1573 – Ruy Gómez de Silva, Spanish prince of Eboli (advisor to Spanish King Philip II), dies at 56
1786 – Franz Asplmayr, Austrian composer and violinist, dies at 58
1936 – Frank Gavan Duffy, Australian barrister and judge (High Court of Australia, 1913-35, and Chief Justice of Australia, 1931-35), dies at 84
1964 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player, dies at 79
1970 – Jonel Perlea, Romanian opera conductor, dies at 69
1991 – Christian Castries, French general (Dien Bien Phu), dies at 88
1997 – Chuck Wayne [Jagelka], America session and bebop jazz guitarist (Woody Herman’s First Herd; George Shearing Quintet; Gil Evans; Tony Bennett), dies of emphysema at 74
2007 – Jim David, American NFL defensive back (Pro Bowl 1954-59; NFL Champion 1952-53, 57; Detroit Lions), dies at 79
2010 – Roy Caton, American trumpet player and session musician, dies at 83
2024 – Robert Banas, American choreographer (The Judy Garland Show; Jonathan Winters Show), dies of pneumonia at 90
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 29th July 2025
1221 – Emperor Go-Horikawa, aged only 10 years old, ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan
1566 – Great Britain executes Agnes Waterhouse, the first British woman convicted of witchcraft in Chelmsford, England
1923 – Albert Einstein speaks about pacifism in Berlin
1940 – SV Urk Dutch soccer team forms
1973 – Led Zeppelin has more than $200,000 in cash stolen from a safe deposit box at the New York Hilton hotel
1990 – South Africa Communist Party begins first legal conference
1994 – Jesse Timmendequas rapes and murders Megan Kanka, 7, resulting in Megan’s Law
2018 – Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party claims to have won all 125 seats in the country’s general election amid widespread criticism of a sham vote
Today in History for 29th July 2025
Historical Events
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Macon, Georgia (Stoneman’s Raid)
1913 – Independence of the Principality of Albania recognized by the Conference of London
1961 – Bob Dylan is not seriously injured in car accident in New York City
1989 – Philadelphia Phillies retire #32 in honor of pitcher Steve Carlton
2021 – Following Simone Biles’ withdrawal, teammate Sunisa Lee becomes first Hmong-American Olympic champion in any sport, winning women’s artistic individual all-around gymnastics gold in Tokyo
Famous Birthdays
1870 – George Dixon, Canadian boxer (World Bantamweight title, 1892; World Featherweight champion, 1891-97 and 1898-1901; 1st Black athlete to win a World C’ship in any sport), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1908)
1938 – Don Wert, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star and World Series 1968 Detroit Tigers), born in Strasburg, Pennsylvania (d. 2024)
1956 – Ronnie Musgrove, American politician (Governor of Mississippi 2000-04), born in Tocowa, Mississippi
1971 – Monica Calhoun, American actress (The Best Man), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1990 – Shin Se-kyung, South Korean actress (Deep Rooted Tree), born in Yangcheon, South Korea
Famous Deaths
1886 – Solomon Gazfried, Ukrainian rabbi and author (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch), dies (b. 1804)
1900 – Umberto I of Italy, King of Italy (1878-1900), shot four times and assassinated by Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci at 56
1976 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (Cohen crime family), dies at 62
1982 – Cor Kieboom, Dutch president of Feyenoord football club, dies at 81
1996 – Aruna Asaf Ali, Indian independence activist and politician (first Mayor of Delhi), dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 28th July 2025
1641 – John Amner, English composer, dies at 61
1793 – Hayashi Shihei, Japanese military scholar, dies at 54
1847 – John Walter II, English newspaper owner (who made The Times into an important newspaper, 1812-47), dies at 71
1865 – William Henry Smith, English bookseller (W H Smith), dies at 73
1937 – Muslim Magomayev, Azerbaijani-Soviet composer, dies at 51
1982 – Nick Lucas [Dominic Lucanese], American jazz guitarist and singer (“Tiptoe Through the Tulips”; “Painting the Clouds With Sunshine”), dies of double pneumonia at 84
1999 – Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and 1989 Nobel laureate for his contributions to econometrics, dies at 87
2009 – Jim Johnson, American NFL Assistant Coach, Eagles Defensive Coordinator from 1999-2009 (b.1941)
2010 – Ivy Bean, English internet celebrity (b. 1905)
2014 – Jon Erikson, American swimmer 1st to triple cross English Channel in 1981, dies at 58
Historical Events for 28th July 2025
1893 – Vizcaya Bridge, the largest transporter bridge in the world designed by Basque architect Alberto de Palacio, opens over the River Ibaizabal
1904 – Rafael Reyes becomes dictator of Colombia after losing Panama
1942 – The Zionist partisans in Poland form the Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa (ZOB) or Jewish Fighting Organization
1980 – Peru adopts a constitution, and Fernando Belaúnde Terry becomes president
1984 – 23rd modern Olympic Games open in Los Angeles
1988 – Israeli diplomats arrive in Moscow for first visit in 21 years
1989 – NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland announces new high-temperature superconductors able to operate at 33 to 37 gigahertz
2008 – Historic Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier burns down for a second time in 80 years
Today in History for 28th July 2025
Historical Events
1849 – Memnon is the first clipper to reach San Francisco from New York during the Gold Rush, arriving after a voyage of 120 days
1864 – Second day of the Battle of Deep Bottom Run, Virginia
1898 – Spanish American War: U.S. Army occupies Ponce and declares victory in Puerto Rico over Spanish forces
1917 – Silent Parade organized by James Weldon Johnson, 10,000 African Americans march on Fifth Avenue in NYC to protest against lynching
2019 – Evian Championship Women’s Golf, Evian Resort GC: South Korean Ko Jin-young wins her second major title of the season by two strokes from Shanshan Feng, Jennifer Kupcho and Kim Hyo-joo
Famous Birthdays
1165 – Ibn al-‘Arabi, Muslim mystic and philosopher (The Meccan Revelations), born in Murcia, Spain (d. 1240)
1930 – David “Junior” Kimbrough, American bluesman, born in Hudsonville, Mississippi (d. 1998)
1939 – Barry Ashbee, Canadian NHL ice hockey defenseman, 1965, 1969-74 (Stanley Cup – Philadelphia Flyers), and coach, 1974-77 (Flyers), born in Weston. Ontario
1974 – Hannah Waddingham, British actress (Ted Lasso; Game of Thrones, 2015-16), and musical theater singer, born in London, England
1990 – Soulja Boy [DeAndre Cortez Way], American rapper (Crank That (Soulja Boy)), born in Chicago, Illinois
Famous Deaths
1837 – John Ross, British composer and organist, dies at 73
1863 – James Deshler, American Confederate general, dies after ammunition explodes at 30
1869 – Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist (b. 1787)
1965 – Minor Watson, American actor (Woman of the Year, Viva Cisco Kid), dies at 75
2015 – Clive Rice, South African cricket all-rounder (WSC 1978-79, ODI 1991; Nottinghamshire), dies from a brain tumour at 66
Famous Deaths for 27th July 2025
916 – Clemens van Ohrid, first bishop of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and saint, dies
1965 – Henri Daniel-Rops, French writer and historian (b. 1901)
1990 – Salim Ali, Indian Ornithologist (Birdman of India), dies at 90
1994 – Kevin Carter, South African photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner (member of the Bang-Bang Club), commits suicide at 33
2001 – Harold Beeley, British diplomat to the Arab world, dies at 92
2003 – Vance Hartke, American politician (b. 1919)
2011 – Ágota Kristóf, Hungarian writer (The Notebook), dies at 75
2012 – R G Armstrong [Robert Golden], American actor (Predator, Dick Tracey, T.H.E. Cat), dies of natural causes at 95
2021 – Pete George, American weightlifter (Olympic gold middle-heavyweight 1952, silver 1948, 56), dies at 92
2022 – Mary Alice [Smith], American stage and screen actress (Fences – Tony Award, 1987; I’ll Fly Away – Emmy Award, 1993; A Different World – “Lettie”), dies at 85 or 80 [year of birth disputed]
Historical Events for 27th July 2025
1900 – German Kaiser Wilhelm II delivers his “Hun” speech at Bremerhaven, addressing German troops departing to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in China, later used as propaganda in World War I
1914 – Roda JC soccer team forms in Kerkrade
1954 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Keller GC: Chick Herbert scores a 4 and 3 win over defending champion Walter Burkemo in the Tuesday final
1955 – Israeli passenger plane shot down above Bulgaria, killing 58
1988 – Baseball star Tommy John commits a record three errors on one play as the Yankees rout the Brewers 16-3
1995 – 28th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center
2015 – Fiat Chrysler fined record $105 million by US regulators over their number of car recalls
2017 – Reince Priebus resigns as Chief of Staff to US President Donald Trump after just over 6 months, making it the shortest non-interim tenure
Today in History for 27th July 2025
Historical Events
1909 – Orville Wright successfully tests the Wright Military Flyer, the world’s first military airplane, with a record flight of 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 40 seconds, flying approximately 64 km (40 mi)
1945 – Cubs purchase pitcher Hank Borowy from NY Yankees
1973 – Walter Blum becomes the sixth jockey to ride 4,000 winners
1984 – Montreal Expos first baseman Pete Rose collects his record 3,503rd career single, passing Ty Cobb with a hit off former Phillies teammate Steve Carlton at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia
2024 – Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus retains her 400 m freestyle crown at the Paris Olympics in 3:57.49, defeating Canada’s Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky of the US
Famous Birthdays
1880 – Joe Tinker, American Baseball HOF shortstop (World Series 1907, 08 Chicago Orphans/Cubs) and manager (Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs), born in Muscotah, Kansas (d. 1948)
1921 – Émile Genest, French Canadian actor (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Les Plouffe), born in Quebec City, Canada (d. 2003)
1931 – Jerry Van Dyke, American actor (My Mother the Car, Coach), born in Danville, Illinois (d. 2018)
1935 – Billy McCullough, Northern Irish footballer, born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland
1970 – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Danish actor (Game of Thrones), born in Rudkøbing, Denmark
Famous Deaths
1864 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician and 10th Mayor of Chicago (1846-47), dies at 54
1952 – W de Basil [US Voskresenski], Russian ballet dancer, dies
1958 – Claire Chennault, American aviator and military leader (Flying Tigers), dies at 64
2008 – Isaac Saba Raffoul, Mexican Businessman (b. 1923)
2024 – Carlos Alvarado, Costa Rican soccer goalkeeper (25 caps; LD Alajuelense), dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 26th July 2025
1801 – Daniel Dal Barba, Italian composer, dies at 86
1836 – José Melchor Gomis, Spanish Romantic composer, dies of tuberculosis at 45 [some source date death as 4 August]
1918 – Eduard “Mick” Mannock, British WW I flying ace (Victoria Cross), killed in action at 31
1919 – Edward Poynter, British painter, President of the Royal Academy, dies at 83
1925 – Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and logician (Begriffsschrift), dies at 76
1950 – Hans Lodeizen [Johannes Frederik], Dutch poet (Het innerlijk behang (The Inner Wallpaper)), dies of leukemia at 26
1970 – Claud Allister, British actor (Kiss Me Kate, Quartet, Bulldog Drummond), dies at 81
1981 – Donald Lybbert, American composer (Zap; Lines for the Fallen), and educator, dies at 58
1995 – Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian classical, jazz and Latin guitarist and composer (developed bossa nova), dies of leukemia at 77
2017 – June Foray, American voice actress (Rocky the Flying Squirrel; Cinderella, Cindy Lou Who), dies at 99