Events in History
- Jul 1 The first operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway in the People's Republic of China
- Jul 3 Asteroid labeled as 2004 XP14 flies 432,308 km (268,624 miles) by Earth.
- Jul 4 North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile, and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan/East Sea.
Event of Interest
Jul 4 Richard Branson sells Virgin Mobile to NTL for £962.4 million
- Jul 4 Space Shuttle program: STS-121 Mission - Space Shuttle Discovery launches at 18:37:55 UTC.
- Jul 5 Emergency United Nations Security Council meeting at the U.N in New York City because of North Korean missile tests that day
- Jul 5 North Korea tests at least two short-range Nodong-2 missiles, one SCUD missile and one long-range Taepodong-2 missile
- Jul 6 The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years
- Jul 9 At least 122 people killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet, carrying 200 passengers veers off the runway while landing at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia in wet conditions
- Jul 10 Pakistan International Flight PK-688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff, killing all 45 people on board
- Jul 11 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India
- Jul 12 Hezbollah initiates Operation True Promise.
- Jul 27 The Federal Republic of Germany is deemed guilty in the loss of Bashkirian 2937 and DHL Flight 611, because it is illegal to outsource flight surveillance
Event of Interest
Jul 31 Fidel Castro temporarily hands over power to brother Raúl Castro. This leads to a celebration in Little Havana (La Pequeña Habana in Spanish), Miami, Florida, where many Cuban Americans participated.
Weddings in History
- Jul 6 "National Treasure" director Jon Turteltaub (42) weds co-founder of Creative Visions Foundation Amy Eldon at Saddlerock Ranch and Vineyard in Malibu, California
- Jul 7 Three-time "Survivor" contestant Stephenie LaGrossa (26) weds Michael Ward in Seaside Heights, New Jersey
- Jul 17 "Wheel of Fortune" original host Chuck Woolery (65) weds Kim Barnes at The Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas
Deaths in History
- Jul 1 Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japanese politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1996-98), dies at 68
- Jul 3 Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist (professor of Computer Science at the University of California and University of Oxford), dies at 65
- Jul 5 Kenneth Lay, American businessman (CEO and Chairman of Enron, 1985-2001), dies at 64
- Jul 7 John Money, Sexologist (b. 1921)
- Jul 7 Juan de Ávalos, Spanish sculptor (b. 1911)
- Jul 7 Kees Andrea, Dutch textile artist, dies at 92
- Jul 10 Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (b. 1965)
- Jul 15 Robert H. Brooks, founder of Hooters of America (b. 1937)
- Jul 16 Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas (b. 1948)
- Jul 17 (Frank) "Mickey" Spillane, American mystery writer (I, The Jury), dies of pancreatic cancer at 88
- Jul 20 Ted Grant, British Trotskyist (b. 1913)
- Jul 21 Ta Mok, "The Khmer Rouge Butcher", war criminal in Democratic Kampuchea (b. 1926)
- Jul 22 James E. West, mayor of Spokane, Washington (b. 1950)
- Jul 22 José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountain climber (b. 1965)
- Jul 22 Thomas J. Manton, American politician (Rep-D-NY, 1985-99), dies at 73
- Jul 23 Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and journalist (b. 1927)
- Jul 25 Carl Brashear, first African-American U.S Navy Master Diver (b. 1931)
- Jul 27 Maryann Mahaffey, American politician (b. 1925)
- Jul 28 David Gemmell, British writer (b. 1948)
- Jul 29 Jim Olin, American politician (Rep-D-VA, 1983-93), dies at 86
- Jul 30 Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist (b. 1921)
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