July 26

July 26 is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 158 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 657 – First Fitna: the Battle of Siffin see the troops led by Ali ibn Abi Talib and those led by Muawiyah I clashing.
• 811 – Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded.
• 920 – Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at Pamplona.
• 1309 – Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V.
• 1469 – Wars of the Roses: the Battle of Edgecote Moor pitting the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of Edward IV of England takes place.
• 1509 – The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya ascends to the throne, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
• 1533 – Atahualpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas, dies by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro's Spanish conquistadors. His death marks the end of 300 years of Inca civilization.
• 1581 – Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration): the northern Low Countries declare their independence from the Spanish king, Philip II.
• 1745 – The first recorded women's cricket match takes place near Guildford, England.
• 1758 – French and Indian War: the Siege of Louisbourg ends with British forces defeating the French and taking control of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
• 1775 – The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress.
• 1788 – New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
• 1803 – The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London, England, Great Britain.
• 1822 – José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar.
• 1822 – First day of the three-day Battle of Dervenakia, between the Ottoman Empire force led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha and the Greek Revolutionary force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis.
• 1847 – Liberia declares independence.
• 1861 – American Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan's Raid ends – At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
• 1882 – Premiere of Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal at Bayreuth.
• 1882 – The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa.
• 1887 – Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement.
• 1890 – In Buenos Aires, Argentina the Revolución del Parque takes place, forcing President Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation.
• 1891 – France annexes Tahiti.
• 1897 – Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India.
• 1908 – United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
• 1914 – Serbia and Bulgaria interrupt diplomatic relationship.
• 1936 – The Axis powers decide to intervene in the Spanish Civil War.
• 1936 – King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
• 1937 – End of the Battle of Brunete in the Spanish Civil War.
• 1941 – World War II: in response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States.
• 1944 – World War II: the Soviet Army enters Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, liberating it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jews survive out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation.
• 1944 – The first German V-2 rocket hits the United Kingdom.
• 1945 – The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power.
• 1945 – The Potsdam Declaration is signed in Potsdam, Germany.
• 1945 – The US Navy cruiser USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with parts of the warhead for the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
• 1946 – Aloha Airlines begins service from Honolulu International Airport
• 1947 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
• 1948 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981 desegregating the military of the United States.
• 1951 – Walt Disney's 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom.
• 1952 – King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad.
• 1953 – Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution. The movement took the name of the date: 26th of July Movement
• 1953 – Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid.
• 1956 – Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking international condemnation.
• 1957 – Carlos Castillo Armas, dictator of Guatemala, is assassinated.
• 1958 – Explorer program: Explorer 4 is launched.
• 1963 – Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
• 1963 – An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (now in the Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.
• 1963 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan.
• 1965 – Full independence is granted to the Maldives.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Truong Dinh Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
• 1971 – Apollo program: launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo "J-Mission", and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
• 1974 – Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country's first civil government after seven years of military rule.
• 1977 – The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government.
• 1989 – A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
• 1990 – The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George Bush.
• 2005 – Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission – Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003.
• 2005 – Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, bringing the city to a halt for over 2 days.
• 2007 – Shambo, a black cow in Wales that had been adopted by the local Hindu community, is slaughtered due to a bovine tuberculosis infection, causing widespread controversy.
• 2008 – 56 people are killed and over 200 people are injured in 21 bomb blasts in Ahmedabad bombing in India.
• 2009 – The militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacks a police station in Bauchi, leading to reprisals by the Nigeria Police Force and four days of violence across multiple cities.

Births

• 1030 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Polish bishop and martyr (d. 1079)
• 1678 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1711)
• 1739 – George Clinton, American politician, 4th Vice President of the United States (d. 1812)
• 1782 – John Field, Irish composer (d. 1837)
• 1791 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1844)
• 1802 – Mariano Arista, Mexican politician, 42nd President of Mexico (d. 1855)
• 1829 – Auguste Marie François Beernaert, Belgian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Belgium, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
• 1842 – Alfred Marshall, English economist (d. 1924)
• 1844 – Stefan Drzewiecki, Polish scientist and inventor (d. 1938)
• 1846 – Texas Jack Omohundro, American actor (d. 1880)
• 1854 – Philippe Gaucher, French dermatologist (d. 1918)
• 1855 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist (d. 1936)
• 1856 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
• 1858 – Tom Garrett, Australian cricketer (d. 1943)
• 1865 – Philipp Scheidemann, German politician, 10th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1939)
• 1865 – Rajanikanta Sen, Indian poet and composer (d. 1910)
• 1872 – John Gourlay, Canadian football player (d. 1949)
• 1874 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian conductor (d. 1951)
• 1875 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1961)
• 1875 – Antonio Machado, Spanish poet (d. 1939)
• 1878 – Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (d. 1937)
• 1879 – Shunroku Hata, Japanese field marshal (d. 1962)
• 1880 – Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian politician (d. 1951)
• 1885 – André Maurois, French author (d. 1967)
• 1886 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
• 1888 – Reginald Hands, South African cricketer (d. 1918)
• 1892 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player (d. 1966)
• 1893 – George Grosz, German painter (d. 1959)
• 1894 – Aldous Huxley, English author (d. 1963)
• 1895 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (d. 1964)
• 1895 – Jane Bunford, English giant (d. 1922)
• 1896 – Tim Birkin, English race car driver (d. 1933)
• 1897 – Paul Gallico, American novelist (d. 1976)
• 1903 – Estes Kefauver, American politician (d. 1963)
• 1906 – Irena Iłłakowicz, Polish intelligence agent (d. 1943)
• 1908 – Salvador Allende, Chilean politician, 29th President of Chile (d. 1973)
• 1908 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourger sculptor (d. 2002)
• 1909 – Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, English politician (d. 1994)
• 1909 – Vivian Vance, American actress (d. 1979)
• 1911 – John Pierotti, American cartoonist (d. 1987)
• 1914 – C. Farris Bryant, American politician, 34th Governor of Florida (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Kan Yuet-keung, Hong Kong banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
• 1914 – Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Ellis Kinder, American baseball player (d. 1968)
• 1916 – Herbert Norkus, German Hitler Youth member (d. 1932)
• 1918 – Marjorie Lord, American actress
• 1919 – Virginia Gilmore, American actress (d. 1986)
• 1920 – Bob Waterfield, American football player (d. 1983)
• 1921 – Tom Saffell, American baseball player (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Jean Shepherd, American writer and actor (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Blake Edwards, American director (d. 2010)
• 1922 – Jason Robards, American actor (d. 2000)
• 1923 – Jan Berenstain, American author (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Biff Elliot, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player (d. 2002)
• 1925 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish doctor and politician (d. 2000)
• 1926 – James Best, American actor
• 1926 – Ana María Matute, Spanish writer
• 1927 – Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
• 1928 – Don Beauman, English race car driver (d. 1955)
• 1928 – Francesco Cossiga, Italian politician, 8th President of Italy (d. 2010)
• 1928 – Ibn-e-Safi, Pakistani writer and poet (d. 1980)
• 1928 – Elliott Erwitt, American photographer
• 1928 – Stanley Kubrick, American director (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Peter Lougheed, Canadian football player, lawyer, and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Bernice Rubens, Welsh novelist (d. 2004)
• 1929 – Marc Lalonde, Canadian politician
• 1929 – Joe Jackson, American manager, father of the Jackson family
• 1929 – Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Robert Colbert, American actor
• 1931 – Takashi Ono, Japanese gymnast
• 1931 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2006)
• 1933 – Yomo Toro, Puerto Rican guitarist and composer (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Igor Plechanov, Soviet Speedway Rider (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Tommy McDonald, American football player
• 1936 – Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player (d. 2012)
• 1936 – Mary Millar, English actress (d. 1998)
• 1938 – Darlene Love, American singer and actress
• 1939 – Jun Henmi, Japanese writer and poet
• 1939 – John Howard, Australian politician, 25th Prime Minister of Australia
• 1939 – Bob Lilly, American football player
• 1940 – Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
• 1940 – Mary Jo Kopechne, American teacher, secretary, and writer (d. 1969)
• 1940 – Bobby Rousseau, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1940 – Tolis Voskopoulos, Greek singer, actor, and composer
• 1941 – Jean Baubérot, French historian and sociologist
• 1941 – Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Brenton Wood, American singer-songwriter
• 1942 – Vladimír Mečiar, Slovak politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovakia
• 1942 – Teddy Pilette, Belgian race car driver
• 1943 – Peter Hyams, American director
• 1943 – Mick Jagger, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Rolling Stones and SuperHeavy)
• 1944 – Kiel Martin, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1945 – Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Helen Mirren, English actress
• 1948 – Luboš Andršt, Czech guitarist and composer (Energit and Framus Five)
• 1948 – Herbert Wiesinger, German pairs skater
• 1949 – Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai businessman and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Thailand
• 1949 – Roger Meddows Taylor, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Queen and The Cross)
• 1950 – Nelinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1950 – Susan George, English actress
• 1950 – Rich Vogler, American race car driver (d. 1990)
• 1951 – Rick Martin, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
• 1953 – Edie Mirman, American voice actress
• 1953 – Robert Phillips, American guitarist
• 1954 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player (d. 1994)
• 1955 – Aleksandrs Starkovs, Latvian footballer
• 1955 – Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani politician, 11th President of Pakistan
• 1956 – Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater
• 1956 – Tommy Rich, American wrestler
• 1957 – Nana Visitor, American actress
• 1957 – Yuen Biao, Hong Kong actor
• 1957 – Hart Hanson, American screenwriter and producer
• 1958 – Angela Hewitt, Canadian pianist
• 1959 – Rick Bragg, American author and journalist
• 1959 – Tom McGowan, American actor
• 1959 – Michael Bruce Ross, American serial killer (d. 2005)
• 1959 – Kevin Spacey, American actor
• 1961 – Gary Cherone, American singer-songwriter (Extreme, Van Halen, Tribe of Judah, and Hurtsmile)
• 1961 – Andy Connell, English keyboardist and composer (Swing Out Sister and A Certain Ratio)
• 1961 – Dimitris Saravakos, Greek footballer
• 1962 – Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Irish singer and fiddler (Altan, T with the Maggies, and String Sisters)
• 1963 – Jeff Stoughton, Canadian curler
• 1964 – Sandra Bullock, American actress and producer
• 1964 – Ralf Metzenmacher, German painter and designer
• 1964 – Anne Provoost, Belgian writer
• 1964 – Danny Woodburn, American actor
• 1965 – Jeremy Piven, American actor and producer
• 1967 – Anthony Durante, American wrestler (d. 2003)
• 1967 – Tim Schafer, American computer game designer, founded Double Fine Productions
• 1968 – Frédéric Diefenthal, French actor and director
• 1968 – Olivia Williams, English actress
• 1969 – Greg Colbrunn, American baseball player
• 1970 – Joan Wasser, American singer-songwriter and violinist (The Dambuilders, Those Bastard Souls, and Antony and the Johnsons)
• 1971 – Khaled Mahmud, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1972 – Nathan Buckley, Australian footballer
• 1972 – Wayne Wonder, Jamaican singer-songwriter
• 1973 – Kate Beckinsale, English actress
• 1973 – Lenka Kotková, Czech astronomer
• 1973 – Chris Pirillo, American television host, author, and blogger
• 1973 – Mariano Raffo, Argentine film director
• 1973 – Vaniity, Mexican transsexual porn actress
• 1974 – Daniel Negreanu, Canadian poker player
• 1974 – Dean Sturridge, English footballer
• 1975 – Ingo Schultz, German sprinter
• 1975 – Joe Smith, American basketball player
• 1977 – Tanja Szewczenko, German figure skater
• 1977 – Martin Laursen, Danish footballer
• 1977 – Rebecca St. James, Australian singer-songwriter, author and actress
• 1979 – Friedrich Michau, German rugby player
• 1979 – Derek Paravicini, English autistic savant and pianist
• 1979 – Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Mageina Tovah, American actress
• 1979 – Erik Westrum, American ice hockey player
• 1980 – Dave Baksh, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Sum 41, Brown Brigade, and Organ Thieves)
• 1980 – Lee Dong-gun, South Korean actor
• 1980 – Robert Gallery, American football player
• 1980 – Liliane Klein, American actress and singer
• 1980 – Ellen Hamilton Latzen, American actress
• 1981 – Vildan Atasever, Turkish actress
• 1981 – Abe Forsythe, Australian actor and director
• 1981 – Maicon Douglas Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 – Kalimba, Mexican singer and actor
• 1982 – Mugdha Godse, Indian actress
• 1982 – Christopher Kane, Scottish fashion designer
• 1982 – Chez Starbuck, American actor
• 1982 – Delilah Strong, American porn actress
• 1983 – Zara, Russian singer and actress
• 1983 – Hila Bronstein, Israeli-German singer-songwriter (Bro'Sis)
• 1983 – Kelly Clark, American snowboarder
• 1983 – Stephen Makinwa, Nigerian footballer
• 1983 – Roderick Strong, American wrestler
• 1983 – Naomi van As, Dutch field hockey player
• 1983 – Delonte West, American basketball player
• 1984 – Kristina Dörfer, German actress and singer
• 1984 – Kyriakos Ioannou, Cypriot high jumper
• 1984 – Benjamin Kayser, French rugby player
• 1984 – Leigh Lezark, American DJ and model (The Misshapes)
• 1984 – Melissa Marty, Puerto Rician model, Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008
• 1984 – Alex Parks, English singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Sabri Sarıoğlu, Turkish footballer
• 1985 – Marcus Benard, American football player
• 1985 – Zhou Bichang, Chinese singer-songwriter and actress
• 1985 – Gaël Clichy, French footballer
• 1985 – Audrey De Montigny, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Mat Gamel, American baseball player
• 1985 – Mugdha Godse, Indian actress and model
• 1985 – Natsuki Katō, Japanese actress and model
• 1985 – Jasmine Lennard, English model
• 1985 – Carly Lewis, American singer (No Secrets)
• 1985 – Matt Riddlehoover, American actor, director, and producer
• 1985 – Georgina Sherrington, English actress
• 1986 – Leo Hallerstam, Swedish actor
• 1986 – Monica Raymund, American actress
• 1987 – Alec Martinez, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Miriam McDonald, Canadian actress and dancer
• 1987 – Fredy Montero, Colombian footballer
• 1988 – Sayaka Akimoto, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48 and Diva)
• 1988 – Francia Raisa, American actress
• 1989 – Ivian Sarcos, Venezuelan model, Miss World 2011
• 1993 – Elizabeth Gillies, American actress and singer
• 1993 – Taylor Momsen, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (The Pretty Reckless)
• 1994 – Ella Leivo, Finnish tennis player
• 1995 – Holly Bodimeade, English actress
• 1996 – Olivia Breen, English paralympic athlete
• 1996 – Tatjana Vorobjova, Estonian tennis player

Deaths

• 342 – Emperor Cheng of Jin (b. 321)
• 796 – Offa of Mercia
• 811 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine emperor
• 1380 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan (b. 1322)
• 1471 – Pope Paul II (b. 1417)
• 1592 – Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron, French soldier (b. 1524)
• 1605 – Miguel de Benavides, Spanish clergyman and sinologist (b. 1552)
• 1611 – Horio Yoshiharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1542)
• 1680 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and writer (b. 1647)
• 1684 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician (b. 1646)
• 1712 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English statesman (b. 1631)
• 1723 – Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (b. 1660)
• 1801 – Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria (b. 1756)
• 1830 – George IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
• 1863 – Sam Houston, American politician and soldier, 7th Governor of Texas (b. 1793)
• 1867 – Otto of Greece (b. 1815)
• 1919 – Edward Poynter, English painter (b. 1836)
• 1925 – Antonio Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1888)
• 1925 – Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and logician (b. 1848)
• 1925 – William Jennings Bryan, American politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
• 1926 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (b. 1843)
• 1930 – Pavlos Karolidis, Greek historian (b. 1849)
• 1932 – Fred Duesenberg German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Company (b. 1876)
• 1934 – Winsor McCay, American cartoonist (b. 1871)
• 1938 – Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, British Socialite and mistress to King Edward VII (b. 1861)
• 1941 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician (b. 1875)
• 1942 – Roberto Arlt, Argentinian writer (b. 1900)
• 1952 – Eva Perón, Argentine actress and politician, First Lady of Argentina (b. 1919)
• 1953 – Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1883)
• 1960 – Cedric Gibbons, American art director and designer (b. 1893)
• 1960 – Maud Menten, Canadian biochemist (b. 1879)
• 1964 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English politician and race car driver (b. 1884)
• 1969 – Frank Loesser, American composer (b. 1910)
• 1970 – Robert Taschereau, Canadian jurist (b. 1896)
• 1971 – Diane Arbus, American photographer (b. 1923)
• 1976 – Stefanos Natsinas, Greek politician (b. 1910)
• 1980 – Ibn-e-Safi, Pakistani writer and poet (b. 1928)
• 1984 – George Gallup, American statistician, inventor of the Gallup poll (b. 1901)
• 1984 – Ed Gein, American serial killer (b. 1906)
• 1986 – W. Averell Harriman, American diplomat (b. 1891)
• 1988 – Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani scholar (b. 1919)
• 1990 – Brent Mydland, American keyboardist and songwriter (Grateful Dead, Bobby and the Midnites, and Silver) (b. 1952)
• 1992 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
• 1993 – Matthew Ridgway, American army general (b. 1895)
• 1994 – Christy Henrich, American gymnast (b. 1972)
• 1994 – James Luther Adams, American theologian (b. 1901)
• 1994 – Tonia Marketaki, Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1942)
• 1994 – Terry Scott, English actor (b. 1927)
• 1995 – Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1917)
• 1995 – Raymond Mailloux, Canadian politician (b. 1918)
• 1995 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (b. 1907)
• 1999 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician (b. 1917)
• 2000 – John Tukey, American statistician (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Rex T. Barber, American pilot (b. 1917)
• 2001 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist (b. 1913)
• 2004 – William A. Mitchell, American food chemist, created Pop Rocks and Cool Whip (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Betty Astell, English actress (b. 1912)
• 2005 – Alexander Golitzen, American production designer (b. 1908)
• 2005 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1945)
• 2007 – Lars Forssell, Swedish writer (b. 1928)
• 2007 – John Normington, English actor (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Skip Prosser, American basketball coach (b. 1950)
• 2009 – Marcey Jacobson, American photographer (b. 1911)
• 2010 – Sivakant Tiwari, Singapore legal officer (b. 1945)
• 2011 – Richard Harris, American football player (b. 1948)
• 2011 – Margaret Olley, Australian painter (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Don Bagley, American bassist and composer (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Miriam Ben-Porat, Israeli jurist (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Karl Benjamin, American painter (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Pat Porter, American runner (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Neil Reed, American basketball player (b. 1976)
• 2012 – Ralph Slatyer, Australian biologist (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Mary Tamm, English actress (b. 1950)
• 2012 – James D. Watkins, American navy officer (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Anne (Western Christianity)
  • Bartolomea Capitanio
  • Andrew of Phu Yen
  • Joachim (Anglican Communion)
  • Paraskevi of Rome (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • July 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Venera (Veneranda)

• Day of the National Rebellion (Cuba)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Liberia in 1847.
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Maldives from the United Kingdom in 1965.
• Kargil Victory Day or Kargil Vijay Diwas (India)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

---