Today in History: July 31

Today in History: July 31

30 BC 
Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves minor victory over Octavian, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to Octavian's invasion of Egypt.

781 
The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781)

1423
Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant - the French army is defeated by the English on the banks of the river Yonne in Burgundy

1498 
Christopher Columbus, on his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, arrived at the island of Trinidad.

1655
Russo-Polish War (1654-1667): the Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years

1667
The Treaty of Breda ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War and transferred New Netherland (now New York and New Jersey) to England.

1703
Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.

1786
"Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect" by Robert Burns is published by John Wilson in Kilmarnock, Scotland

1790
The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins for his process for making potash and pearl ashes. The substance was used in fertilizer.

1792
The cornerstone of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, PA, was laid. It was the first building to be used only as a U.S. government building.

1813
British invade Plattsburgh, NY
1864
Ulysses S. Grant is named General of Volunteers

1865
The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia

1877
Second Russian assault on Plevna, Turkey fails, during Russo-Turkish War, 7,300 Russian casualties

1879
The first cable connection between South Africa and Europe is laid by the British electrical engineer Charles Tilston Bright as part of his project to link the British Empire with growing telecommunications technologies

1893
Gaelic League is founded by Douglas Hyde and Eoin MacNeill in order to encourage Irish people to speak the language and take a greater interest in their culture

1914
German Emperor Wilhelm II threatens war, orders Russia to demobilize

1917
World War I: Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) begins, goes on to cause approximately 500,000 casualties.

1919
The Weimar Constitution establishing the German Republic is adopted

1922 
General strike in Italy against fascist violence

1925
Unemployment Insurance Act passed in Britain

1928
MGM’s Leo the lion roared for the first time. He introduced MGM’s first talking picture, "White Shadows on the South Seas."

1928
Halina Konopacka of Poland hurls discus world record 39.62m to win first gold medal in women's Olympic athletics at the Amsterdam Games; American Lillian Copeland and Ruth Sveberg of Sweden take minor medals

1928
American sprinter Elizabeth Robinson equals her own world record 12.2s to win 100m gold medal in Amsterdam, first women’s Olympic track event; Canadians Fanny Rosenfeld & Ethel Smith dead-heat (12.3s)

1930
NY Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig drives in 8 runs with a grand slam and 2 doubles in a 14-13 win over the rival Boston Red Sox

1932
German Election (NSDAP gets 37.3%)

1948
U.S. President Truman helped dedicate New York International Airport (later John F. Kennedy International Airport) at Idlewild Field.

1959
Cliff Richard and the Shadows have their 1st British No. 1 single with "Living' Doll" (biggest British single of 1959)

1961 
Israel welcomes its one millionth immigrant

1964 
Rolling Stone concert in Ireland halts after 12 minutes due to riot

1964 
US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on Moon

1965 
Cigarette advertising banned on British TV

1966 
Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark

1967
Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end 1 month jail sentence

1968
The Beatles close Apple Boutique in London, giving clothes away for free

1969
Mariner 6 makes its closest approach to planet Mars at 3410 km

1969
National Guard mobilizes in racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, Lousiana

1970
37th NFL Chicago All Star Game: Kansas City 24, All Stars 3 (69,940)

1970 
Chet Huntley retires from NBC, ends "Huntley-Brinkley Report"

1970
Black Tot Day: the last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy (started 1740)

1970
Daniel O'Hagan (19), a Catholic civilian, is shot dead by the British Army during a serious riot in the New Lodge Road area of Belfast, Northern Ireland

1971
Apollo 15 astronauts James B. Irwin and David Scott first used the four-wheeled battery-powered Lunar Roving Vehicle to extensively explore the Moon's surface, in particular the Hadley-Apennine site.

1972
Operation Motorman: the British Army use 12,000 soldiers supported by tanks and bulldozers to re-take the "no-go areas" controlled by the Provisional Irish Republican Army

1972
Claudy bombing: nine civilians were killed when three car bombs exploded in County Londonderry, North Ireland; no group has since claimed responsibility

1973
Delta Airlines DC-9 crashes in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, killing all but one of 89 aboard. Lone survivor dies 5 months later

1976 
Seychelles Independence (Independence day)

1978
Cincinnati infielder Pete Rose singles off Phil Niekro to extend his hitting streak to 44 games as Reds edge Atlanta Braves, 3-2; ties Willie Keeler's 81-year-old NL record

1980 
China's population reached 1 billion.

1980
USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1980 
Hurricane Allen forms in the Atlantic Ocean, will go on to become the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin with winds of 190mph (305km/h)

1981
Mid-season strike by MLB players ends after 42 days causing cancellation of 713 games; players and owners come to an agreement on free agent compensation

1981
Arnette Hubbard installed as 1st woman president of National Bar Association

1982
Finland, Italy, Germany, Austria and France form American European Football Federation (AEFF)

1983
US Open Women's Golf, Cedar Ridge CC: Australian Jan Stephenson wins her 3rd major title; beats JoAnne Carner and Patty Sheehan by 1 stroke

1983 
Brooks Robinson, Juan Marichal, George Kell and Walter Alston inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

1989
The Game Boy handheld video game device was released in the U.S.

1990
Bosnia-Hercegovina declares independence

1990
Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan records his 300th career victory, an 11-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers; 20th MLB pitcher to reach the milestone

1991
U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

1991
The Medininkai Massacre in Lithuania. Soviet OMON attacks Lithuanian customs post in Medininkai, killing 7 officers and severely wounding one other

2006
Because of health problems, longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro handed over provisional power to his brother Raúl; the latter served as the country's acting president until officially assuming the post in 2008.

Births On This Day – 31 July

1143 Emperor Nijo of Japan (d. 1165)

1527 Maximilian II, German King/Emperor (1564-76)

1578 Catharina Belgica of Nassau, daughter of Willem of Orange

1595 Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor and architect, born in Bologna, Italy (d. 1654)

1702 Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter, born in Dole, France (d. 1768)

1704 Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (paradox of Cramer), born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1752)

1718 John Canton, English physicist, born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England (d. 1772)

1724 Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer, born in Amines, France (d. 1801)

1737 Princess Augusta Frederica of Great Britain, born in London, England (d. 1813)

1767 Amelie Julia Candielle, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1834)

1803 John Ericsson, Swedish-American inventor (screw propeller, rotating turret), born in Långban, Sweden

1808 Frederick Crouch, English-born composer, born in London, England (d. 1896)

1817 Philip Cook Jr, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1894)

1825 Thomas Hart Taylor, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1901)

1830 František Zdeněk Skuherský, Czech composer, born in Opočno, Bohemia (d. 1892)

1834 Peter H Hugenholtz, Dutch reformer/founder (Free Parish)

1837 William Quantrill, American guerrilla leader in the Confederate Army, born in Canal Dover, Ohio (d. 1865)

1844 Ignazio Guidi, Italian orientalist and archaeologist, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1935)

1854 Jose Canalejas, premier of Spain (1910-12), born in El Ferrol, Spain (d. 1912)

1860 Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1940)

1867 Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant and philanthropist (Kmart), born in Bald Mountain, Pennsylvania (d. 1966)

1880 Munshi Premchand [Dhanpat Rai], Indian author, born in Lamhi, Benares State, British India (d. 1936)

1886 Salvatore Maranzano, Sicilian-born American organized crime figure, born in Sicily, Italy (d. 1931)

1887 Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher, born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1969)

1894 Roy Bargy, American pianist and composer (Jimmy Durante Show), born in Newaygo, Michigan (d. 1974)

1894 Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer, born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 1972)

1900 Erich Katz, German-born American composer and musicologist, born in Posen (d. 1974)

1904 Arthur Daley, American sportswriter (NY Times-Pulitzer 1956), born in NYC, New York (d. 1974)

1904 Brett Halliday, American writer (Dividend on Death), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1977)

1911 George Liberace, American violinist (Liberace Show), born in Menasha, Wisconsin (d. 1983)

1912 Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (Australian opener of the 30's & 40's), born in Toowoomba, Australia (d. 2008)

1912 Milton Friedman, American economist (Nobel Prize Economics 1976), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2006)

1916 Louise Smith, American auto racer (tied for 2nd woman to race in top level NASCAR), born in Barnesville, Georgia (d. 2006)

1916 Ignacio Trelles, Mexican soccer midfielder (Mexican Primera División: 1935, 37, 38; Club Necaxa) and coach (Mexico 1960-69), born in Guadalajara, Mexico (d. 2020)

1918 Paul D. Boyer, American biochemist and Nobel Prize Laureate for research on the "enzymatic mechanism underlying the biosynthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)" (1997), born in Provo, Utah (d. 2018)

1929 José Santamaría, Uruguayan soccer defender (Uruguay 20, Spain 16 caps; Real Madrid), born in Montevideo, Uruguay

1929 Lynne Reid Banks, British author (The Indian in the Cupboard), born in London

1930 Oleg Popov, Russian clown and circus artist, born in Vyrubovo, Moscow (d. 2016)

1931 Kenny Burrell, American guitarist (Organ Grinder Swing), born in Detroit, Michigan

1932 Ted Cassidy, American actor (Lurch-Addams Family), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1979)

1947 Ian Beck, British children's illustrator and author, who illustrated Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album cover, born in Brighton, East Sussex

1947 John Vukovich, American baseball infielder, manager (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Sacramento, California (d. 2007)

1948 Leaveil Degree, rocker (Whispers)

1950 Lane Davies, American actor (Mason-Santa Barbara, Impure Thoughts), born in Dalton, Georgia

1951 Barry Van Dyke, actor (Battlestar Galactica, Diag Murder), born in Atlanta, Georgia

1951 Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player (7 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Barellan, NSW

1951 Gerald Anthony, American actor (Marco Dane-General Hospital, One Life to Live), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1952 Alan Autry, American NFLer (Green Bay Packers), actor (In the Heat of the Night) and politician (23rd Mayor of Fresno), born in Shreveport, Louisiana

1956 Michael Biehn, American actor (Rampage, Hog Wild, Aliens, Abyss), born in Anniston, Alabama

1962 Troy Murray, Canadian NHL center, broadcaster (Chicago Black Hawks), born in Calgary, Alberta

1962 Wesley Snipes, American actor (Passenger 57, Money Train, Blade trilogy), born in Orlando, Florida

1962 John Chiang, American politician (Democratic Party), born in NYC, New York

1963 Brian Skrudland, Canadian NHL center (fastest goal in playoff OT-0:09 seconds Game 2 1986), born in Peace River, Alberta

1963 Norman Cook [Fatboy Slim], English musician and record producer (Housemartins, Fatboy Slim), born in Bromley, England

1965 British author J.K. Rowling, creator of the immensely popular Harry Potter series, was born.

1969 Richard Griffith, NFL tight end (Jacksonville Jaguars)

1969 Rudolf Martin, German actor (Anton-All My Children), born in Berlin, Germany

1969 David Cash [David Tyler Cash], American professional wrestler, born in Waynesboro, Virginia

1969 Kenneth D. Schisler, American politician, born in Baltimore, Maryland

1970 David Sacco, NHL left wing (Olympics 1994, Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Malden, Massachusetts

1970 Knut Holmann, Norwegian rower (Olympic gold 1996)

1970 Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian writer (The Train of That Night), born in Chah Varz, Lamerd, Iran

1971 Gus Frerotte, American NFL quarterback (Pro Bowl 1996, Washington Redskins), born in Kittanning, Pennsylvania

Deaths On This Day – 31 July

54 BC Aurelia Cotta, mother of Julius Caesar, dies at 66

855 Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim Jurisprudent (b. 780)

1358 Etienne Marcel, French textile merchant/reformer/Boer leader, dies

1396 William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1342)

1508 Na'od, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1494)

1556 Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest, theologian and founder of the Society of Jesus, dies in Rome at about 65

1566 Bartholome de Casas, Spanish historian/bishop of Chiapa, dies at 92

1638 Sybilla Schwarz, German baroque poet, dies at 17

1784 Denis Diderot, French writer/philosopher, dies at 70

1811 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican hero priest, executed by Spanish

1854 Samuel Wilson, American meat packer and possible namesake of Uncle Sam, dies at 87

1864 Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (Librairie Hachette), dies at 64

1871 Phoebe Cary, American poet (Poems of Alice & Phoebe Cary), dies at 46

1875 Andrew Johnson, 17th US President (Unionist: 1865-69), dies of a stroke at 66

1886 Franz Liszt, Hungarian romantic composer and virtuoso pianist (Faust Symphony), dies of heart disease at 74

1913 John Milne, British geologist (developed the first modern seismograph), dies of Bright's disease at 62

1914 A J Jean Jaurès, French socialist (L'Humanité/Les Preuves), murdered

1917 Charlie Finlason, cricketer (South Africa's 1st Test), dies

1917 Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b. 1881)

1917 Hedd Wyn, Welsh poet (b. 1887)

1919 Dick Barlow, English cricketer (591 runs/34 wickets/17 Tests for England), dies at 68

1927 Walter Travis, Australian-American golfer, writer, course designer (US Amateur C'ship 1900-01, 03; British Amateur 1904), dies at 65

1937 Charles E. Hires, American pharmacist, inventor and manufacturer of the Hires Root Beer beverage, dies at 85

1940 Whitey Krakow [or Krakower], American gangster and hitman (Murder Inc), murdered by "Bugsy" Siegel

1942 Francis Younghusband, British journalist and explorer (1904 British expedition to Tibet), dies at 79

1943 Hedley Verity, English cricket spin bowler (40 Tests, 144 wickets @ 24.37), dies in POW camp in Italy at 38

1944 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer, poet and pioneering aviator (The Little Prince), dies during a reconnaissance mission at 44

1948 Maria "Marie" Hens, Flemish actress (Female Revue), dies at 70

1951 J of Oudshoorn, [John K Feylbrief], writer (Maze of Sentences), dies

1952 N B F "Tufty" Mann, cricketer (South African slow lefty 1947-51), dies