- Jul 2 Andrei Gromyko appointed president of USSR
- Jul 2 European Space Agency launches Giotto (Halley's Comet Flyby)
Film & TV History
Jul 3 CBS announces a 21% stock buy-back to thwart Ted Turner's takeover
- Jul 3 Tinker Bell's first nightly flight at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida
Film Release
Jul 3 "Back to the Future" directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd is released
Election of Interest
Jul 5 Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party wins re-election in Zimbabwe for a second term
- Jul 5 Nicholas Mark Sanders (England) begins circumnavigation of globe, covering 13,035 road miles in 78 days, 3 hr, 30 min
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
Jul 6 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Chris Evert 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 for her 6th Wimbledon singles title
- Jul 6 Mom's Command wins the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont to clinch American thoroughbred racing's Triple Tiara for fillies
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
Jul 7 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Boris Becker beats South African Kevin Curren 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 to become the youngest man (17) to win a Wimbledon singles title
The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
Jul 10 French foreign intelligence agents blow up the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbor, New Zealand to prevent it interfering with French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira is killed.
Sports History
Jul 11 Astros' Nolan Ryan, 1st to strike out 4000 (Mets' Danny Heep)
Historic Event
Jul 12 Doctors discover a cancerous growth in President Reagan's colon
Sports History
Jul 13 New York Yankees retire Roger Maris (9) and Elston Howard (32) uniforms
- Jul 14 US Open Women's Golf, Baltusrol GC: Kathy Baker (later Guadagnino) wins her first LPGA Tour event and only major title, 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Judy Clark (later Dickinson)
- Jul 14 Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Offutt AFB, Neb
- Jul 14 Last USFL game-Baltimore Stars defeats Oakland Invaders, 28-24
- Jul 15 Deborah Carthy-Deu, of Puerto Rico, crowned 34th Miss Universe
- Jul 16 56th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-1 at Humphrey Metrodome, Minn
- Jul 16 All star MVP: LaMarr Hoyt (San Diego Padres)
- Jul 16 Bill to abolish Greater London Council receives royal assent
- Jul 18 USSR performs underground nuclear Test
- Jul 19 Christa McAuliffe chosen as 1st school teacher to fly aboard the space shuttle
- Jul 19 The Val di Stava Dam collapse killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
- Jul 20 Divers find wreck of Spanish galleon Atocha
- Jul 20 The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles
- Jul 21 "Leader of the Pack" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 120 performances
British Golf Open
Jul 21 British Open Men's Golf, Royal St George's GC: Scotsman Sandy Lyle wins his only Open title by 1 stroke from runner-up Payne Stewart; last time event features double cut (after 36 and 54 holes), introduced in 1968
Historic Event
Jul 24 Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signs a peace accord with Sikh leader Harchand Singh Longowai to settle the three-year Punjab crisis [1]
- Jul 24 French DGSE officers Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart are arrested and charged with murder over the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
Film & TV History
Jul 25 Spokeswoman for Rock Hudson confirms he has AIDS
- Jul 25 Steve Cram runs world record mile (3:46.32)
- Jul 25 US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
- Jul 25 USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- Jul 25 Uganda suspends constitution following coup
- Jul 27 Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway becomes first woman to run 10,000m in under 31 minutes; takes world record down to 30:59.42 in Oslo, Norway
Golf Major
Jul 28 Canadian Open Women's Golf (du Maurier Classic), Beaconsfield GC: Pat Bradley wins by 1 from Jane Geddes
- Jul 28 Alan Garcia sworn in as President of Peru
- Jul 28 L Brock, Enos Slaughter, A Vaughan, & H Wilhelm inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jul 29 19th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (51-G): Challenger 8 launches
- Jul 30 Discovery moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for mating of STS 51-I mission
- Jul 30 Valerie Lowrance, of Texas, 18, crowned America's Junior Miss
Historic Publication
Jul 31 Indian writer R.K. Narayan publishes his short story collection "Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories"
