- 259 Saint Dionysius elected as Pope, succeeding Sixtus II
- 1099 First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem
- 1298 English defeat Scots at Battle of Falkirk
- 1306 King Phillip the Fair, orders expulsion of Jews out of France
- 1456 Battle at Nandorfehervar (Belgrade): Hungarian army under Janos Hunyadi beats Sultan Murad II
- 1484 Battle of Lochmaben Fair - a 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas are defeated by Scots forces loyal to Albany's brother James III of Scotland; Douglas is captured
- 1489 "Tractate Niddah" a talmudic edition, 1st printed
- 1489 Treaty of Frankfurt signed between Maximilian of Austria and King Charles VIII of France
- 1515 First Congress of Vienna settles issues between Poland and Holy Roman Empire - rise of the Habsburgs influence
- 1535 Christians captured in Tunis in uprising against Admiral Barbarossa
- 1582 Willem of Orange moves from Antwerp to Delft
- 1587 2nd English colony forms on Roanoke Island off North Carolina
- 1632 Foundation laid in Madrid for Buen Retiro Palace for King Philip IV
- 1648 10,000 Jews of Polannoe murdered in Chmielnick massacre during Khmelnytsky Uprising
- 1686 City of Albany, NY chartered
- 1691 Battle at Aghrim: English/Dutch army beats France
- 1729 Diamonds found in Minas Geras, Brazil
- 1731 Spain signs Treaty of Vienna
- 1739 Ottoman Empire defeats Austria at Crocyka (Krotzka) in Serbia and then successfully lays siege to Belgrade
- 1793 Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada
- 1796 Cleveland, Ohio, founded by General Moses Cleaveland. Originally called 'Cleaveland', the public adopted the current name after a newspaper editor noticed the name was too long to fit on the page.
- 1812 Duke of Wellington defeats French at Battle of Salamanca, Spain
Event of Interest
1835 Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia is consecrated, originally commissioned by Elizabeth of Russia
Elizabeth of Russia
- 1859 V E Walker takes 10-74 in an innings for England v Surrey
Victory in Battle
1864 Battle of Atlanta: General Sherman's Union side defeats Confederate troops under General Hood, with 8,449 Confederate and 3,641 US casualties
William Tecumseh Sherman
Grenville M. Dodge
- 1865 V E Walker takes 10-104 in an innings for Middlesex v Lancashire
- 1893 Katharine Lee Bates writes "America the Beautiful" in Colorado
- 1898 Crew of Belgium RV Belgica see 1st sunrise in 1600 hrs - 1st expedition to endure Antarctic winter
- 1901 Serbia reactivates diplomatic relations with Montenegro
- 1901 British House of Lords, in its role as court, rules trade unions can be sued for actions of its members - in Taff Vale Case
- 1905 Philadelphia Athletic's Weldon Henley no-hits St Louis Browns, 6-0
- 1912 V Summer (Modern) Olympic Games close in Stockholm, Sweden
- 1912 In the face of ever-increasing German naval power, the British Admiralty decides to recall British warships from the Mediterranean and base them in the North Sea
- 1916 A bomb explodes during a Preparedness Day parade in San Francisco killing 10
- 1917 British bomb German lines at Ypres, 4,250,000 grenades
- 1918 Lightning kills 504 sheep in Utah's Wasatch National Park
- 1919 De Falla & Massine's "Three-cornered Hat" premieres in London
US Golf Open
1921 US Open Men's Golf, Columbia CC: Englishman Jim Barnes wins the 3rd of his 4 major titles by 9 strokes ahead of runners-up Walter Hagen and Fred McLeod
Jim Barnes
Walter Hagen
- 1922 Cards enter 1st place, marks 1st time both St Louis teams are on top
Baseball Record
1923 Walter Johnson becomes 1st to strikeout 3,000 (en route to 3,508)
Walter Johnson
- 1923 17th Tour de France won by Henri Pelissier of France
Event of Interest
1925 Yankees purchase infielder Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
- 1926 105°F (41°C), Waterbury, Connecticut (state record)
- 1926 108°F (42°C), Troy, NY (state record)
- 1926 Cincinnati Red Curt Walker ties record of 2 triples in an inning
- 1933 1st solo flight round the world 7d 19hrs (Wiley Post)
- 1933 Caterina Jarboro sings "Aida" at the New York Hippodrome, becoming the 1st black female opera singer to perform in the US
Event of Interest
1934 Outside Chicago's Biograph Theatre, "Public Enemy No. 1" John Dillinger is mortally wounded by FBI agents
Melvin Purvis
Election of Interest
1937 Irish premier Eamon de Valera wins elections
Éamon de Valera
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 1939 Jane Bolin becomes the 1st African American female judge in New York
Meeting of Interest
1940 Dutch Prime minister Dirk Jan De Geer meets Adolf Hitler seeking peace talks
Adolf Hitler
Event of Interest
1942 Warsaw Ghetto Jews (300,000) are sent to Treblinka Extermination Camp
Mordecai Anielewicz
George S. Patton
- 1944 Soviets set up Polish Committee of National Liberation
- 1946 Militant Zionist organisation Irgun bombs the British administrative headquarters for Palestine in southern wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing 91 people of various nationalities injuring 46
- 1947 -8°F (-13°C), Charlotte Pass, NSW (Australian record)
- 1950 Frank Worrell completes 261 v England at Trent Bridge
- 1950 King Leopold returns to Belgium after 6 years in exile
- 1951 General Francisco Craveiro Lopes appointed President of Portugal
- 1952 Poland adopts Communist-imposed Constitution
- 1954 US Virgin Islands adopt constitution (Revised Organic Act)
- 1954 WTHI TV channel 10 in Terre Haute, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
1955 Richard Nixon becomes the first US Vice President to preside over a cabinet meeting
Richard Nixon
The Worst Movie Ever
1959 Ed Wood's cult classic "Plan 9 From Outer Space", called one of the worse films ever, premieres
Learn More >>
PGA Championship
1962 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Aronimink GC: Gary Player of South Africa wins by 1 stroke from Bob Goalby
Gary Player
Boxing Title Fight
1963 Sonny Liston KOs Floyd Patterson in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
Sonny Liston
Floyd Patterson
- 1963 Sarawak achieves independence from British colonial rule
Event of Interest
1965 Edward Heath succeeds Alec Douglas-Home as leader of the British Conservative party
Edward Heath
Alec Douglas-Home
Event of Interest
1969 Aretha Franklin arrested for disturbing the peace in Detroit
Aretha Franklin
- 1969 USSR launches Sputnik 50 & Molniya 1-12 communications satellite
- 1971 Sudanese military counter-coup under premier Numeiry
- 1972 10.84" (27.53 cm) of rainfall, Fort Ripley, Mn (state 24-hr record)
- 1972 Venera 8 makes soft landing on Venus
- 1972 2 Catholics are abducted, beaten, and shot dead in a Loyalist area of Belfast
- 1972 59th Tour de France: Eddy Merckx of Belgium takes 4th consecutive general classification title as well as points and combination events
- 1973 US Open Women's Golf, CC of Rochester: Susie Maxwell Berning wins by 5 from Gloria Ehret & Shelley Hamlin for her third national title
- 1973 60th Tour de France won by Luis Ocana of Spain
Event of Interest
1975 US House of Representives votes to restore citizenship to General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
- 1976 "Let My People Come" opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 106 performances
- 1979 66th Tour de France won by Bernard Hinault of France
- 1981 Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca sentenced in a Rome, Italy court to life
- 1982 Academic Text Processing Service forms in Seattle
- 1983 Angels OF Brian Downing error ends his record streak at 244 games
- 1983 Dick Smith makes 1st solo helicopter flight around the world
- 1983 Polish Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski lifts martial law after 19 months
British Golf Open
1984 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Seve Ballesteros of Spain wins his 2nd of 3 Open titles by 2 shots from Bernhard Langer & Tom Watson
Seve Ballesteros
Bernhard Langer
Tom Watson
- 1984 22nd Tennis Fed Cup: Czech beats Australia in Sao Paulo Brazil (2-1)
- 1984 71st Tour de France won by Laurent Fignon of France
- 1986 US House of Representatives impeaches Judge Harry E. Claiborne for tax evasion
- 1987 Said Aouita of Morocco sets 5k record (12:58.39) in Rome
- 1987 Soyuz TM-3 launched with 3 cosmonauts (1 Syrian)
- 1987 US began escorting re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers in Persian Gulf
- 1988 500 US scientists pledge to boycott Pentagon germ-warfare research
- 1989 Kristin Huxhold, 18, of Missouri, crowned America's Junior Miss
- 1990 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Englishman Nick Faldo wins the 2nd of his 3 Open Championships by 5 strokes from runners-up Mark McNulty & Payne Stewart
- 1990 90th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Phil Mickelson
- 1990 77th Tour de France won by Greg LeMond of USA
Event of Interest
1991 Jeffrey Dahmer confesses to killing 17 men in 1978
Jeffrey Dahmer
Event of Interest
1992 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes prison
Pablo Escobar
- 1992 Soyuz TM-15 launches
- 1993 NY Yankee Don Mattingly hits his 200th HR
- 1993 Soyuz TM-17 lands
- 1994 23rd & last part of Comet Shoemaker-Levy hit Jupiter (since July 16th)
- 1994 Doc Gooden admitted to Betty Ford Center
- 1994 Mariners play Red Sox as home team at Fenway, as Kingdome is repaired
- 1994 Military coup in Gambia: President Dawda Jawara flees
Murder of Interest
1994 Former NFL running back, broadcaster and actor O.J. Simpson pleads "Absolutely 100% Not Guilty" of murder
O.J. Simpson
- 1994 William Sigei runs world record 10k (26:52.53)
- 1995 Space shuttle STS-70 (Discovery 20), lands
- 1995 Susan Smith found guilty of drowning her two children in South Carolina
- 1997 Fire breaks out at Palais de Chaillot in Paris
- 1997 The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
Event of Interest
1997 Greg Maddux throws a complete game with just 76 pitches
Greg Maddux
- 1997 The first shipments of oil produced from Kazakhstan's Tengiz field arrive at terminals on the Black Sea for subsequent export through the Bosphoros Strait
- 1997 "One Piece", world's best-selling manga and comic series, written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda first appears serialized in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" in Japan
- 1999 Woodstock 99 music festival begins Griffiss Park, Rome NY (till 25th) attended by 200,000. Ended due to violence.
- 2001 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Lytham & St Annes: David Duval wins his only major title by 3 shots from Niclas Fasth of Sweden
- 2002 Israel assassinates Salah Shahade, the Commander-in-Chief of Hamas's military arm, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, along with 14 civilians
- 2003 Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year old son, and a bodyguard
- 2004 37th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center
- 2005 Jean Charles de Menezes is killed by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers. See 7 July 2005 London bombings and 21 July 2005 London bombings
- 2007 British Open Men's Golf, Carnoustie: Irishman Pádraig Harrington beats Sergio García of Spain by 1 in a 4-hole aggregate playoff to claim his first major championship; first Irishman to win the Open in 60 years
- 2010 43rd San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center
- 2011 Norway is the victim of twin terror attacks, the first a bomb blast targeting government buildings in central Oslo, second a massacre at a youth camp on island of Utøya
- 2012 Car bombs kills 20 people and injures 80 in Madaen and Najaf, Iraq
- 2012 At least 77 people are killed by torrential rain in Beijing, China
- 2012 Pranab Mukherjee is elected 13th President of India
- 2012 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Lytham & St. Annes: South African Ernie Els wins his 2nd Claret Jug, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Adam Scott of Australia
- 2012 99th Tour de France won by Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain
- 2012 Hashim Amla smashes 311 not out in South Africa's inning and 12 run 1st Test win over England at The Oval; first South African to score a triple-century in Test cricket
- 2013 89 people are killed and 500 are injured by earthquakes in Gansu province, China
Appointment of Interest
2013 Mike Babcock is again named head coach of Team Canada, this time for the 2014 Winter Olympics (they would repeat as gold medalists)
Mike Babcock
- 2014 Both the United Arab Emirates and the USA announce aid packages to besieged Gaza
- 2014 News broadcaster Al Jazeera claim that its office in Gaza is under attack by the Israeli Defence Force
- 2014 European Union claim that Israel 'has the right to defend itself', but say civilian casualties in Gaza are unacceptable
- 2015 'Oldest' Qur'an fragments discovered in collection of Birmingham University, radiocarbon testing dates to AD568 - AD645
Event of Interest
2016 Hillary Clinton announces Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her Vice Presidential running mate
Hillary Clinton
- 2016 Japan’s Funai Electric announce they will manufacture world's last videocassette this month
- 2016 A man shoots and kills 9 people at the Olympia shopping mall in Munich, Germany and then kills himself
- 2017 10 die in over-heated tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas in human-trafficking incident
- 2017 South African golfer Branden Grace records lowest round for a men's major championship - 62 in 3rd round at British Open, Royal Birkdale, England
- 2018 British Open Men's Golf, Carnoustie: Francesco Molinari holds off a pack of players including favourites Rory McIlroy & Justin Rose to win by 2; first Italian to win a major title
- 2018 Heatwave in Japan kills 11 in one day
- 2018 TV show "Supergirl" announces casting of first live-action transgender superhero, by transgender actor Nicole Maines as Nia Nal
- 2018 Israeli military and allies evacuate over 400 White Helmet Syrian rescue workers from its border with Syria to Jordan
Event of Interest
2018 US President Donald Trump threatens Iran in an all-caps tweet of "consequences" in response to speech by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Donald Trump
Hassan Rouhani
- 2019 French submarine Minerve rediscovered off coast of Toulon, France, after disappearing in 1968 with loss of 52 crew
- 2019 NFL Dallas Cowboys named most valuable sports team in the world worth $5 billion, MLB New York Yankees 2nd at $4.6 billion, Real Madrid 3rd with $4.2 billion according to Forbes
Meeting of Interest
2019 Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Imran Khan
Donald Trump
- 2019 Air strikes have killed at least 31 people in Maarat al-Numan, north-western Syria, with Russian planes supporting Syrian government being blamed
- 2019 US President Donald Trump says US could win war in Afghanistan in a week "I just don't want to kill 10 million people. If I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth"
July in History
First Lady Pours Scorn Upon a King
American independence from Britain was declared and on this day a future US President's wife expressed her joy.
July 21, 1776Spoonerism – Or Just A Lack Of Pies?
A Spoonerism is a phrase that comes out all wrong, and the man responsible for them, William Spooner, was born on this day. Did he just get bad Press?
July 22, 1844Light and Air For All – With No Charge!
One of Britain's most hated taxes, which had been in force for more than 250 years, was finally abolished on this day.
July 24, 1851Oh! Calcutta! - The Bare Facts
Born when free love and anything goes were the mantra of youth, the show "Oh! Calcutta!" opened in London on this day. Police considered a prosecution for obscenity.
July 26, 1970
