Born On This Day:

• Emperor Maximilian II, 1527
• Jean Dubuffet, 1901
• Irv Kupcinet, 1912
• Milton Friedman, 1912
• Primo Levi, 1919
• Don Murray, 1929
• Geraldine Chaplin, 1944
• Sherry Lansing, 1944
• Evonne Goolagong, 1951
• Wesley Snipes, 1962
• J.K. Rowling, 1965

Died On This Day:

• Ignatius of Loyola, 1556
• King John V Portugal, 1750
• Denis Diderot, 1784
• Andrew Johnson, 1875
• Franz Liszt, 1886
• Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 1944
• Robert A. Taft, 1953
• Jim Reeves killed, 1964
• Teddy Wilson, 1986
• King Baudouin of the Belgians, 1993

Today's Events:

• 1498 - Christopher Columbus sights a new island in the Caribbean and names it 'La Trinidad.'
• 1790 - U.S. government issues first patent - to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for a process of making potash.
• 1792 - Cornerstone of U.S. Mint laid in Philadelphia; first U.S. government building.
• 1849 - Benjamin Chambers obtains patent on breech-loading cannon.
• 1904 - Trans-Siberian railroad completed after 13 years of construction; stretches 4,607 miles.
• 1910 - English murderer, Dr. Hawley Crippen, arrested at sea aboard SS Montrose -First use of radio.
• 1912 - Motion picture censorship regulation enacted.
• 1917 - Third battle of Ypres begins, WW1. Major British offensive ends with heavy losses.
• 1920 - British Communist Party formed in Cannon Street Station Hotel, London.
• 1964 - Unmanned space probe Ranger VII takes first close-up photographs of the moon.
• 1965 - Britain bans cigarette advertising on TV.
• 1971 - Apollo 15 astronauts Scott and Irwin take first ride on moon vehicle.
• 1987 - 400 trampled to death at Mecca as Iranians clash with Saudi riot police near Great Mosque.
• 1991 - Reuters is first to use expression 'ethnic cleansing' in article about Serb guerrillas in Croatia.
• 1995 - Disney announces merger with Capital Cities/ABC in $19 billion deal.
• 2003 - Felix Baumgartner is first man to fly unassisted across English Channel with carbon fiber wings.
• 2006 - Fidel Castro temporarily cedes power to his brother Raul because of ill health.

Feast Day of Saint:

• Ignatius of Loyola (died today in 1556)
• Germanus of Auxerre
• Neot

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