1775 – US Continental Congress creates United States Post Office (U.S.P.O.) in Philadelphia under Benjamin Franklin
1903 – Horatio Nelson Jackson, Sewall K. Crocker, and a bulldog named Bud complete the first automobile trip across the United States, traveling from San Francisco to New York in a two-cylinder Winton in 63 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes
1914 – Philippe Thys of Belgium wins 12th Tour de France
1948 – “Babe Ruth Story” premieres; Babe Ruth makes his final public appearance
1953 – Tour de France: Louison Bobet of France wins first of 3 consecutive Tour general classification events
1982 – Karen Dianne Baldwin, 18, of Canada is crowned 31st Miss Universe
2014 – Brian Ortega’s victory over Mike De La Torre is overturned to “No Contest” after testing positive for drostanolone
2020 – Italian football giants Juventus win their ninth straight Serie A title with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi in a 2-0 win over Sampdoria
Author: gil7
Today in History for 26th July 2025
Historical Events
1971 – Apollo 15 launches (Scott and Irwin) for the fourth manned landing on the Moon
1972 – Rockwell receives NASA contract to construct Space Shuttle
1981 – New York Mayor Ed Koch is given the Heimlich maneuver in a Chinese restaurant
1994 – Turkish Air Force bombs Kurds in Iraq, killing 70
2017 – Great Britain announces it will ban gasoline and diesel cars by 2040
Famous Birthdays
1906 – Irena Iłłakowicz, Polish agent of Intelligence, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1943)
1911 – Jerry Burke, American easy-listening pianist and organ player (Lawrence Welk Orchestra, 1934-65), born in Marshalltown, Iowa (d. 1965)
1928 – Stanley Kubrick, American director (2001 A Space Odyssey, Dr Strangelove, Lolita), born in The Bronx NY (d. 1999)
1928 – Elliott Erwitt [Elio Romano], French-American photographer (Gimme Shelter), and documentarian, born in Paris, France (d. 2023)
1942 – Vladimír Mečiar, 1st and 3rd Prime Minister of Slovakia, born in Zvolen, Slovakia
Famous Deaths
1973 – Hans Albert Einstein, Swiss-American professor and engineer, dies of a heart attack at 69
1987 – Jim Bishop, American journalist and author (The Day Lincoln was Shot), dies at 79
1988 – Fazlur Rahman, Pakistani modernist scholar, dies at 68
2009 – Merce Cunningham, American choreographer (Acrobat in Every Soul is a Circus), dies at 90
2021 – Ally Dawson, Scottish soccer defender (5 caps; Glasgow Rangers) and manager (Hamilton Academical), dies at 63
Famous Deaths for 25th July 2025
1881 – Nathan Clifford, American statesman, diplomat and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, dies at 77
1934 – Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian right-wing politician (Chancellor, 1932-34), assassinated by Nazis at 41
1973 – Louis St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1948-57), dies of natural causes at 91
1987 – Charles Stark “Doc” Draper, American Scientist and Engineer who headed the team that invented the Apollo Guidance Computer and inertial navigation technology for aircraft, space vehicles, and submarines, dies at 85
1992 – Hope Miller, American actress (Bwana Devil), dies of breast cancer at 63
2003 – John Schlesinger, English stage and Academy Award-winning film director (Midnight Cowboy; Darling), dies at 77
2003 – Ludwig Bölkow, German aeronautical engineer, dies at 91
2006 – Carl Brashear, first African-American U.S Navy Master Diver (b. 1931)
2013 – Mike Shipley, Australian audio engineer, and record producer of rock and country music (Paper Airplane), dies of an apparent suicide at 56
2018 – Lord Browne-Wilkinson [Nicolas Christopher Henry Browne-Wilkinson], British politician and jurist (UK Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, 1998-2000), dies at 88
Historical Events for 25th July 2025
1922 – ATandT begins broadcasting on WBAY (NYC, later WEAF, WNBC, WRCA, and WFAN)
1956 – Pittsburgh Pirates’ Roberto Clemente hits MLB’s first and only walk-off inside-the-park grand slam for a 9-8 win over visiting Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field
1963 – Belgian Senate accepts law on language regulations
1993 – Romantic comedy film “Sleepless in Seattle,” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and co-written and directed by Nora Ephron, is released
1997 – Howard Stern is fired from radio station KEGL in Dallas, Texas
2012 – The double-dip recession in the UK economy continues with a fall of 0.7% in GDP in the second quarter of 2012
2021 – Evian Championship Women’s Golf, Evian Resort GC: Australian Minjee Lee recovers from seven shots behind to defeat South Korea’s Lee6 Jeongeun in a playoff for her first major title
2023 – Scientists say a crucial Atlantic Ocean current is near collapse as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation could reach its tipping point in the middle of this century
Today in History for 25th July 2025
Historical Events
1956 – 46 die in a collision between the SS Andrea Doria and the MS Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket
1990 – Roseanne Barr sings the National Anthem at Cincinnati Reds-San Diego Padres MLB game
1992 – 25th Olympic Games open in Barcelona, Spain
1994 – Jordan and Israel end 46-year state of war (Washington, D.C.)
2016 – England fast bowler Jimmy Anderson becomes the first quick to take 50 wickets against all other seven major Test cricket-playing nations during the second Test against Pakistan in Manchester
Famous Birthdays
1639 – Thomas Tompion, English clockmaker (cylinder tunnel), born in Northill, Bedfordshire, England (d. 1713)
1945 – Jim Price, America session and touring horn player, and arranger (Rolling Stones; Bonnie and Delaney; Joe Cocker), born in Fort Worth, Texas
1948 – Brian Stableford, British sci-fi author (Day of Wrath), born in Shipley, Yorkshire, England
1949 – Denman Maroney, American jazz pianist and composer (Hyperpiano), born in New Jersey
1955 – Bantubonke Holomisa, South African Minister of Defense of Transkei, born in Mqanduli, Eastern Cape
Famous Deaths
1987 – Alex Sadkin, American audio engineer, and record producer (Grace Jones; Thompson Twins), dies in a car crash in The Bahamas at 38
1998 – Tiny Rowland [Roland Fuhrop], German-British businessman and corporate raider (owned The Observer, tried to take over Harrods), dies of cancer at 80
2008 – Tracy Hall, American inventor (b. 1919)
2017 – Barbara Sinatra, American model and philanthropist, dies at 90
2024 – Pascal Danel [Jean-Jacques Pascal], French pop singer-songwriter (“Kilimandjaro”), dies at 80
Famous Deaths for 24th July 2025
1739 – Benedetto Marcello, Italian author and composer (Lettera Famigliare), dies on 53rd birthday
1819 – Sophie Gail, French singer and composer, dies at 43
1846 – Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, French King of the Netherlands (1806-10), dies at 67
1910 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian landscape painter, dies at 69
1995 – Jerzy Bonawentura Toeplitz, Ukrainian-Polish filmmaker and film educator (Polish Film School), dies at 94
1996 – Jock Wallace, Scottish soccer manager (Berwick Rangers, Rangers, Leicester City, Motherwell, Sevilla), dies from Parkinson’s disease at 60
1997 – Brian Glover, British actor and wrestler (Alien 3, Kes), dies of a brain tumor at 63
1997 – William J. Brennan, Jr. American Supreme Court judge (1956-90), dies at 91
2001 – Georges Dor [Dore], French Canadian author, playwright, radio broadcaster, singer and songwriter, dies at 70
2023 – Leny Andrade, Brazilian samba, bossa nova and jazz singer, dies of Lewy body dementia at 80
Historical Events for 24th July 2025
1651 – Anthony Johnson, a free African American, receives grant of 250 acres in Virginia
1905 – Tsar Nicholas II (Russia) and Emperor Wilhelm II (Germany) sign the Björkö Treaty, whereby each country agrees to come to the other’s defense if attacked by European powers
1908 – After days of discussion with his ministers, Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey announces he is restoring the liberal constitution of 1876 and will become more responsive to demands of dissidents
1929 – New York to San Francisco foot race ends after 2½ months; the winner is 60-year-old Monteverde
1936 – 118°F (48°C) recorded in Minden, Nebraska (state record)
1967 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Columbine CC: Don January wins his only major title in 18-hole playoff with Don Messengale (69-71)
1990 – Ms. Magazine hits newsstands again after an 8-month hiatus
1991 – Ottawa Rough Riders Board of Directors resigns
Today in History for 24th July 2025
Historical Events
1673 – Edmund Halley enters The Queen’s College, Oxford, as an undergraduate
1915 – Excursion ship Eastland capsizes in Lake Michigan, killing 852 people
1964 – Race riot in Rochester, New York, kills 4
1966 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Firestone CC: American Al Geiberger wins his only major title by 4 shots from Dudley Wysong
2022 – Pope Francis arrives in Edmonton, Canada, to begin a penitential trip to meet with and apologize to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities for their treatment at church-run residential schools
Famous Birthdays
1929 – Alfred Binns, West Indian cricket wicket-keeper (5 Tests, 17 dismissals; Jamaica), born in KIngston, Jamaica (d. 2017)
1944 – Jim Armstrong, Irish rock guitarist (Them – “Here Comes The Night”), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
1961 – Kerry Dixon, English footballer, 1979-97, and manager, born in Luton, England
1965 – Joe Oliver, American MLB catcher (Cincinnati Reds), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1982 – Anna Paquin, Canadian-born New Zealand Oscar-winning actress (The Piano, True Blood), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Famous Deaths
1240 – Konrad von Thüringen, German fifth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
1908 – Vicente Acosta, Salvadoran poet, dies at 41 (b. the same day 1867)
1936 – Georg Michaelis, German lawyer and politician (Chancellor of German Empire and Prime Minister of Prussia, July-November 1917), dies at 78
1980 – Uttam Kumar, Indian actor (b. 1926)
2023 – Leny Andrade, Brazilian samba, bossa nova and jazz singer, dies of Lewy body dementia at 80
Historical Events for 23rd July 2025
685 – John V begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1812 – Battle of Mogilev: first significant fighting during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia results in minor French victory
1877 – First telephone and telegraph line in Hawaii is completed
1904 – Ice cream cone is created during the St. Louis World’s Fair, reputedly first by Charles E. Menches
1917 – Cleveland Metropolitan Park District established in Greater Cleveland, Ohio
1929 – The Fascist government in Italy bans the use of foreign words
1965 – The Beatles’ single “Help” is released in the UK
2024 – Hottest day on Earth: average global temperature of 17.15°C (62.87°F) surpasses record set the previous day, according to EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service
Famous Deaths for 23rd July 2025
1816 – Elizabeth Hamilton, British author (Cats: A Celebration), dies at 68
1875 – Isaac Singer, American inventor of the first practical home sewing machine, dies at 63
1927 – William Ashley, English economic historian (The Economic Organisation of England), dies at 67
1930 – Glenn Curtiss, American aviation pioneer and airplane builder, dies at 52
1946 – James Maxton, Scottish politician, Leader of the Independent Labour Party, dies at 61
1977 – René de Vos, Dutch actor and composer (Jij Bent Mijn Leven), dies at 79
1998 – John Hopkins, English TV, film and stage writer (Z-Cars), dies at 67
2003 – James E. Davis, New York City councilman (murdered) (b. 1962)
2005 – Myron Floren, American accordionist (The Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 85
2008 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss politician, President of the Confederation (1977, 1981 and 1985), dies at 84