the comic strip, Superman.  He died 3 weeks after his 78^th birthday.

1989~ Lane Frost (né Lane Clyde Frost, b. Oct. 12, 1963), American bull rider.  He was killed at age 25 from injuries sustained from being rammed by a bull he had just dismounted.  His life and death was depicted in the 1994 movie 8 Seconds.

1985~ Julia Robinson (née Julia Hall Bowman, b. Dec. 8, 1919), American mathematician.  She died at age 65 of leukemia.

1983~ Lynn Fontanne (b. Dec. 6, 1887), American actress.  She died at age 95.

1963~ Patrick J. Hurley (né Patrick Jay Hurley, b. Jan. 8, 1883), 51^st United States Secretary of War.  He served under President Herbert Hoover from December 1929 until March 1933.  He died at age 80.

1918~ Joyce Kilmer (né Alfred Joyce Kilmer, b. Dec. 6, 1886), He is best known for his poem Trees.  He died at age 31 during the Second Battle of Marne during World War I.

1908~ James Budd (né James Herbert Budd, b. May 18, 1851), Governor of California.  He served as Governor from January 1895 until January 1899. He died at age 57.

1898~ Otto von Bismarck (b. Apr. 1, 1815), 1^st Chancellor of the German Empire.  He served in that Office from March 1871 until March 1890.  He died at age 83.

1875~ George Pickett (né George Edward Pickett, b. Jan. 16, 1825), General in the Confederate Army.  He died at age 50.

1859~ Richard Rush (b. Aug. 29, 1780), 8^th United States Attorney General.  He served under President James Madison from February 1814 until November 1817.  He subsequently went on to serve as the 8^th United States Secretary of the Treasury, from March 1825 until March 1829.  He died a month before his 79^th birthday.

1718~ William Penn (b. Oct. 14, 1644), English founder of the Province of Pennsylvania.  He died at age 73.

579~ Pope Benedict I (né Benedictus).  He was Pope from June 575 until his death on this date 4 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.

July 29

Birthdays:

1953~ Ken Burns (né Kenneth Lauren Burns), American documentary film director.

1953~ Tim Gunn, American fashion consultant and television host.

1944~ Jim Bridwell (d. Feb. 16, 2018), American renegade rock climber who conquered Yosemite.  He died at age 73 from complications of hepatitis, which he acquired from a tattoo.

1938~ Peter Jennings (né Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, d. Aug. 7, 2005), Canadian television journalist.  He died of lung cancer 9 days after his 67^th birthday.

1937~ Daniel McFadden (né Daniel Little McFadden), American economist and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.

1936~ Elizabeth Dole (née Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford), United States Senator from North Carolina and wife of Bob Dole.  She also served as the 20^th Secretary of Labor during the George H.W. Bush administration from January 1989 until November 1990.

1934~ Albert Speer, Jr. (d. Sept. 15, 2017), German architect who worked to escape his Nazi father’s legacy.  He was born in Berlin a year after Hitler took power.  He became one of Germany’s most successful architects.  He died at age 83.

1932~ Nancy Kasselbaum (née Nancy Landon), American politician.

1925~ Harold W. Kuhn (né Harold William Kuhn, d. July 2, 2014), American mathematician. He died 27 days before his 89^th birthday.

1924~ Black Dahlia (née Elizabeth Short, d. Jan. 15, 1947), American waitress and murder victim.  She was the victim of a gruesome and highly publicized murder, which remains unsolved.  She was 22 years old at the time of her death.

1917~ Rochus Misch (d. Sept. 5, 2013), German bodyguard who defended Hitler to the end.  He died at age 96.

1915~ Francis W. Sargent (né Francis Williams Sargent, d. Oct. 22, 1998), 64^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as governor from January 22, 1969 through January 2, 1975. He died at age 83.

1914~ Irwin Corey (d. Feb. 6, 2017), American madcap comedian who mocked expertise.  He was the world’s foremost authority on intellectual doublespeak.  He died at age 102.

1911~ Foster Furcolo (né John Foster Furcolo, d. July 5, 1995), 60^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as governor from January 1957 to January 1961.  He was born in New Haven, Connecticut and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He died 3 weeks before his 84^thbirthday.

1905~ Dag Hammarskjöld (d. Sept. 18, 1961), Swedish economist.  He also served as the 2^nd Secretary-General of the United Nations.  He was killed in a plane crash on a mission to negotiate peace in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 1961.  Later that year, he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, being one of a very few honored with a Nobel Prize after death.  He was 56 at the time of his death.

1905~ Clara Bow (née Clara Gordon Bow, d. Sept. 27, 1965), American silent film star, known as The It Girl, because of her role in the film It.  She died at age 60 of a heart attack.

1905~ Stanley Kunitz (né Stanley Jasspon Kunitz, d. May 14, 2006), American Poet Laureate.  He died at age 100.

1900~ Eyvind Johnson (né Olof Edvin Verner Johsson, d. Aug 25, 1976), Swedish author and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died 27 days after his 76^th birthday.

1898~ Isidor Isaac Rabi (néIsrael Isaac Rabi, d. Jan. 11, 1988), Hungarian-born American physicist and recipient of the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance.  He died at age 89.

1885~ Theda Bara (née Theodosia Burr Goodman, d. Apr. 7, 1955), American silent film actress best known for her role in The Vamp.  She died of stomach cancer at age 69.

1883~ Benito Mussolini (né Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, d. Apr. 28, 1945), Fascist dictator of Italy.  He served as the 27^th Prime Minister of Italy from October 1922 until July 1943.  He was executed by a firing squad, which consisted of members of the Italian resistance movement.  He was 61.

1878~ Don Marquis (néDonald Robert Perry Marquis, d. Dec. 29, 1937), American humorist, journalist and author.  He died of a stroke at age 59.

1869~ Booth Tarkington (né Newton Booth Tarkington, d. May 19, 1946), American novelist.  He is best known for his novel The Magnificent Ambersons.  He died at age 76.

1861~ Alice Roosevelt (née Alice Hathaway Lee, d. Feb. 14, 1884), first wife of Theodore Roosevelt.  She was born in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.  She died of Bright’s Disease just 2 days after giving birth to their only child, named Alice Lee Roosevelt.  She was 22 years old.

1849~ Max Nordau (néSimon Maximilian Südfeld, d. Jan. 23, 1923), Hungarian physician and co-founder, along with Theodor Herzl, of the World Zionist Organization.  He died at age 73.

1805~ Alexis de Toqueville (d. Apr. 16, 1859), French historian and political scientist. He is best known for his work, Democracy in America.  He died at age 53 of tuberculosis.

Events that Changed the World:

1987~ British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925 ~ 2013) and French President François Mitterand (1916 ~ 1996) signed an agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel.  The Tunnel opened in May 1994 and the first passenger service began in November 1994.

1981~ Britain’s Prince Charles (b. 1948) and Lady Diana Spencer (1961 ~ 1997) were married in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.  They divorced in 1996.

1976~ David Berkowitz (b. 1953), who called himself the “Son of Sam”, committed his first murder.

1958~ President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 ~ 1969) signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

1957~ The International Atomic Energy Agency was established.

1948~ The Summer Olympics of 1948 opened in London, England.  It was the first Summer Olympics since 1936.

1921~ Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

1914~ The Cape Cod Canal opened.  The Canal connects Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay.

1899~ The First Hague Convention international treaty was signed.

1836~ The Arc de Triomphe in Paris was inaugurated.

1588~ In the naval Battle of Gravelines, the English under the command of Lord Charles Howard (1536 ~ 1624) and Sir Francis Drake (1540 ~ 1596) defeated the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.

1565~ Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 ~ 1587), married her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545 ~ 1567), Duke of Albany in Edinburgh, Scotland.

587 BCE~ The traditional date ascribed to the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Good-Byes:

2013~ Peter Flanigan (néPeter Magnus Flanigan, b. June 21, 1923), American investment banker and Nixon aide who pioneered education reform.  He died just over a month after his 90^th birthday.

2009~ Dina Gottliebová Babbitt (née Annemarie Dina Gottliebová, b. Jan. 21, 1923), Czech-born Auschwitz prisoner who survived by painting.  She died at age 86.

2008~ Bruce Ivins (né Bruce Edwards Ivins, b. Apr. 22, 1946), American scientist and bio-defense research.  He was the primary suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks.  He committed suicide at age 62 after learning that the FBI was about to file charges against him.

2007~ Tom Snyder (né Thomas James Snyder, b. May 12, 1936), American journalist and talk show host.  He died of leukemia at age 71.

1996~ Marcel-Paul Schützenberger (b. Oct. 24, 1920), French mathematician.  He died at age 75.

1994~ Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (b. May 12, 1910), British biochemist and recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  She advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography and was able to confirm the structure of penicillin.  She died of a stroke at age 84.

1983~ David Niven (né James David Graham Nevin, b. Mar. 1, 1910), British actor.  He died at age 73.

1983~ Luis Buñuel (b. Feb. 22, 1900), Spanish film director.  He died at age 83.

1974~ “Mama” Cass Elliot (née Ellen Naomi Cohen, b. Sept. 19, 1941), American singer and member of The Mamas and Papas.  She died of a heart attack at age 32.

1913~ Tobias Asser (né Tobias Michael Carel Asser, b. Apr. 28, 1838), Dutch lawyer and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the field of private international law.  He died at age 75.

1890~ Vincent van Gogh (né Vincent Willem van Gogh, b. Mar. 30, 1853), Dutch painter.  He committed suicide at age 37.

1856~ Robert Schumann (b. June 8, 1810), German composer.  He died of pneumonia at age 46.

1839~ Gaspard de Prony (b. July 22, 1755), French mathematician.  His name is one of 72 inscribed in the Eiffel Tower.  He died 7 days after his 84^th birthday.

1781~ Johann Kies (b. Sept. 14, 1713), German mathematician.  The crater on the moon Kies is named in his honor.  He died at age 67.

1692~ Sarah Good (née Sarah Solart, b. July 21, 1653), American woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials.  She was convicted of witchcraft.  She was executed by hanging 8 days after her 39^th birthday.

1644~ Pope Urban VIII (né Maffeo Barberini, b. Apr. 5, 1568).  He was Pope from August 1623 until his death 21 years later.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on April 5, 1568.  He died at age 76.

1237~ Ingeborg of Denemark, Queen of France (b. 1174), wife of King Philip II of France.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 62 or 63 at the time of her death.

1108~ King Philip I of France (b. May 23, 1052).  He died at age 56.

1099~ Pope Urban II (né Ortho de Lagery, b. 1042).  He was Pope from March 1088 until his death 11 years later.  He is best known for initiating the First Crusade, from 1096 to 1099.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 57 at the time of his death.

1095~ Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040), King of Hungary.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 54 or 55 at the time of his death.

1030~ King Olaf II of Norway (b. 995).  The exact date of his birth is unknown.  He is believed to have been about 34 or 35 at the time of his death.

July 28

Birthdays:

1954~ Hugo Rafael Frías Chávez (d. Mar. 5, 2013), President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013.  He died of cancer at age 58.

1954~ Gerd Faltings, German mathematician.

1948~ Georgia Engel (née Georgia Bright Engel), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Georgette Franklin Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

1947~ Sally Struthers (née Sally Anne Struthers), American actress best known for her role as Gloria on All in the Family.

1945~ Jim Davis (né James Robert Davis), American cartoonist and creator of the Garfield comic.

1938~ Robert Hughes (né Robert Studley Forrest Hughes, d. Aug. 6, 2012), Australian critic and writer and pugnacious popularize of fine art.  He died following a long illness a week after his 74^th birthday.

1938~ Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru.  He was President from July 1990 until November 2000. In 2009, he was convicted of human rights violations and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

1937~ John A. Walker, Jr. (né John Anthony Walker, Jr., d. Aug. 28, 2014), American Navy officer who lead a family spy ring.  He was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union from 1968 until 1985.  He died in prison a month after his 77^th birthday.

1932~ Norma Holloway Johnson (née Normalie Loyce Johnson, d. Sept. 18, 2011), African-American Federal judge who oversaw the Monica Lewinsky probe.  She was from Lake Charles, Louisiana.  She died at age 79.

1929~ Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (née Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, d. May 19, 1994), First Lady and wife of President John F. Kennedy.  She died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 64.

1929~ Shirley Ann Grau, American novelist.  She was born in New Orleans.

1925~ Baruch Samuel Blumberg (d. Apr. 5, 2011), American physician and recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the study of kuru.  He died at age 85.

1916~ David Brown (d. Feb. 1, 2010), American movie producer who made Jawsand The Sting.  He was married to Helen Gurley Brown, the editor of Cosmopolitan.  He died of renal failure at age 93.

1915~ Charles Townes (néCharles Hard Townes, d. Jan. 27, 2015), American physicist and recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He invented the maser and the laser.  He was 99 years old at the time of his death.

1909~ Malcolm Lowry (né Clarence Malcolm Lowry, d. June 26, 1957), British novelist.  He is best known for his novel Under the Volcano.  He died about a month before his 48^thbirthday.

1907~ Earl Tupper (né Earl Silas Tupper, d. Oct. 5, 1983), American inventor of Tupperware.  He was born in Berlin, New Hampshire.  He died at age 76.

1904~ Pavel Alekseyevich Čerenkov (d. Jan. 6, 1990), Russian physicist and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of Cherenkov radiation.  He died at age 85.

1901~ Rudy Vallée (né Hubert Prior Vallée, d. July 3, 1986), American singer. He was born in Island Pond, Vermont. He is known for his rendition of The Maine Stein Song, the theme song of the University of Maine.  He died 25 days before his 85^th birthday.

1887~ Marcel Duchamp (d. Oct. 2, 1968), French painter and artist.  He died at age 81.

1866~ Beatrix Potter (née Helen Beatrix Potter, d. Dec. 22, 1943), English author and creator of the Peter Rabbit stories.  She died of pneumonia and heart disease at age 77.

1635~ Robert Hooke (d. Mar. 3, 1703), English scientist.  He is best known for his investigations with the microscope.  He died at age 67.

Events that Changed the World:

2002~ Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Pdnnsylvania were rescued.  They had been trapped for over 75 hours.

1996~ The remains of a prehistoric man, now known as the Kennewick Man, were discovered near Kennewick, Washington State.

1984~ The 1984 Summer Olympics opened in Los Angeles, California.

1976~ A massive earthquake struck Tangshan in China.  Approximately 250,000 people were believed to have been killed in the disaster, with another 150,000 individuals injured.

1945~ A US Army B-25 bomber crashed into the Empire State Building.  Fourteen people were killed and 26 were injured.

1914~ Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after Serbia rejected the conditions of an ultimatum sent by Austria following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

1896~ The city of Miami, Florida was incorporated.

1868~ The 14^th Amendment to the United States was certified.  The principles of the 14^th  Amendment (1) defines citizenship regardless of race; (2) provides that no state shall abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens; (3) provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; and (4) no person could be denied equal protection of the laws.

1866~ Lavinia “Vinnie” Ream (1847 ~ 1914) became the first and youngest woman artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue.  She was 18 years old when she was commissioned to sculpt the statue of Abraham Lincoln, which is in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol Building.

1821~ José de San Martín (1778 ~ 1850) declared Peru to be independent from Spanish rule and became the Protector of Peru.

1540~ King Henry VIII (1491 ~ 1547) of England married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard (1523 ~ 1542) after he had Thomas Cromwell (1485 ~ 1540) executed for treason.

Good-Byes:

2014~ Theodore Van Kirk (b. Feb. 27, 1921), American navigator who guided the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the H-bomb on Hiroshima.  He died at age 93.

2013~ Eileen Brennan (née Verla Eileen Brennan, b. Sept. 3, 1932), American actress.  She died of cancer at age 80.

2013~ William Scranton (né William Warren Scranton, b. July 19, 1917), 13^th United States Ambassador to the United Nations.  He served in that office from March 1976 until January 1977 during the Gerald Ford administration.  He died 9 days after his 96^thbirthday.

2009~ The Reverend Ike (né Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter, II, b. June 1, 1935), American minister who preached the gospel of wealth.  He died at age 74.

2004~ Francis Crick (né Francis Harry Compton Crick, b. June 8, 1916), English molecular biologist and recipient of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He, along with James Watson, discovered the molecular structure of DNA.  They failed, however, to give due credit to Roselyn Franklin, who also provided valuable insight into the DNA structure.  He died at age 88.

2002~ Archer John Porter Martin (b. Mar. 1, 1910), British chemist and recipient of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 92.

1999~ Trygve Haavelmo (né Trygve Magnus Haavelmo, b. Dec. 13, 1911), Norwegian economist and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 87.

1998~ James J. Andrews (b. Mar. 18, 1930), American mathematician.  He specialized in knot theory and topology.  He died at age 68.

1968~ Otto Hahn (b. Mar. 8, 1879), German chemist and recipient of the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He opposed the actions of the Nazis.  He died at age 89.

1957~ Isaac Heinemann (b. June 5, 1876), German-Israeli rabbinical scholar and educator. He died at age 81.

1939~ William James Mayo (b. June 29, 1861), American physician and one of the seven founders of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.  He died a month after his 78^th birthday.

1930~ Allvar Gullstrand (b. June 5, 1862), Swedish ophthalmologist and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 68.

1885~ Sir Moses Montefiore, 1^st Baronet (néMoses Haim Montefiore, b. Oct. 24, 1784), British philanthropist and banker.  He was also the Sheriff of London.  He was also a pro-Zionist and built the Montefiore Windmill in Jerusalem.  He died at age 100.

1836~ Nathan Mayer Rothschild (b. Sept. 16, 1777), German banker and financier.  He died of an infected abscess at age 58.

1818~ Gaspart Monge (b. May 9, 1746), French mathematician.  He died at age 72.

1794~ Maximilien de Robespierre (b. May 6, 1758), French revolutionary leader who was executed by guillotine in Paris during the French Revolution.  He was 36 years old.

1750~ Johann Sebastian Bach (b. Mar. 31, 1685), German composer.  He died at age 65.

1741~ Antonio Vivaldi (né Antonio Lucio Vavaldi, b. Mar. 4, 1678), Italian composer.  He died at age 63.

1655~ Cyrano de Bergerac (né Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, b. Mar. 6, 1619), French soldier and poet.  He died at age 36.

1540~ Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex (b. 1485), English attorney and politician.  He was beheaded by order of King Henry VII on charges of treason on the same day that Henry VIII married Catherine Howard.  He was condemned to death without a trial.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 54 or 55 at the time of his death.

1057~ Pope Victor II (né Gebhard, Count of Calw, Tollenstein, and Hirschberg, b. 1018).  He was Pope from April 1055 until his death 2 years later.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

942~ Emperor Shi Jingtang (b. Mar. 30, 892) 1^{s t}Chinese Emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty.  He reigned from November 936 until his death 6 years later.  He died at age 50.