July 31

July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining.

Events

• 904 - Thessalonika, Greece[?] is sacked by Saracen raiders.
• 1423 - The French army are defeated at the Battle of Cravant[?].
• 1498 - Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad.
• 1667 - Signing of the Treaty of Breda[?], denoting the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
• 1790 - First US patent issued.
• 1856 - Christchurch, New Zealand chartered as a city.
• 1945 - Pierre Laval[?], leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers.
• 1962 - Federation of Malaysia formed.

Births

• 1596 - Philip III of Burgundy[?], duke of Burgundy (+ [[[1467]])
• 1816 - George Henry Thomas, American general (+ 1870)
• 1901 - Jean Dubuffet[?], painter and sculptor (+ 1985)
• 1912 - Irv Kupcinet[?], newspaper columnist
• 1912 - Milton Friedman, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in economics
• 1914 - Louis de Funès[?], actor and comedian (+ 1983)
• 1919 - Curt Gowdy[?], sports announcer
• 1919 - Primo Levi, author, chemist (+ 1987)
• 1921 - Whitney Young[?], civil rights activist (+ 1971)
• 1923 - Ahmet Ertegun[?], record company executive
• 1928 - Kurt Sontheimer[?], politicial scientist
• 1930 - Oleg Popov[?], clown
• 1939 - France Nuyen[?], actress
• 1943 - William Bennett, former Secretary of Education[?] and "drug czar[?]"
• 1944 - Geraldine Chaplin[?], actress
• 1946 - Gary Lewis[?], rock and roll musician
• 1946 - Bob Welch, rock and roll musician
• 1951 - Evonne Goolagong, tennis star
• 1952 - Alan Autry[?], American football player, actor, mayor of Fresno, California
• 1959 - Stanley Jordan, jazz guitarist
• 1962 - Wesley Snipes[?], actor
• 1965 - J. K. Rowling, novelist
• 1966 - Dean Cain[?], actor

Deaths

• 1099 - Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar[?] ("El Cid"), Spanish warrior
• 1108 - King Philip I of France
• 1556 - Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits
• 1886 - Franz Liszt, composer
• 1944 - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French pilot and writer
• 1953 - Robert Taft[?], Senator from Ohio, former candidate for President of the United States, son of William Howard Taft, "Mr. Republican"
• 1993 - Baudouin I of Belgium
• 2001 - Poul Anderson, science fiction author

Holidays and observances

• Republic of the Congo - Upswing of the Revolution

July 30 - August 1 - June 30 - August 31 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December