Birthdays in History on July 31

1143 Emperor Nijo of Japan (d. 1165)

Philip the Good (1396-1467)

Duke of Burgundy (1419-67), born in Dijon, Burgundy

1443 Albrecht III of Saxon-Meisen, duke of Saxon

Maximilian II (1527-1576)

Holy Roman Emperor (1564-76), born in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire

1578 Catharina Belgica of Nassau, daughter of Willem of Orange
1595 Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor and architect, born in Bologna, Italy (d. 1654)
1597 Sebastian Stosskopf, Elzassisch painter, baptized
1654 Jacob Hop, Dutch politician and diplomat
1702 Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter, born in Dole, France (d. 1768)
1704 Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (paradox of Cramer), born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1752)
1718 John Canton, English physicist, born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England (d. 1772)
1724 Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer, born in Amines, France (d. 1801)
1737 Princess Augusta Frederica of Great Britain, born in London, England (d. 1813)
1743 August R van Hekeren van Suideras, Dutch orangist
1748 Isaac Ouwater, Amsterdam painter/cartoonist

John Ericsson (1803-1889)

Swedish-American inventor (screw propeller, rotating turret), born in Långban, Sweden

1816 George Henry Thomas, American Major General (Union Army), born in Newsoms, Virginia (d. 1870)
1817 Philip Cook Jr, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1894)
1818 Heinrich Kiepert, German cartographer/geographer
1825 Thomas Hart Taylor, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1901)
1825 William S. Clark, American senator and scholar (d. 1886)
1834 Peter H Hugenholtz, Dutch reformer/founder (Free Parish)
1835 Henri Brisson, French statesman (d. 1912)
1835 Paul du Chaillu, French-American explorer who the 1st modern explorer to confirm existence of gorillas and pygmies [birth year disputed], born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1903)
1837 William Quantrill, American guerrilla leader in the Confederate Army who led Quantrill's Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre, born in Canal Dover, Ohio (d. 1865)
1843 Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and Nobel Prize laureate, born in Krieglach, Austria (d. 1918)
1844 Ignazio Guidi, Italian orientalist and archaeologist, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1935)
1854 Jose Canalejas, premier of Spain (1910-12), born in El Ferrol, Spain (d. 1912)
1858 Richard Dixon Oldham, British geologist, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1936)
1860 Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1940)
1867 Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant and philanthropist (Kmart), born in Bald Mountain, Pennsylvania (d. 1966)
1880 Munshi Premchand [Dhanpat Rai], Indian author, born in Lamhi, Benares State, British India (d. 1936)
1882 Grete Gulbransson, Austrian writer and poet (Geliebte Schatten), born in Thüringen, Austria (d. 1934)
1884 Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German Leipzig mayor and Nazi regime opponent (20th July Plot)
1886 Constant Permeke, Flemish painter and statues artist (Sow), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1952)
1886 Salvatore Maranzano, Sicilian-born American organized crime figure, born in Sicily, Italy (d. 1931)
1887 Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher, born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1969)
1892 Joseph Charbonneau, French Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop of Montreal (1940-50), born in Lefaivre, Canada (d. 1959)
1900 Elmo Roper, American pollster (Roper Poll), born in Hebron, Nebraska (d. 1971)
1901 Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (Landscape with 2 Personages), born in Le Havre, France (d. 1985)
1901 Renié [Conley], American Academy Award-winning costume designer (Cleopatra; Kitty Foyle), born in Republic, Washington (d. 1992)
1904 Brett Halliday, American writer (Dividend on Death), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1977)
1905 Trenchard Cox, British museum director, born in London (d. 1995)

Milton Friedman (1912-2006)

American economist (Nobel Prize Economics 1976), born in Brooklyn, New York

1914 Jose Ignacio Domecq, Spanish wine maker, born in Jerez, Spain (d. 1997)
1914 Raymond Aubrac, French resistance leader, born in Paris, France (d. 2012)
1916 Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist, journalist and writer, born in Ambari Azamgarh Uttar Pradesh, India (d. 1986)
1918 Paul D. Boyer, American biochemist and Nobel Prize Laureate for research on the "enzymatic mechanism underlying the biosynthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)" (1997), born in Provo, Utah (d. 2018)
1919 Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster, author (Ford C. Frick Award, Pete Rozelle Award, lifetime achievement Emmy 1992), born in Green River, Wyoming (d. 2006)
1919 Primo Levi, Italian chemist and writer (Survival in Auschwitz), born in Turin, Italy (d. 1987)
1920 James Esdras Faust, American religious leader, born in Delta, Utah (d. 2007)
1921 Peter Benenson, British founder of Amnesty International, born in London (d. 2005)
1921 Whitney Young Jr, American civil rights leader, head of the Urban League, born in Shelby County, Kentucky (d. 1971)
1922 Lucy Killea, American Californian politician who supported pro-choice, born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 2017)
1923 Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American businessman and co-founder of Atlantic Records, born in Istanbul, Turkey (d. 2006)
1926 Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2016)
1927 Walter Vogt, Swiss writer (Wüthrich) and psychiatrist, born in Zurich (d. 1988)
1928 Bill Frenzel, American politician (Rep-R-MN, 1971-91), born in St Paul, Minnesota (d. 2014)
1929 Lynne Reid Banks, British author (The Indian in the Cupboard), born in London
1929 Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist and writer, born in Florence, Italy (d. 2006)
1930 Oleg Popov, Russian clown and circus artist, born in Vyrubovo, Moscow (d. 2016)
1932 John Searle, American philosopher, born in Denver, Colorado
1932 Robert W. Davis, American politician (Rep-R-MI, 1979-93), born in Marquette, Michigan (d. 2009)
1933 Cees Nooteboom, Dutch writer and journalist (Rituelen), born in The Hague, Netherlands
1935 Sergio Rossi, Italian shoe designer, born in San Mauro, Italy (d. 2020)
1940 Stanley Jaffe, American producer (Fatal Attraction), born in New Rochelle, New York
1941 Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, born in Surat, India (d. 2004)
1941 Heather McKay, Australian squash player (British Open 1962-77, inaugural women's World Open 1976), born in Queanbeyan, NSW
1943 Stephanie Forrester, fictional character (The Bold and the Beautiful)
1943 William Bennett, US Secretary of Education (1985-88)/drug tsar
1944 Robert C. Merton, American economist and Nobel laureate in Economics, born in NYC, New York
1945 Bill Weld, American politician (Governor (R) Massachusetts 1991-97), born in Smithtown, New York
1946 Karen Zerby, American religious leader, born in Camden, New Jersey
1947 Dennis Greenslade, rocker
1948 Leaveil Degree, rocker (Whispers)
1952 João Barreiros, Portuguese writer (Um Dia com Júlia na Necrosfera), born in Portugal
1952 Pritawi Sudarmo, Indonesia, astronaut
1953 Ted Baillieu, Australian Politician, Premier of Victoria (2010-13), born in Melbourne, Australia
1956 Deval Patrick, 71st Governor of Massachusetts (2007-15), born in Chicago, Illinois
1962 John Chiang, American politician (Democratic Party), born in NYC, New York

J. K. Rowling (57 years old)

1965 English writer (Harry Potter novels), born in Yate, Gloucestershire

1966 Marina V A Mowatt [Ogilvy], daughter of English princess Alexandra
1967 Elizabeth Wurtzel, American author (Prozac Nation), born in NYC, New York (d. 2020)
1969 Kenneth D. Schisler, American politician, born in Baltimore, Maryland
1970 Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian writer (The Train of That Night), born in Chah Varz, Lamerd, Iran
1975 Simon Hirst, British radio DJ
1988 Leonie Hanne, German fashion influencer, born in Hamburg, Germany
1990 Olga Galchenko, Russian juggler, born in Penza, Russia