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What happened in history on this day: July 31?
On July 31 in ...
- 1777 - Marquis de Lafayette, age 19, made major-general of Continental Army.
- 1790 - In New York City, Attorney General Edmund Jennings Randolph issues the first U.S. patent, No. X000001, to Samuel Hopkins for "the improvement of pot ash and pearl ash".
- 1792 - David Rittenhouse lays foundation stone for Philadelphia Mint.
- 1798 - President John Adams issues proclamation extending circulation of foreign coins, due to coin shortage.
- 1809 - First practical US railroad track (wooden, for horse-drawn cars), Philadelphia.
- 1813 - British invade Plattsburgh, New York.
- 1912 - US government prohibits movies and photos of prize fights (censorship).
- 1914 - The New York Stock Exchange closes its doors due to the war in Europe.
- 1922 - 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world's first water skis (Minnesota, USA).
- 1931 - USS Constitution is recommissioned as an active vessel in the US Navy.
- 1932 - The US Mint releases the Washington quarter dollar to circulation.
- 1949 - Lightning strikes a baseball field in Florida, kills the shortstop and third baseman.
- 1964 - US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on the Moon. These are the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
- 1966 - Alabamans burn products of The Beatles due to John Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" remark.
- 1969 - National Guard mobilizes in racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- 1971 - Apollo 15 astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin are the first men to ride in a vehicle on the Moon, televised back to Earth to millions of viewers. The Moon ride lasted two hours.
- 1973 - Delta Airlines DC-9 crashes in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1974 - Congress passes legislation giving the president authority to legalize private ownership of gold.
- 1976 - NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo taken by Viking 1.
- 1981 - Arnette Hubbard installed as president of the US National Bar Association.
- 1987 - Rockwell International awarded contract to build a 5th space shuttle.
- 1999 - Mark O. Barton kills nine in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 2000 - (to August 3) The Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania nominates George W. Bush for U.S. President and Dick Cheney for Vice President.
Births on July 31
- 1894 - Birth of Roy Bargy in Michigan, USA; orchestra leader (Jimmy Durante Show).
- 1911 - Birth of George Liberace in Menasha, Wisconsin, USA; conductor and violinist, conducted orchestra for brother pianist Wladziu Liberace (The Liberace Show).
- 1912 - Birth of Irv Kupcinet in Chicago, Illinois, USA; TV host (At Random, Tonight! America After Dark).
- 1916 - Birth of Bill Todman in New York City, New York, USA; game show producer (The Price is Right, To Tell the Truth, Beat the Clock, I've Got a Secret, What's My Line).
- 1919 - Birth of Curt Gowdy in Green River, Wyoming, USA; sportscaster (New York Yankees, Chicago Red Sox, ABC, CBS, NBC, HBO, George Foster Peabody Award 1970, host of American Sportsman).
- 1929 - Birth of Don Murray in California, USA; actor (Bus Stop, Advise and Consent, Endless Love, Knots Landing, Sons and Daughters).
- 1935 - Birth of Geoffrey Lewis in Plainsfield, New Jersey, USA; actor (Earl - Flo, Gun Shy, Falcon Crest).
- 1943 - Birth of Susan Flannery in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Leslie Stewart - Dallas, The Bold and the Beautiful).
- 1944 - Birth of Geraldine Chaplin in Santa Monica, California, USA; actress (Dr Zhivago, The Three Musketeers, My Cousin Rachel, Dinotopia).
- 1944 - Birth of Sherry Lansing in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actress (The China Syndrome, Black Rain).
- 1951 - Birth of Barry Van Dyke in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; actor (Lieutenant Dillon - Battlestar Galactica, Diagnosis Murder).
- 1957 - Birth of Dirk Blocker in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Baa Baa Black Sheep, Ryan's Four).
- 1975 - Birth of Annie Parisse in Anchorage, Alaska, USA; actress (Law and Order).
- 1981 - Birth of M. Shadows; American singer (Avenged Sevenfold).
Deaths on July 31
- 1875 - Death of Andrew Johnson in Carter County, Tennessee, USA; American politician (Representative, Tennessee, 1843-53), governor of Tennessee (1853-57), US Senator (Tennessee, 1857-62, 1875), military governor of Tennessee (1862-64), 17th US President (1865-69).
- 1953 - Robert Taft (Senator-Republican-Ohio) (Mr Republican), dies in New York at age 63.
- 1964 - Death of Jim Reeves at age 29 in single-engine plane crash near Nashville, Tennessee, USA; country music singer ("Four Walls", "He'll Have to Go", "I'm Getting Better", "Am I Losing You", "Welcome to My World", "I Guess I'm Crazy", The Jim Reeves Show on radio and TV).
- 1977 - Stacy Moskowitz shot to death by Son of Sam, at age 20.
- 1988 - Trindad Silva of TV show Hill Street Blues, dies at age 38 in an auto accident.
- 2004 - Death of Virginia Grey at age 87 in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (over 100 films and 40 TV shows, Wagon Train, The Moneychangers).
- 2012 - Death of Eugene Louis Vidal AKA Gore Vidal at age 86; American author (The City and the Pillar (1948), Myra Breckinridge, Palimpsest), playwright, screenwriter, political activist (born 1925).
- 2022 - Death of Bill Russell at age 88; basketball player (NBA Boston Celtics, two NCAA championships, 1956 Olympics (gold)), coach, Black rights activist.
- 2023 - Death of Angus Cloud at age 25 at home in Oakland, California, USA; actor (Fezco - Euphoria TV show).
- 2023 - Death of Carol Duvall at age 97 in Traverse City, Michigan, USA; TV host (The Carol Duvall Show TV show).
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