Events on Jul 31
- 0432St. Sixtus III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0768[Philip] begins and ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0904Saraceens hijacker Leo van Tripoli occupies and plunders Thessalonica
- 1291Egyptian Mamelukken occupies Akko, crusaders driven out of Palestine
- 1498Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad
- 1588English fleet beats Spanish Armada
- 1620Pilgrim Fathers depart (through England) to America
- 1653Fronde-leaders surrender in Bordeaux
- 1658Aurangzeb appoints himself Mongol Emperor
- 1667Peace of Breda: 2nd English war-Suriname vs. New-Netherlands ends
- 1737Prince Frederick of Wales escapes English court
- 1751Fire in Stockholm destroys 1,000 houses
- 1774Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen
- 1777Marquis de Lafayette, 19, made major-general of Continental Army
- 17901st US patent granted, to Samuel Hopkins for a potash process
- 1792Cornerstone laid for 1st US government building: US Mint in Philadelphia
- 1794All Jacobijnse clubs together in Haarlem
- 18091st practical US railroad track (wooden, for horse-drawn cars), Philadelphia
- 1813British invade Plattsburgh, New York
- 1830Charles X of France resigns by force
- 1849Benjamin Chambers patents breech loading cannon
- 18619,300 mm rainfall in July in Cherrapunji, Assam: world record
- 1864Ulysses S Grant is named General of Volunteers
- 1874Patrick Francis Healy, SJ, inaugurated as President of Georgetown University
- 1893Henry Perky patents shredded wheat
- 1900Boer Generals Prinsloo and Roux surrenders in Brandwater Basin
- 1901Abraham Kuyper becomes Premier of the Netherlands
- 1905Matumbi rebellion at Samanga German East Africa
- 1910Chicago Cub King Cole no-hits St. Louis, 4-0 in a 7 inning game
- 1910Clement van Maasdijk gives flying demonstration
Born on Jul 31
- 1396Philips [the Good]: Duke of Burgundy / Brabant / Limburg / count
- 1443Albrecht III of Saxon-Meisen: Duke of Saxon
- 1527Maximilian II: German King / Emperor (1564-76)
- 1550Jakob Handl [Petelin]: Austrian composer / bandmaster
- 1578Catharina Belgica of Nassau: Daughter of Willem of Orange
- 1597Sebastian Stosskopf: Elzassisch painter, baptized
- 1629Johann Jakob Lowe von Eisenach: Composer
- 1654Jacob Hop: Dutch politician / diplomat
- 1704Gabriel Cramer: Switzerland -- Mathematician (paradox of Cramer)
- 1743August R van Hekeren van Suideras: Dutch orangist
- 1748Isaac Ouwater: Amsterdam painter / cartoonist
- 1767Amelie Julia Candielle: Composer
- 1803John Ericsson: United States -- Inventor (screw propeller) / shipbuilder-USS Monitor
- 1808Frederick Nichols Crouch: Composer
- 1816George Henry Thomas: Major General (Union Army), died in 1870
- 1817Philip Cook, Jr.: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1894
- 1818Heinrich Kiepert: German cartographer / geographer
- 1825Thomas Hart Taylor: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
- 1828Francois Auguste Gevaert: Belgian composer (Le diable au moulin)
- 1830Frantisek Zdenek Xavier Alois Skuhersky: Composer
- 1834Peter H Hugenholtz: Dutch Reformer / founder (Free Parish)
- 1837William Clarke Quantrill: Colonel (Confederate Army), died in 1865
- 1841George Melville: Polar explorer, naval engineer
- 1844Ignazio Guidi: Italian orientalist / archaeologist
- 1847Ignatio Cervantes: Composer
- 1848Jean Robert Planquette: France -- Composer (Bells of Corneville)
- 1854Jose Canalejas contributes Mendez: Premier of Spain (1910-12)
- 1882Grete Gulbransson: Writer
- 1884Karl F Goerdeler: Mayor (Leipzig) "July 20th Plot"
- 1886Constant Permeke: Flemish painter / statues artist (Sow)
Died on Jul 31
- 1358Etienne Marcel: French textile Merchant / Reformer / Boer leader
- 1556Ignatius Loyola: Spanish founder (Jesuit), dies at about 65
- 1556St Ignatius of Loyola: Founder of Society of Jesus, dies in Rome
- 1648Benedictus J van Haeften: Poet (Regia thru Crucis), dies at about 60
- 1693Willem Calf: Rotterdams still life painter, dies at 73
- 1750Johan V: King of Portugal
- 1784Denis Diderot: French writer / philosopher (Jacques le fataliste)
- 1790Johann Christian Frischmuth: Composer, dies at 48
- 1795Jose B da Gama: Portuguese Poet (East Uraguay), dies at 54
- 1811Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla: Mexican hero priest, executed by Spanish
- 1864Louis Hachette: French publisher, dies at 64
- 1875Andrew Johnson: 17th pres, dies in Tennessee at 66
- 1886Franz von Liszt [Ferencz]: Hungarian pianist / composer, dies at 74
- 1891Jean-Baptist Capronnier: French / Belgian painter, dies at 77
- 1932Francesco Paolo Neglia: Composer, dies at 58
- 1940Whitney Krakower: US gangster, murderrd by "Bugsy" Siegel
- 1942Francis E Younghusband: British journalist / explorer, dies at 79
- 1948Maria "Marie" Hens: Flemish actress (Female Revue), dies at 70
- 1951J of Oudshoorn [John K Feylbrief]: Writer (Maze of Sentences)
- 1953Robert Taft: (Sen-R-Oh) "Mr Republican", dies in New York at 63
- 1960Karl Hasse: Composer, dies at 77
- 1964Jim Reeves: US country singer, dies in air crash at 39
- 1965James Rennie: Actor (Wilson, Skylark, Illicit), dies at 75
- 1966Alex E von Falkenhausen: German General, dies at 87
- 1967Mario Varvoglis: Composer, dies at 81
- 1967Richard Kuhn: German chemist
- 1968Gertrude Short: Actress (Stella Dallas, Blonde Venus), dies at 66
- 1972Paul-Henri Spaak: Belgian Premier / Secretary-General (NATO, 1957-61), dies at 73
- 1977Stacy Moskowitz: Shot to death by Son of Sam, at 20
- 1978Carleton Percy Hobbs: Actor (I Claudius, Dark Places), dies at 80
Historical events on August 1
- 0527Justinianus I succeeds Justinus I as Emperor of Byzantium
- 0860Peace of Koblenz: Charles the Bare, Louis the German and Lotharius II
- 0902Aghlabidisch emir Ibrahim II destroys Taormina, Sicily
- 1021Synod of Pavia: Emperor Henry II convicts married priest
- 1086English barons become submissive to King Willem the Occupier
- 1177Peace Treaty of Venice: Emperor Frederik I and Pope Alexander III
- 1203Alexius IV Angelus appointed co-regent of Byzantium
- 1291Everlasting League forms, basis of Swiss Confederation (Independence)
- 1404Earl Engelbert I of Nassau marries Johanna of Poland
- 1485Henry (VII) Tudors army sails to England
- 1498Christopher Columbus lands on "Isla Santa" (Venezuela)
- 1588English Admiral Howard van Effingham beats Spanish Armada
- 1589Murder attempt by Monk Jacques Clement on French King Hendrik III
- 16191st black Americans (20) land at Jamestown, Virginia
- 1626Earl Earnest Casimir conquerors Oldenzaal
- 1628Emperor Ferdinand II demands Austria Protestant convert to Catholicism
- 1690Battle at Staffarda: French army beats Victor Amadeus van Savoye
- 1711Surrounded Czar Peter the Great flees Azov
- 1714Monarch Georg Ludwig becomes King George I of England
- 17161st sculling race (London Bridge to Chelsea)
- 1732Foundation laid for Bank of England
- 1759Battle at Minden, Westfalen: Ferdinand van Brunswick beats France
- 1774Priestly discovers oxygen
- 1780Sweden declares neutrality
- 1781English army under general Cornwallis occupies Yorktown, Virginia
- 1785Caroline Herschel becomes 1st woman discoverer of a comet
- 1789US Customs begins enforcing Tariff Act
- 17901st US census (population of 3,939,214; 697,624 are slaves)
- 1793France becomes 1st country to use the metric system
- 1794Whiskey Rebellion begins
Born on August 1
- 0126Publius Helvius Pertinax: Roman Emperor (193 AD)
- 0848Frantisek Kmoch: Composer
- 1322Peter van Herenthals: South Netherlands theologist / church historian
- 1495Jan Scorel: Dutch painter / architect
- 1520Sigismund II Augustus: King of Poland (1548-72)
- 1659Antoine Mouque: Composer
- 1685Pietro Giuseppe Sandoni: Composer
- 1686Benedetto Marcello: Italian author / composer (Lettera Famigliare)
- 1714Richard Wilson: Welsh landscape painter
- 1744Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine Monnet de Lamarck: French zoologist
- 1753Charles: England, United Kingdom -- 3rd Earl Stanhope, radical politician / Scientist
- 1755Giuseppe Antonio Capuzzi: Composer
- 1766Ignaz Anton Franz Xavier Ladurner: Pianist / composer
- 1766Jeffrey Wyatville: Architect
- 1770William Clark: Charlottsville, Virginia -- 2nd lt of Lewis & Clark Expedition
- 1786Louis C Luzac: Judge / Dutch Internal minister
- 1814Maxcy Gregg: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1862
- 1815Richard Henry Dana: Novelist / lawyer spent 2 years before mast
- 1818Maria Mitchell: 1st US woman astronomer on Nantucket Island
- 1824Edward Francis Fitzwilliam: Composer
- 1840Aldine Sillman Kieffer: Composer
- 1843Robert Todd Lincoln: Captain (Union volunteers), died in 1926
- 1847Guido Papini: Violinist / composer
- 1858Hans Rott: Composer
- 1858Paul Barth: German philosopher / sociologist
- 1862Montague Rhodes James: Scholar / author / editor
- 1863Gaston Doumergue: Premier / President of France (1913..34)
- 1867William Orlamond: Denmark -- Actor (Flesh & Devil, Wind)
- 1871Oskar Fried: Composer
- 1877Charlotte Hughes: 1990 (oldest person in Great Britain)
Died on August 1
- 0527Justinus I: Byzantine Emperor (518-27)
- 1137Louis VI: King of France, dies (1108-37)
- 1190Floris III: Count of Holland
- 1457Laurentius Valla: Italian philosopher (Voluptate), dies at about 50
- 1628Francesco Gonzaga: Composer, dies at 37
- 1667Paul Foot: Lawyer / historian, dies at 48
- 1714Anne Stuart: Queen of England (1702-14), dies at about 49
- 1805Friedrich Christoph Gebtewitz: Composer, dies at 51
- 1813Carl Stenborg: Composer, dies at 60
- 1821Elizabeth Inchbald (Simpson): Actress / Author (Lady Abbess), dies at 68
- 1834Robert Morrison: Missionary in China / translated bible
- 1837Walter Geikie: Painter
- 1846Peter Ritter: Composer, dies at 83
- 1857Charles Turner: Engraver
- 1882Henry Clarence Kendall: Australian poet, dies of tuberculosis at 43
- 1883Karl Wilhelm Dindorf: Classic scholar
- 1884Heinrich Laube: Writer
- 1902Ludwig Beckmann: Painter
- 1911Konrad Duden: German linguist (Das grosse Duden Lexicon)
- 1920Bal Gangadhar Tilak: British-Indian hindu leader
- 1922Vaclav Juda Novotny: Composer, dies at 72
- 1925John Pieter Veth: Painter / lithographer / etcher / writer, dies at 61
- 1934Piotr Maszynski: Composer, dies at 79
- 1943Ismar Elbogen: German / US learned / rabbi (Jewish Lexicon), dies at 68
- 1946Andrei Vlasov: Russian General (Red Army, Wehrmacht) executed at 45
- 1954Charles-A Cingria: Writer
- 1962Leon Kruczkowski: Polish Author (Niemcy), dies at 62
- 1963Theodore Roethke: US Poet (Praise to the end!)
- 1964Johnny Burnette: Rocker, drowns at 30
- 1965Kiyoshi Nobutoki: Composer, dies at 77
Events on Aug 2
- 0257St. Stephen I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1057Frederik van Lotharingen elected as 1st Belgium, Pope Stephen IX [X]
- 1492Jews are expelled from Spain by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
- 1542French troops leave Flanders
- 1552Treaty of Passau: Emperor Charles V accepts Lutheran religion
- 1578Battle of Rijmenam
- 1581Leiden University names Snellius Math Professor
- 1610Henry Hudson enters bay later named after him, the Hudson Bay
- 1665French expedition against Barbarians in Tunis / Algiers
- 1704Duke of Marlborough beats French and Bavarians at Blenheim
- 1718Austrian joins Triple Alliance
- 1738France offers Emperor Karel VI mediation in war against Turkey
- 1776Formal signing of Declaration of Independence
- 1782George Washington creates Honorary Badge of Distinction
- 1786Utrechtse Vroedschap flees
- 1787Horace the Saussure reaches top of Mont Blanc
- 1791Samuel Briggs and his son, patent nail-making machine
- 1798British under Admiral Horatio Nelson beat French at Battle of Nile
- 1802Napoleon declared "Counsel for Life"
- 18191st parachute jump in US
- 1831Ten day campaign begins, Dutch army occupies Belgium
- 18321,300 Illinois militia defeat Sac and Fox indians, end Black Hawk War
- 1832Black Hawk defeated (IA)
- 1832Whites decimate Indians in Battle of Bad Axe River, Wisc
- 18581st mailboxes installed in Boston and NYC streets
- 1858Government of India transferred from East India Company to Crown
- 1861Skirmish at Dug Springs, MI
- 18642nd Saratoga Racetrack (NY) opens
- 1865Trans Atlantic Cable being laid by SS Great Eastern snaps and is lost
- 18731st trial run of SF cable car, Clay Street between Kearny and Jones
Born on Aug 2
- 1455Johan Cicero: Elect of Brandenburg (1486-99)
- 1627Samuel Dircksz van Hoogstraten: Dutch painter
- 1632Kaspar von Stieler: German poet (Teutsche Wolredner)
- 1696Mahmud I: Sultan of Ottoman (Turkey) (1730-54) / fought Austria and Russia
- 1723Nicolas de Pigage: French classical architect
- 1746Joan Lucaz: Dutch journalist / patriot
- 1775Jose Angel Lamas: Composer
- 1802Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman: 1st Archbishop of Westminster
- 1818[Willem] Alexander FCNM: Prince of the Netherlands / General Major
- 1826William Denison Whipple: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1902
- 1832Henry Steel Olcott: Co-founder (Theosophical Society)
- 1835Elisha Gray: Inventor (Telephone)
- 1854Francis Marion Crawford: British author
- 1858A Emma WT von Waldeck-Pyrmont: Queen / regent of the Netherlands
- 1858Catherina van Rennes: Composer
- 1865Irving Babbitt: US writer (Rousseau & Romanticism)
- 1867Ernest C Dowson: British poet
- 1868Constantine I: King of Greece
- 1878Aino J M Kallas: Finnish writer (White Ship, Estonian Tales)
- 1878Princess Ingeborg of Sweden
- 1881Ethel Mary Dell: English author (Storm Drift)
- 1881Stanislaw Kazuro: Composer
- 1882Johannes Tralow: Writer
- 1882Nanny I Larsen-Todsen: Swedish opera singer
- 1882Rik Wouters: Belgian painter / sculptor (Virgin Doll)
- 1888Oscar Rasbach: Composer
- 1890Pauline Hall: Composer
- 1891Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss: London, England -- Composer (Olympians)
- 1891Mihail Jora: Composer
- 1892Jack Warner: US movie studio head (Warner Bros)
Died on Aug 2
- 0257Stefanus I: Bishop of Rome (254-57) / heretic fighter
- 0686John V: 1st Greeks-Syrian Pope (685-86)
- 1075John VIII Xiphilinus: Theologian / patriarch of Constantinople
- 1100William II [Rufus]: King of England, shot in New Forest at 44
- 1512Alessandro Achillini: Italian Physician / philosopher, dies at 48
- 1589Henry III: King of Poland / France (1573-89), assassinated at 37
- 1600Arent van Dorp: Dutch Governor of East-Zealand, dies at about 70
- 1649Elisabeth Bas: Wife of Dutch Admiral Swartenhondt, dies at about 78
- 1655Alfonso de la Cueva: Spanish Marquis of Bedmar / diplomat, dies at 83
- 1788Thomas Gainsborough: English Painter (Blue Boy), dies at 61
- 1792Nathanael Gottfried Gruner: Composer, dies at 60
- 1799Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier: Balloonist, dies at 54
- 1811William Williams: US Merchant / signer (Declaration of Independence), dies at 80
- 1827James Hewitt: Composer, dies at 57
- 1849Mehemet Ali: British Viceroy to Egypt
- 1869Alexandrine Tinne: Dutch explorer / photographer, murdered at 30+
- 1872Judocus Smits: Dutch RC newspaper publisher (De Tijd), dies at 59
- 1873Frank Mori: Composer, dies at 53
- 1881Marcus Andrews Hislop Clarke: Author (His Natural Life) at 35
- 1903Martha Jane Cannary [Calamity Jane]: US desperado
- 1914Gabriel Edouard Xavier Dupont: Composer, dies at 36
- 1916Hamish MacCunn: Composer, dies at 48
- 1921Enrico Caruso: Italian opera singer, dies at 48
- 1922[Wilhel]Mina JPR Kruseman: Dutch Author / feminist, dies at 82
- 1922Alexander Graham Bell: Scottish / US physicist (telephone)
- 1923Warren Harding: 29th President (1921-23), dies at 57 in the Palace Hotel, San Francisco
- 1932Gheorghe Cucu: Composer, dies at 50
- 1934Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Hindenburg: Soldier / statesman, dies at 86
- 1938Bjarni Thorsteinsson: Composer, dies at 76
- 1941Jose Juan Tablada: Mexican Poet (La Feria), dies at 70