Grandparents Day in Spain (or Día de los abuelos y las abuelas. Date reflects the feast date of the Saints Anne and Joachim the grandparents of Jesus Christ)
In 2017 the Breakthrough Starshot initiative announces that it has developed and launched the world's smallest spacecraft, precursors of "StarChip", known as "Sprites", measuring just 3.5 cm and weighing only four grams, but containing solar panels, computers, sensors, and radios; Researchers discover that stem cells in the brain's hypothalamus govern how fast aging occurs in the body.
2016 – 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.
In 2016 Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.
2005 – Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003.
1990 – The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
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.
1974 – Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country's first civil government after seven years of military rule.
1971 – Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo "J-Mission", and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
1963 – Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
1948 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States.
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.
1945 – The United States Navy cruiser USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with parts of the warhead for the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
1941 – World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States.
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).
1882 – The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa.
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.
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.
1822 – 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.
1803 – The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom.
1788 – New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
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.
1745 – The first recorded women's cricket match takes place near Guildford, England.
657 – First Fitna: In the Battle of Siffin, troops led by Ali ibn Abu Talib clash with those led by Muawiyah I.
Births
1985 – Marcus Benard, American football player. He played college football at Jackson State.
1985 – Mat Gamel, American baseball player. Mathew Lawrence Gamel (born July 26, 1985) is an American former professional baseball first baseman.
1983 – Delonte West, American basketball player. Delonte Maurice West (born July 26, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks.
1983 – Kelly Clark, American snowboarder. She started snowboarding when she was 7 years old, began competing in 1999, and became a member of the US Snowboard team in 2000.
1983 – Roderick Strong, American wrestler. Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Roderick Strong.
1980 – Robert Gallery, American football player. Gallery (born July 26, 1980) is a former American football offensive guard who played for eight seasons in the National Football League.
1979 – Erik Westrum, American ice hockey player. Erik Clinton Westrum (born July 26, 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) 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.
1975 – Joe Smith, American basketball player, was an American religious leader and the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, which gave rise to Mormonism.
1974 – Iron & Wine, American singer-songwriter. He occasionally tours with a full band.
1969 – Greg Colbrunn, American baseball player and coach. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed at 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg).
1967 – Tim Schafer, American video game designer, founded Double Fine Productions. Timothy John Schafer (born July 26, 1967) is an American computer game designer.
1965 – Jeremy Piven, American actor and producer. He also starred in the British period drama Mr Selfridge, which tells the story of the man who created the luxury English department store chain Selfridges, and portrayed Spence Kovak on Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom Ellen.
1964 – Sandra Bullock, American actress and producer. In 2015, Bullock was chosen as People's Most Beautiful Woman and was included in Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.
1961 – Gary Cherone, American singer-songwriter. He has also released solo recordings.
1959 – Kevin Spacey, American actor and director. He gained critical acclaim in the 1990s that culminated in his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the neo-noir crime thriller The Usual Suspects (1995) and an Academy Award for Best Actor for the midlife crisis-themed drama American Beauty (1999).
1959 – Rick Bragg, American author and journalist. Rick Bragg (born July 26, 1959) is an American journalist and writer known for non-fiction books, especially those about his family in Alabama.
1958 – Monti Davis, American basketball player (d. 2013), was an American professional basketball player. He was a 6'7" (201 cm) 205 lb (93 kg) forward and played collegiately at Tennessee State University.
1957 – Nana Visitor, American actress. Nana Tucker (/nəˈnɑː/ nə-NAH; born July 26, 1957), known professionally as Nana Visitor, is an American actress, known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire.
1956 – Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles.
1956 – Tommy Rich, American wrestler. Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy “Wildfire” Rich.
1954 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player and coach (d. 1994), was a Lithuanian American professional tennis player. In 1975, Gerulaitis won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer.
1953 – Earl Tatum, American professional basketball player. He was a 6'4½" (194 cm) 185 lb (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.
1951 – Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2011), 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 was most famous for playing on the Sabres' French Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert.
1950 – Rich Vogler, American race car driver (d. 1990), was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich".
1945 – Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter. She is a performer who was known for her memorable and noteworthy live performances.
1943 – Peter Hyams, American director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. Peter Hyams (born July 26, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer known for directing Capricorn One, the 1981 science fiction-thriller Outland, the 1984 science fiction film, 2010: The Year We Make Contact (a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey), the 1986 action/comedy Running Scared, the comic book adaptation Timecop, the action film Sudden Death (both starring Jean-Claude Van Damme), and the horror films The Relic and End of Days.
1941 – Brenton Wood, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboard player. Alfred Jesse Smith (born July 26, 1941), better known as Brenton Wood, is an American singer and songwriter known for his two 1967 hit singles, "The Oogum Boogum Song" and "Gimme Little Sign".
1941 – Darlene Love, American singer and actress. She is ranked number 84 among Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers.
1940 – Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011), was an American singer and songwriter, whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away", which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.
1939 – Bob Lilly, American football player and photographer. Robert Lewis Lilly (born July 26, 1939), nicknamed "Mr.
1938 – Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010), was an American R&B/soul singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer known for his 1966 hit entitled "Sunny".
1928 – Elliott Erwitt, French-American photographer and director. Elliott Erwitt (born Elio Romano Erwitt, 26 July 1928) is an American advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid photos of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings.
1928 – Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1999), was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is frequently cited as one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history.
1926 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015), 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, he performed not only in feature films but also in scores of television series, as well as appearing on various country music programs and talk shows.
1925 – Gene Gutowski, Polish-American producer (d. 2016), 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).
1925 – Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer (d. 2015), was an American physicist, engineer and entrepreneur. Licensing the original patent awarded to inventor George Devol, Engelberger developed the first industrial robot in the United States, the Unimate, in the 1950s.
1923 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002), was an American Major League Baseball pitcher 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.
1923 – Jan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (d. 2012). Stanley Melvin Berenstain (September 29, 1923 – November 26, 2005) and Janice Marian Berenstain (née Grant; July 26, 1923 – February 24, 2012) were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book series The Berenstain Bears.
1922 – Blake Edwards, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010), was an American filmmaker.
1922 – Jason Robards, American actor (d. 2000), was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was a winner of a Tony Award, two Academy Awards and an Emmy Award, making him one of 24 Triple Crown of Acting winners.
1922 – Jim Foglesong, American record producer (d. 2013), was an American country music producer and executive from the 1950s until the 1990s, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
1921 – Jean Shepherd, American radio host, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1999), was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer and actor. He was often referred to by the nickname Shep.
1921 – Tom Saffell, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012), was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics.
1920 – Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (d. 1983), was an American football player and coach and motion picture actor and producer. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
1919 – Virginia Gilmore, American actress (d. 1986), was an American film, stage, and television actress.
1918 – Marjorie Lord, American actress (d. 2015), was an American television and film actress. She played Kathy "Clancy" O'Hara Williams, opposite Danny Thomas's character on The Danny Thomas Show and later Make Room for Granddaddy.
1916 – Dean Brooks, American physician and actor (d. 2013). Brooks was the superintendent of Oregon State Hospital for 27 years from 1955 to 1982.
1914 – C. Farris Bryant, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Governor of Florida (d. 2002). He also served on the United States National Security Council and in the Office of Emergency Planning during the administration of President Lyndon B.
1914 – Ellis Kinder, American baseball player (d. 1968), was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, St.
1914 – Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 1993), was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is most remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1939) with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson.
1909 – Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (d. 1979), was an American actress and singer, who was best known for her role as Ethel Mertz on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on the sitcom The Lucy Show.
1904 – Edwin Albert Link, American industrialist and entrepreneur, invented the flight simulator (d. 1981), 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".
1903 – Estes Kefauver, American lawyer and politician (d. 1963), was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S.
1897 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974), was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented the Fourth Congressional district of North Carolina from 1934 to 1966.
1897 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (d. 1976), was an American novelist, short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures.
1895 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (d. 1964), was an American vaudevillian and comedienne who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man appearing with her on radio, television and film as the duo Burns and Allen.
1892 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1966), was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and the Chicago White Sox between 1914 and 1935.
1890 – Daniel J. Callaghan, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1942). Daniel Judson Callaghan (July 26, 1890 – November 13, 1942) was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
1877 – Jesse Lauriston Livermore, American investor and security analyst, "Great Bear of Wall Street" (d. 1940), 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.
1874 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (d. 1951), was a Russian-born conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.
1819 – Justin Holland, American guitarist and educator (d. 1887), was an American classical guitarist, a music teacher, a community leader, a black man who worked with white people to help slaves on the Underground Railroad, and an activist for equal rights for African Americans.
1796 – George Catlin, American painter, author, and traveler (d. 1872), was an American painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West. Travelling to the American West five times during the 1830s, Catlin was the first white man to depict Plains Indians in their native territory.
Deaths
2017 – June Foray, American voice actress (b. 1917)
2017 – Patti Deutsch, American voice artist and comedic actress (b. 1943)
2015 – Ann Rule, American police officer and author (b. 1931)
2014 – Charles R. Larson, American admiral (b. 1936)
2014 – Richard MacCormac, English architect, founded MJP Architects (b. 1938)
2013 – George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1919)
2013 – Harley Flanders, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
2013 – Luther F. Cole, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
2012 – Don Bagley, American bassist and composer (b. 1927)
2012 – James D. Watkins, American admiral and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1927)
2012 – Karl Benjamin, American painter and educator (b. 1925)
2012 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (b. 1942)
2011 – Richard Harris, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1948)
2009 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1919)
2007 – Skip Prosser, American basketball player and coach (b. 1950)
2005 – Alexander Golitzen, Russian-born American production designer and art director (b. 1908)
2005 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist and academic (b. 1925)
2004 – William A. Mitchell, American chemist, created Pop Rocks and Cool Whip (b. 1911)
2001 – Rex T. Barber, American colonel and pilot (b. 1917)
2000 – John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (b. 1915)
1999 – Walter Jackson Bate, American author and critic (b. 1918)
1996 – Max Winter, American businessman and sports executive (b. 1903)
1995 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (b. 1907)
1995 – Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian-American guitarist and composer (b. 1917)
1994 – James Luther Adams, American theologian and academic (b. 1901)
1993 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (b. 1895)
1992 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
1986 – W. Averell Harriman, American politician and diplomat, 11th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1891)
1984 – George Gallup, American mathematician and statistician, founded the Gallup Company (b. 1901)
1971 – Diane Arbus, American photographer and academic (b. 1923)
1952 – Eva Perón, Argentinian politician, 25th First Lady of Argentina (b. 1919)
1934 – Winsor McCay, American cartoonist, animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1871)
1932 – Fred Duesenberg, German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Company (b. 1876)
1926 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War, son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1843)
1925 – William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
1863 – Sam Houston, American general and politician, 7th Governor of Texas (b. 1793)
Remind me of this day