July 23

July 23 is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 161 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 811 – Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures khan Krum's treasury.
• 1319 – A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios.
• 1632 – Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.
• 1677 – Scanian War: Denmark–Norway captures the harbor town of Marstrand from Sweden.
• 1793 – Kingdom of Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France.
• 1821 – While the Mora Rebellion continues, Greeks capture Monemvasia Castle. Turkish troops and citizens are transferred to Minor Asia coasts.
• 1829 – In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
• 1840 – The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Henry Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
• 1874 – Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa, India.
• 1881 – The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
• 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
• 1908 – The Second Constitution accepted by the Ottomans.
• 1914 – Austria-Hungary issues a series of demands in an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia accepts all but one of those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.
• 1921 – The Communist Party of China (CPC) launched the first time of founding National Congress, Communist party in China are established.
• 1926 – Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
• 1927 – The first station of the Indian Broadcasting Company goes on the air in Bombay.
• 1929 – The Fascist government in Italy bans the use of foreign words.
• 1936 – In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of Socialist and Communist parties.
• 1940 – The United States' Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• 1942 – The Holocaust: The Treblinka extermination camp is opened.
• 1942 – World War II: The German offensives Operation Edelweiss and Operation Braunschweig begin.
• 1942 – Bulgarian poet and Communist leader Nikola Vaptsarov is executed by firing squad.
• 1943 – The Rayleigh bath chair murder occurred in Rayleigh, Essex, England.
• 1943 – World War II: The British destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Laforey sink the Italian submarine Ascianghi in the Mediterranean after she torpedoes the cruiser HMS Newfoundland.
• 1945 – The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
• 1952 – The European Coal and Steel Community is established.
• 1952 – General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the real power behind the coup) in overthrowing King Farouk of Egypt.
• 1961 – The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.
• 1962 – Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
• 1962 – The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
• 1967 – 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city. It ultimately kills 43 people, injures 342 and burns about 1,400 buildings.
• 1968 – Glenville shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization and the Cleveland Police Department occurs. During the shootout, a riot begins and lasts for five days.
• 1968 – The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft takes place when a Boeing 707 carrying ten crew and 38 passengers is taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft was en route from Rome, to Lod, Israel.
• 1970 – Qaboos bin Said al Said becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur initiating massive reforms, modernization programs and end to a decade long civil war.
• 1972 – The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
• 1974 – The Greek military junta collapses, and former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis is invited to lead the new government, beginning Greece's metapolitefsi era.
• 1982 – The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
• 1983 – Thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
• 1983 – Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
• 1984 – Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
• 1986 – In London, England, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
• 1988 – General Ne Win, effective ruler of Burma since 1962, resigns after pro-democracy protests.
• 1992 – A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that limiting certain rights of homosexual people and non-married couples is not equivalent to discrimination on grounds of race or gender.
• 1992 – Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
• 1995 – Comet Hale–Bopp is discovered; it becomes visible to the naked eye on Earth nearly a year later.
• 1997 – Digital Equipment Corporation files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
• 1999 – ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan by Yuji Nishizawa.
• 2005 – Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
• 2015 – NASA announces discovery of Kepler-452b by Kepler.

Births

• 1301 – Otto, Duke of Austria (d. 1339)
• 1339 – Louis I, Duke of Anjou (d. 1384)
• 1401 – Francesco I Sforza, Italian husband of Bianca Maria Visconti (d. 1466)
• 1503 – Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1547)
• 1649 – Pope Clement XI (d. 1721)
• 1705 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (d. 1752)
• 1773 – Thomas Brisbane, Scottish general and politician, 6th Governor of New South Wales (d. 1860)
• 1775 – Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812)
• 1777 – Philipp Otto Runge, German painter and illustrator (d. 1810)
• 1796 – Franz Berwald, Swedish surgeon and composer (d. 1868)
• 1823 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop and missionary (d. 1894)
• 1838 – Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (d. 1910)
• 1851 – Peder Severin Krøyer, Norwegian-Danish painter (d. 1909)
• 1856 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (d. 1920)
• 1864 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (d. 1903)
• 1865 – Max Heindel, Danish occultist and mystic (d. 1919)
• 1865 – Henry Norris, English businessman and politician (d. 1934)
• 1866 – Francesco Cilea, Italian composer and academic (d. 1950)
• 1878 – James Thomas Milton Anderson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Saskatchewan (d. 1946)
• 1882 – Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1948)
• 1883 – Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, French-English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of the County of London (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Emil Jannings, Swiss-German actor and producer (d. 1950)
• 1885 – Izaak Killam, Canadian financier and philanthropist (d. 1955)
• 1885 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman, created Prince Matchabelli perfume (d. 1935)
• 1886 – Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish historian and diplomat (d. 1978)
• 1886 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (d. 1976)
• 1888 – Raymond Chandler, American author and screenwriter (d. 1959)
• 1892 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1975)
• 1894 – Arthur Treacher, English-American actor and singer (d. 1975)
• 1895 – Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)
• 1898 – Bengt Djurberg, Swedish actor and singer (d. 1941)
• 1898 – Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1987)
• 1898 – Herman Kruusenberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1970)
• 1898 – Jacob Marschak, Ukrainian-American economist, journalist, and author (d. 1977)
• 1878 – Daniel Cosío Villegas, Mexican historian, economist (d. 1976)
• 1899 – Gustav Heinemann, German lawyer and politician, 3rd President of West Germany (d. 1976)
• 1900 – John Babcock, Canadian-American sergeant (d. 2010)
• 1901 – Hank Worden, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
• 1905 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian author and educator (d. 2013)
• 1906 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian activist (d. 1931)
• 1909 – John William Finn, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2010)
• 1912 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (d. 2015)
• 1912 – Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979)
• 1913 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Nassos Daphnis, Greek-American painter (d.2010)
• 1914 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (d. 1971)
• 1914 – Elly Annie Schneider, German-American actress (d. 2004)
• 1916 – Laurel Martyn, Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2013)
• 1918 – Abraham Bueno de Mesquita, Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (d. 2014)
• 1918 – Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Amália Rodrigues, Portuguese singer and actress (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Damiano Damiani, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1923 – Morris Halle, Latvian-American linguist and academic
• 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Gavin Lambert, English-American screenwriter and author (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Gazanfer Bilge, Turkish wrestler (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Tajuddin Ahmad, Bangladeshi politician, 1st Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
• 1925 – Quett Masire, Botswana politician, the former Vice-President of Botswana
• 1925 – Alain Decaux, French historian and author
• 1925 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress and singer
• 1926 – Ludvík Vaculík, Czech journalist and author (d. 2015)
• 1927 – Gérard Brach, French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
• 1928 – Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor
• 1928 – Vera Rubin, American astronomer and academic
• 1928 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author and screenwriter (d. 2004)
• 1929 – Danny Barcelona, American drummer (d. 2007)
• 1929 – Lateef Jakande, Nigerian journalist and politician, 5th Governor of Lagos State
• 1931 – Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (d. 2006)
• 1931 – Claude Fournier, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
• 1931 – Guy Fournier, Canadian author and screenwriter
• 1933 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (d. 1991)
• 1933 – Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host (d. 2014)
• 1933 – Richard Rogers, Italian-English architect, designed the Millennium Dome and Lloyd's building
• 1935 – Jim Hall, American race car driver
• 1936 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1993)
• 1936 – Anthony Kennedy, American lawyer and jurist
• 1937 – Bruce Surtees, American cinematographer (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Dave Webster, American football player and engineer
• 1938 – Juliet Anderson, American porn actress and producer (d. 2010)
• 1938 – Ronny Cox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1938 – Mickey Curtis, Japanese actor and singer
• 1938 – Götz George, German actor and producer
• 1938 – Charles Harrelson, American murderer (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Bert Newton, Australian actor and television host
• 1940 – Don Imus, American radio host
• 1940 – Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finance (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Christopher Andrew, English historian and academic
• 1941 – Richie Evans, American race car driver (d. 1985)
• 1941 – Sergio Mattarella, Italian lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th President of Italy
• 1942 – Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian journalist and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane
• 1942 – Madeline Bell, American singer-songwriter (Blue Mink)
• 1942 – Richard E. Dauch, American businessman, co-founded American Axle (d. 2013)
• 1942 – Dimitris Liantinis, Greek philosopher and author (d. 1998)
• 1943 – Randall Forsberg, American scientist (d. 2007)
• 1943 – Larry Manetti, American actor and producer
• 1943 – Tony Joe White, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 – Dino Danelli, American drummer (The Rascals and Fotomaker)
• 1944 – Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist
• 1945 – Edward Gregson, English composer and educator
• 1945 – Jon Sammels, English footballer
• 1946 – Andy Mackay, English oboe player and composer (Roxy Music)
• 1946 – René Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (d. 2014)
• 1947 – Gardner Dozois, American journalist and author
• 1947 – David Essex, English singer-songwriter, and actor
• 1947 – Torsten Palm, Swedish race car driver
• 1947 – Robin Simon, English historian, critic, and academic
• 1948 – Ross Cranston, Australian-English lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales
• 1948 – John Cushnahan, Irish educator and politician
• 1948 – John Hall, American pianist, songwriter, and politician
• 1948 – Stanisław Targosz, Polish general (d. 2013)
• 1949 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
• 1950 – Alex Kozinski, Romanian-American lawyer and judge
• 1950 – Ian Thomas, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1950 – Blair Thornton, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
• 1950 – Alan Turner, Australian cricketer
• 1951 – Edie McClurg, American actress and singer
• 1951 – Michael McConnohie, American voice actor and screenwriter
• 1951 – Leman Sam, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1952 – Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 2008)
• 1952 – Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
• 1952 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (Rush) (d. 2008)
• 1952 – Janis Siegel, American singer (The Manhattan Transfer)
• 1953 – Claude Barzotti, Belgian-Italian singer
• 1953 – Graham Gooch, English cricketer and coach
• 1953 – Bob Hilton, American game show host and announcer
• 1953 – Najib Razak, Malaysian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia
• 1954 – Annie Sprinkle, American porn actress and producer
• 1957 – Jo Brand, English comedian, actress, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Kate Buffery, English actress
• 1957 – Nikos Galis, American basketball player
• 1957 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
• 1958 – Tomy Winata, Indonesian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation
• 1959 – Nancy Savoca, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1960 – Susan Graham, American soprano and educator
• 1960 – Al Perez, American wrestler
• 1961 – André Ducharme, Canadian comedian and author
• 1961 – Michael Durant, American pilot and author
• 1961 – Martin Gore, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Depeche Mode and VCMG)
• 1961 – Woody Harrelson, American actor and producer
• 1962 – Eriq La Salle, American actor, director, and producer
• 1962 – Alain Lefèvre, Canadian pianist and composer
• 1962 – Hiroshi Mikami, Japanese actor
• 1964 – Uwe Barth, German politician
• 1964 – Nick Menza, German drummer and songwriter (Megadeth and Memorain)
• 1965 – Slash, English-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Hollywood Rose, and Road Crew)
• 1965 – Rob Dickinson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Catherine Wheel)
• 1965 – Dick Jaspers, Dutch billiards player
• 1966 – Samantha Beckinsale, English actress
• 1966 – Hamid Mir, Pakistani journalist
• 1967 – Titiyo, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1967 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
• 1968 – Elden Campbell, American basketball player
• 1968 – Gary Payton, American basketball player and actor
• 1968 – Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
• 1969 – Andrew Cassels, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1969 – David Kaufman, American actor
• 1970 – Charisma Carpenter, American actress
• 1970 – Thea Dorn, German author and playwright
• 1970 – Povilas Vanagas, Lithuanian ice dancer
• 1970 – Sam Watters, American singer-songwriter and producer (Color Me Badd)
• 1971 – Dalvin DeGrate, American rapper and producer (Jodeci)
• 1971 – Alison Krauss, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
• 1971 – Christopher Lee, Malaysian actor, host and singer
• 1971 – Chris Michalek, American harmonica player (d. 2010)
• 1971 – Joel Stein, American journalist
• 1972 – Giovane Élber, Brazilian footballer
• 1972 – Suat Kılıç, Turkish journalist, lawyer, and politician, Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports
• 1972 – Floyd Reifer, Barbadian cricketer and coach
• 1972 – Marlon Wayans, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1973 – Fran Healy, English-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Travis)
• 1973 – Monica Lewinsky, American author and handbag designer
• 1973 – Himesh Reshammiya, Indian singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
• 1973 – Andrea Scanavacca, Italian rugby player and manager
• 1974 – Terry Glenn, American football player and coach
• 1974 – Maurice Greene, American sprinter
• 1974 – Kathryn Hahn, American actress and screenwriter
• 1974 – Stephanie March, American actress
• 1974 – Sonny Siaki, Samoan-American wrestler
• 1974 – Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
• 1975 – Suriya, Indian actor and producer
• 1975 – Sung Hyun-ah, South Korean model and actress
• 1975 – Dan Rogerson, English politician
• 1976 – Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
• 1977 – Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1977 – Néicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1977 – Shawn Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 – Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
• 1978 – Marianela González, Venezuelan actress
• 1978 – Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1978 – Lauren Groff, American novelist and short story writer
• 1979 – Perro Aguayo Jr., Mexican wrestler and promoter (d. 2015)
• 1979 – Mehmet Akif Alakurt, Turkish actor and model
• 1979 – Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Greek footballer
• 1979 – Anta Livitsanou, Greek actress and singer
• 1979 – Richard Sims, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1979 – Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian race car driver
• 1979 – Cathleen Tschirch, German sprinter
• 1980 – Sandeep Parikh, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1980 – Michelle Williams, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (Destiny's Child)
• 1981 – Steve Jocz, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, and director (Sum 41)
• 1981 – Dmitriy Karpov, Kazakhstani decathlete
• 1981 – Aleksandr Kulik, Estonian footballer
• 1981 – Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
• 1982 – Ömer Aysan Barış, Turkish footballer
• 1982 – Zanjoe Marudo, Filipino actor
• 1982 – Joe Mather, American baseball player
• 1982 – Tom Mison, English actor
• 1982 – Gökhan Ünal, Turkish footballer
• 1982 – Gerald Wallace, American basketball player
• 1982 – Paul Wesley, American actor, director, and producer
• 1983 – Andrew Eiden, American actor
• 1983 – Bec Hewitt, Australian actress and singer
• 1983 – Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
• 1983 – David Strettle, English rugby player
• 1984 – Walter Gargano, Uruguayan footballer
• 1984 – Matthew Murphy, English singer and guitarist (The Wombats)
• 1984 – Brandon Roy, American basketball player
• 1984 – Celeste Thorson, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1985 – Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
• 1985 – Anna Maria Mühe, German actress
• 1986 – Ayaka Komatsu, Japanese model, actress, and singer
• 1986 – Nelson Philippe, French race car driver
• 1986 – Reece Ritchie, English actor
• 1986 – Yelena Sokolova, Russian long jumper
• 1987 – Alessio Cerci, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Felipe Dylon, Brazilian singer
• 1987 – Serdar Kurtuluş, Turkish footballer
• 1987 – Arthur Napiontek, American actor
• 1988 – Pippa Bennett-Warner, English actress
• 1988 – Pablo Holman, Chilean singer-songwriter and guitarist (Kudai)
• 1988 – Ping Medina, Filipino actor
• 1989 – Eliška Bučková, Czech model, Czech Miss 2008
• 1989 – Daniel Radcliffe, English actor and singer
• 1989 – Donald Young, American tennis player
• 1990 – Ryan Castro, American actor
• 1990 – Young JV, Filipino actor, singer, and dancer
• 1990 – Kevin Reynolds, Canadian figure skater
• 1991 – Bibi Jones, American porn actress
• 1991 – Lauren Mitchell, Australian gymnast
• 1991 – Jarrod Wallace, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1992 – Danny Ings, English footballer
• 1996 – Rachel G. Fox, American actress and singer
• 2002 – Lil' P-Nut, American rapper and actor

Deaths

• 997 – Nuh II, Samanid emir (b. 963)
• 1227 – Qiu Chuji, Chinese religious leader, founded the Dragon Gate Taoism (b. 1148)
• 1373 – Bridget of Sweden, Swedish mystic and saint, founded the Bridgettine Order (b. 1303)
• 1403 – Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (b. 1343)
• 1531 – Louis de Brézé, French husband of Diane de Poitiers
• 1536 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1519)
• 1562 – Götz von Berlichingen, German knight and poet (b. 1480)
• 1584 – John Day, English printer (b. 1522)
• 1692 – Gilles Ménage, French lawyer, philologist, and scholar (b. 1613)
• 1727 – Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, English politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1661)
• 1757 – Domenico Scarlatti, Italian harpsichord player and composer (b. 1685)
• 1764 – Gilbert Tennent, Irish-American minister (b. 1703)
• 1773 – George Edwards, English biologist and ornithologist (b. 1693)
• 1781 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American pastor and politician (b. 1724)
• 1793 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
• 1833 – Anselmo de la Cruz, Chilean politician, Chilean Minister of Finance (b. 1777)
• 1853 – Andries Pretorius, South African general (b. 1798)
• 1875 – Isaac Singer, American businessman, founded the Singer Corporation (b. 1811)
• 1878 – Carl von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician, pathologist, and politician (b. 1804)
• 1885 – Ulysses S. Grant, American general and politician, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
• 1916 – William Ramsay, Scottish-English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
• 1919 – Spyridon Lambros, Greek historian and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1851)
• 1920 – Conrad Kohrs, German-American rancher and politician (b. 1835)
• 1924 – Frank Frost Abbott, American author and scholar (b. 1850)
• 1926 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter (b. 1848)
• 1930 – Glenn Curtiss, American pilot and engineer (b. 1878)
• 1932 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (b. 1884)
• 1941 – George Lyman Kittredge, American scholar and educator (b. 1860)
• 1941 – José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot (b. 1914)
• 1942 – Adam Czerniaków, Polish engineer and politician (b. 1880)
• 1942 – Andy Ducat, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
• 1948 – D. W. Griffith, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1875)
• 1950 – Shigenori Tōgō, Japanese politician and diplomat, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1882)
• 1951 – Robert J. Flaherty, American director and producer (b. 1884)
• 1951 – Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (b. 1856)
• 1954 – Herman Groman, American runner (b. 1882)
• 1955 – Cordell Hull, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
• 1957 – Bob Shiring, American football player and coach (b. 1870)
• 1966 – Montgomery Clift, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 1968 – Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
• 1971 – Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910)
• 1973 – Eddie Rickenbacker, American pilot and race car driver, founded Rickenbacker Motors (b. 1890)
• 1979 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (b. 1898)
• 1980 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908)
• 1980 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (Grateful Dead and Heart of Gold Band) (b. 1948)
• 1980 – Mollie Steimer, Russian activist (b. 1897)
• 1982 – Giorgos Gavriilidis, Greek actor (b. 1906)
• 1982 – Vic Morrow, American actor and director (b. 1929)
• 1983 – Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899)
• 1985 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer and manager (b. 1923)
• 1989 – Donald Barthelme, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
• 1990 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (b. 1899)
• 1993 – James R. Jordan, Sr., American father of Michael Jordan (b. 1936)
• 1996 – Jean Muir, American actress and singer (b. 1911)
• 1996 – Aliki Vougiouklaki, Greek actress and singer (b. 1934)
• 1997 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (b. 1904)
• 1999 – Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
• 2001 – Eudora Welty, American author and photographer (b. 1909)
• 2002 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (b. 1920)
• 2002 – William Luther Pierce, American activist and author (b. 1933)
• 2002 – Chaim Potok, American rabbi and author (b. 1929)
• 2003 – James E. Davis, American police officer and politician (b. 1962)
• 2003 – Yvonne Sanson, Greek-Italian actress (b. 1926)
• 2004 – Mehmood Ali, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1932)
• 2004 – Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitarist and composer (b. 1925)
• 2004 – Piero Piccioni, Italian pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-French singer and actor (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Ted Greene, American guitarist and journalist (Bluesberry Jam) (b. 1946)
• 2006 – Jean-Paul Desbiens, Canadian journalist and academic (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Tor Kamata, American-Canadian wrestler (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Ron Miller, American songwriter and producer (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghan king (b. 1914)
• 2008 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss lawyer and politician, 70th President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1924)
• 2009 – E. Lynn Harris, American author and screenwriter (b. 1955)
• 2009 – Talis Kitsing, Estonian kick-boxer, trainer, and politician (b. 1976)
• 2010 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Amy Winehouse, English singer-songwriter (b. 1983)
• 2012 – Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Margaret Mahy, New Zealand author (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Lakshmi Sahgal, Indian soldier and politician (b. 1914)
• 2012 – Esther Tusquets, Spanish publisher and author (b. 1936)
• 2012 – José Luis Uribarri, Spanish television host and director (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Rona Anderson, Scottish-English actress (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Pauline Clarke, English author (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Arthur J. Collingsworth, American diplomat (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Emile Griffith, American boxer and trainer (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Kim Jong-hak, South Korean director and producer (b. 1951)
• 2013 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Dora Bryan, English actress and singer (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (b. 1917)
• 2014 – Ariano Suassuna, Brazilian author and playwright (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Jordan Tabor, English footballer (b. 1990)
• 2014 – Saado Ali Warsame, Somalian singer and politician (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Joseph Wood, American murderer (b. 1958)
• 2015 – Shigeko Kubota, Japanese-American sculptor and director (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Don Oberdorfer, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1931)
• 2015 – José Sazatornil, Spanish actor (b. 1925)
• 2015 – William Wakefield Baum, American cardinal (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Bridget of Sweden
  • Heiromartyr Phocas (Eastern Orthodox)
  • Liborius of Le Mans
  • July 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Birthday of Haile Selassie (Rastafari)
• Children's Day (Indonesia)
• National Hot Dog Day (United States)
• National Remembrance Day (Papua New Guinea)
• Renaissance Day (Oman)
• Revolution Day (Egypt)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to July 23.

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