July 7

July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 177 days remaining until the end of the year.

The terms 7th July, July 7th, and 7/7 (pronounced "Seven-seven") have been widely used in the Western media as a shorthand for the 7 July 2005 bombings on London's transport system. In China, this term is used to denote the Battle of Lugou Bridge started on July 7, 1937, marking the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Events

• 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.
• 1534 – European colonization of the Americas: first known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick.
• 1543 – French troops invade Luxembourg.
• 1575 – Raid of the Redeswire, the last major battle between England and Scotland.
• 1585 – The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.
• 1770 – The Battle of Larga between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire takes place.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Hubbardton.
• 1798 – Quasi-War: the U.S. Congress rescinds treaties with France sparking the "war".
• 1807 – Napoleonic Wars: the Peace of Tilsit between France, Prussia and Russia ends the Fourth Coalition.
• 1846 – Mexican-American War: American troops occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena, thus beginning the U.S. conquest of California.
• 1863 – United States begins its first military draft; exemptions cost $300.
• 1865 – American Civil War: four conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln are hanged.
• 1892 – Katipunan: the Revolutionary Philippine Brotherhood is established, contributing to the fall of the Spanish Empire in Asia.
• 1898 – U.S. President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
• 1915 – World War I: end of First Battle of the Isonzo.
• 1915 – An International Railway trolley with an extreme overload of 157 passengers crashes near Queenston, Ontario, killing 15.
• 1917 – Russian Revolution: Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov forms a provisional government in Russia after the deposing of Tsar Nicholas II.
• 1928 – Sliced bread is sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri. It is described as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped".
• 1930 – Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam).
• 1937 – Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge – Japanese forces invade Beijing, China.
• 1941 – World War II: U.S. forces land in Iceland, taking over from an earlier British occupation.
• 1941 – World War II: Beirut is occupied by Free France and British troops.
• 1946 – Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.
• 1946 – Howard Hughes nearly dies when his XF-11 spy plane prototype crashes in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.
• 1953 – Ernesto "Che" Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.
• 1954 – Elvis Presley made his radio debut when WHBQ Memphis played his first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right."
• 1956 – Fritz Moravec reaches the peak of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m).
• 1958 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into law.
• 1959 – 14:28 UT Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere.
• 1967 – Beginning of the civil war in Biafra.
• 1969 – In Canada, the Official Languages Act is adopted making the French language equal to the English language throughout the Federal government.
• 1978 – The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
• 1980 – Institution of sharia in Iran.
• 1980 – During the Lebanese civil war, 83 Tiger militants are killed during what will be known as the Safra massacre.
• 1983 – Cold War: Samantha Smith, a U.S. schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov.
• 1985 – Boris Becker becomes the youngest player ever to win Wimbledon at age 17
• 1991 – Yugoslav Wars: the Brioni Agreement ends the ten-day independence war in Slovenia against the rest of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
• 2002 – A scandal breaks out in the United Kingdom when news reports accuse MI6 of sheltering Abu Qatada, the supposed European Al Qaeda leader.
• 2005 – A series of four explosions occurs on London's transport system killing 56 people including four alleged suicide bombers and injuring over 700 others.

Births

• 1053 – Emperor Shirakawa of Japan (d. 1129)
• 1119 – Emperor Sutoku of Japan (d. 1164)
• 1207 – Elizabeth, Princess of Hungary and Catholic saint (d. 1231)
• 1528 – Archduchess Anna of Austria Duchess of Bavaria, daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I (d. 1590)
• 1586 – Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English statesman and art collector (d. 1646)
• 1656 – Guru Har Krishan, 8th Guru of Sikhism (d. 1664)
• 1746 – Giuseppe Piazzi, Italian astronomer (d. 1826)
• 1752 – Joseph-Marie Jacquard, French inventor (d. 1834)
• 1766 – Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (d. 1815)
• 1843 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1926)
• 1848 – Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian politician (d. 1919)
• 1851 – Charles Tindley, American gospel music composer (d. 1933)
• 1855 – Ludwig Ganghofer, German writer (d. 1920)
• 1860 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (d. 1911)
• 1874 – Erwin Bumke, German jurist (d. 1945)
• 1884 – Lion Feuchtwanger, German dramatist (d. 1958)
• 1887 – Marc Chagall, Russian painter (d. 1985)
• 1891 – Virginia Rappe, American actress (d. 1921)
• 1893 – Miroslav Krleža, Croatian writer (d. 1981)
• 1899 – George Cukor, American director (d. 1983)
• 1900 – Earle E. Partridge, United States Air Force general (d. 1990)
• 1901 – Vittorio De Sica, Italian director (d. 1974)
• 1901 – Sam Katzman, American film producer (d. 1973)
• 1901 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese film producer (d. 1970)
• 1902 – Ted Radcliffe, American baseball player and centenarian (d. 2005)
• 1904 – Simone Beck, French chef (d. 1991)
• 1906 – William Feller, Croatian mathematician (d. 1970)
• 1906 – Satchel Paige, American baseball player (d. 1982)
• 1906 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player (d. 1985)
• 1906 – Anna Marie Hahn, German-born American serial killer (d. 1938)
• 1907 – Robert A. Heinlein, American writer (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Revilo P. Oliver, American professor of Classical philology, Spanish, and Italian and white nationalist (d. 1994)
• 1911 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer (d. 2007)
• 1913 – Pinetop Perkins, American blues pianist
• 1915 – Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander, African-American novelist and poet (d. 1998)
• 1917 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, El Salvador politician (d. 2003)
• 1919 – Jon Pertwee, English actor (d. 1996)
• 1920 – Bhaktaraj Maharaj, Indian Hindu saint (d. 1995)
• 1921 – Adolf von Thadden, German politician (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (d. 1975)
• 1922 – Pierre Cardin, French fashion designer
• 1924 – Mary Ford, American singer (d. 1977)
• 1925 – Wally Phillips, American radio personality (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Doc Severinsen, American composer and jazz trumpeter
• 1927 – Charlie Louvin, American country music singer-songwriter (Louvin Brothers)
• 1929 – Hasan Abidi, Pakistani journalist and poet (d. 2005)
• 1930 – Hank Mobley, American jazz composer and saxophonist (d. 1986)
• 1930 – Theodore Edgar McCarrick, American Catholic Cardinal
• 1931 – David Eddings, American fantasy novelist (d. 2009)
• 1932 – Joe Zawinul, Austrian jazz composer and keyboardist (d. 2007)
• 1933 – Murray Halberg, New Zealand middle distance runner
• 1933 – David McCullough, American historian and author
• 1933 – Bruce Wells, English boxer and actor
• 1936 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer (d. 1980)
• 1936 – Jo Siffert, Swiss race car driver (d. 1971)
• 1937 – Tung Chee-Hwa, Hong Kong administrator
• 1940 – Ringo Starr, English drummer and singer (The Beatles)
• 1941 – Marco Bollesan, Italian rugby player and coach
• 1941 – Michael Howard, British politician
• 1941 – Bill Oddie, English comedian and ornithologist
• 1942 – Carmen Duncan, Australian actress
• 1943 – Toto Cutugno, Italian singer
• 1943 – Joel Siegel, American film critic (d. 2007)
• 1945 – Michael Ancram, British politician
• 1945 – Matti Salminen, Finnish opera singer
• 1946 – Joe Spano, American actor
• 1947 – Felix Standaert, Belgian diplomat
• 1947 – Howard Rheingold, American critic and writer
• 1947 – Gyanendra, 9th and 14th (and last) King of Nepal
• 1947 – Rob Townsend, English drummer (Family)
• 1947 – Víctor Manuel, Spanish songwriter and singer
• 1948 – Jean Leclerc, French-Canadian actor
• 1949 – Shelley Duvall, American actress
• 1952 – Mando Guerrero, Mexican professional wrestler
• 1954 – Rami Fortis, Israeli rock singer (Minimal Compact)
• 1955 – Len Barker, American baseball player
• 1957 – Jonathan Dayton, American film director
• 1957 – Berry Sakharof, Turkish-born Israeli guitarist (Minimal Compact)
• 1959 – Billy Campbell, American actor
• 1959 – Jessica Hahn, American model
• 1959 – Ben Linder, American engineer (d. 1987)
• 1960 – Kevin A. Ford, American astronaut
• 1960 – Ralph Sampson, American basketball player
• 1963 – Vonda Shepard, American singer
• 1965 – Paula Devicq, Canadian actress
• 1965 – Mo Collins, American actress
• 1965 – Jeremy Kyle, English television presenter
• 1965 – Jeremy Guscott, English rugby player
• 1966 – Jim Gaffigan, American comedian
• 1966 – Gundula Krause, German folk violinist
• 1966 – Neil Tobin, American magician and psychic entertainer
• 1967 – Tom Kristensen, Danish race car driver
• 1967 – Jackie Neal, American singer (d. 2005)
• 1968 – Amy Carlson, American actress
• 1968 – Jorja Fox, American actress
• 1968 – Allen Payne, American actor
• 1968 – Jeff VanderMeer, American writer
• 1969 – Sylke Otto, German luger
• 1969 – Joe Sakic, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 – Nathalie Simard, French Canadian singer
• 1969 – Cree Summer, American voice actress
• 1969 – Robin Weigert, American actress
• 1970 – Wayne McCullough, Irish boxer
• 1970 – Erik Zabel, German cyclist
• 1970 – Robia LaMorte, American actress and dancer
• 1971 – Alistair Potts, British rower
• 1971 – Christian Camargo, American actor
• 1972 – Lisa Leslie, American basketball player
• 1972 – Manfred Stohl, Austrian rally driver
• 1973 – Troy Garity, American actor
• 1973 – José Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
• 1973 – Matt Mantei, American baseball player
• 1973 – Kārlis Skrastiņš, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1973 – Natsuki Takaya, Japanese manga-ka
• 1974 – Patrick Lalime, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Tony Benshoof, American luger
• 1975 – Michael Voss, Australian rules footballer
• 1976 – Dominic Foley, Irish footballer
• 1977 – Felix Vasquez, American municipal employee (New York City Housing Authority) and Bronze Medallion recipient
• 1978 – Chris Andersen, American basketball player
• 1979 – Anastasios Gousis, Greek sprinter
• 1979 – Carl Breeze, British racing driver
• 1980 – John Buck, American baseball player
• 1980 – Deidre Downs, American beauty queen
• 1980 – Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
• 1980 – Kaisa Jouhki, Indonesian singer (Battlelore)
• 1980 – Dan Whitesides, American drummer (The Used)
• 1981 – Synyster Gates, American guitarist (Avenged Sevenfold)
• 1981 – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricketer
• 1982 – Cassidy, American rapper
• 1982 – Mike Glita, American bassist (Senses Fail)
• 1982 – Nick Karner, American filmmaker
• 1982 – George Owu, Ghanaian footballer
• 1983 – Justin Davies, Australian rules footballer
• 1983 – D. Woods, American singer (Danity Kane)
• 1983 – Ciara Newell, Irish singer (Bellefire)
• 1984 – Minas Alozidis, Greek hurdler
• 1984 – Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1984 – Marie-Mai, Canadian singer
• 1986 – Ana Kasparian, American Radio Talk Show Host (The Young Turks)
• 1986 – Udo Schwarz, German rugby player
• 1987 – Lena Ma, Canadian beauty pageant contestant (Miss World 4th runner-up)
• 1988 – Kaci Brown, American singer
• 1988 – Lukas Rosenthal, German rugby player
• 1988 – Ilan Rubin, American drummer (Nine Inch Nails)
• 1989 – Giannoulis Fakinos, Greek footballer
• 1989 – Kim Bum, South Korean actor

Deaths

• 1304 – Pope Benedict XI (b. 1240)
• 1307 – King Edward I of England (b. 1239)
• 1537 – Madeleine of Valois, French-born Queen consort of James V of Scotland (b. 1520)
• 1572 – King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland (b. 1520)
• 1573 – Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Italian architect (b. 1507)
• 1647 – Thomas Hooker, English-born Connecticut colonist (b. 1586)
• 1663 – Thomas Baltzar, German violinist
• 1701 – William Stoughton, American judge at the Salem witch trials (b. 1631)
• 1713 – Henry Compton, Bishop of Oxford and member of the Privy Council of England (b. 1632)
• 1730 – Olivier Levasseur, French pirate (b. 1688 or 1690)
• 1764 – William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, English politician (b. 1683)
• 1737 – Gian Gastone, the last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1671)
• 1776 – Jeremiah Markland, English classical scholar (b. 1693)
• 1790 – François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (b. 1721)
• 1816 – Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright and politician (b. 1751)
• 1855 – Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet (b. 1787)
• 1865 – Mary Surratt, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the first woman ever executed in the USA (b. 1823)
• 1865 – Lewis Payne, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1844)
• 1865 – David Herold, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1842)
• 1865 – George Atzerodt, German-born conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1833)
• 1878 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician (b. 1847)
• 1890 – Henri Nestlé, German confectioner and founder of Nestlé S.A. (b. 1814)
• 1901 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (b. 1827)
• 1913 – Edward Burd Grubb, Jr., American Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General (b. 1841)
• 1922 – Cathal Brugha, Chief of Staff of Irish Republican Army (b. 1874)
• 1925 – Clarence Hudson White American photographer (b. 1871)
• 1927 – Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician (b. 1846)
• 1930 – Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer (b. 1859)
• 1932 – Alexander Grin, Russian novelist (b. 1880)
• 1932 – Henry Eyster Jacobs, American Lutheran theologian (b. 1844)
• 1949 – Bunk Johnson, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1879 or 1889)
• 1956 – Gottfried Benn, German poet (b. 1886)
• 1964 – Lillian Copeland, American discus thrower (b. 1904)
• 1965 – Moshe Sharett, Ukraine-born 2nd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1894)
• 1967 – Vivien Leigh, English actress (b. 1913)
• 1968 – Jo Schlesser, French Formula One driver (b. 1928)
• 1971 – Claude Gauvreau, Canadian writer (b. 1925)
• 1971 – Ub Iwerks, American artist, director, and cartoonist (b. 1901)
• 1972 – Athenagoras, Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 1886)
• 1972 – King Talal of Jordan (b. 1909)
• 1973 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (b. 1895)
• 1973 – Veronica Lake, American actress (b. 1919)
• 1975 – Ruffian, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 1972)
• 1976 – Walter Giesler, American football coach (b. 1910)
• 1980 – Dore Schary, American film producer and writer (b. 1905)
• 1981 – Peace Pilgrim (Mildred Lisette Norman), American pacifist and activist (b. 1908)
• 1984 – Alexander Fu Sheng, Hong Kong actor (b. 1954)
• 1984 – Carl Boenish, American father of BASE jumping (b. 1941)
• 1990 – Bill Cullen, American game show host (b. 1920)
• 1990 – Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer (b. 1958)
• 1993 – Mia Zapata, American singer (The Gits) (b. 1965)
• 1994 – Carlo Chiti, Italian race car engineer (b. 1924)
• 1994 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe Officer (b. 1907)
• 1999 – Captain Vikram Batra, Indian Army officer and Param Vir Chakra recipient (b. 1974)
• 2000 – Kenny Irwin, Jr., American race car driver (b. 1969)
• 2001 – Fred Neil, American singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
• 2002 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (b. 1969)
• 2003 – Izhak Graziani, Bulgarian-born conductor (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Juan de Ávalos, Spanish sculptor (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Pink Floyd) (b. 1946)
• 2006 – John Money, New Zealand-born American sexologist (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Bruce Conner, American sculptor, painter and photographer (b. 1933)
• 2008 – Dorian Leigh, American supermodel (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day
  • Æthelburg of Faremoutiers
  • Illidius
  • Job of Maniava (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
• Independence Day, celebrate the independence of Solomon Islands from United Kingdom in 1978.
• Ivan Kupala Day (Belarus, Poland, Russia, Ukraine)
• Saba Saba Day (Tanzania)
• Tanabata (Japan)
• Unity Factory Day (Yemen)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada