July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 177 days remaining until the end of the year.
The terms 7th July, July 7th, and 7/7 (pronounced "Seven-seven") have been widely used in the Western media as a shorthand for the 7 July 2005 bombings on London's transport system. In China, this term is used to denote the Battle of Lugou Bridge started on July 7, 1937, marking the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
[edit] Events
- 1456 A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.
- 1534 European colonization of the Americas: first known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick.
- 1543 French troops invade Luxembourg.
- 1575 Raid of the Redeswire, the last major battle between England and Scotland.
- 1585 The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.
- 1770 The Battle of Larga between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire takes place.
- 1777 American Revolutionary War: American forces retreating from Fort Ticonderoga are defeated in the Battle of Hubbardton.
- 1798 Quasi-War: the U.S. Congress rescinds treaties with France sparking the "war".
- 1807 Napoleonic Wars: the Peace of Tilsit between France, Prussia and Russia ends the Fourth Coalition.
- 1834 In New York City, four nights of rioting against abolitionists began.
- 1846 Mexican-American War: American troops occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena, thus beginning the U.S. acquisition of California.
- 1863 United States begins its first military draft; exemptions cost $300.
- 1865 American Civil War: four conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln are hanged.
- 1892 Katipunan: the Revolutionary Philippine Brotherhood is established, contributing to the fall of the Spanish Empire in Asia.
- 1898 U.S. President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
- 1911 The United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Russia sign the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife preservation issues.
- 1915 World War I: end of First Battle of the Isonzo.
- 1915 An International Railway trolley with an extreme overload of 157 passengers crashes near Queenston, Ontario, killing 15.
- 1915 Militia officer Henry Pedris executed by firing squad at Colombo, Ceylon - an act widely regarded as a miscarriage of justice by the British colonial authorities.
- 1928 Sliced bread is sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri.
- 1930 Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam).
- 1937 Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge Japanese forces invade Beijing, China.
- 1941 World War II: U.S. forces land in Iceland, taking over from an earlier British occupation.
- 1941 World War II: Beirut is occupied by Free France and British troops.
- 1944 World War II: Largest Banzai charge of the Pacific War at the Battle of Saipan.
- 1946 Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.
- 1946 Howard Hughes nearly dies when his XF-11 spy plane prototype crashes in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.
- 1952 The ocean liner SS United States passes Bishop's Rock on her maiden voyage, breaking the transatlantic speed record to become the fastest passenger ship in the world.
- 1953 Ernesto "Che" Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.
- 1954 Elvis Presley made his radio debut when WHBQ Memphis played his first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right."
- 1956 Fritz Moravec and two other Austrian mountaineers make the first ascent of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m).
- 1958 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into law.
- 1959 Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere.
- 1978 The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1980 Institution of sharia in Iran.
- 1980 During the Lebanese civil war, 83 Tiger militants are killed during what will be known as the Safra massacre.
- 1981 U.S. President Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 1983 Cold War: Samantha Smith, a U.S. schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov.
- 1985 Boris Becker becomes the youngest player ever to win Wimbledon at age 17
- 1991 Yugoslav Wars: the Brioni Agreement ends the ten-day independence war in Slovenia against the rest of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 1997 The Turkish Armed Forces withdraw from northern Iraq after assisting the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War.
- 2002 A scandal breaks out in the United Kingdom when news reports accuse MI6 of sheltering Abu Qatada, the supposed European Al Qaeda leader.
- 2005 A series of four explosions occurs on London's transport system killing 56 people including four alleged suicide bombers and injuring over 700 others.
- 2011 Roof of a stand in De Grolsch Veste Stadium in Enschede which was under construction collapsed, one killed and 14 injured.
[edit] Births
- 1053 Emperor Shirakawa, of Japan (d. 1129)
- 1119 Emperor Sutoku of Japan (d. 1164)
- 1207 Princess Elisabeth of Hungary Catholic saint (d. 1231)
- 1528 Archduchess Anna of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I (d. 1590)
- 1586 Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English statesman and art collector (d. 1646)
- 1656 Guru Har Krishan, Indian religious figure (d. 1664)
- 1746 Giuseppe Piazzi, Italian astronomer (d. 1826)
- 1752 Joseph Marie Jacquard, French inventor (d. 1834)
- 1766 Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (d. 1815)
- 1833 Fιlicien Rops, Belgian artist, and printmaker in etching and aquatint (d. 1898)
- 1843 Camillo Golgi, Italian physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1926)
- 1848 Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian politician (d. 1919)
- 1851 Charles Tindley, American gospel music composer (d. 1933)
- 1855 Ludwig Ganghofer, German writer (d. 1920)
- 1860 Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (d. 1911)
- 1874 Erwin Bumke, German jurist (d. 1945)
- 1884 Lion Feuchtwanger, German dramatist (d. 1958)
- 1887 Marc Chagall, Russian painter (d. 1985)
- 1891 Virginia Rappe, American actress (d. 1921)
- 1891 Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Japanese general (d. 1945)
- 1893 Miroslav Krlea, Croatian writer (d. 1981)
- 1899 George Cukor, American director (d. 1983)
- 1900 Earle E. Partridge, American military commander (d. 1990)
- 1901 Vittorio De Sica, Italian director (d. 1974)
- 1901 Sam Katzman, American film producer (d. 1973)
- 1901 Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese film producer (d. 1970)
- 1902 Ted Radcliffe, American baseball player and centenarian (d. 2005)
- 1904 Simone Beck, French chef (d. 1991)
- 1906 William Feller, Croatian-American mathematician/probabilist (d. 1970)
- 1906 Anna Marie Hahn, German-born American serial killer (d. 1938)
- 1906 Anton Karas, Austrian zither player (d. 1985)
- 1906 Satchel Paige, American baseball player (d. 1982)
- 1907 Robert A. Heinlein, American writer (d. 1988)
- 1908 Revilo P. Oliver, American academic and White nationalism advocate (d. 1994)
- 1911 Gretchen Franklin, English actress (d. 2005)
- 1911 Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian composer (d. 2007)
- 1913 Pinetop Perkins, American blues pianist (d. 2011)
- 1915 Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander, American novelist and poet (d. 1998)
- 1917 Fidel Sαnchez Hernαndez, El Salvador politician (d. 2003)
- 1919 Jon Pertwee, English actor (d. 1996)
- 1920 Bhaktaraj Maharaj, Indian Hindu figure (d. 1995)
- 1921 Ezzard Charles, American boxer (d. 1975)
- 1921 Adolf von Thadden, German politician (d. 1996)
- 1922 Alan Armer, American television producer, and director (d. 2010)
- 1922 Pierre Cardin, French fashion designer
- 1924 Mary Ford, American singer (d. 1977)
- 1925 Wally Phillips, American radio personality (d. 2008)
- 1927 Carmen Basilio, American boxer
- 1927 Charlie Louvin, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2011) (Louvin Brothers)
- 1927 Doc Severinsen, American composer and jazz trumpeter
- 1929 Hasan Abidi, Pakistani journalist and poet (d. 2005)
- 1930 John Little, Scottish footballer
- 1930 Theodore Edgar McCarrick, American cardinal
- 1930 Hank Mobley, American jazz composer and saxophonist (d. 1986)
- 1931 David Eddings, American fantasy novelist (d. 2009)
- 1932 Joe Zawinul, Austrian jazz composer and keyboardist (d. 2007)
- 1933 Murray Halberg, New Zealand middle distance runner
- 1933 David McCullough, American historian and author
- 1933 Bruce Wells, English boxer and actor (d. 2009)
- 1936 Jo Siffert, Swiss race car driver (d. 1971)
- 1936 Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer (d. 1980)
- 1937 Tung Chee-Hwa, Hong Kong administrator
- 1940 Ringo Starr, English drummer and singer (The Beatles)
- 1941 Marco Bollesan, Italian rugby player and coach
- 1941 Michael Howard, British politician
- 1941 Bill Oddie, English comedian and ornithologist
- 1942 Carmen Duncan, Australian actress
- 1943 Toto Cutugno, Italian singer
- 1943 Joel Siegel, American film critic (d. 2007)
- 1944 Tony Jacklin, English golfer
- 1945 Michael Ancram, British politician
- 1945 Matti Salminen, Finnish opera singer
- 1946 Joe Spano, American actor
- 1947 Gyanendra, deposed king of Nepal
- 1947 Vνctor Manuel, Spanish songwriter and singer
- 1947 Howard Rheingold, American critic and writer
- 1947 Felix Standaert, Belgian diplomat
- 1947 Rob Townsend, English drummer (Family)
- 1948 Jean Leclerc, French-Canadian actor
- 1949 Shelley Duvall, American actress
- 1952 Mando Guerrero, Mexican professional wrestler
- 1954 Rami Fortis, Israeli rock singer (Minimal Compact)
- 1955 Len Barker, American baseball player
- 1957 Jonathan Dayton, American film director
- 1957 Berry Sakharof, Turkish-born Israeli guitarist (Minimal Compact)
- 1959 Billy Campbell, American actor
- 1959 Jessica Hahn, American model
- 1959 Ben Linder, American engineer (d. 1987)
- 1960 Kevin A. Ford, American astronaut
- 1960 Ralph Sampson, American basketball player
- 1963 Vonda Shepard, American singer
- 1965 Mo Collins, American actress
- 1965 Paula Devicq, Canadian actress
- 1965 Jeremy Kyle, English television presenter
- 1965 Jeremy Guscott, English rugby player
- 1965 Sam Holbrook, American baseball umpire
- 1966 Jim Gaffigan, American comedian
- 1966 Gundula Krause, German folk violinist
- 1966 Neil Tobin, American magician and psychic entertainer
- 1967 Tom Kristensen, Danish race car driver
- 1967 Jackie Neal, American singer (d. 2005)
- 1968 Amy Carlson, American actress
- 1968 Jorja Fox, American actress
- 1968 Allen Payne, American actor
- 1968 Jeff VanderMeer, American writer
- 1969 Sylke Otto, German luger
- 1969 Joe Sakic, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 Nathalie Simard, French Canadian singer
- 1969 Cree Summer, American voice actress
- 1969 Robin Weigert, American actress
- 1970 Robia LaMorte, American actress and dancer
- 1970 Wayne McCullough, Irish boxer
- 1970 Erik Zabel, German cyclist
- 1971 Christian Camargo, American actor
- 1971 Alistair Potts, British rower
- 1972 Lisa Leslie, American basketball player
- 1972 Manfred Stohl, Austrian rally driver
- 1972 Kirsten Vangsness, American actress
- 1973 Troy Garity, American actor
- 1973 Josι Jimιnez, Dominican baseball player
- 1973 Matt Mantei, American baseball player
- 1973 Kārlis Skrastiņ, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1973 Natsuki Takaya, Japanese manga artist
- 1973 Kailash Kher, Indian singer
- 1974 Patrick Lalime, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 E.D.I. Mean, American Rapper (Outlawz)
- 1975 Tony Benshoof, American luger
- 1975 Michael Voss, Australian rules footballer
- 1976 Dominic Foley, Irish footballer
- 1976 Natasha Collins, English actress (d. 2008)
- 1977 D-Loc, American rapper (Kottonmouth Kings)
- 1977 Felix Vasquez, American municipal employee
- 1978 Chris Andersen, American basketball player
- 1978 Davor Kraljević, Croatian footballer
- 1979 Anastasios Gousis, Greek sprinter
- 1979 Carl Breeze, British racing driver
- 1980 John Buck, American baseball player
- 1980 Deidre Downs, American beauty queen
- 1980 Kaisa Jouhki, Indonesian singer (Battlelore)
- 1980 Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
- 1980 Dan Whitesides, American drummer (The Used)
- 1981 Synyster Gates, American guitarist (Avenged Sevenfold)
- 1981 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricketer
- 1982 Cassidy, American rapper
- 1982 Mike Glita, American bassist (Senses Fail)
- 1982 Nick Karner, American filmmaker
- 1982 Jan Latůvka, Czech footballer
- 1982 George Owu, Ghanaian footballer
- 1983 Justin Davies, Australian rules footballer
- 1983 Ciara Newell, Irish singer (Bellefire)
- 1983 D. Woods, American singer (Danity Kane)
- 1984 Minas Alozidis, Greek hurdler
- 1984 Alberto Aquilani, Italian footballer
- 1984 Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1984 Marie-Mai, Canadian singer
- 1985 Marc Stein, German footballer
- 1986 Ana Kasparian, American radio personality
- 1986 Udo Schwarz, German rugby player
- 1987 Julianna Guill, American actress
- 1987 Lena Ma, Canadian beauty pageant contestant
- 1988 Kaci Brown, American singer
- 1988 Lukas Rosenthal, German rugby player
- 1988 Ilan Rubin, American drummer (Nine Inch Nails)
- 1988 Jack Whitehall, British comedian
- 1989 Kim Bum, South Korean actor
- 1990 Lee Addy, Ghanaian football player
- 1992 Toni Garrn, German model
- 1997 Erina Ikuta, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
- 2000 Princess Purnika of Nepal
[edit] Deaths
- 1304 Pope Benedict XI (b. 1240)
- 1307 King Edward I of England (b. 1239)
- 1537 Madeleine of Valois, French-born Queen consort of James V of Scotland (b. 1520)
- 1572 King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland (b. 1520)
- 1573 Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Italian architect (b. 1507)
- 1593 Mohammed Bagayogo, Malian scholar (b. 1523)
- 1647 Thomas Hooker, English-born Connecticut colonist (b. 1586)
- 1663 Thomas Baltzar, German violinist
- 1701 William Stoughton, American judge at the Salem witch trials (b. 1631)
- 1713 Henry Compton, Bishop of Oxford and member of the Privy Council of England (b. 1632)
- 1730 Olivier Levasseur, French pirate (b. 1688 or 1690)
- 1764 William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, English politician (b. 1683)
- 1776 Jeremiah Markland, English classical scholar (b. 1693)
- 1790 Franηois Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (b. 1721)
- 1816 Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright and politician (b. 1751)
- 1855 Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet (b. 1787)
- 1865 Mary Surratt, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the first woman ever executed in the USA (b. 1823)
- 1865 Lewis Payne, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1844)
- 1865 David Herold, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1842)
- 1865 George Atzerodt, German-born conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1833)
- 1878 Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician (b. 1847)
- 1890 Henri Nestlι, German confectioner and founder of Nestlι S.A. (b. 1814)
- 1901 Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (b. 1827)
- 1913 Edward Burd Grubb, Jr., American Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General (b. 1841)
- 1922 Cathal Brugha, Chief of Staff of Irish Republican Army (b. 1874)
- 1925 Clarence Hudson White American photographer (b. 1871)
- 1927 Gφsta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician (b. 1846)
- 1930 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer (b. 1859)
- 1932 Alexander Grin, Russian novelist (b. 1880)
- 1932 Henry Eyster Jacobs, American Lutheran theologian (b. 1844)
- 1942 Thomas Xenakis, Greek gymnast (b. 1875)
- 1949 Bunk Johnson, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1879 or 1889)
- 1954 Idabelle Smith Firestone, American composer and songwriter (b. 1874)
- 1956 Gottfried Benn, German poet (b. 1886)
- 1960 Francis Browne, Irish photographer (b. 1880)
- 1964 Lillian Copeland, American discus thrower (b. 1904)
- 1965 Moshe Sharett, Ukraine-born 2nd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1894)
- 1967 Vivien Leigh, English actress (b. 1913)
- 1968 Jo Schlesser, French race car driver (b. 1928)
- 1971 Claude Gauvreau, Canadian writer (b. 1925)
- 1971 Ub Iwerks, American artist, director, and cartoonist (b. 1901)
- 1972 Athenagoras, Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 1886)
- 1972 King Talal of Jordan (b. 1909)
- 1973 Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (b. 1895)
- 1973 Veronica Lake, American actress (b. 1919)
- 1975 Ruffian, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 1972)
- 1976 Walter Giesler, American football coach (b. 1910)
- 1980 Dore Schary, American film producer and writer (b. 1905)
- 1981 Peace Pilgrim, American pacifist and activist (b. 1908)
- 1984 Carl Boenish, American BASE jumping supporter (b. 1941)
- 1984 Alexander Fu Sheng, Hong Kong actor (b. 1954)
- 1987 Hannelore Schroth, German actress (b. 1922)
- 1990 Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer (b. 1958)
- 1990 Bill Cullen, American game show host (b. 1920)
- 1993 Mia Zapata, American singer (The Gits) (b. 1965)
- 1994 Carlo Chiti, Italian race car engineer (b. 1924)
- 1994 Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe officer (b. 1907)
- 1998 M. K. O. Abiola, Nigerian industrialist and politician (b. 1937)
- 1999 Captain Vikram Batra, Indian Army officer and Param Vir Chakra recipient (b. 1974)
- 1999 Julie Campbell Tatham, American writer (b. 1908)
- 2000 Kenny Irwin, Jr., American race car driver (b. 1969)
- 2001 Fred Neil, American singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
- 2002 Bison Dele, American basketball player (b. 1969)
- 2003 Izhak Graziani, Bulgarian-born conductor (b. 1924)
- 2003 Vlado Kristl, Croatian painter, animator and film director (b. 1923)
- 2006 Juan de Αvalos, Spanish sculptor (b. 1911)
- 2006 Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Pink Floyd) (b. 1946)
- 2006 John Money, New Zealand-born American sexologist (b. 1921)
- 2008 Bruce Conner, American sculptor, painter and photographer (b. 1933)
- 2008 Dorian Leigh, American supermodel (b. 1917)
[edit] Holidays and observances