Born On This Day:

• Simon Bolivar, 1783
• Alexander Dumas (pere), 1802
• Franz Wedekind, 1864
• Lord Dunsany, 1878
• Robert Graves, 1895
• Amelia Earhart, 1898
• Bella Abzug, 1920
• Alexander H. Cohen, 1920
• Peter Yates, 1929
• Pat Oliphant, 1935
• Ruth Buzzi, 1936
• Robert Hays, 1947
• Michael Richards, 1949
• Lynda Carter, 1951
• Karl Malone, 1963
• Barry Bonds, 1964
• Jennifer Lopez, 1970
• Anna Paquin, 1982

Died On This Day:

• St. Simeon the Stylite, AD 459
• Don Carlos (Spain), 1568
• Martin Van Buren, 1862
• Sacha Guitry, 1957
• Constance Bennett, 1965
• Peter Sellers, 1980
• Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1991
• William Brennan, 1997
• Tiny Rowland, 1998

Today's Events:

• 1534 - Explorer Jacques Cartier lands in Canada and claims it for France.
• 1567 - 1 year-old James VI becomes King of Scotland on abdication of mother, Mary Queen of Scots.
• 1701 - Detroit settlement established by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac who claims it for Louis XIV of France.
• 1704 - Gibralter taken by the British.
• 1799 - Napoleon defeats Turks at Aboukir.
• 1837 - Indian post office established.
• 1847 - Brigham Young names territory 'State of Desert.' Later, US government changes it to Utah.
• 1847 - Brigham Young and 143 followers fleeing from persecution in Iowa reach the Great Salt Lake.
• 1910 - The stories of Paul Bunyon first published in the Detroit News Tribune.
• 1911 - Archaeologist Hiram Bingham discovers Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas.
• 1915 - Excursion steamship 'Eastland' sinks in Chicago River; 812 die.
• 1925 - John Scopes found guilty in 'Monkey Trial' and fined $100 for teaching evolution in Dayton TN.
• 1946 - U.S. explodes first underwater atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll.
• 1954 - Voice bounced off moon: James Trexler speaks at US Naval Research Lab and bounce back 21/2 secs.
• 1969 - Apollo XI returns to earth after historic moon landing.
• 1989 - Time Inc. merges with Warner Communications; Time Warner Inc. born 5:01 p.m. (EDT).
• 2009 - U.S. minimum wage rises to $7.25 per hour from $6.55.

Feast Day of Saint:

• Christine
• Boris and Gleb

Holiday:

• Pioneer Day in Utah commemorating Mormons arrival
• Simon Boliver's birthday celebrated in Venezuela

Non-Specific Holiday:

• JAGANNATH, RATHA YATRA, Hindu Festival of Car Procession of Vishnu
• CHI HSI, Festival of the Milky Way in China (seventh day of the seventh moon)
• CHUNG YÜAN, Festival of the Dead in China (fifteenth day of the seventh moon)
• NAGA PANCHAMI, Hindu Festival of the Serpent God
• RAKHI, Hindu Festival to Pledge Protection
• CHUNG-CH'IU, Mid-autumn festival, Harvest or Moon Festival (fifteenth day of the eighth moon)
• TISH'AH B'AB (Jewish) Anniversary of fall of Jerusalem and destruction of first & 2nd temples Ab 9
• NEBUTA, Japanese Festival at peak of summer to drive off lethargy
• SOMA NOMAOI, Japanese Festival of samurai equestrian displays