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Title 1
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904 Jul 31 |
Arabs captured Thessalonica of the Byzantine Empire. Links: Turkey, Byzantium, Romans 
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1291 Jul 31 |
Egyptian Mamelukes (Mamluks) occupied Akko (Akre). The crusaders were driven out of Palestine. Links: Egypt
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1792 Jul 31 |
The foundation-stone was laid for the US Mint by David Rittenhouse, Esq. The property was paid for and deeded to the United States of America for a consideration of $4266.67 on July 18, 1792. The money for the Mint was the first money appropriated by Congress for a building to be used for a public purpose. Links: USA, Money, DC
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1837 Jul 31 |
William Clarke Quantrill (d.1865), Confederate guerrilla leader, was born at Canal Dover, Ohio. Links: USA, Ohio, Civil War (US)
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1849 Jul 31 |
Garibaldi asked San Marino for asylum from Austrian forces. San Marino brokered for Garibaldi’s surrender to Austrian forces. Garibaldi and his wife escaped, and made their way to Ravenna. Anita Garibaldi died enroute. Garibaldi managed to reach safety in the Kingdom of Sardinia. Links: Italy, Sardinia, San Marino
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1880 Jul 31 |
Fancy Farm in Kentucky announced in a local newspaper upcoming barn dance, picnic and gander pulling. The event grew to become a major event and its 1982 event was certified in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest picnic. Links: USA, Kentucky, World Record
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1891 Jul 31 |
Great Britain declared territories in Southern Africa up to the Congo to be within their sphere of influence. Links: CongoDRC
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1912 Jul 31 |
Milton Friedman (d.2006), Nobel Prize winning economist (1976), was born. He became the premier spokesman for the monetarist school of economics. He argued that changes in money supply precede changes in the overall economic conditions. He argued that all social welfare programs should be replaced with a negative income tax. He held that there was a natural rate of unemployment that depended on the given economic structure. Links: USA, Economics
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1913 Jul 31 |
Bulgaria signed an armistice concluding the 2nd Balkan War. [see Aug 10] Links: Bulgaria
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1919 Jul 31 |
Curt Gowdy (d.2006), later leading sports announcer, was born in Green River, Wyo. Links: USA, Baseball, Football, Wyoming
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1932 Jul 31 |
Adolf Hitler's Nationalist Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) doubled its strength in legislative elections. Nazi Party won 37.3% of the vote. Links: Germany, Nazi
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1942 Jul 31 |
The German SS gassed some 1,000 Jews in Minsk, Byelorussia. Links: Belarus
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1951 Jul 31 |
Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis player and first aborigine in an international sport, was born. Links: Australia
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1954 Jul 31 |
Italians Lino Lacedelli (1925-2009) and Achille Compagnoni (1915-2009) first scaled Pakistan’s K-2, the world's second-highest mountain. In 2004 Lacedelli authored “K2: The Price of Conquest.” Links: Italy, Pakistan, Mountain
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1958 Jul 31 |
There was an anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet. Links: China
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1959 Jul 31 |
In Spain dissident student members of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), inspired by Marxist-Leninist teachings, founded ETA, which stands for Euskadi ta Askatasuna, meaning Basque Fatherland and Liberty in the Basque language. Its founders focused on Gen. Francisco Franco's suppression of the Basque language and culture. Links: Spain, Basques, ETA
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1965 Jul 31 |
J. K. Rawling, British writer, was born in Yate, Gloucestershire. She became famous for her Harry Potter fantasy series. Links: Britain, Writer
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1968 Jul 31 |
The Beatle's recorded Hey Jude. Links: Britain, Pop&Rock, Beatles
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1968 Jul 31 |
In Boston 4 men were convicted for shooting Edward "Teddy" Deegan in a Chelsea, Mass., alley in 1965. In 2007 a federal judge in Boston ordered the government to pay a record nearly $102 million for the FBI's role in the wrongful murder convictions of the 4 men. Two of the men convicted, Louis Greco and Henry Tameleo, died behind bars. The others, Peter Limone (73) and Joseph Salvati (74) spent three decades in prison. Links: USA, Massachusetts, FBI
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1969 Jul 31 |
The Zodiac killer sent a poorly-spelled letter to the SF Chronicle, Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald and took responsibility for the July 5 shootings along with a portion of a cipher. Links: USA, SF, Murder, SF Bay Area
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1969 Jul 31 |
Gary Allen Hinman, a California musician and UCLA Ph.D. candidate, was found murdered at his home in Topanga Canyon, Ca. Bruce Davis, a member of Charles Manson’s murderous cult, was later convicted for the murder of Gary Hinman as well as stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea. Links: USA, California, Murder
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1971 Jul 31 |
Apollo 15 astronauts (Dave Scott) took a drive on the moon in their land rover. Links: USA, NASA, Moon
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1972 Jul 31 |
Thomas F. Eagleton was chosen by the Democratic Party convention and presidential candidate George McGovern on July 31, 1972 as the Vice presidential candidate. He withdrew from the 1972 Democratic Party ticket because of publicity surrounding his hospitalization for psychiatric treatment. The senator from Missouri was asked to withdraw by McGovern after reporters discovered and published information about his three hospitalizations for psychiatric disorders. Links: USA, Missouri
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1972 Jul 31 |
The British army launched "Operation Motorman" to regain control of Catholic parts of Belfast and Londonderry that had been closed off by IRA road barricades since 1971. An IRA attack followed in Claudy, Northern Ireland, and 3 car bombs killed 9 people. In 2002 a court case was reopened following allegations that Rev. Jim Chesney (d.1980), a deceased Roman Catholic priest, had led the Claudy attack. In 2010 a new report said the British gov-ernment and the Roman Catholic church colluded to cover up the involvement of Rev. Jim Chesney. Links: Britain, Northern Ireland
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1975 Jul 31 |
In 2006 Donovan Wells, a prisoner in Kentucky, said he witnessed a grave being dug for Jimmy Hoffa at a horse farm in Milford, Mich., that was owned by Rolland McMaster, a Teamster official. A search of the site proved fruitless. Links: USA, Labor, Michigan, Kentucky
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1975 Jul 31 |
The Bangkok Agreement was signed as an initiative of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). As Asia’s 1st preferential trade agreement between developing countries it aimed at promoting intra-regional trade through exchange of mutually agreed concessions by member countries. Five countries, Republic of Korea, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Lao People’s Democratic Republic, were the initial signatories. China joined in April, 2000. Thailand and the Philippines did not ratify the agreement due to their ASEAN commitments. Links: Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Laos, South Korea, Sri Lanka
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1976 Jul 31 |
"Sugar" Ray Charles Leonard (b.1956), American boxer, won an Olympic gold medal in Montreal. Links: Canada, USA, Boxing
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1979 Jul 31 |
Cesar Chavez began a 12-day march from SF to Salinas to dramatize the 6-month strike of the United Farm Workers. Links: USA, California, Agriculture
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1981 Jul 31 |
A seven-week-old Major League Baseball strike ended. Links: USA, Labor, Baseball
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1981 Jul 31 |
The leader of Panama, General Omar Torrijos, died in a plane crash. Links: Panama, Air Crash
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1982 Jul 31 |
Jai Alai executive John B. Callahan (45) was fatally shot in Miami by mob hit man John Martorano. Callahan’s body was found Aug 2 in the trunk of his Cadillac. In 2008 former FBI agent John Connolly was convicted of 2nd degree murder for leaking information to mobsters that led to the shooting death of Callahan. In Jan, 2009, Connolly was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Links: USA, Florida, FBI, Mafia
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1987 Jul 31 |
Iranian pilgrims and riot police clashed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government blamed Iranians for the resulting 402 deaths. Links: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mad Crowd
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1988 Jul 31 |
The last US Playboy Club closed in Lansing, Mich. Links: USA, Michigan
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1988 Jul 31 |
In a televised speech, Jordan's King Hussein called for an independent Palestinian state in the Israeli-occupied territories as he told the Palestinians to take affairs into their own hands. Links: Israel, Palestine, Jordan
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1989 Jul 31 |
A pro-Iranian group in Lebanon released a grisly videotape purportedly showing the hanged body of American hostage William R. Higgins. Links: USA, Murder, Lebanon
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1990 Jul 31 |
Pitcher Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers became the 20th major leaguer to win 300 games as he led his team to victory over the Milwaukee Brewers 11-to-3. Links: USA, Baseball, Texas
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1990 Jul 31 |
Shoal Creek, a private club in Birmingham, Alabama, that drew criticism for being all-white, announced it had accepted a black businessman as an honorary member. Links: USA, Alabama, Golf
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1990 Jul 31 |
The Assembly of Bosnia-Herzegovina adopted constitutional amendments by which Bosnia-Herzegovina was declared a democratic state of equal citizens of the peoples of BH, Moslems, Serbs, Croats and others. Links: Bosnia
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1991 Jul 31 |
A volleyball court was installed at People’s Park in Berkeley at a cost of over $1 million due to the ensuing 12 days of rioting and arrests. The city established a five year lease with the Univ. to manage the 2.3 acre park. Links: USA, California, SF Bay Area
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1991 Jul 31 |
President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed START I, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Moscow. The agreement included the deactivation and removal by May, 1995, of 150 Minuteman II missiles in Missouri. The treaty was set to expire in Dec, 2009. Links: Russia, USA, USSR, Missouri, BushHW
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1991 Jul 31 |
The US Senate voted to allow women to fly combat aircraft. Links: USA
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1991 Jul 31 |
Seven people were killed when an Amtrak passenger train derailed near Camden, South Carolina. Links: USA, South Carolina, Train Crash
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1991 Jul 31 |
Seven people were killed when a bus carrying Girl Scouts crashed in Palm Springs, California. Links: USA, California, Bus Crash
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1992 Jul 31 |
Summer Sanders became the first American athlete to win four medals at the Barcelona Olympics as she won the gold in the women's 200-meter butterfly. Links: Spain, USA, Olympics, Swimmer
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1992 Jul 31 |
The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a problem-plagued scientific mission. The Atlantis space shuttle carried with it a Silver Bullet II yo-yo designed by Dr. Tom Kuhn. Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman played with it in zero gravity. Links: USA, NASA
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1992 Jul 31 |
In Italy the scala mobile wage index, which maintained a rigid link between Italian wages and prices, was scrapped after a long struggle. Links: Italy, Labor
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1993 Jul 31 |
The Missouri River overflowed. It was just part of the massive flooding throughout the Midwest. Links: USA, Missouri
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1993 Jul 31 |
A U.S.-brokered truce halted Israel's weeklong military offensive in southern Lebanon, which was launched in retaliation for guerrilla attacks that killed seven Israeli troops. Links: USA, Israel, Lebanon
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1993 Jul 31 |
Belgium's King Baudouin I died at age 62; he was succeeded by his brother, Prince Albert. Links: Belgium
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1994 Jul 31 |
The U.N. Security Council voted 12-0 with 2 abstentions to authorize member states to use "all necessary means" to oust the military leadership in Haiti. Links: Haiti, UN
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1995 Jul 31 |
The Walt Disney Company agreed to acquire Capital Cities-ABC Inc. in a $19 billion deal. The deal included the ESPN sports cable network. Links: USA, M&A
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1996 Jul 31 |
After Pres. Clinton's announcement that he would sign it, 98 Democrats joined the House's Republican majority to pass a historic welfare overhaul bill. The White House won agreement with key Republican lawmakers on a package of anti-terrorism measures. Links: USA, ClintonB
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1996 Jul 31 |
Mahmoud Jumayal died under interrogation by the Palestinian security forces. He was the 8th in 2 years. Links: Palestine
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1996 Jul 31 |
In South Africa rush-hour crowds panicked when guards used electric prods to drive off fare-beaters. At least 15 died and 65 were injured in a stampede. Links: South Africa, Mad Crowd
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1997 Jul 31 |
In New York City, police seized five bombs believed bound for terrorist attacks on city subways. 2 potential suicide bombers were shot and wounded in an explosives laden Brooklyn apartment. Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer (23) and Lafi Khalil (22) were recovering from wounds. In 1998 Khalil was acquitted and Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer was convicted of plotting to bomb a subway station. Mezer was sentenced to life in prison in 1999. Links: USA, NYC
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1997 Jul 31 |
Nigeria was named the most corrupt country in the world by business people in a report released by the German-based Transparency Int’l. Denmark was named the least corrupt. Links: Denmark, Nigeria, Corruption
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1997 Jul 31 |
Bao Dai (85), former emperor of Annam [now Vietnam] and chief of state of French Indochina, died in France. Links: Vietnam
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1998 Jul 31 |
In Algeria 6 civilians were killed and 23 wounded in 2 overnight attacks. In Malakou village in Tiaret province 4 villagers had their throats cut and in Algiers a parcel bomb killed 2. Links: Algeria
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1998 Jul 31 |
The Canadian dollar hit a historical low of 66.10 cents to $1US. Links: Canada, USA, Money
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1998 Jul 31 |
President Clinton said he would "completely and truthfully" answer prosecutors' questions about Monica Lewinsky in testimony to be beamed by closed-circuit television to a grand jury. Links: USA, ClintonB
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