1415 – Philippa of Lancaster, Queen of Portugal as wife of King John I (1387-1415), dies of the plague at 55
1543 – Lady Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII of England
1947 – U Razak, Burmese politician, assassinated along six other independence leaders (now called Martyr’s Day) at 49
1958 – Robert Earl Hughes, American man who became heaviest known human (485 kg), dies at 32
1990 – Lluís Maria Millet, Catalan composer, and musical director (Catalan Orfeón, 1945-77), dies at 84
1996 – David Nicolson, British businessman and politician (Chairman of BTR Industries-1969), dies at 73
1996 – Pran Nath Chhuttani, Indian physician and teacher, dies at 81
1996 – Owen Tudor Williams, English civil engineer (built UK motorways including Spaghetti junction, dies at 79
2011 – Sheila Burrell, British actress (Black Orchid, Paranoiac, Laughter in Dark), dies at 89
2015 – Van Alexander [Alexander Van Vliet Feldman], American composer, arranger (“A-Tisket, A-Tasket”), and orchestra leader (Dean Martin Show), dies at 100
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 19th July 2025
1692 – Five more people – Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth How, Sarah Good, and Sarah Wildes – hanged for allegedly practicing witchcraft as a result of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts Bay Colony
1696 – Russian Tsar Peter I’s fleet occupies the southern mouth of the Don River and gains access to the Sea of Azov, after the surrender of the Ottoman Azov garrison
1875 – Emma Abbott, a floating hospital for sick children, makes trial trip, NYC
1908 – Dutch football club Feyenoord is established in Rotterdam as Wilhelmina; reverts to SC Feijenoord 1912; updated to SC Feyenoord 1974 and to Feyenoord Rotterdam 1978
1942 – US première of Dmitri Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony in NYC by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini in a concert broadcast nationwide on NBC radio
1957 – 1st rocket with nuclear warhead fired, Yucca Flat, Nevada
1970 – 57th Tour de France: Defending champion Eddy Merckx of Belgium wins general, mountains and combination categories
1973 – NY Mets future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Mays is named to NL All Star team for 24th time (ties Stan Musial)
2019 – Heat wave begins across the east of America affecting 100 million people and killing 6, with New York city declaring a state of emergency
2022 – Temperatures exceed 40°C in parts of England for first time
Today in History for 19th July 2025
Historical Events
1936 – Spanish premier Casares Quiroga succeeded by Jose Giral
1982 – David S Dodge becomes 1st American hostage in Lebanon
2013 – 20 people are killed by a suicide bombing in Diyala, Iraq
2018 – Largest intact sarcophagus of its kind ever found (2000 years old) opened in Alexandria, contains 3 skeletons, not a curse as feared
2023 – Scientists discover metals can self-heal after observing metals cracking and fusing back together, paving the way for future self-healing structures and vehicles
Famous Birthdays
1822 – Princess Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and granddaughter of George III, born in Palace of Montbrillant, Hanover (d. 1916)
1823 – George Henry Gordon, American lawyer and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1886)
1894 – Percy Spencer, American physicist and inventor of the microwave, born in Howland, Maine (d. 1970)
1974 – Vincent Spadea, American tennis player, born in Chicago, Illinois
1981 – Didz Hammond, British bassist and backing vocalist (Dirty Pretty Things; The Cooper Temple Clause), born in Reading, England
Famous Deaths
1054 – Bernold[us] Benno/Bernulphus, bishop of Utrecht (1027-54)/saint, dies
1913 – Clímaco Calderón, President of Colombia for one day in 1882, dies at 60
1969 – Pavel I Apostolov, Russian military bandmaster, dies
1974 – Ernő Schwarz, Hungarian-American soccer forward (2 caps Hungary; Ferencváros, NY Giants, NY Americans) and coach (United States [men] 1953-56), dies at 69
2013 – Poncie Ponce, American actor (Kazuo Kim-Hawaiian Eye), dies from heart failure at 80
Famous Deaths for 18th July 2025
1610 – Caravaggio [Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio], Italian painter (Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy), dies at 38
1643 – François Duquesnoy, French sculptor (statue of Saint Andrew in the transept of St Peter’s), dies at 46
1833 – Joseph Kam, Dutch Christian missionary in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, dies at 63
1989 – Donnie Moore, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1985 California Angels), dies by suicide at 35
1990 – Gerry Boulet, French Canadian rock singer (Offenbach; Rendez-vous doux), dies of colon cancer at 44
1991 – André Cools, Belgian Minister of Budget, murdered at 63
1996 – Hans Fellner, bookseller, dies at 71
2007 – George Caiazzo, American professional wrestler
2008 – Tauno Marttinen, Finnish composer (Dalai Lama Concerto; Elegia), dies at 95
2024 – Abner Haynes, American football running back (AFL MVP 1960; First-team All-AFL 1960, 61, 62; Kansas City Chiefs), dies at 86
Historical Events for 18th July 2025
64 – Great Fire of Rome begins under the Emperor Nero
1536 – Pope’s authority declared void in England
1862 – Battle of Newburgh, Indiana – captured by Union forces
1870 – Pope Pius IX and the First Vatican Council officially proclaim the concept of papal infallibility
1947 – King George VI signs Indian Independence Act
1951 – Uruguay accepts its constitution
1976 – “Something’s Afoot” closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 61 performances
1988 – Shooting begins on Bond film “License to Kill”
2012 – Kim Jong-un is officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea and given the rank of Marshal in the Korean People’s Army
2024 – Chinese Third Plenum, a five-yearly decision-making summit, ends with a focus on “Chinese Modernisation” and lays groundwork for an unprecedented fourth term for Xi Jinping
Today in History for 18th July 2025
Historical Events
1768 – Boston Gazette publishes “Liberty Song,” America’s first patriotic song
1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf, original title was the catchy “Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice”
1960 – 1st UN troops reach Congo
1968 – Intel Corporation is founded in Santa Clara, California
1976 – Stockhausens “Sirius” premieres in NYC
Famous Birthdays
1823 – Leonard Fulton Ross, American lawyer, probate judge, and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Lewistown, Illinois (d. 1901)
1848 – W. G. Grace, English cricket batsman and captain (22 Tests; 2 x 100, HS 170; 54,896 runs over record 44 FC seasons; Gloucestershire CCC), born in Bristol, England (d. 1915)
1888 – Sydney Horler, English detective writer (Checkmate), born in Leytonstone, Essex (d. 1954)
1927 – Carlo Franci, Italian composer and conductor, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2019)
1969 – Elizabeth Gilbert, American author (Eat Pray, Love), born in Waterbury, Connecticut
Famous Deaths
1695 – Johannes Camphuys, Governor-General of Dutch-Indies (1684-91), dies at 61
1902 – John White, American organist and composer based in Germany, dies at 47
2009 – Henry Allingham, oldest male British supercentenarian (born 1896) and World War I veteran, dies at 113 years, 42 days
2021 – Tom O’Connor, British comedian and TV game show host, dies from complications of Parkinson’s disease at 81
2022 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American pop artist (Clothespin; Alphabet; Good Humor), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 17th July 2025
1753 – Andre-Joseph Panckoucke, French book publisher/merchant, dies
1826 – Joseph Graetz, German organist, composer, and music educator, dies at 65
1864 – Daniel McCook Jr, American Brigadier General (Union Army), dies at 29
1887 – Dorothea Dix, American pioneering nurse and social activist who created the first American mental asylums, dies at 85
1958 – Henri Farman, British-French aviator who broke several aviation records, dies at 84
1989 – Heinz Risse, German writer, dies at 91
1996 – Alan McGilvray, Australian cricketer (NSW 1933-37) and radio commentator (1935-85), dies at 85
2009 – Walter Cronkite, American broadcast journalist and news anchor (CBS Evening News 1962-81), dies of cerebrovascular disease at 92
2023 – Palhinha, Brazilian soccer forward (16 caps; Cruzeiro, Corinthians, Atlético Mineiro) and manager (SC Corinthians, União São João, Al-Tai), dies at 73
2023 – Robert Budzynski, French soccer defender (11 caps; RC Lens, FC Nantes), dies at 83
Historical Events for 17th July 2025
1712 – Great Britain, Portugal and France sign ceasefire [or 19th]
1912 – International Amateur Athletic Federation forms in Stockholm, Sweden (now known as World Athletics)
1925 – Tris Speaker, is 5th to get 3,000 hits
1944 – WWII: Port Chicago Disaster – explosion during munition loading kills 322 and, injures nearly 400, destroys three ships and a pier at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California; conditions inspire the Port Chicago Mutiny later that summer
1954 – Theodor Heuss re-elected president of West Germany
1958 – US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands
1970 – 30,000 attend Randall’s Island Rock Festival, NYC
1974 – Bob Gibson becomes second pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters (Cesar Geronimo)
1997 – STS 94 (Columbia 23) lands
2016 – 17 works by Swiss architect Le Corbusier included in UNESCO World Heritage sites list as “an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement”
Today in History for 17th July 2025
Historical Events
1948 – Israeli army captures Nazareth
1956 – MGM releases film “High Society”, a musical re-working of “The Philadelphia Story” set in Newport, Rhode Island; starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra, with songs by Cole Porter
1964 – Don Campbell sets a record for a turbine vehicle at 690.91 kph (429.31 mph)
1987 – Iran and France break diplomatic relations
1988 – Florence Griffith Joyner of the USA sets 100 m woman’s record (10.49)
Famous Birthdays
1878 – Henri Zagwijn, Dutch composer and musicologist, born in Nieuwer-Amstel, Netherlands (d. 1954)
1883 – Mauritz Stiller [Moshe Stiller], Swedish actor and director (The Saga of Gösta Berling, Erotikon), born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 1928)
1941 – Morimichi Takagi, Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman (NPB All-Star 1966–67, 73, 79; Chunichi Dragons), born in Gifu, Japan (d. 2020)
1947 – Abraham Laboriel, Sr, Mexican-American session and jazz bassist, born in Mexico City
1949 – Charlie Steiner, American sports broadcaster, born in Malverne, New York
Famous Deaths
1709 – Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia and politician, dies at 62
1928 – Giovanni Giolitti, 5x Prime Minister of Italy (1892-93, 1903-05, 1906-09, 1911-14, 1920-21), dies at 85
1943 – Sir Patrick Duncan, Governor-general of the Union of South Africa (1937 to 1943), dies at 72
1995 – Carlos Sánchez Málaga, Peruvian composer, dies at 91
2020 – Derek Ho, American surfer (World C’ship 1993; Hawaiian Triple Crown 1984, 86, 88, 90), dies from a heart attack at 55
Famous Deaths for 16th July 2025
1482 – John van Schaffelaar, Gelders knight, dies
1947 – Horatio Mbelle, South African interpreter, community leader and politician, dies in Pretoria at 77
1979 – Alfred Deller, English countertenor (b. 1912)
1990 – Sidney Torch, English composer, conductor and theater organist, dies from an intentional medication overdose at 82
1995 – Peter Francis de Sautoy, publisher, dies at 83
1995 – Patsy Ruth Miller, American actress (Quebec, Wide Open, Sap, Twin Beds), dies at 91
1997 – Dora Maar [Markovitch], French photographer, painter, poet, model, and lover of Pablo Picasso, dies at 89
2004 – George Busbee, Governor of Georgia (b. 1927)
2022 – Michel David-Weill, French investment banker (Lazard Frère), dies at 89
2022 – Hobie Billingsley, American ISHOF diving coach (Indiana University 1959-89; 6 x NCAA team championships; US Olympic team 1968, 72, 76), dies from myasthenia gravis at 95