1654 – Anglo-Portuguese treaty is reinforced, England guarantees Portugal’s independence and receives trade concessions
1712 – The Riot Act takes effect in Great Britain
1793 – Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie completes the first European east-to-west crossing of America north of Mexico
1926 – A convention of the Methodist Church votes to allow women to become priests
1943 – Jacques Lusseyran is arrested by the Gestapo after being betrayed by a fellow member of the French resistance
1951 – Talal bin Abdullah (42) is coronated as King of Jordan, after the assassination of his father
1963 – Verne Gagne beats Crusher Lisowski in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ
1981 – Irene Sáez, of Venezuela, crowned 30th Miss Universe
1982 – Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings: 11 British soldiers and 7 military horses killed in Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb attacks during military ceremonies in London
2020 – Scientists find evidence of volcanoes on Venus, showing the planet is not as dormant as previously thought (Nature Geoscience)
Author: gil7
Today in History for 20th July 2025
Historical Events
514 – St Hormisdas elected as Pope succeeding Pope Sympowerus
1942 – Barbados dismiss Trinidad for 16 in 69 minutes, Derek Sealy taking 8-8; West Indian cricket domestic first class record
1961 – Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s musical “Stop The World – I Want To Get Off” premieres at Queen’s Theater in London’s West End
1963 – US Open Women’s Golf, Kenwood CC: Mary Mills wins her first of 3 major titles by 3 strokes ahead of runners-up Louise Suggs and Sandra Haynie
2015 – British Open Men’s Golf, St. Andrews: American Zach Johnson wins in a 4-hole play-off with Australian Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa
Famous Birthdays
1513 – Gaspar Schetz, Dutch nobleman and financier (royal treasurer general of the Habsburg Netherlands), born in Antwerp, Duchy of Brabant, Holy Roman Empire (now Belgium) (d. 1580)
1663 – Pierre Drevet, French engraver, born in Loire-sur-Rhône, Lyon (d. 1738)
1945 – John Lodge, British bassist, vocalist, and songwriter (The Moody Blues – “I’m Just A Singer”; “Gemini Dream”), born in Birmingham, England
1973 – Peter Forsberg, Swedish NHL center (Colorado Avalanche), born in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
1976 – Andrew Stockdale, Australian rock musician (Wolfmother), born in Brisbane, Australia
Famous Deaths
1964 – Anna Vyrubova, Russian lady-in-waiting, the best friend and confidante of Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna, dies at 80
1984 – Gail Kubik, American composer (Gerald McBoing Boing), dies at 69
1999 – Sandra Gould, American actress (b. 1916)
2015 – Elio Fiorucci, Italian fashion designer, dies at 80
2022 – Douglas Mitchell, Canadian Football Hall of Fame executive (CFL Commissioner 1984-88), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 19th July 2025
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
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”