Saturday, 26th July 2025 in Berlin
Welcome to your daily snapshot of Berlin! It's World Mangrove Day and Disability Independence Day. Explore 73 historical events, birthdays, deaths, and milestones that shaped this day in Berlin. From remarkable moments in local and world history to the people who left their mark — find out what makes today special. Today's weather in Berlin brings drizzly with temperatures between 17°C and 20°C. Tonight's moon is in its full moon phase, and the zodiac sign of the day is Leo. If you're curious about the history of a day — this page brings together everything worth knowing about this Saturday, 26th July in Berlin, DE.
Berlin, the capital of Germany, is a sprawling city characterised by its rich history spanning from Prussian royalty through Cold War division to modern reunification. On Saturday, 26 July 2025, the weather is drizzly with the full moon hanging overhead. The zodiac sign for this date is Leo, known in astrology for its association with confidence and creativity. The full moon phase marks a time of completion and heightened visibility in many cultural and spiritual traditions.
On this day
On 26 July 1887, L. L. Zamenhof published Unua Libro, the first publication to describe Esperanto, a constructed international language designed to promote peace and understanding among nations by providing a neutral, non-ethnic means of communication. This linguistic experiment emerged during a period of European tension and reflected Enlightenment ideals about the power of shared language to dissolve cultural barriers.
In 1936, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial was unveiled in Pas-de-Calais, France, honouring the Canadian Expeditionary Force members who perished during the First World War. The monument stands as a testament to Canadian sacrifice and marks the nation's emergence as an independent military force during the Great War. Nearly a century later, on the same date in 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first female nominee for president of the United States by a major political party when she secured the Democratic nomination at their convention in Philadelphia, a milestone in American political history.
World Mangrove Day
World Mangrove Day, observed on 26 July, aims to raise awareness about the importance of mangrove ecosystems and their role in coastal protection and biodiversity. The date was chosen by the United Nations in 2015 to coincide with the establishment of the first mangrove sanctuary. Mangroves provide critical habitat for marine life, protect against storm surge and erosion, and store significant amounts of carbon. The observance has grown to encourage conservation efforts and sustainable management of these vital ecosystems across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.
Disability Independence Day
Disability Independence Day, marked on 26 July, commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and celebrates the independence and inclusion of people with disabilities. The date recognises a landmark moment in disability rights legislation that prohibited discrimination and mandated accessibility standards across public and private sectors. The day serves as a reminder of ongoing efforts to ensure equal rights and opportunities for disabled individuals. Since its inception, the observance has expanded beyond the United States to promote disability rights globally.
DayAtlas provides comprehensive information for any date and location, displaying weather conditions, historical events, notable births and deaths, and observances specific to your selected day. The platform enables users to explore what happened on their chosen date across history whilst also understanding the meteorological and astrological context for that particular moment in time.
Find out what's happening today in Berlin.
What the Weather Had in Store for Berlin on 26th July 2025
Summer heat demands action, but mastery demands intent.
Fortune of the Day
26th July in the Stars – Star Sign Leo
Personality Profile
Personality People born on July 26 blend Leo's radiant confidence with Martian drive and determination. They are passionate creators with spiritual depth—individuals who lead, inspire, and remain authentically themselves throughout.
Strengths & Weaknesses Their strengths include creativity, generosity, and unwavering willpower. However, they can appear impatient or take criticism personally. The challenge lies in pairing humility with natural charisma.
Love Partners encounter passionate, openhearted people seeking deep emotional bonds. Their dramatic nature needs admiration, yet they give equal love and loyalty in return.
Caree & Finance Creative, educational, and leadership roles flourish under this influence. Financial security comes through persistence and natural instinct for opportunity. Generosity should be consciously channeled.
Health Vital people with high energy levels require regular intense activity. Overambition can lead to burnout. Meditation and conscious relaxation help maintain inner balance.
That night, the moon was in its full moon phase.
Chinese year of the Snake (Wood).
Fun Facts About 26th July
Name Days in Your Language: Ana, Anika, Anissa, Anita, Aniya, Aniyah, Ann, Anna, Anne, Annette, Annie, Annika, Annis, Annmarie, Anson, Anya, Blake, Hanna, Hannah, Nancy, Nanette, Nina
Someone born on this day would be just 314 days old today — roughly 7,537 hours, 452,233 minutes, or 27,134,030 seconds spent on Earth so far.
It's the 207. day of the year. In 2025, 26th July falls on a Saturday.
There are 158 days still to come.
We’re currently in Week 30 — the year marches on.
Famous Birthdays on 26th July
On this day, 222 notable people were born on 26th July — spanning from 1030 to 2000. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
26/07/2000
Thomasin McKenzie, New Zealand actress
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie is a New Zealand actress. After a minor role in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), she rose to critical prominence for playing a young girl living in isolation in Debra Granik's drama film Leave No Trace (2018), winning the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance.
26/07/1998
Achraf El Yakhloufi, Belgian politician
Achraf El Yakhloufi is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, he has represented Antwerp since December 2024.
26/07/1996
Olivia Breen, British Paralympic athlete
Olivia Breen is a Welsh Paralympian athlete, who competes for Wales and Great Britain mainly in T38 sprint and F38 long jump events. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was selected for the T38 100m and 200m sprint and was also part of the T35-38 women's relay team. She has also represented Wales at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games winning gold in the F38 Long Jump in 2018 and gold in the T37/38 100m in 2022.
26/07/1994
Ella Leivo, Finnish tennis player
Ella Leivo is a Finnish tennis player.
26/07/1993
Raymond Faitala-Mariner, New Zealand rugby league player
Raymond Faitala-Mariner is a professional rugby league footballer who last played as a second-row forward for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both Samoa and New Zealand at international level.
Taylor Momsen, American singer-songwriter, model, and actress
Taylor Michel Momsen is an American singer, songwriter, musician, model, and former actress. Momsen is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band The Pretty Reckless. The band formed in 2009. Prior to her music career, she started off as a child actress. She debuted as Cindy Lou Who in the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). Some of her other roles include, Alexandra Anami in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Molly in Underdog (2007), and Jenny Humphrey on The CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl.
26/07/1992
Marika Koroibete, Fijian rugby player
Marika Koroibete is a dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer. He plays for the Australia national rugby union team, and plays as a winger for Japanese rugby union club the Saitama Wild Knights.
26/07/1991
Tyson Barrie, Canadian ice hockey player
Tyson Barrie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current Vancouver Canucks analyst for Sportsnet. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, and Calgary Flames. He was drafted by the Avalanche in the third round, 64th overall, of the 2009 NHL entry draft.
Chinami Yoshida, Japanese curler
Chinami Yoshida is a Japanese curler. She was the longtime third for Team Loco Solare, led by Satsuki Fujisawa. The team won the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
26/07/1989
Jeon Yeo-been, South Korean actress
Jeon Yeo-been is a South Korean actress. She rose to prominence with her performance in the independent film After My Death (2018), for which she received the Actress of the Year Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival and the Independent Star Award at the 2017 Seoul Independent Film Festival. Her subsequent work includes the television series Vincenzo (2021), A Time Called You (2023), Our Movie (2025), and Ms. Incognito (2025), the film Night in Paradise (2021), and the movie Dark Nuns(2025).
26/07/1988
Yurie Omi, Japanese announcer and news anchor
Yurie Omi is a Japanese former announcer and news anchor for NHK. She left NHK in March 2021. She was famous for being the co-host of NHK's morning talk show Asaichi as well as its geographical television series Bura Tamori.
Sayaka Akimoto, Filipino–Japanese actress and singer
Sayaka Akimoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and its spin-off unit Diva.
Anthony Smith, American Mixed Martial Artist
Anthony J. Smith is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a challenger for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in March 2019. A professional since 2008, Smith has also competed for Strikeforce and Bellator.
26/07/1987
Panagiotis Kone, Greek footballer
Panagiotis Kone is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Jordie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
Phillip Jordan Ellis Benn is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. An undrafted defenceman, Benn played for the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs and Brynäs IF. He is the older brother of Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn.
Fredy Montero, Colombian footballer
Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz, known as Fredy Montero (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfɾeði monˈteɾo], is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Real Cartagena. He was the all-time top scorer for the Seattle Sounders until being surpassed by Raúl Ruidíaz in 2024. He scored 79 goals with the club across two stints: from 2009 to 2012, and from 2021 to 2023. Montero has been called up to the Colombia national team five times, scoring once in an unofficial match against Catalonia.
26/07/1986
Monica Raymund, American actress
Monica Raymund is an American actress and director, known for her roles as Maria "Ria" Torres in the Fox crime drama Lie to Me (2009–2011), Dana Lodge in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife (2011–2012), Gabriela Dawson in the NBC drama Chicago Fire (2012–2019) and Jackie Quiñones in the Starz crime drama Hightown (2020–2024).
Leonardo Ulloa, Argentinian footballer
José Leonardo Ulloa Fernández is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker.
John White, English footballer
John Alan White is an English former footballer who played as a defender and was most recently assistant manager at Chelmsford City. He previously played in the Football League for Colchester United and Southend United, where he made over 200 league appearances for both sides.
26/07/1985
Marcus Benard, American football player
Marcus Benard is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Jackson State Tigers.
Gaël Clichy, French footballer
Gaël Dimitri Clichy is a French former professional footballer, who played as a left-back, and current manager. He is currently the head coach of Ligue 3 club Caen.
Audrey De Montigny, Canadian singer-songwriter
Audrey De Montigny is a Canadian former singer. She placed fourth on the debut season of Canadian Idol. De Montigny was nominated for a 2005 Juno Award for her eponymous debut album.
Mat Gamel, American baseball player
Mathew Lawrence Gamel is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers across the 2008 through 2012 seasons. Once considered among the best prospects in baseball, Gamel's career was limited by injuries.
26/07/1984
Kyriakos Ioannou, Cypriot high jumper
Kyriakos Ioannou is a retired Cypriot high jumper. He has twice won medals at the World Athletics Championships and was the bronze medallist at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He is the only medalist for Cyprus at the World Athletics Championships since its creation in 1983. He's also the Cypriot record holder in the high jump, both outdoors and indoors. Ioannou is a two-time medallist at the Commonwealth Games and took back-to-back gold medals at the Mediterranean Games in 2005 and 2009.
Benjamin Kayser, French rugby player
Benjamin Kayser is a French former rugby union player.
Sabri Sarıoğlu, Turkish footballer
Sabri Sarıoğlu is a Turkish former professional footballer who most notably played for Galatasaray and the Turkey national team.
26/07/1983
Kelly Clark, American snowboarder
Kelly Clark is an American snowboarder who won halfpipe gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Clark was born in Newport, Rhode Island. She started snowboarding when she was 7 years old, began competing in 1999, and became a member of the US Snowboard team in 2000. On January 25, 2019, at the Winter X Games in Aspen, she announced her retirement from the sport.
Stephen Makinwa, Nigerian footballer
Stephen Ayodele Makinwa is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Makinwa also played for the Nigeria national team. His name, Ayodele, means "Joy has come home".
Roderick Strong, American wrestler
Christopher Lindsey, better known by his ring name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler. As of April 2023, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Conglomeration and The Paragon stables. He is one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions in his first reign with Conglomerate stablemates Orange Cassidy and Kyle O'Reilly.
Naomi van As, Dutch field hockey player
Naomi van As is a Dutch field hockey player who plays as a forward/midfielder for the Dutch club MHC Laren.
Ken Wallace, Australian kayaker
Kenneth Maxwell Wallace is an Australian sprint canoeist who has competed since the mid-2000s, winning gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics and at several World Championships.
Delonte West, American basketball player
Delonte Maurice West is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks. He also played professionally for the Fujian Xunxing and Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League. Prior to playing professionally, West played college basketball for the Saint Joseph's Hawks.
26/07/1982
Gilad Hochman, Israeli composer
Gilad Hochman is a Berlin-based Israeli composer of contemporary classical music.
Christopher Kane, Scottish fashion designer
Christopher John Kane is a Scottish fashion designer based in London.
26/07/1981
Abe Forsythe, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
Abraham Forsythe is an Australian film and television actor, director, writer and producer. He is the son of actor and comedian Drew Forsythe.
Maicon Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
Maicon Douglas Sisenando, also known as Maicon Douglas or simply Maicon, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
26/07/1980
Jacinda Ardern, 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand
Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is a former New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was a member of Parliament (MP) as a list MP from 2008 to 2017 and for Mount Albert from 2017 to 2023.
Dave Baksh, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Dave Baksh also known by his stage name Dave Brownsound, is a Canadian musician best known as the lead guitarist of rock band Sum 41. Baksh quit Sum 41 in 2006 to pursue his own career in his heavy metal/reggae project Brown Brigade. He rejoined Sum 41 in 2015 and has released three subsequent studio albums with the band. He also played guitar for Organ Thieves, with two of his fellow Brown Brigade members and currently plays with the Canadian deathpunk four-piece Black Cat Attack. In 2019, Baksh co-founded the merchandise company Loud & Immortal.
Robert Gallery, American football player
Robert J. Gallery is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa and received unanimous All-American recognition. He was selected with the second overall pick by the Oakland Raiders in the 2004 NFL draft. He also played for the Seattle Seahawks. Since retiring from professional football, Gallery has become a mental health advocate and is the co-founder and president of Athletes for Care, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on athlete mental health, traumatic brain injury research, and psychedelic-assisted therapy advocacy.
26/07/1979
Friedrich Michau, German rugby player
Friedrich Michau is a German international rugby union player, playing for the FC St. Pauli Rugby in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team.
Derek Paravicini, English pianist
Derek Paravicini is an English savant pianist. He resides in London.
Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player
Peter Sarno is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who last played for Alleghe Hockey in the Italian Serie A. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1997 NHL entry draft, 141st overall, by the Edmonton Oilers.
Erik Westrum, American ice hockey player
Erik Clinton Westrum is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Phoenix Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Juliet Rylance, English actress
Juliet van Kampen Rylance is an English actress, known for her roles in The Knick, McMafia and Perry Mason.
26/07/1977
Joaquín Benoit, Dominican baseball player
Joaquín Antonio Benoit Peña is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals.
Martin Laursen, Danish footballer and manager
Martin Laursen is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the centre-back position. He played three seasons for Italian club A.C. Milan, with whom he won the 2003 UEFA Champions League and the 2004 Serie A championship. He also played for Italian clubs Hellas Verona and Parma, and was the team captain of English club Aston Villa. He was most recently the manager of Søllerød-Vedbæk.
Tanja Szewczenko, German figure skater
Tanja Szewczenko is a German former figure skater. She is the 1994 World bronze medalist, 1997 Champions Series Final silver medalist, 1998 European bronze medalist, and 1993 World Junior bronze medalist.
26/07/1976
Elena Kustarova, Russian ice dancer and coach
Elena Vladimirovna Kustarova is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitor. She is a two-time World Junior medalist with Sergei Romashkin, a two-time Russian national medalist with Oleg Ovsyannikov, and the 1995 Russian silver medalist with Vazgen Azroyan.
26/07/1975
Ingo Schultz, German sprinter
Ingo Schultz is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres.
Joe Smith, American basketball player
Joseph Leynard Smith is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward, he played for 12 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his 16-year career.
Liz Truss, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Mary Elizabeth Truss is a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down amid a government crisis, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. The member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk from 2010 to 2024, Truss held various Cabinet positions under three prime ministers – David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson – lastly as foreign secretary from 2021 to 2022.
26/07/1974
Iron & Wine, American singer-songwriter
Samuel Ervin Beam, better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released eight studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album. He occasionally tours with a full band.
Kees Meeuws, New Zealand rugby player and coach
Kees Junior Meeuws is a New Zealand former rugby union prop and former assistant coach of the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, and also a real estate agent by trade and a painter by education. Meeuws played 42 tests for the All Blacks between 1998 and 2004, scoring 10 test tries. He played provincial rugby for Otago and Auckland, and played for the Blues in the Super 12. In 2004, Meeuws left New Zealand to take up a contract with French club Castres Olympique, and in 2006 he left Castres for Agen after a falling-out with Castres coach Laurent Seigne. Following Agen's relegation after the 2006–07 season, Meeuws left Agen and returned to Castres, signing a two-year contract with the club. In May 2008, it was announced that Meeuws would be joining the Scarlets on a two-year deal. However, shortly into his Scarlets career, he suffered a long-term injury. In July 2009, having made just 12 appearances and scored 1 try, his contract with the Scarlets was cancelled by mutual consent. He returned to Otago in 2010 to play in the ITM Cup.
Dean Sturridge, English footballer and sportscaster
Dean Constantine Sturridge is an English former professional footballer and football commentator for beIN Sports.
26/07/1973
Kate Beckinsale, English actress
Kathrin Romany Beckinsale is an English actress. The only child of the actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe, she debuted in the series premiere of the 1975 daytime drama Couples.
Mariano Raffo, Argentinian director and producer
Mariano Raffo is an Argentine film director. He has made short films, music videos and documentaries.
26/07/1972
Nathan Buckley, Australian footballer and coach
Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football senior coach, player and commentator.
26/07/1971
Khaled Mahmud, Bangladeshi cricketer and coach
Khaled Mahmud Sujon is a former Bangladeshi cricketer and current head coach of Noakhali Express. He is also a former Test and One Day International captain. A medium-pace bowler and middle-order batsman, he played international cricket for Bangladesh from 1998 to 2006, captaining the team from 2003 to 2004.
Chris Harrison, American television personality
Christopher Bryan Harrison is an American television and game show host, best known for his role as the host of the ABC reality television dating show The Bachelor from 2002–2021. He also hosted its spin-offs The Bachelorette from 2003–2021, Bachelor Pad from 2010–2012, Bachelor in Paradise from 2014-21, the first season of Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise in 2015, Bachelor Live in 2016, and The Bachelor Winter Games in 2018. He also served as the host of the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 2015–2019.
26/07/1969
Greg Colbrunn, American baseball player and coach
Gregory Joseph Colbrunn is an American former Major League baseball player and hitting coach. Primarily a first baseman during his active career, the Fontana, California, native played in the Major Leagues for 13 seasons (1992–2004) and seven different teams. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed at 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg). He served as the Boston Red Sox hitting coach during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Tanni Grey-Thompson, Welsh baroness and wheelchair racer
Carys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, is a British life peer, television presenter and former wheelchair racer.
26/07/1968
Frédéric Diefenthal, French actor and director
Frédéric Diefenthal is a French actor and director.
Jim Naismith, Scottish biologist and academic
James Henderson Naismith is a Scot, Professor of Structural Biology and since autumn of 2023 the Head of the Mathematical, Physical, and Life Science Division (MPLS) Division at the University of Oxford. He is also currently Vice-President (non-clinical) of The Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of Jesus College. He was the acting and inaugural Director (2017-2023) of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and Director of the Research Complex at Harwell. He served as Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of St Andrews. He was a member of Council of the Royal Society (2021-2022) and the Vice-Chair of Council (2022-2024) of the European X-ray Free Electron Laser.
Olivia Williams, English actress
Olivia Haigh Williams is an English actress who appears in British and American films and television. Williams studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years followed by three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her first significant screen role was as Jane Fairfax in the British television film Emma (1996), based on Jane Austen's novel.
26/07/1967
Martin Baker, English organist and conductor
Martin Baker is a British organist and choir director. He was the president of the Royal College of Organists, and from 2000 until 2019 the Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral.
Tim Schafer, American video game designer, founded Double Fine Productions
Timothy John Schafer is an American video game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in July 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts. Schafer is best known as the designer of critically acclaimed games Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, Brütal Legend and Broken Age, co-designer of Day of the Tentacle, and assistant designer on The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. He is well known in the video game industry for his storytelling and comedic writing style, and has been given both a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developers Choice Awards, and a BAFTA Fellowship for his contributions to the industry.
Jason Statham, English actor
Jason Statham is an English actor. He is known for being typecast as tough, gritty, or violent characters in action thriller films, and has been credited for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2010s. By 2017, his films had grossed over £1.1 billion, making him one of the industry's most bankable stars. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $8.5 billion worldwide.
26/07/1966
Angelo di Livio, Italian footballer
Angelo Di Livio is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and wing-back. He represented several Italian clubs in Serie A throughout his career, coming to prominence with Juventus, where he won several domestic and international titles. At international level he also played for the Italy national side in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships, reaching the final of UEFA Euro 2000.
26/07/1965
Jeremy Piven, American actor and producer
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series Entourage (2004-2011), for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also played the title role in the British period drama Mr Selfridge (2013-2016) and portrayed Spence Kovak on Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom Ellen (1996-1998).
Jim Lindberg, American singer and guitarist
James William Lindberg is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the 1980s, when he played in local bands in his early career, he is best known as the songwriter and lead singer of the punk rock band Pennywise, which he fronted from 1988 to 2009, and has again since 2012. He also founded The Black Pacific, who released a debut album in 2010.
26/07/1964
Sandra Bullock, American actress and producer
Sandra Annette Bullock is an American actress and film producer. The world's highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, and her accolades include an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.
Ralf Metzenmacher, German painter and designer (died 2020)
Ralf Metzenmacher was a German painter and designer. He was an exponent and pioneer of Retro-Art, a synthesis between art and product design. Metzenmacher saw his Retro-Art technique as a revitalization of 17th century still life painting and as a further development of pop art.
Anne Provoost, Belgian author
Anne Provoost is a Flemish author.
26/07/1963
Stuart Long, American boxer and Catholic priest (died 2014)
Stuart Ignatius Long was an American boxer and Catholic priest who developed a rare progressive muscle disorder. He was portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the 2022 biopic Father Stu.
Jeff Stoughton, Canadian curler
Jeffrey R. Stoughton is a Canadian retired curler. He is a three-time Brier champion and two-time World champion as skip. Curling throughout his career out of the Charleswood Curling Club, Stoughton retired from competitive curling in 2015. Following his career, he served the National Men's Coach and Program Manager for Curling Canada, as well as being the head coach of the Canadian Mixed Doubles National Team.
26/07/1961
Gary Cherone, American singer-songwriter
Gary Francis Cherone is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme and Van Halen.
Andy Connell, English keyboard player and songwriter
Andrew John Connell is an English keyboardist and composer. Along with Corinne Drewery, he is part of the duo that makes up Swing Out Sister.
Felix Dexter, Caribbean-English comedian and actor (died 2013)
Felix Dexter was a Saint Kitts-born British actor, comedian and writer.
26/07/1959
Rick Bragg, American author and journalist
Rick Bragg is an American journalist and writer known for non-fiction books, especially those about his family in Alabama. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 recognizing his work at The New York Times.
Kevin Spacey, American actor and director
Kevin Spacey Fowler is an American actor. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for twelve Primetime Emmy Awards. He was named an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2015.
26/07/1958
Monti Davis, American basketball player (died 2013)
DaMon William "Monti" Davis was an American professional basketball player. He was a 6-foot-7-inch (201 cm) 205 pounds (93 kg) forward and played collegiately at Tennessee State University.
Angela Hewitt, Canadian-English pianist
Angela Hewitt is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations.
26/07/1957
Norman Baker, Scottish politician
Norman John Baker is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewes in East Sussex from the 1997 general election until his defeat in 2015.
Nana Visitor, American actress
Nana Visitor is an American actress, best known for playing Major, later Colonel, Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire.
26/07/1956
Peter Fincham, English screenwriter and producer
Peter Arthur Fincham is a British television producer and executive. From 2008 until 2016, he was the director of television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following criticism over the handling of the Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work debacle.
Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater
Dorothy Stuart Hamill is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles.
Tommy Rich, American wrestler
Thomas Richardson is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion and Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. He primarily appeared in Georgia Championship Wrestling and Memphis throughout the 1980s, as well as World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling throughout the 1990s. He is a 1974 graduate of Hendersonville High School.
Tim Tremlett, English cricketer and coach
Timothy Maurice Tremlett is a former English cricketer and current director of cricket of Hampshire County Cricket Club. He is the father of England Test cricketer Chris Tremlett who also played for Hampshire and later, Surrey. Tremlett was an all-rounder, a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, who had a first-class bowling average of 23.99 and a one-day average of 24.69. He played from 1976 until 1991, and helped Hampshire win the Sunday League title in 1978 and 1986.
26/07/1955
Aleksandrs Starkovs, Latvian footballer and coach
Aleksandrs Starkovs is a Latvian football coach and a former footballer who played as a forward. Most recently he coached FK Liepāja.
Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani businessman and politician, 11th President of Pakistan
Asif Ali Zardari is a Pakistani politician who has served as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024. A member of the Pakistan People's Party, he served as the 11th executive president from 2008 to 2013. He is the first Pakistani head of state born after the country's independence and is also known for being the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Joseph Christopher, American serial killer (died 1993)
Joseph Gerard Christopher, also known as the Midtown Slasher and the .22 Caliber Killer, was an American serial killer who committed a series of stabbings and shootings against African American men and boys, killing twelve and injuring seven, between 1980 and 1981 in various New York cities and towns.
26/07/1954
Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player and coach (died 1994)
Vytautas "Vitas" Kevin Gerulaitis was an American professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1978. Gerulaitis won the men's singles title at the December 1977 Australian Open, and the men's doubles title at the 1975 Wimbledon Championships, partnering with Sandy Mayer. Gerulaitis also won two Italian Opens in 1977 and 1979, and the 1978 WCT Finals.
26/07/1953
Felix Magath, German footballer and manager
Wolfgang Felix Magath is a German football manager and former player.
Robert Phillips, American guitarist
Robert Phillips is an American classical guitarist.
Henk Bleker, Dutch politician
Hinderk "Henk" Bleker is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation in the First Rutte cabinet from 14 October 2010 to 5 November 2012. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was party chair from 20 June 2010 until 14 October 2010.
Earl Tatum, American professional basketball player
William Earl Tatum is an American former professional basketball player from Mount Vernon, New York. He was a 6 ft 4+1⁄2 in (194 cm) 185 pounds (84 kg) guard who played high school basketball at Mount Vernon, where he was selected large-school player of the year by the New York State Sportswriters Association in 1972, and collegiately at Marquette University.
26/07/1952
Glynis Breakwell, English psychologist and academic
Dame Glynis Marie Breakwell is a British social psychologist, researcher and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath. In January 2014 she was listed in the Science Council's list of '100 leading UK practising scientists'. Her tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath was marred by controversy over her remuneration, culminating in her dismissal.
26/07/1951
Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 2011)
Richard Lionel Martin was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1982. He featured in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Sabres. He was most famous for playing on the Sabres' French Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert.
26/07/1950
Nelinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
Manoel Rezende de Mattos Cabral, known as Nelinho, is a former Brazilian association footballer who played as right back. He played for several clubs in his home country and abroad, including Belo Horizonte rivals Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro. Nelinho also represented the Brazil national team in two FIFA World Cups.
Nicholas Evans, English journalist, screenwriter, and producer (died 2022)
Nicholas Benbow Evans was a British journalist, screenwriter, television and film producer and novelist. He was best known for his 1995 debut novel, The Horse Whisperer. It has sold over fifteen million copies, and has been adapted into a film.
Susan George, English actress and producer
Susan Melody George is an English film and television actress. She is best known for appearing in films such as Straw Dogs (1971) with Dustin Hoffman, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) with Peter Fonda and Mandingo (1975) with Ken Norton.
Anne Rafferty, English lawyer and judge
Dame Anne Judith Rafferty FRS is an English jurist, who served as a Lady Justice of Appeal of England and Wales from 2011 to 2020. She was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society in May 2026.
Rich Vogler, American race car driver (died 1990)
Richard Frank Vogler was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989.
26/07/1949
Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai businessman and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Thailand
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai former politician, businessman, and police officer who served as the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 until his overthrow in 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro.
Roger Taylor, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
Roger Meddows Taylor is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He achieved international fame as the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Queen. As a drummer, Taylor was recognised early in his career for his unique sound and was voted the eighth-greatest drummer in classic rock music history in a listener poll conducted by Planet Rock in 2005. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 as a member of Queen.
26/07/1948
Luboš Andršt, Czech guitarist and songwriter (died 2021)
Luboš Andršt was a Czech jazz fusion, rock, and blues guitarist, composer, producer, and guitar teacher. Known primarily for his electric rock-influenced guitar playing, he frequently played acoustic guitar on jazz fusion recordings in the 1970s. Since the late 1990s, he was best known as a key figure in the Czech blues and blues rock scene with his Luboš Andršt Blues Band, and shared the stage with a number of American blues musicians, including B.B. King.
Herbert Wiesinger, German figure skater
Herbert Wiesinger is a German former pair skater who competed for West Germany.
26/07/1946
Emilio de Villota, Spanish race car driver
Emilio de Villota Ruíz is a Spanish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between 1976 and 1982.
26/07/1945
Helen Mirren, English actress
Dame Helen Mirren is an English actor. Regarded amongst Britain's greatest actors, Mirren is the recipient of several accolades including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, two Cannes Film Festival Awards, a Volpi Cup and a Laurence Olivier Award. She is the only person to have achieved both the US and UK Triple Crowns of Acting, and has also received the BAFTA Fellowship, Honorary Golden Bear, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Mirren was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.
26/07/1944
Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter (died 2022)
Betty Davis was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter Miles Davis. Her AllMusic profile describes her as "a wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals ... [who] combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis".
26/07/1943
Peter Hyams, American director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
Peter Hyams is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer known for directing the 1977 conspiracy thriller film Capricorn One, the 1981 science fiction-thriller Outland, the 1984 science fiction film 2010: The Year We Make Contact, the 1986 action/comedy Running Scared, the comic book adaptation Timecop, the action film Sudden Death, and the horror films The Relic and End of Days.
Mick Jagger, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
Sir Michael Philip Jagger is an English musician, songwriter, and film producer known as the lead singer and founder member of the Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the Stones' songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; their songwriting partnership is one of the most successful in rock music history. His career has spanned more than six decades, and he has been widely described as one of the most popular and influential front men in the history of rock music. His distinctive voice and energetic live performances, along with Richards's guitar style, have been the Rolling Stones' trademark throughout the band's career. Early in his career, Jagger gained notoriety for his romantic involvements and illicit drug use, and has often been portrayed as a countercultural figure.
26/07/1942
Vladimír Mečiar, Slovak politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovakia
Vladimír Mečiar is a Slovak former politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from June 1990 to May 1991, June 1992 to March 1994, and again from December 1994 to October 1998. He was the leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), a populist party in Slovakia.
Teddy Pilette, Belgian race car driver
Theodore "Teddy" Pilette is a former racing driver from Belgium. He participated in four Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, the first on 12 May 1974 with Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team.
26/07/1941
Jean Baubérot, French historian and sociologist
Jean Baubérot, is a French historian and sociologist specializing in sociology of religions. He is the founder of the sociology of secularism.
Darlene Love, American singer and actress
Darlene Wright, known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and also a solo recording artist.
Brenton Wood, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboard player (died 2025)
Alfred Jesse Smith, known professionally as Brenton Wood, was an American singer and songwriter. Three 1967 singles of Wood's, "The Oogum Boogum Song", "Gimme Little Sign", and "Baby You Got It" were hits.
26/07/1940
Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2011)
Dobie Gray was an American singer and songwriter. Gray's music spanned multiple genres, including soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away". "Drift Away" was one of the biggest hits of 1973, has sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.
Brian Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, Northern Irish-British academic and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (died 2019)
Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 to 1997 and a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2005.
Bobby Rousseau, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2025)
Joseph Jean-Paul Robert Rousseau was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1960 to 1974, most notably for the Montreal Canadiens. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1962 as NHL Rookie of the Year and won the Stanley Cup four times, all with the Canadiens. Prior to turning professional Rousseau played at the 1960 Winter Olympics with the Canadian national team, winning a silver medal.
26/07/1939
Jun Henmi, Japanese author and poet (died 2011)
Mayumi Shimizu , known by her pen name Jun Henmi , was a Japanese writer and poet. She was known for her works of fiction and nonfiction about people affected by World War II.
John Howard, Australian lawyer and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Australia
John Winston Howard is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the second-longest in Australian history, after that of Robert Menzies.
Bob Lilly, American football player and photographer
Robert Lewis Lilly, nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs. Lilly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
Richard Marlow, English organist and conductor (died 2013)
Richard Kenneth Marlow was an English choral conductor and organist.
26/07/1938
Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (died 2010)
Robert Alvin Von Hebb was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his 1966 hit "Sunny".
Keith Peters, Welsh physician and academic
Sir David Keith Peters is a retired Welsh physician and academic. He was Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge from 1987 to 2005, where he was also head of the School of Clinical Medicine.
26/07/1937
Ercole Spada, Italian automotive designer (died 2025)
Ercole Spada was an Italian automobile designer. His most notable designs were produced in the 1960s, for the Zagato design studio house, where Spada was chief stylist. During this period some of the most notable sports cars by Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Maserati, as well as Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat and Lancia were clothed by Spada's designs.
26/07/1936
Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player and coach (died 2012)
Tsutomu Koyama was a Japanese volleyball player. He was a member of the Men's National Volleyball Team that claimed the bronze medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He later served as the head coach of the Men's National Team.
Lawrie McMenemy, English footballer and manager
Lawrence McMenemy MBE is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war English football.
26/07/1934
Tommy McDonald, American football player (died 2018)
Thomas Franklin McDonald was an American professional football flanker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, the Los Angeles Rams, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Cleveland Browns. He played college football as a halfback for the Oklahoma Sooners. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.
26/07/1931
Robert Colbert, American actor
Robert Louis Colbert is an American retired actor best known for his leading role as Dr. Doug Phillips on the ABC television series The Time Tunnel and his two appearances as Brent Maverick, a third Maverick brother in the ABC/Warner Brothers western Maverick.
Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (died 2006)
Telê Santana da Silva, also known as Telê Santana was a Brazilian football manager and former player. He was born in Itabirito, Minas Gerais.
26/07/1930
Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, Brazilian lawyer and politician (died 2014)
Plínio Soares de Arruda Sampaio was a Brazilian intellectual and political activist, who was affiliated with the Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL). He ran as a candidate for the presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil in 2010.
Barbara Jefford, English actress (died 2020)
Barbara Mary Jefford, OBE was a British actress, best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 film of James Joyce's Ulysses. For Ulysses, Jefford was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress. She was also Olivier nominated in 1991 for playing Volumnia in Coriolanus at the Barbican.
26/07/1929
Marc Lalonde, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice (died 2023)
Marc Lalonde was a Canadian politician who served as a cabinet minister, political staffer and lawyer. A lifelong member of the Liberal Party, he is best known for having served in various positions of government from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, including serving as the Minister of Finance.
Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist and educator (died 2012)
Alexis Sigismund Weissenberg was a Bulgarian-born French pianist.
26/07/1928
Don Beauman, English race car driver (died 1955)
Donald Bentley Beauman was a British racing driver who took part in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix.
Francesco Cossiga, Italian academic and politician, 8th President of Italy (died 2010)
Francesco Maurizio Cossiga was an Italian politician who served as the president of Italy from 1985 to 1992. A member of Christian Democracy, he was Prime Minister of Italy from 1979 to 1980. Cossiga is widely considered one of the most prominent and influential politicians of the First Italian Republic.
Elliott Erwitt, French-American photographer and director (died 2023)
Elliott Erwitt was a French-born American advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid photos of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings. He was a member of Magnum Photos since 1953.
Ibn-e-Safi, Indian-Pakistani author and poet (died 1980)
Ibn-e-Safi, also spelt Ibne Safi, was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad, a Pakistani fiction writer, novelist, and poet who wrote in Urdu. The name Ibn-e-Safi is a Persian expression meaning “Son of Safi,” with Safi translating to “chaste” or “righteous.”
Joe Jackson, American talent manager, father of Michael Jackson (died 2018)
Joseph Walter Jackson was an American talent manager and patriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers. He was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (died 1999)
Stanley Kubrick was an American filmmaker and photographer. A prominent figure of the New Hollywood era, Kubrick is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers. His films spanned a number of genres and gained recognition for their attention to detail, innovative cinematography, extensive set design, and dark humor.
Peter Lougheed, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (died 2012)
Edgar Peter Lougheed was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth.
Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, Irish-born English politician (died 2025)
Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, PC was a British Conservative politician.
26/07/1927
Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricketer (died 2003)
Gulabrai Sipahimalani "Ram" Ramchand was an Indian cricketer, cricket coach and administrator who played for the national team in 33 Test matches between 1952 and 1960. In his only series as captain, he led India to its first win against Australia. According to Wisden Asia, he was one of the first cricketers to have endorsed commercial brands.
26/07/1926
James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2015)
Jewel Franklin Guy, known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. During a career that spanned more than 60 years, Best, who was known for his high-pitched, exasperated voice, performed not only in feature films, but also in scores of television series.
26/07/1925
Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (died 2000)
Jerzy Einhorn was a Polish-born Swedish medical doctor, researcher and politician (Kristdemokrat). His Hebrew name was Chil Josef, after his paternal grandfather.
Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer (died 2015)
Joseph Frederick Engelberger was an American physicist, engineer and entrepreneur. Often regarded as the "Father of Robotics". Licensing the original patent awarded to inventor George Devol, Engelberger developed the first industrial robot in the United States, the Unimate, in the 1950s. Later, he worked as entrepreneur and vocal advocate of robotic technology beyond the manufacturing plant in a variety of fields, including service industries, health care, and space exploration.
Gene Gutowski, Polish-American film producer (died 2016)
Witold Bardach, better known as Gene Gutowski, was a Polish-American film producer who produced many of Roman Polanski's films, including Repulsion (1965), Cul-de-Sac (1966), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), and The Pianist (2002).
Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (died 2014)
Ana María Matute Ausejo was a Spanish writer and member of the Real Academia Española. In 1959, she received the Premio Nadal for Primera memoria. The third woman to receive the Cervantes Prize for her literary oeuvre, she is considered one of the foremost novelists of the posguerra, the period immediately following the Spanish Civil War.
26/07/1923
Jan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (died 2012)
Stanley Melvin Berenstain and Janice Marian Berenstain were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book series The Berenstain Bears.
Bernice Rubens, Welsh author (died 2004)
Bernice Rubens was a Welsh novelist. She became the first woman to win the Booker Prize in 1970, for The Elected Member.
Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (died 2002)
James Hoyt Wilhelm, nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
26/07/1922
Blake Edwards, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2010)
Blake Edwards was an American filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he also directed several drama, musical, and detective films. Late in his career, he took up writing, producing and directing for theater. He received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen.
Jim Foglesong, American record producer (died 2013)
James Staton Foglesong was an American country music producer and executive from the 1950s until the 1990s, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jason Robards, American actor (died 2000)
Jason Nelson Robards Jr. was an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he gained a reputation as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Robards received numerous accolades and is one of 24 performers to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting having earned competitive wins for two Academy Awards, a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In addition to these plaudits, Robards was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Laurel Award and a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1979, earned the National Medal of Arts in 1997, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1999.
26/07/1921
Tom Saffell, American baseball player and manager (died 2012)
Thomas Judson Saffell was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics.
Jean Shepherd, American radio host, actor, and screenwriter (died 1999)
Jean Parker Shepherd Jr. was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film A Christmas Story (1983), which he narrated and co-scripted on the basis of his own semi-autobiographical stories.
26/07/1920
Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (died 1983)
Robert Stanton Waterfield was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). A skilled player, he played in the NFL for eight seasons, primarily as a quarterback, but also as a safety, kicker, punter and sometimes return specialist with the Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. His No. 7 jersey was retired by the Rams in 1952. He was also a motion picture actor and producer.
26/07/1919
Virginia Gilmore, American actress (died 1986)
Virginia Gilmore was an American film, stage, and television actress.
James Lovelock, English biologist and chemist (died 2022)
James Ephraim Lovelock was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating system.
26/07/1918
Marjorie Lord, American actress (died 2015)
Marjorie Lord was an American television and film actress. She played Kathy "Clancy" O'Hara Williams, opposite Danny Thomas's character on The Danny Thomas Show.
26/07/1916
Dean Brooks, American physician and actor (died 2013)
Dean Kent Brooks was an American physician and actor. Brooks was the superintendent of Oregon State Hospital for 27 years from 1955 to 1982. He was born in Colony, Kansas.
Jaime Luiz Coelho, Brazilian archbishop (died 2013)
Jaime Luiz Coelho was a Brazilian archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. At his death at the age of 97 he was one of the oldest bishops in the Church and one of the oldest Brazilian bishops.
26/07/1914
C. Farris Bryant, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Governor of Florida (died 2002)
Cecil Farris Bryant was an American politician serving as the 34th governor of Florida. He also served on the United States National Security Council as director of the Office of Emergency Planning during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who also appointed Bryant chair of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and bandleader (died 1993)
Erskine Ramsay Hawkins was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1939) with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. The song became a hit during World War II, rising to No. 7 nationally and to No. 1 nationally. Vocalists who were featured with Erskine's orchestra include Ida James, Delores Brown, and Della Reese. Hawkins was named after Alabama industrialist Erskine Ramsay.
Ellis Kinder, American baseball player (died 1968)
Ellis Raymond "Old Folks" Kinder was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox between 1946 and 1957. Kinder batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Atkins, Arkansas.
26/07/1913
Kan Yuet-keung, Hong Kong banker, lawyer, and politician (died 2012)
Sir Yuet-keung Kan was a Hong Kong banker, politician and lawyer who was successively appointed Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council in the 1960s and 1970s. He also served as chairman of the Bank of East Asia for 20 years.
26/07/1909
Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 1994)
George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958.
Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (died 1979)
Vivian Vance was an American actress best known for playing landlady Ethel Mertz on the sitcom I Love Lucy (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, among other accolades. She also starred alongside Lucille Ball in The Lucy Show from 1962 until she left the series at the end of its third season in 1965. In 1991, she posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is most commonly identified as Lucille Ball’s longtime comedic foil from 1951 until her death in 1979.
26/07/1908
Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourger sculptor (died 2002)
Lucien Wercollier was a sculptor from Luxembourg. While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are of particular importance. Works by Wercollier can be found in public places and museums in Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United States.
26/07/1906
Irena Iłłakowicz, German-Polish lieutenant (died 1943)
Irena Morzycka-Iłłakowicz was a Polish second lieutenant of the National Armed Forces and intelligence agent. The daughter of Bolesław Morzycki and Władysława Zakrzewska and the sister of Jerzy, she was also a polyglot who spoke seven languages: Polish, French, English, Persian, Finnish, German and Russian.
26/07/1905
Jack Morrison, Australian rugby league player (died 1994)
Jack Morrison (1905−1994) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s for South Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown. Morrison was a foundation player for Canterbury-Bankstown and the club's first captain.
26/07/1904
Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (died 1951)
Frank Scott Hogg was a Canadian astronomer. Hogg was born in Preston, Ontario to Dr. James Scott Hogg and Ida Barberon. After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, Hogg received the second doctorate in astronomy awarded at Harvard University in 1929 where he pioneered in the study of spectrophotometry of stars and of spectra of comets. His supervisor there was Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. During World War II, he developed a two-star sextant for air navigation. He was the head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Toronto and director of the David Dunlap Observatory from 1946 until his death. During this time he pursued the observatory's major research program to study the motions of faint stars in the line of sight. He was married to fellow astronomer Helen Sawyer Hogg from 1930 until his death from a heart attack in 1951. The crater Hogg on the moon is co-named for him and Arthur Robert Hogg.
Edwin Albert Link, American industrialist and entrepreneur, invented the flight simulator (died 1981)
Edwin Albert Link was an American inventor, entrepreneur and pioneer in aviation, underwater archaeology, and submersibles. He invented the flight simulator, which was called the "Blue Box" or "Link Trainer". It was commercialized in 1929, starting a now multibillion-dollar industry. In total, he obtained more than 27 patents for aeronautics, navigation and oceanographic equipment.
26/07/1903
Estes Kefauver, American lawyer and politician (died 1963)
Carey Estes Kefauver was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1949 and in the U.S. Senate from 1949 until his death in 1963. He was the winner of most of the 1952 Democratic Party presidential primaries, though he was not nominated at the convention.
26/07/1900
Sarah Kafrit, Israeli politician and teacher (died 1983)
Sarah Kafrit was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapai between 1951 and 1959.
26/07/1897
Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (died 1974)
Harold Dunbar Cooley was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented the Fourth Congressional district of North Carolina from 1934 to 1966.
Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (died 1976)
Paul William Gallico was an American novelist and short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. He is perhaps best remembered for The Snow Goose, his most critically successful book, for the novel The Poseidon Adventure, primarily through the 1972 film adaptation, and for four novels about the beloved character of Mrs. Harris.
26/07/1896
Tim Birkin, English soldier and race car driver (died 1933)
Sir Henry Ralph Stanley Birkin, 3rd Baronet, known as Tim Birkin, was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.
26/07/1895
Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (died 1964)
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, appearing with him on radio, television and film as the duo Burns and Allen.
26/07/1894
Aldous Huxley, English novelist and philosopher (died 1963)
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives and poems.
26/07/1893
George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (died 1959)
George Grosz was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objectivity groups during the Weimar Republic. He emigrated to the United States in 1933, and became a naturalized citizen in 1938. Abandoning the style and subject matter of his earlier work, he exhibited regularly and taught for many years at the Art Students League of New York. In 1959 he returned to Berlin, where he died shortly afterwards.
26/07/1892
Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (died 1966)
Samuel Pond "Sad Sam" Jones was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox between 1914 and 1935. Jones batted and threw right-handed. His sharp breaking curveball also earned him the nickname "Horsewhips Sam".
26/07/1890
Daniel J. Callaghan, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1942)
Daniel Judson Callaghan was a United States Navy officer who served his country in two wars, in a three-decades-long career. Callaghan served on several ships during his first 20 years of service, including escort duties during World War I, and also filled some shore-based administrative roles. He later came to the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed Callaghan as his naval aide in 1938.
26/07/1888
Reginald Hands, South African cricketer and rugby player (died 1918)
Reginald Harry Myburgh Hands was a South African cricketer who played in one Test match in February 1914. He died in France as a result of injuries sustained on the Western Front during the First World War. His death was an indirect cause of the tradition of the two-minute silence, instigated by his father Sir Harry Hands when Mayor of Cape Town.
26/07/1886
Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (died 1965)
Lars Mauritz Hanson was a Swedish film and stage actor, internationally mostly remembered for his motion picture roles during the silent film era.
26/07/1885
Roy Castleton, American baseball player (died 1967)
Royal Eugene Castleton was a relief pitcher for the New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds. The first native of the state of Utah and the first Mormon to play in the major leagues, Castleton made his debut with the Highlanders on April 16, 1907, and played his final game with the Reds on May 29, 1910.
André Maurois, French soldier and author (died 1967)
André Maurois was a French author.
26/07/1882
Albert Dunstan, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Victoria (died 1950)
Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan, KCMG was an Australian politician who served as the 33rd premier of Victoria from 1935 to 1943 and from 1943 to 1945 and as the third deputy premier of Victoria for five days in March 1935. A member of the Country Party, now the National Party, his term as premier was the second-longest in the state's history and the longest of any third-party premier. He was the first person to hold the office of premier in its own right, and not an additional duty taken up by the Treasurer, Attorney-General or Chief Secretary.
26/07/1880
Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian playwright and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Ukrainian People's Republic (died 1951)
Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko was a Ukrainian statesman, political activist, writer, playwright and artist who served as the first prime minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Prior to his entry onto the stage of Ukrainian politics, he was a long-time political activist, who lived abroad in Western Europe from 1906 to 1914 escaping persecution by Russian authorities.
26/07/1879
Shunroku Hata, Japanese field marshal and politician, 48th Japanese Minister of War (died 1962)
Shunroku Hata was a field marshal (gensui) in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank. Hata was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1948, but was paroled in 1955.
26/07/1878
Edward B. Greene, American banking, mining, and steel company executive (died 1957)
Edward Belden Greene was an American banking, mining, and steel company executive. He joined the Cleveland Trust Company in 1900, and by 1914 was a vice president. He later was a director and chairman of its executive committee, and served on state and federal emergency credit and banking organizations during the Great Depression. He left in 1933 to become chairman of the board of directors of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Mining Company. He oversaw the purchase of Corrigan, McKinney Steel, and later its sale.
Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (died 1937)
Ernst Heinrich Hoppenberg was a German swimmer and water polo player who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the 200 metre events. He participated in Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and won two gold medals in the 200 metre backstroke and 200 m team race for Germany.
26/07/1877
Jesse Lauriston Livermore, American investor and security analyst, "Great Bear of Wall Street" (died 1940)
Jesse Lauriston Livermore was an American stock trader. He is considered a pioneer of day trading and was the basis for the main character of Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, a best-selling book by Edwin Lefèvre. At one time, Livermore was one of the richest people in the world; however, at the time of his suicide, he had liabilities greater than his assets.
26/07/1875
Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (died 1961)
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. He was a prolific author of over twenty books, illustrator, correspondent, and academic, best known for his concept of archetypes. Widely considered one of the most influential psychologists of all time, Jung's work has fostered not only scholarship, but also popular interest. His work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies.
Ernesta Di Capua, Italian botanist and explorer (died 1943)
Ernesta Di Capua was an Italian botanist, taxonomist, and explorer. She was executed at the Auschwitz concentration camp for her Jewish heritage. The species Caralluma dicapuae was named in her honor.
Antonio Machado, Spanish poet and academic (died 1939)
Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz, known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation of '98. His work, initially modernist, evolved towards an intimate form of symbolism with romantic traits. He gradually developed a style characterised by both an engagement with humanity on one side and an almost Taoist contemplation of existence on the other, a synthesis that, according to Machado, echoed the most ancient popular wisdom. In Gerardo Diego's words, Machado "spoke in verse and lived in poetry."
26/07/1874
Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (died 1951)
Serge Koussevitzky was a Russian and American conductor, composer, and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.
26/07/1865
Philipp Scheidemann, German journalist and politician, 10th Chancellor of Germany (died 1939)
Philipp Heinrich Scheidemann was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the first quarter of the 20th century, he played a leading role in both his party and in the young Weimar Republic. During the German Revolution of 1918–1919 that broke out after Germany's defeat in World War I, Scheidemann proclaimed a German Republic from a balcony of the Reichstag building. In 1919, he was elected Reich Minister President by the National Assembly meeting in Weimar to write a constitution for the republic. He resigned the office the same year due to a lack of unanimity in the cabinet on whether or not to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
Rajanikanta Sen, Indian poet and composer (died 1910)
Rajanikanta Sen, also known as Kantakobi, was a Bengali poet and composer, known for his devotional (bhakti) compositions, as well as his patriotic songs.
26/07/1863
Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (died 1948)
Jāzeps Vītols was a Latvian composer, pedagogue and music critic. He is considered one of the fathers of Latvian classical music.
26/07/1858
Tom Garrett, Australian cricketer and lawyer (died 1943)
Thomas William Garrett was an early Australian Test cricketer and, later, a distinguished public servant.
26/07/1856
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1950)
George Bernard Shaw, known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
26/07/1855
Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (died 1936)
Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social groups, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. He co-founded the German Sociological Association together with Max Weber and Georg Simmel and many other founders. He was president of the society from 1909 to 1933, after which he was ousted for having criticized the Nazis. Tönnies was regarded as the first proper German sociologist and published over 900 works, contributing to many areas of sociology and philosophy. Tönnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel are considered the founding fathers of classical German sociology. Though there has been a resurgence of interest in Weber and Simmel, Tönnies has not drawn as much attention.
26/07/1854
Philippe Gaucher, French dermatologist and academic (died 1918)
Philippe Charles Ernest Gaucher was a French dermatologist born in the department of Nièvre.
26/07/1844
Stefan Drzewiecki, Ukrainian-Polish engineer and journalist (died 1938)
Stefan Drzewiecki was a Polish scientist, journalist, engineer, constructor and inventor, known for designing and constructing the world's first electric-powered submarine. He worked mainly in France and the Russian Empire.
26/07/1842
Alfred Marshall, English economist and academic (died 1924)
Alfred Marshall was an English economist and one of the most influential economists of his time. His book Principles of Economics (1890) was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years, and brought the ideas of supply and demand, marginal utility, and costs of production into a coherent whole, popularizing the modern neoclassical approach which dominates microeconomics to this day. As a result, he is known as the father of scientific economics.
26/07/1841
Carl Robert Jakobson, Estonian journalist and politician (died 1882)
Carl Robert Jakobson was an Estonian writer, politician and teacher active in the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire. He was one of the most important persons of the Estonian national awakening in the second half of the 19th century.
26/07/1838
Silas Soule, American soldier and whistleblower of the Sand Creek Massacre (died 1865)
Silas Stillman Soule was an American abolitionist, teenage conductor on the Underground Railroad, military officer, and early example of what would later be called a "whistleblower". He is honored as a hero for disobeying orders to participate in a massacre of Native Americans, and then giving evidence against his commander despite threats on his life.
26/07/1829
Auguste Beernaert, Belgian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Belgium, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1912)
Auguste Marie François Beernaert was the prime minister of Belgium from October 1884 to March 1894, and the 1909 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
26/07/1819
Justin Holland, American guitarist and educator (died 1887)
Justin Holland was an American classical guitarist, a music teacher, a community leader, an African American man who worked to help slaves on the Underground Railroad, and an activist for equal rights for African Americans.
26/07/1802
Mariano Arista, Mexican general and politician, 42nd President of Mexico (died 1855)
José Mariano Martín Buenaventura Ignacio Nepomuceno García de Arista Nuez was a Mexican soldier and politician who served as the 19th president of Mexico from 1851 to 1853.
26/07/1796
George Catlin, American painter, author, and traveler (died 1872)
George Catlin was an American lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the American frontier. Traveling to the American West five times during the 1830s, Catlin wrote about and painted portraits that depicted the life of the Plains Indians. His early work included engravings, drawn from nature, of sites along the route of the Erie Canal in New York State. Several of his renderings were published in one of the first printed books to use lithography, Cadwallader D. Colden's Memoir, Prepared at the Request of a Committee of the Common Council of the City of New York, and Presented to the Mayor of the City, at the Celebration of the Completion of the New York Canals, published in 1825, with early images of the City of Buffalo.
26/07/1791
Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1844)
Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, also known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Jr., was the youngest child of six born to composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his wife Constanze and the younger of his parents' two surviving children. He was a composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher of the late classical period whose musical style was of an early Romanticism, heavily influenced by his father's mature style. He knew Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann, both of whom held him in high esteem.
26/07/1782
John Field, Irish pianist and composer (died 1837)
John Field was an Irish pianist, composer and teacher widely credited as the inventor of the nocturne. While many of his contemporaries wrote in a similar style, Field was the first to use the term to apply to a character piece featuring a cantabile melody over an arpeggiated accompaniment.
26/07/1739
George Clinton, American general and politician, 4th Vice President of the United States (died 1812)
George Clinton was an American soldier, statesman, and a prominent Democratic-Republican in the formative years of the United States. Clinton served as the fourth vice president during the second term of Thomas Jefferson's presidency and the first term of James Madison's presidency from 1805 until his death in 1812. He also served as the first governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and again from 1801 to 1804; his tenure makes him the second-longest-serving governor in U.S. history. Clinton was the first vice-president to die in office, and the first of two to hold office under two consecutive presidents.
26/07/1711
Lorenz Christoph Mizler, German physician, mathematician, and historian (died 1778)
Lorenz Christoph Mizler von Kolof was a German physician, historian, printer, mathematician, Baroque music composer, and precursor of the Enlightenment in Poland.
26/07/1678
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1711)
Joseph I was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1705 until his death in 1711. He was the eldest son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor from his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg. Joseph was crowned King of Hungary at the age of nine in 1687 and was elected King of the Romans at the age of eleven in 1690. He succeeded to the thrones of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire when his father died.
26/07/1502
Christian Egenolff, German printer (died 1555)
Christian Egenolff or Egenolph, also known as Christian Egenolff, the Elder, was the first important printer and publisher operating from Frankfurt-am-Main, and best known for his "Kräuterbuch", Herbarum, arborum, fruticum, frumentorum ac leguminem, and re-issue of books by Adam Ries, Erasmus von Rotterdam and Ulrich von Hutten.
26/07/1400
Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester, English noble (died 1439)
Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick, LG was the posthumous daughter and eventually the sole heiress of Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester by his wife, Constance of York, daughter of Edmund of Langley. She was born six months after her father had been beheaded for plotting against King Henry IV of England (1399–1413).
26/07/1030
Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Polish bishop and saint (died 1079)
Stanislaus of Szczepanów was a Polish Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kraków and was martyred by the Polish King Bolesław II the Bold. He is the patron saint of Poland.
Lives Remembered on 26th July
On 26th July, 103 remarkable people passed away — from 342 to 2025. Remember the lives and legacies of those we lost on this day.
26/07/2025
Tom Lehrer, American singer, comedian and mathematician (born 1928)
Thomas Andrew Lehrer was an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy, humorous, and often political songs that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs parodied popular musical forms, often with original melodies.
26/07/2023
Sinéad O'Connor, Irish singer and musician (born 1966)
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor, also known as Shuhada' Sadaqat, was an Irish singer, musician and activist. During her musical career, which encompassed several hit records and artist collaborations, O'Connor drew attention to issues such as child abuse, human rights, racism, and women's rights. She was also known for her outspoken public image, openly discussing her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political viewpoints, and struggles with mental health.
26/07/2021
Joey Jordison, American musician (born 1975)
Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison was an American musician. He was the original drummer of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, and the guitarist for the horror punk supergroup Murderdolls.
26/07/2020
Olivia de Havilland, American actress (born 1916)
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland was an actress. Born in Japan, she held citizenship of the United Kingdom, United States and France. She appeared in 49 feature films throughout her career, with the major works of her cinematic career spanning from 1935 to 1988. Before her death in 2020 at age 104, she was the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner and was widely considered the last surviving major star from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Her younger sister, with whom she had a noted rivalry which was well documented in the media, was the Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine.
26/07/2019
Russi Taylor, American voice actress (born 1944)
Russi Taylor was an American voice actress. She was best remembered for voicing the character of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019 and was married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, from 1991 until his death in 2009. She was the longest-tenured voice actress to voice the character, holding the role for 33 years. She also provided the voices of several characters in The Simpsons, most prominently Martin Prince, Uter Zorker, and Sherri and Terri.
Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Cuban Roman Catholic prelate (born 1936)
Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino was a Cuban prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Havana from 1981 to 2016. He was appointed to the College of Cardinals in 1994, the second Cuban to hold that distinction.
26/07/2018
Adem Demaçi, Kosovo Albanian politician and writer (born 1936)
Adem Demaçi was a Kosovo Albanian author, politician, and human rights defender. He became notable during the breakup of Yugoslavia for suggesting the creation of Balkania in 1996, a hypothetical confederacy proposed as an independent successor state to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the Balkans.
John Kline, American basketball player (born 1931)
John Kline was an American basketball player for the Harlem Globetrotters (1953–1959) who founded the Black Legends of Professional Basketball in 1996.
26/07/2017
June Foray, American voice actress (born 1917)
June Foray was an American voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney's Cinderella, Cindy Lou Who, Jokey Smurf, Granny from the Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Friz Freleng, Grammi Gummi from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears series, and Magica De Spell, among many others.
Patti Deutsch, American voice artist and comedic actress (born 1943)
Patricia Deutsch Ross was an American actress who was known as a recurring panelist on the 1970s game shows Match Game and Tattletales.
Ronald Phillips, American criminal (born 1973)
Ronald Ray Phillips was an Ohio death row inmate who was sentenced to death and executed for the 1993 rape and murder of Sheila Evans, the 3-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, Fae Amanda Evans, after an extended period of physical and sexual abuse against the child. Evans was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering for her involvement and sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison. She died of leukemia on July 8, 2008, aged 41, at the state prison hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
26/07/2016
Solomon Feferman, American philosopher and mathematician (born 1928)
Solomon Feferman was an American philosopher and mathematician who worked in mathematical logic. In addition to his prolific technical work in proof theory, computability theory, and set theory, he was known for his contributions to the history of logic and as a vocal proponent of the philosophy of mathematics known as predicativism, notably from an anti-platonist stance.
26/07/2015
Bijoy Krishna Handique, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Mines (born 1934)
Bijoy Krishna Handique was an Indian politician and a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Jorhat constituency of Assam and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party. He was the only son of Krishna Kanta Handique, a renowned Indologist. Handique was a senior Member of Parliament from the North Eastern Region and represented the Jorhat Lok Sabha, Assam for six consecutive terms from 1991 to 2009. He also served as a Rajya Sabha member from 1980 to 1986. He had been elected to the Assam State Assembly in 1972 from the Jorhat constituency.
Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (born 1926)
Flora Isabel MacDonald was a Canadian politician and humanitarian. Canada's first female foreign minister, she was also one of the first women to vie for leadership of a major Canadian political party, the Progressive Conservatives. She became a close ally of Prime Minister Joe Clark, serving in his cabinet from 1979 to 1980, as well as in the cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1988. In her later life, she was known for her humanitarian work abroad. Jimmy Carter has said that 90% of the contribution to freeing American hostages in Iran should be attributed to her and Kenneth D. Taylor. The City of Ottawa recognised MacDonald on July 11, 2018, by naming a new bicycle and footbridge over the Rideau Canal the Flora Footbridge.
Leo Reise, Jr., Canadian ice hockey player (born 1922)
Leo Charles Reise Jr. was a professional ice hockey player in the NHL and son of former pro Leo Reise. He was born in Stoney Creek, Ontario.
Ann Rule, American police officer and author (born 1931)
Ann Rae Rule was an American author of true crime books and articles. She is best known for The Stranger Beside Me (1980), about the serial killer Ted Bundy, her co-worker and one-time friend, who was later revealed to be a murderer. Rule wrote over 30 true crime books, including Small Sacrifices, about Oregon child murderer Diane Downs. Many of Rule's books center on murder cases that occurred in the Pacific Northwest and her adopted home state of Washington.
26/07/2014
Oleh Babayev, Ukrainian businessman and politician (born 1965)
Oleh Meydanovych Babaiev was a Ukrainian politician and an owner of two professional football clubs in the Poltava Oblast. In 2010, he was elected Mayor of Kremenchuk. He was assassinated in his car in front of his house on July 26, 2014.
Charles R. Larson, American admiral (born 1936)
Charles Robert Larson was an Admiral of the United States Navy.
Richard MacCormac, English architect, founded MJP Architects (born 1938)
Sir Richard Cornelius MacCormac CBE, PPRIBA, FRSA, RA, was a modernist English architect and the founder of MJP Architects.
Sergei O. Prokofieff, Russian anthropologist and author (born 1954)
Sergei Olegovich Prokofieff was a Russian anthroposophist. He was the grandson of the composer Sergei Prokofiev and his first wife Lina Prokofiev, and the son of Oleg Prokofiev and his first wife Sofia Feinberg (1928—2025). Born in Moscow, he studied fine arts and painting at the Moscow School of Art. He encountered anthroposophy in his youth, and soon made the decision to devote his life to it.
Roland Verhavert, Belgian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1927)
Roland Verhavert was a Belgian film director. He directed 44 films between 1955 and 1993. He co-directed the 1955 film Seagulls Die in the Harbour, which was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. His 1974 film The Conscript was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival.
26/07/2013
Luther F. Cole, American lawyer and politician (born 1925)
Luther Francis Cole was an American lawyer and politician from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served as a state legislator and then as a judge.
Harley Flanders, American mathematician and academic (born 1925)
Harley M. Flanders was an American mathematician, known for several textbooks and contributions to his fields: algebra and algebraic number theory, linear algebra, electrical networks, scientific computing.
Sung Jae-gi, South Korean philosopher and activist (born 1967)
Sung Jae-gi was a South Korean men's rights activist. Sung was the leader of various masculinist and anti-feminist organizations, including the Association of Anti-Feminism and Male Liberation, Association for the Abolition of the Ministry of Women, and Man of Korea. Sung also ran a shelter for homeless men, male victims of violent crime, teenage runaways, and gay and transgender men.
George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1919)
George Phydias Mitchell was an American businessman, real estate developer and philanthropist from Texas credited with pioneering the economic extraction of shale gas.
26/07/2012
Don Bagley, American bassist and composer (born 1927)
Donald Neff Bagley was an American jazz bassist.
Karl Benjamin, American painter and educator (born 1925)
Karl Stanley Benjamin was an American painter of vibrant geometric abstractions, who rose to fame in 1959 as one of four Los Angeles–based Abstract Classicists and subsequently produced a critically acclaimed body of work that explores a vast array of color relationships. Working quietly at his home in Claremont, California, he developed a rich vocabulary of colors and hard-edge shapes in masterful compositions of tightly balanced repose or high-spirited energy. At once intuitive and systematic, the artist was, in the words of critic Christopher Knight, "a colorist of great wit and inventiveness."
Miriam Ben-Porat, Russian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (born 1918)
Miriam Ben-Porat was an Israeli jurist. She was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Israel and the State Comptroller of Israel from 1988–1998.
Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (born 1942)
Guadalupe Ontiveros was an American actress best known for portraying Rosalita in The Goonies, and Yolanda Saldívar in the film Selena. She acted in numerous films and television shows. Ontiveros was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on Desperate Housewives and received critical acclaim for her role in Chuck & Buck, for which Ontiveros won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress, and was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
James D. Watkins, American admiral and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Energy (born 1927)
James David Watkins was a United States Navy admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations who served as the United States Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush administration, also chairing U.S. government commissions on HIV/AIDS and ocean policy. Watkins also served on the boards of various companies and other nongovernmental organizations and as the co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
26/07/2011
Joe Arroyo, Colombian singer-songwriter and composer (born 1955)
Álvaro Arroyo González was a Colombian salsa and tropical music singer, composer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest performers of Caribbean and salsa music in his country and across Latin America. In 2018, Billboard counted Arroyo's song "La Rebelión" as one of the "15 Best Salsa Songs Ever".
Tom Borton, American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer (born 1956)
Thomas William Borton was an American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer, and was the founder and CEO of Los Angeles Post Music, Inc.
Richard Harris, American-Canadian football player and coach (born 1948)
Richard Drew Harris was an American professional football player who was a defensive end who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was an All-American in 1970 for Grambling and was selected in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, the first defensive player chosen. Harris was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 1971 and was widely regarded as one of the fastest defensive linemen in professional football before being hobbled by knee injuries.
Sakyo Komatsu, Japanese author and screenwriter (born 1931)
Sakyo Komatsu was a Japanese science fiction writer and screenwriter. He was one of the most well known and highly regarded science fiction writers in Japan.
Margaret Olley, Australian painter and philanthropist (born 1923)
Margaret Hannah Olley was an Australian painter. She held over ninety solo exhibitions during her lifetime.
26/07/2010
Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean politician (born 1945)
Sivakant Tiwari, P.P.A.(E.), P.B.S., P.P.A.(E.)(L.), P.J.G., known professionally as S. Tiwari, was a senior legal officer of the Singapore Legal Service. He was educated at the University of Singapore, graduating in law in 1971. He then made the Legal Service his career, serving as head of the Ministry of Defence's legal department (1974), and head of the Attorney-General's Chambers' Civil Division (1987) and International Affairs Division (1995). He was lead counsel in three significant commissions of inquiry arising out of fatal incidents in the 1970s and 1980s. A skilled negotiator, Tiwari was a member of the Singapore delegation which dealt with the United States – Singapore Free Trade Agreement signed in 2003, and served as legal adviser to the delegation which established diplomatic relations between Singapore and the People's Republic of China. He was also on Singapore's legal team in a case concluded in 2003 that had been brought by Malaysia to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for provisional measures against alleged damage to its territorial waters due to land reclamation by Singapore, and in the territorial dispute with Malaysia over Pedra Branca before the International Court of Justice in 2007.
26/07/2009
Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (born 1919)
Merce Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other disciplines, including musicians John Cage, David Tudor, Brian Eno, and graphic artists Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and Jasper Johns; and fashion designer Rei Kawakubo. Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance.
26/07/2007
Lars Forssell, Swedish author, poet, and playwright (born 1928)
Lars Hans Carl Abraham Forssell was a Swedish writer and member of the Swedish Academy. Forssell was a versatile writer who worked within many genres, including poetry, drama and songwriting. He was awarded the Bellman Prize in both 1968 and 1981
Skip Prosser, American basketball player and coach (born 1950)
George Edward "Skip" Prosser was an American college basketball coach who was head men's basketball coach at Wake Forest University at the time of his death. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take three separate schools to the NCAA tournament in their first year coaching. In 21 years as a collegiate coach, he made 18 postseason appearances.
26/07/2005
Alexander Golitzen, Russian-born American production designer and art director (born 1908)
Prince Alexander Golitzen (Golitsyn) was a Russian-born American production designer who oversaw art direction on more than 300 movies.
Jack Hirshleifer, American economist and academic (born 1925)
Jack Hirshleifer was an American economist and long-time professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1945)
Jean Gilles "Captain Crunch" Marotte was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.
26/07/2004
William A. Mitchell, American chemist, created Pop Rocks and Cool Whip (born 1911)
William A. Mitchell was an American food chemist who, while working for General Foods Corporation between 1941 and 1976, was the key inventor behind Pop Rocks, Tang, Cool Whip, and powdered egg whites. During his career he received over 70 patents.
26/07/2001
Rex T. Barber, American colonel and pilot (born 1917)
Rex Theodore Barber Sr. was a World War II fighter pilot from the United States. He is best known as a member of Operation Vengeance, the top secret mission to intercept the aircraft carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in April 1943.
Peter von Zahn, German journalist and author (born 1913)
Peter von Zahn was a German author, film maker, and journalist.
26/07/2000
John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (born 1915)
John Wilder Tukey was an American mathematician and statistician, best known for the development of the fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, the box plot and for laying the foundations of the field of exploratory data analysis. The Tukey range test, the Tukey lambda distribution, the Tukey test of additivity, and the Teichmüller–Tukey lemma all bear his name. He is also credited with coining the term bit and the first published use of the word software.
26/07/1999
Walter Jackson Bate, American author and critic (born 1918)
Walter Jackson Bate was an American literary critic and biographer. He is known for Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography-winning biographies of Samuel Johnson (1978) and John Keats (1964). Samuel Johnson also won the 1978 U.S. National Book Award in Biography.
Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (born 1917)
Phaedon Gizikis was a Greek army general who was the last President of Greece under the junta from 1973 to 1974.
26/07/1996
Max Winter, American businessman and sports executive (born 1903)
Max Winter was a Minneapolis businessman and sport executive who helped found the Minnesota Vikings.
26/07/1995
Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian-American guitarist and composer (born 1917)
Laurindo José de Araújo Almeida Nóbrega Neto was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He was one of the pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.
Raymond Mailloux, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1918)
Raymond Mailloux was a Quebec politician and Cabinet Minister. A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, he was the Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the Charlevoix riding from 1962 to 1985.
George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (born 1907)
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and 3rd secretary of housing and urban development from 1969 to 1973. He was the father of Mitt Romney, who served as United States senator from Utah and as governor of Massachusetts and was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee; the husband of 1970 U.S. Senate candidate Lenore Romney; and the paternal grandfather of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel.
26/07/1994
James Luther Adams, American theologian and academic (born 1901)
James Luther Adams, an American professor at Harvard Divinity School, Andover Newton Theological School, and Meadville Lombard Theological School, and a Unitarian parish minister, was the most influential theologian among American Unitarian Universalists in the 20th century.
26/07/1993
Matthew Ridgway, American general (born 1895)
Matthew Bunker Ridgway was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Although he saw no combat service in World War I, he was intensively involved in World War II, where he was the first Commanding General (CG) of the 82nd Airborne Division, leading it in action in Sicily, Italy and Normandy, before taking command of the newly formed XVIII Airborne Corps in August 1944. He held the latter post until the end of the war in mid-1945, commanding the corps in the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.
26/07/1992
Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (born 1943)
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.
26/07/1988
Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani philosopher, scholar, and academic (born 1919)
Fazlur Rahman Malik, commonly known as Fazlur Rahman, was a modernist scholar and Islamic philosopher from present-day Pakistan. Recognized as a leading liberal reformer within Islam, he focused on educational reform and promoting independent reasoning (ijtihad). His work has attracted both significant interest and criticism in Muslim-majority countries. His reformist ideas led to protests by over a thousand clerics, faqihs, muftis, and teachers in Pakistan, ultimately resulting in his exile.
26/07/1986
W. Averell Harriman, American politician and diplomat, 11th United States Secretary of Commerce (born 1891)
William Averell Harriman was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment bank, served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman, and was the 48th governor of New York. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for president in 1952 and 1956. Throughout his career, he was a key foreign policy advisor to Democratic presidents.
26/07/1984
George Gallup, American mathematician and statistician, founded the Gallup Company (born 1901)
George Horace Gallup was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a statistically based survey sampled measure of public opinion.
Ed Gein, American serial killer (born 1906)
Edward Theodore Gein, also known as the Butcher of Plainfield and the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American murderer and body snatcher. His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he stole corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin. He also confessed to killing two women: tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954 and hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957.
26/07/1971
Diane Arbus, American photographer and academic (born 1923)
Diane Arbus was an American photographer. She photographed a wide range of subjects including strippers, carnival performers, nudists, people with dwarfism, children, mothers, couples, elderly people, and middle-class families. She photographed her subjects in familiar settings: their homes, on the street, in the workplace, in the park. "She is noted for expanding notions of acceptable subject matter and violates canons of the appropriate distance between photographer and subject. By befriending, not objectifying her subjects, she was able to capture in her work a rare psychological intensity."
26/07/1970
Robert Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 11th Chief Justice of Canada (born 1896)
Robert Taschereau was a lawyer who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Canada from 1963 to 1967, as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1940 to 1963, and briefly as the Administrator of the Government of Canada for one month from March to April 1967 following the death of Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier.
26/07/1968
Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (born 1899)
Cemal Tollu was a Turkish painter. He served in the Turkish War of Independence as a cavalry lieutenant. and witnessed the Fire of Manisa. In 1933 he founded the "D Group" with several other painters who were devoted to Cubism and Constructivism. In his later life he was to teach at the Fine Arts Academy of Istanbul until 1965.
26/07/1964
Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (born 1884)
Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, styled Viscount Curzon from 1900 to 1929, was a British naval officer, Member of Parliament, and racing driver and promoter. In the 1918 UK general election he won the Battersea South seat as the candidate of the Conservative Party, which he held until 1929. While in Parliament he took up motor racing, and later won the 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans race. He ascended to the House of Lords in 1929, succeeding his father as the 5th Earl Howe. In 1928, he co-founded the British Racing Drivers' Club with Dudley Benjafield and served as its president until his death in 1964.
26/07/1960
Cedric Gibbons, British art director and production designer (born 1893)
Austin Cedric Gibbons was an American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the Oscar statuette in 1928, but tasked the sculpting to George Stanley, a Los Angeles artist. He was nominated 39 times for the Academy Award for Best Production Design and won the Oscar 11 times, both of which are records.
26/07/1957
Carlos Castillo Armas, Authoritarian ruler of Guatemala (1954-1957)
Carlos Castillo Armas was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right National Liberation Movement (MLN) party, his authoritarian government was closely allied with the United States.
26/07/1953
Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general and politician, 135th Prime Minister of Greece (born 1883)
Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he became famous as "The Black Rider" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, where he commanded the 5/42 Evzone Regiment. Due to his fame, he retained his position despite the military reshuffle that commenced after the 1920 elections. After the Greek defeat in the war, along with other Venizelist officers he launched the 11 September 1922 Revolution that deposed King Constantine I of Greece and his government. The military-led government ruled until January 1924, when power was handed over to an elected National Assembly, which later declared the Second Hellenic Republic. In the interwar period, Plastiras remained a devoted Venizelist and republican. Trying to avert the rise of the royalist People's Party and the restoration of the monarchy, he led two coup attempts in 1933 and 1935, both of which failed, hastening the collapse of the Second Republic and forcing Plastiras to exile in France.
26/07/1952
Eva Perón, Argentinian politician, 25th First Lady of Argentina (born 1919)
María Eva Duarte de Perón, better known as Eva "Evita" Perón, was an Argentine politician, activist, and actress who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until her death in July 1952, as the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón. She was born into poverty in the rural village of Los Toldos, in the Pampas, as the youngest of five children. In 1934, at the age of 15, she moved to the nation's capital of Buenos Aires to pursue a career as a stage, radio, and film actress. She married Perón in 1945, when he was still an army colonel, and was propelled onto the political stage when he became President of Argentina in 1946. She became a central figure of Peronism and Argentine culture because of the Eva Perón Foundation, a charitable organization perceived by many Argentinians as highly impactful.
26/07/1951
James Mitchell, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Western Australia (born 1866)
Sir James Mitchell, was an Australian politician. He served as premier of Western Australia from 1919 to 1924 and from 1930 to 1933, as leader of the Nationalist Party. He then held viceregal office from 1933 to 1951, as acting governor from 1933 to 1948 and governor of Western Australia from 1948 until his death in 1951.
26/07/1942
Roberto Arlt, Argentinian author and playwright (born 1900)
Roberto Arlt was an Argentine novelist, storyteller, playwright, and journalist.
26/07/1941
Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (born 1875)
Henri Léon Lebesgue was a French mathematician known for his theory of integration, which was a generalization of the 17th-century concept of integration—summing the area between an axis and the curve of a function defined for that axis. His theory was published originally in his dissertation Intégrale, longueur, aire at the University of Nancy during 1902.
26/07/1934
Winsor McCay, American cartoonist, animator, producer, and screenwriter (born 1871)
Zenas Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip Little Nemo and the animated film Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). For contractual reasons, he worked under the pen name Silas on the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend.
26/07/1932
Fred Duesenberg, German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Company (born 1876)
Frederick Samuel Duesenberg was a German-born American automobile and engine designer, manufacturer and sportsman who was internationally known as a designer of racecars and racing engines. Duesenberg's engineering expertise influenced the development of the automobile, especially during the 1910s and 1920s. He is credited with introducing an eight-cylinder engine, also known as the Duesenberg Straight-8 engine, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a first for American cars, in addition to other mechanical innovations. Duesenberg was also patentholder of his designs for a four-wheel hydraulic brake, an early automatic transmission, and a cooling system, among others. Fred and his younger brother, August "Augie" Duesenberg, shared the patents, filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918, for their "walking beam" four-cylinder engine and the Duesenberg Straight 8.
26/07/1930
Pavlos Karolidis, Greek historian and academic (born 1849)
Pavlos Karolidis or Karolides was a Greek historian who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
26/07/1926
Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War, son of Abraham Lincoln (born 1843)
Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and businessman. He was the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and the only one of their four children to reach the age of 19. Robert Lincoln became a business lawyer and company president, serving as both United States Secretary of War (1881–1885) and the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain (1889–1893).
26/07/1925
Antonio Ascari, Italian race car driver (born 1888)
Antonio Ascari was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari.
Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and philosopher (born 1848)
Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was a mathematics professor at the University of Jena, and is understood by many to be the father of analytic philosophy, concentrating on the philosophy of language, logic, and mathematics. Though he was largely ignored during his lifetime, Giuseppe Peano (1858–1932), Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), and, to some extent, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) introduced his work to later generations of philosophers. Frege is widely considered to be one of the greatest logicians since Aristotle, and one of the most profound philosophers of mathematics ever.
William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (born 1860)
William Jennings Bryan was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1896, 1900, and 1908 elections. He served in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895 and as the secretary of state under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915. Because of his faith in the wisdom of the common people, Bryan was often called "the Great Commoner", and because of his rhetorical power and early fame as the youngest presidential candidate, "the Boy Orator".
26/07/1921
Howard Vernon, Australian actor (born 1848)
Howard Vernon was an Australian actor best known for his performances in comic roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the J. C. Williamson company.
26/07/1919
Edward Poynter, English painter and illustrator (born 1836)
Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy.
26/07/1915
James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (born 1837)
Sir James Augustus Henry Murray, FBA was a British lexicographer and philologist. He was the primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) from 1879 until his death.
26/07/1899
Ulises Heureaux, 22nd, 26th, and 27th President of the Dominican Republic (born 1845)
Ulises Hilarión Heureaux Leibert nicknamed Lilís, was president of the Dominican Republic from September 1, 1882 to September 1, 1884, from January 6, 1887 to February 27, 1889 and again from April 30, 1889 maintaining power between his terms.
26/07/1867
Otto, king of Greece (born 1815)
Otto was King of Greece from the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece on 7 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed in October 1862.
26/07/1863
Sam Houston, American general and politician, 7th Governor of Texas, and 6th Governor of Tennessee (born 1793)
Samuel Houston was an American military general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two individuals to represent Texas in the United States Senate. He also served as the sixth governor of Tennessee and the seventh governor of Texas. Houston is the only individual to be elected governor of two different US states.
26/07/1801
Maximilian Francis, archduke of Austria (born 1756)
Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria was Elector of Cologne and Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from 1780 until his death. Influenced by Enlightenment ideals, he sought to implement reforms in various political fields. During the First Coalition War, his territories on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied and later annexed by France. He was the youngest child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. He was the last fully functioning Elector of Cologne and the second employer and patron of the young Ludwig van Beethoven.
26/07/1723
Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (born 1660)
Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven PC, styled 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby between 1666 and 1701, and known as 4th Earl of Lindsey between 1701 and 1706, and as 1st Marquess of Lindsey between 1706 and 1715, was a British statesman and nobleman.
26/07/1712
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (born 1631)
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, was an English Tory statesman. During the reign of Charles II of England, he was the leading figure in the English government for roughly five years in the mid-1670s. Osborne fell out of favour due to corruption and other scandals. He was impeached and eventually imprisoned in the Tower of London for five years until James II of England acceded in 1685. In 1688, he was one of the Immortal Seven who invited William of Orange to depose James II during the Glorious Revolution. Osborne was again the leading figure in England's government for a few years in the early 1690s before dying in 1712.
26/07/1693
Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, queen of Sweden (born 1656)
Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Charles XI. She is often admired for her generosity and charity.
26/07/1684
Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and philosopher (born 1646)
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia or Elena Lucrezia Corner, also known in English as Helen Cornaro, was a Venetian philosopher of noble descent who in 1678 became one of the first women to receive an academic degree from a university and the first to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
26/07/1680
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (born 1647)
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court, who reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodied a novel rebellion against the puritan programme, and he became as well known for his rakish lifestyle as for his poetry, although the two were often interlinked. He died as a result of a sexually transmitted infection at the age of 33.
26/07/1659
Mary Frith, English criminal (born 1584)
Mary Frith, alias Moll Cutpurse, was a notorious English pickpocket and fence of the London underworld.
26/07/1630
Charles Emmanuel I, duke of Savoy (born 1562)
Charles Emmanuel I, known as the Great and nicknamed Testa di Fuoco, was the 11th Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 30 August 1580 until his death on 26 July 1630, nearly 50 years later. At the time of his death, he was the longest-reigning Savoyard monarch, a record later surpassed by his great-grandson Victor Amadeus II.
26/07/1611
Horio Yoshiharu, Japanese daimyō (born 1542)
Horio Yoshiharu was a Japanese daimyō during the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. He was appointed to the position of one of san-chūrō by Toyotomi Hideyoshi along with Ikoma Chikamasa and Nakamura Kazuuji. He was the first leader of the Matsue clan and also known as Horio Mosuke.
26/07/1605
Miguel de Benavides, Spanish archbishop and sinologist (born 1552)
Miguel de Benavides y Añoza, O.P. was a Spanish Catholic prelate and sinologist who served as the third Archbishop of Manila. He previously served as the first Bishop of Nueva Segovia and was the founder of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
26/07/1592
Armand de Gontant, French marshal (born 1524)
Armand de Gontaut, Baron of Biron was a soldier, diplomat and Marshal of France. Beginning his service during the Italian Wars, Biron served in Italy under Marshal Brissac and Guise in 1557 before rising to command his own cavalry regiment. Returning to France with the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis he took up his duties in Guyenne, where he observed the deteriorating religious situation that was soon to devolve into the French Wars of Religion. He fought at the Battle of Dreux in the first civil war. In the peace that followed he attempted to enforce the terms on the rebellious governorship of Provence.
26/07/1533
Atahualpa, Inca emperor abducted and murdered by Francisco Pizarro (born ca. 1500)
Atawallpa, also Atahualpa or Ataw Wallpa, whose regnal name was Caccha Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui Inca, was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.
26/07/1471
Paul II, pope of the Catholic Church (born 1417)
Pope Paul II, born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched from training to be a merchant to religious studies. His rise in the Church was relatively rapid. Elected pope in 1464, Paul amassed a great collection of art and antiquities.
26/07/1450
Cecily Neville, duchess of Warwick (born 1424)
Cecily Neville, Duchess of Warwick, Countess of Worcester was a daughter of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Alice Montacute, 5th Countess of Salisbury. Her siblings included Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick; John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu; George Neville, ; Katherine Neville, Baroness Hastings; and Alice Neville, Baroness FitzHugh.
26/07/1380
Kōmyō, emperor of Japan (born 1322)
Emperor Kōmyō was the second of the Emperors of Northern Court, although he was the first to be supported by the Ashikaga Bakufu. According to pre-Meiji scholars, his reign spanned the years from 1336 through 1348.
26/07/0990
Fujiwara no Kaneie, Japanese statesman (born 929)
Fujiwara no Kaneie was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period. He also was known as Hōkō-in Daijin and Higashi-sanjō-dono.
26/07/0943
Motoyoshi, Japanese nobleman and poet (born 890)
Prince Motoyoshi was a poet and nobleman of the Heian period. One of his poems is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu as number 20 in the anthology. Twenty of his poems were included in the Gosen Wakashū; a personal anthology entitled Motoyoshi Shinnō-shū (元良親王集) is also extant.
26/07/0899
Li Hanzhi, Chinese warlord (born 842)
Li Hanzhi, formally the Prince of Longxi (隴西王), nickname Li Moyun (李摩雲), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, military general, politician, and warlord of the late medieval Tang dynasty. He was initially a follower of the major agrarian rebel Huang Chao, and later became a Tang general, mostly known for his service under Li Keyong. He was known for ferocity in carrying out raids.
26/07/0811
Nikephoros I, Byzantine emperor
Nikephoros I, also known as Nicephorus I, was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. He was General Logothete under Empress Irene, but later overthrew her to seize the throne for himself. Prior to becoming emperor, he was sometimes referred to as "the Logothete" and "Genikos" or "Genicus", in recognition of his previous role as General Logothete.
26/07/0342
Cheng of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (born 321)
Emperor Cheng of Jin, personal name Sima Yan (司馬衍), courtesy name Shigen (世根), was an emperor of the Chinese Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Ming and became the crown prince on 1 April 325. During his reign, the administration was largely dominated by a succession of regents—initially his uncle Yu Liang, then Wang Dao, then the joint administration of his uncles He Chong and Yu Bing. He became emperor at age four, and soon after his accession to the throne, the disastrous rebellion of Su Jun weakened Jin forces for decades.
Celebrations & Special Days Worldwide on 26th July
Christian feast day: Andrew of Phú Yên
Andrew of Phú Yên is known as the "Protomartyr of Vietnam." Baptized in 1641, he was a dedicated assistant to Jesuit missionaries and was thus arrested in the persecution of Christians launched in 1644. After refusing to abjure the faith, he was put to death in Kẻ Chàm. Andrew was beatified by Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000. His feast day is 26 July.
Christian feast day: Anne (Western Christianity)
According to Christian tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Ann's name and that of her husband Joachim come from New Testament apocrypha, of which the Gospel of James seems to be the earliest that mentions them. The mother of Mary is mentioned but not named in the Quran.
Christian feast day: Bartolomea Capitanio
Bartolomea Capitanio was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious and the co-foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Lovere that she established with Vincenza Gerosa. Capitanio's rather short life was dedicated to the educational needs of children and the poor and she served as a teacher for most of her life while using her order to achieve this aim.
Christian feast day: Blessed Maria Pierina
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. Beati is the plural form, referring to those who have undergone the process of beatification; they possess the title of "Blessed" before their names and are often referred to in English as "a Blessed" or, plurally, "Blesseds".
Christian feast day: Joachim (Western Christianity)
Joachim was, according to Christian Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary and grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of the New Testament apocrypha. His feast day is 26 July, a date shared with Saint Anne.
Christian feast day: Paraskevi of Rome (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Saint Paraskevi of Rome is venerated as a Christian martyr of the 2nd century. She was arrested on multiple occasions for her Christianity and was eventually beheaded by the Roman governor Tarasius.
Christian feast day: Venera
Saint Venera is venerated as a Christian martyr of the 2nd century. Little is known of this saint. The date of her death is traditionally given as July 26, 143 AD.
Christian feast day: July 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
July 25 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - July 27
Emancipation Day (Barbados)
Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the West Indies and parts of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent.
Day of the National Rebellion (Cuba)
This is a list of public holidays in Cuba.
Esperanto Day
Esperanto Day is a worldwide observance on 26 July, which celebrates the publication of Unua Libro, the first book in the Esperanto language, by the language's creator, L. L. Zamenhof on this day in 1887. According to the Universal Esperanto Association, Esperanto Day is "a day of linguistic justice and therefore of just and fair relations among ethnic groups, cultures, and peoples". As Esperanto is a constructed language with a specific date of inception, enthusiasts and speakers of the language celebrate it on this day, and also celebrate the ideas often associated with Esperanto, such as international cooperation and brotherhood, and the breaching of cultural divides.
Independence Day (Liberia), celebrates the independence of Liberia from the American Colonization Society in 1847.
The following are public holidays in Liberia.
Independence Day (Maldives), celebrates the independence of Maldives from the United Kingdom in 1965.
This is a list of holidays in Maldives.
Kargil Victory Day or Kargil Vijay Diwas (India)
Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on 26 of July in India, to observe India's victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War for ousting Pakistani Forces from their occupied positions on the mountain tops of Northern Kargil District in Ladakh in 1999. Initially, the Pakistani army denied their involvement in the war, claiming that it was caused by the Kashmiri militants. However documents left behind by casualties, testimony of POWs and later statements by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Army Chief of Army Staff Pervez Musharraf pointed to the involvement of the Pakistani paramilitary forces, led by General Ashraf Rashid.
What Happened on 26th July?
73 significant events took place on Wednesday, 26th July — stretching from 657 to 2016. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.
26/07/2016
The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Nineteen people are killed.
The Sagamihara stabbings were committed on 26 July 2016 in Midori Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan. Nineteen people were killed and twenty-six others were injured, thirteen severely, at a care home for disabled people. The crimes were committed by a 26-year-old man, identified as Satoshi Uematsu , a former employee of the care facility. Uematsu surrendered at a nearby police station with a bag of knives and was arrested.
Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for president of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat. She served as the 67th Secretary of State in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, was previously a senator for New York from 2001 to 2009, and held the role of First Lady of the United States when her husband, Bill Clinton, was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. In the 2016 United States presidential election, Clinton was chosen as the Democratic Party nominee, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major American political party. She ran against Donald Trump, the Republican Party nominee, against whom she won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, becoming the only woman to win the popular vote for president. Clinton is the only American first lady to run for elected office.
Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.
Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project, and also the name of the project's two operational aircraft. The privately financed project is led by Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg and Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist Bertrand Piccard, who co-piloted Breitling Orbiter 3, the first balloon to circle the world non-stop. The Solar Impulse project's goals were to make the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power and to bring attention to clean technologies.
26/07/2011
A Royal Moroccan Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashes near Guelmim Airport in Guelmim, Morocco. All 80 people on board are killed.
The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces.
26/07/2009
The militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacks a police station in Bauchi, leading to reprisals by the Nigeria Police Force and four days of violence across multiple cities.
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 mi2). With a population of more than 242 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.
26/07/2008
Fifty-six people are killed and over 200 people are injured, in the Ahmedabad bombings in India.
The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of 21 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, India, on 26 July 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. Fifty-six people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat state and a large part of western India. The blasts were considered to be of low intensity and were similar to the Bangalore blasts, Karnataka which occurred the day before. This bombings were done by Pakistani Islamic Terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami.
26/07/2005
Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003.
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was carried over from the 1969 plan for the Space Transportation System (STS) of reusable spacecraft. Only the shuttle and supporting rockets were funded for development; a proposed nuclear lunar shuttle in the plan was canceled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.
Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing over 5,000 people.
Mumbai, also known as Bombay, is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India, with an estimated population of 12.5 million (1.25 crore). Mumbai is the centre of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which is among the most populous metropolitan areas in the world with a population of over 23 million. Mumbai lies on the Konkan coast on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2008, Mumbai was named an alpha world city. Mumbai has the highest number of billionaires of any city in Asia.
26/07/1999
Kargil conflict officially comes to an end. The Indian Army announces the complete eviction of Pakistani intruders.
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay, which was the codename of the Indian military operation in the region. The Indian Air Force acted jointly with the Indian Army to flush out the Pakistan Army and paramilitary troops from vacated Indian positions along the LoC, in what was designated as Operation Safed Sagar.
26/07/1993
Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashes into a ridge on Mt. Ungeo on its third attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea. Sixty-eight of the 116 people on board are killed.
Asiana Airlines Flight 733 was a domestic Asiana Airlines passenger flight from Seoul-Gimpo International Airport to Mokpo Airport, South Korea. The Boeing 737-500 operating the flight crashed on 26 July 1993, in the Hwawon area of Haenam County, South Jeolla Province. The cause of the accident was determined to be pilot error leading to controlled flight into terrain. 68 of the 116 passengers and crew members on board were killed. The crash resulted in the first hull loss of a 737-500.
26/07/1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal, and later sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, unlike the Civil Rights Act, the ADA also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.
26/07/1989
A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand jury is separate from the courts, which do not preside over its functioning.
26/07/1977
The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government.
Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, it is the only Francophone-majority province in the country, being home to Québécois French. It shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border with the territory of Nunavut. In the south, it shares a border with the United States. Quebec has a population of around eight million, making it Canada's second-most populous province only behind Ontario.
26/07/1974
Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country's first civil government after seven years of military rule.
The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic, usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece, is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek Cabinet.
26/07/1971
Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo "J-Mission", and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidency during Project Mercury and executed after Project Gemini. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in his address to the U.S. Congress on May 25, 1961.
26/07/1968
Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.
26/07/1963
Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
Syncom started as a 1961 NASA program for active geosynchronous communication satellites, all of which were developed and manufactured by the Space and Communications division of Hughes Aircraft Company. Syncom 2, launched in 1963, was the world's first geosynchronous communications satellite. Syncom 3, launched in 1964, was the world's first geostationary satellite.
An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.
The 1963 Skopje earthquake was a 6.1 moment magnitude earthquake which occurred in Skopje, SR Macedonia, then part of the SFR Yugoslavia, on July 26, 1963, which killed over 1,070 people, injured between 3,000 and 4,000 and left more than 200,000 people homeless. About 80 percent of the city was destroyed.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries. It was founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. The OECD is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform for collective problem-solving, analysis, and coordination. OECD members are developed countries with advanced economies typically considered efficient and high-income.
26/07/1958
Explorer program: Explorer 4 is launched.
The Explorers Program is a NASA exploration program that provides flight opportunities for physics, geophysics, heliophysics, and astrophysics investigations from space. Launched in 1958, Explorer 1 was the first spacecraft of the United States to achieve orbit. Over 90 space missions have been launched since. Starting with Explorer 6, it has been operated by NASA, with regular collaboration with a variety of other institutions, including many international partners.
26/07/1957
Carlos Castillo Armas, dictator of Guatemala, is assassinated.
Carlos Castillo Armas was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right National Liberation Movement (MLN) party, his authoritarian government was closely allied with the United States.
26/07/1956
Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. The group is the largest development bank in the world. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Historically, within the group, the IBRD and IDA were collectively known as the World Bank due to their emphasis on global lending.
26/07/1953
Cold War: Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution. The movement took the name of the date: 26th of July Movement
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as prime minister from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.
Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid.
Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States. Arizona is divided into 15 counties.
Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment repel a number of Chinese assaults against a key position known as The Hook during the Battle of the Samichon River, just hours before the Armistice Agreement is signed, ending the Korean War.
The 2nd Battalion (Amphibious), The Royal Australian Regiment is an amphibious reconnaissance battalion of the Australian Army part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville.
26/07/1952
King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad.
Farouk I was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his overthrow in a military coup in 1952.
26/07/1951
Walt Disney's 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom.
Walter Elias Disney was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards won (22) and nominations (59) by an individual. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress and have also been named as some of the best by the American Film Institute.
26/07/1948
U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States.
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Truman subsequently implemented the Marshall Plan in the aftermath of World War II to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. A member of the Democratic Party, he proposed numerous New Deal coalition liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the conservative coalition that dominated the United States Congress.
26/07/1947
Cold War: U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars. In addition to the struggle for ideological and economic influence and an arms race in both conventional and nuclear weapons, the Cold War was expressed through technological rivalries such as the Space Race, espionage, propaganda campaigns, embargoes, and sports diplomacy.
26/07/1946
Aloha Airlines begins service from Honolulu International Airport.
Aloha Airlines was a United States airline that operated passenger flights from 1946 until 2008. It was headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from its hub at Honolulu International Airport. Its IATA code has since been reassigned to 9 Air.
26/07/1945
The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power.
The Labour Party, commonly Labour, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It sits on the centre-left of the left–right political spectrum, and has been described as an alliance of democratic socialists, social democrats and trade unionists. It has been the governing party since the 2024 general election. Keir Starmer has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2020 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024. There have been twelve Labour governments and seven Labour prime ministers. The party meets annually during Autumn for the Labour Party Conference, during which delegates from local parties and trade unions vote on party policy, and senior figures address the audience from the Conference platform.
World War II: The Potsdam Declaration is signed in Potsdam, Germany.
The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and President of China Chiang Kai-shek issued the document, which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan, as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference. The ultimatum stated that, if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction."
World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.
HMS Vestal was a turbine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1943 and saw service in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan. She was critically damaged by Japanese kamikaze aircraft in 1945 and was subsequently scuttled in waters close to Thailand.
World War II: The USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with components and enriched uranium for the Little Boy nuclear bomb.
USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, she was the flagship of the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight years, then flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance from 1943 to 1945 while he commanded the Fifth Fleet in battles across the Central Pacific during World War II.
26/07/1944
World War II: The Red Army enters Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, capturing it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jews survive out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation.
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often referred by its shortened name as the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars to oppose the military forces of the new nation's adversaries during the Russian Civil War, especially the various groups collectively known as the White Army. In February 1946, the Red Army was renamed the "Soviet Army". Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it was split between the post-Soviet states, with its bulk becoming the Russian Ground Forces, commonly considered to be the successor of the Soviet Army.
26/07/1941
World War II: Battle of Grand Harbour, British forces on Malta destroy an attack by the Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS. Fort St Elmo Bridge covering the harbour is demolished in the process.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands freeze all Japanese assets and cut off oil shipments.
French Indochina, officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initially a federation of French colonies (1887–1949), later a confederation of French associated states (1949–1954). It comprised Cambodia, Laos, Guangzhouwan (1898–1945), Cochinchina, and Vietnamese regions of Tonkin and Annam. It was established in 1887 and was dissolved in 1954. In 1949, Vietnam was reunited and it regained Cochinchina. Its capitals were Hanoi (1902–1945) and Saigon.
26/07/1937
Spanish Civil War: End of the Battle of Brunete with the Nationalist victory.
The Battle of Brunete, fought 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the Republicans were forced to retreat from Brunete after Nationalist counterattacks, and suffered devastating casualties from the battle.
26/07/1936
Spanish Civil War: Germany and Italy decide to intervene in the war in support for Francisco Franco and the Nationalist faction.
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic included socialists, anarchists, communists, and separatists, supported by the Soviet Union. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of fascist Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists, supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Initially led by a military junta, until General Francisco Franco was appointed supreme leader on 1 October 1936 of what he called the Spanish State. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war was variously viewed as class struggle, religious struggle, or struggle between republican democracy and dictatorship, revolution and counterrevolution, or between fascism and communism. The Nationalists won the war in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.
King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
Edward VIII, later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year.
26/07/1918
Emmy Noether's paper, which became known as Noether's theorem was presented at Göttingen, Germany, from which conservation laws are deduced for symmetries of angular momentum, linear momentum, and energy.
Amalie Emmy Noether was a German mathematician who made many important contributions to abstract algebra. She also proved Noether's first and second theorems, which are fundamental in mathematical physics. Noether was described by Pavel Alexandrov, Albert Einstein, Jean Dieudonné, Hermann Weyl, and Norbert Wiener as the most important woman in the history of mathematics. As one of the leading mathematicians of her time, she developed theories of rings, fields, and algebras. In physics, Noether's theorem explains the connection between symmetry and conservation laws.
26/07/1908
United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is also a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States and a member of the United States National Security Council. Additionally, the attorney general is seventh in the presidential line of succession. The attorney general is the only cabinet department head who is not given the title Secretary.
26/07/1899
Ulises Heureaux, the 27th President of the Dominican Republic, is assassinated.
Ulises Hilarión Heureaux Leibert nicknamed Lilís, was president of the Dominican Republic from September 1, 1882 to September 1, 1884, from January 6, 1887 to February 27, 1889 and again from April 30, 1889 maintaining power between his terms.
26/07/1897
Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India.
Anglo-Afghan Wars may refer to:First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–1842) Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880) Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919) Hazara Expedition (1888) Expedition of Shah Shujah Durrani (1833–1834) Chitral Expedition (1895) Tochi Expedition (1897–1898) Siege of Malakand (1897) Mohmand campaign (1897–1898) Tirah Campaign (1897–1898) Mahsud Waziri blockade (1900–1902) Operations in the Tochi (1914–1915) Operations against the Mohmands, Bunerwals and Swatis (1915) Mohmand blockade (1916–1917) Operations against the Mahsuds (1917) Waziristan Campaign (1919–1920) Waziristan campaign (1921–1924) Pink's War (1925) Mohmand Campaign (1935) Waziristan campaign (1936–1939) War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Operation Herrick Operation Toral
26/07/1892
Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
Dadabhai Naoroji was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar, and writer who played a role in both Indian and British public life. He was among the founding members of the Indian National Congress and served as its President on three occasions, from 1886 to 1887, 1893 to 1894 and 1906 to 1907. Naoroji's early career included serving as the Diwan of Baroda in 1874. Subsequently, he moved to England, where he continued to advocate for Indian interests. In 1892, he was elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament, representing Finsbury Central until 1895. He was the second person of Asian descent to become a British MP following David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, who was an Anglo Indian MP.
26/07/1891
France annexes Tahiti.
Tahiti is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is a tropical island located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. Tahiti is composed of two roughly circular land masses joined by an isthmus: Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. Both are the eroded remnants of now-extinct shield volcanoes. The terrain of Tahiti is mostly high and mountainous, with the beaches and coral reefs that surround the island supporting tourism and fishing industries.
26/07/1890
In Buenos Aires, Argentina the Revolución del Parque takes place, forcing President Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation.
Buenos Aires, officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− global city, according to the GaWC 2024 ranking. The city proper has a population of 3.1 million and its urban area has a population of 16.7 million, making it the 21st most populous metropolitan area in the world.
26/07/1887
Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement.
Dr. Esperanto's International Language, commonly referred to as Unua Libro, is an 1887 book by L. L. Zamenhof, in which he first introduced and described the constructed language Esperanto. First published in Russian on July 26 [O.S. July 14] 1887, the publication of Unua Libro marks the formal beginning of the Esperanto movement.
26/07/1882
Premiere of Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal at Bayreuth.
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor, best known for his operas, although his mature works are often referred to as music dramas. Unlike most composers, Wagner wrote both the libretti and the music for all of his stage works. He first achieved recognition with works in the Romantic tradition of Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, but revolutionised the genre through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, which sought to unite poetic, musical, visual, and dramatic elements. In this approach, the drama unfolds as a continuously sung narrative, with the music evolving organically from the text rather than alternating between arias and recitatives. Wagner outlined these ideas in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852, most fully realising them in the first half of his four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.
The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa.
The Republic of Stellaland was, from 1882 to 1883, a Boer republic located in an area of British Bechuanaland, west of the Transvaal. After unification with the neighbouring State of Goshen, it became the United States of Stellaland from 1883 to 1885.
26/07/1863
American Civil War: Morgan's Raid ends; At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
Morgan's Raid was a diversionary incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Union states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11 to July 26, 1863. It is named for the commander of the Confederate troops, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan. Although it caused temporary alarm in the North, the raid failed.
26/07/1861
American Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war ended with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.
26/07/1848
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is established by Nelson Dewey, first Governor of Wisconsin.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved statehood and is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. The 933-acre (378 ha) main campus is located on the shores of Lake Mendota; the university also owns and operates a 1,200-acre (486 ha) arboretum 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the main campus.
26/07/1847
Liberia declares its independence from the United States. France and the United Kingdom are the first to recognize the new nation.
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5.5 million and covers an area of 43,000 square miles (111,369 km2). The official language is English, though over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. The capital and largest city is Monrovia.
26/07/1822
José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar.
José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras, nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire who served as the Protector of Peru. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern-day Argentina, he left the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.
First day of the three-day Battle of Dervenakia, between the Ottoman Empire force led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha and the Greek Revolutionary force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis.
The Battle of Dervenakia was the Greek victory over the Ottoman forces on 6–8 August 1822, an important event in the Greek War of Independence.
26/07/1814
The Swedish–Norwegian War begins.
The Swedish–Norwegian War was a war fought between Sweden and Norway in the summer of 1814. According to the Treaty of Kiel, Norway would enter a union with Sweden under Charles XIII of Sweden. The war resulted in Norway being forced into the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, but with its own constitution and parliament. The war marked the last time Sweden participated in an armed conflict with another nation until 2011, and its conclusion signalled the beginning of the country's long period of military neutrality.
26/07/1803
The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom.
The Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) was a horse-drawn narrow-gauge plateway that linked Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham, all then in Surrey but now suburbs of south London, in England. It was established by an act of Parliament in 1801, and opened partly in 1802 and partly in 1803. It was a toll railway on which carriers used horse traction. The chief goods transported were coal, building materials, lime, manure, corn and seeds. The first 8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km) to Croydon opened on 26 July 1803, with a branch line off from Mitcham to Hackbridge.
26/07/1788
New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constitution defined the foundational structure of the federal government.
26/07/1778
The Emigration of Christians from the Crimea in 1778 begins.
The Eviction of Christians from the Crimea in 1778 was a historical event in which the Greek and Armenian populations of Crimea were resettled by the authorities of the Russian Empire to newly founded settlements in Pryazovia, taking place in 1778 on order of Empress Catherine the Great.
26/07/1775
The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.
The United States Post Office Department was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet department. It was headed by the postmaster general.
26/07/1758
French and Indian War: The Siege of Louisbourg ends with British forces defeating the French and taking control of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a conflict in North America between Great Britain and France, along with their respective Indigenous allies. Historians generally consider it part of the global Seven Years' War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763, although in the United States it is often viewed as a distinct conflict unassociated with any larger European war.
26/07/1745
The first recorded women's cricket match takes place near Guildford, England.
The history of women's cricket can be traced back to a report in The Reading Mercury on 15 Aug 1745 and a match that took place between the villages of Bramley and Hambledon near Guildford in Surrey.
26/07/1703
During the Bavarian Rummel the rural population of Tyrol drove the Bavarian Prince-Elector Maximilian II Emanuel out of North Tyrol with a victory at the Pontlatzer Bridge and thus prevented the Bavarian Army, which was allied with France, from marching as planned on Vienna during the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Bavarian Rummel was the term used to downplay the warlike events in which Bavarian troops of Elector Maximilian II Emanuel invaded the County of Tyrol in 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession.
26/07/1581
Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration): The northern Low Countries declare their independence from the Spanish king, Philip II.
The Act of Abjuration is the declaration of independence by many of the provinces of the Netherlands from their allegiance to Philip II of Spain, during the Dutch Revolt.
26/07/1579
Francis Drake, the English explorer, discovers a "fair and good" bay on the coast of the Pacific Northwest (probably Oregon or Washington).
Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer and privateer best known for making the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580. He is also known for participating in the early English slaving voyages of his cousin, John Hawkins, and John Lovell. Having started as a simple seaman, in 1588 he was part of the fight against the Spanish Armada as a vice admiral.
26/07/1529
Francisco Pizarro González, Spanish conquistador, is appointed governor of Peru.
Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.
26/07/1509
Krishnadevaraya ascends to the throne as Emperor of Vijayanagara, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Krishnadevaraya was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over the empire at its political and cultural zenith and is remembered as an iconic figure by many Indians. Following the decline of the Delhi Sultanate, he ruled the largest and most powerful empire in India during his time.
26/07/1309
Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans (Holy Roman Emperor) by Pope Clement V.
Henry VII, also known as Henry of Luxembourg, King of Germany and King of Italy numbering is Heinrich VIII, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg. During his brief career he reinvigorated the imperial cause in Italy, which was racked with the partisan struggles between the divided Guelph and Ghibelline factions, and inspired the praise of Dino Compagni and Dante Alighieri. He was the first emperor since the death of Frederick II in 1250, ending the Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire; however, his premature death threatened to undo his life's work. His son, John of Bohemia, failed to be elected as his successor, and there was briefly another anti-king, Frederick the Fair, who contested the rule of Louis IV.
26/07/1184
Erfurt latrine disaster: At a Hoftag, a meeting with local notables, organized by Henry VI, the building collapses and many of the nobles in attendance drown in the sewage pits below.
On 26 July 1184, in the German city of Erfurt, approximately sixty local nobles died when the floor of a building collapsed through the ground floor and into the latrine cesspit below. They were attending a Hoftag conducted by King Henry VI when their combined weight caused the floor of the building to collapse. Some of the attendees drowned in human waste after falling into the cesspit.
26/07/0920
Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at the Battle of Valdejunquera.
Navarre, officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France. The capital city is Pamplona. The present-day province makes up the majority of the territory of the medieval Kingdom of Navarre, a long-standing Pyrenean kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost part, Lower Navarre, located in the southwest corner of France.
26/07/0811
Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded.
The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Nicephorus I, and the First Bulgarian Empire under Khan Krum in July 811. The Byzantines plundered and burned the Bulgar capital Pliska which gave time for the Bulgarians to block passes in the Balkan Mountains that served as exits out of Bulgaria. The final battle took place on 26 July 811, in some of the passes in the eastern part of the Balkans, most probably the Vărbitsa Pass. There, the Bulgarians used the tactics of ambush and surprise night attacks to effectively trap and immobilize the Byzantine army, thus annihilating almost the whole army, including the Emperor. After the battle, Krum encased the skull of Nicephorus in silver, and used it as a cup for drinking. This is one of the most documented instances of the custom of the skull cup.
26/07/0657
First Fitna: In the Battle of Siffin, troops led by Ali ibn Abu Talib clash with those led by Muawiyah I.
The First Fitna was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the end of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main factions; the supporters of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali, the Uthmaniyya, and the Kharijites, a faction of radical secessionists who broke away from Ali's camp following the arbitration at Siffin.