July 15 July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. Events 1000-1899 1099 - Christian soldiers take Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after a difficult siege during First Crusade. 1207 - John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton 1381 - John Ball, veteran of Peasants' Revolt, executed in the presence of Richard II of England 1410 - Battle of Grunwald (a.k.a. Tannenberg or Zalgiris), power of the Teutonic Knights broken by a defeat from Poles and Lithuanians 1685 - In England, the Duke of Monmouth is executed at Tower Hill, after he was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemore. 1789 - Marquis de la Fayette, by acclamation, named colonel-general of the new National Guard of Paris. 1799 - In the Egyptian village of Rosette, French Captain Pierre Bouchard finds the Rosetta Stone. 1806 - Pike expedition: Near St. Louis, Missouri, United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine to explore the west. 1815 - Napoléon Bonaparte surrenders from aboard HMS Bellerophon 1862 - American Civil War: Confederates break naval blockade of Vicksburg, Mississippi. 1870 - Reconstruction: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union. 1900-1999 1916 - In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing incorporates Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing). 1918 - World War I: Second Battle of the Marne - The battle begins near the River Marne with a German attack. 1929 - First weekly radio broadcast of Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 1931 - Kid Chocolate becomes Cuba's first world boxing champion. 1944 - World War II: Americans take Saipan 1953 - John Reginald Christie executed. 1954 - First flight of the Boeing 707, the first American jet passenger airliner. 1958 - In Lebanon, 5,000 United States Marines land in the capital Beirut in order to provide military support to the pro-Western government there. 1974 - In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d'etat, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president. 1975 - Apollo Soyuz Test Project: Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft take off for U.S.-Soviet link-up in space. 1979 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his famous "malaise" speech, where he characterizes the greatest threat to the country as "this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation." 1988 - Die Hard opens in theaters, starring Bruce Willis 1989 - Punk rock band Bad Religion releases their sixth album, No Control. 1994 - Albert Belle of the Cleveland Indians caught with a corked bat. 1995 - Fluid Concepts & Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought by Douglas Hofstadter becomes the first item sold on Amazon.com 1996 - MSNBC cable-DBS channel launched 1996 - Hercules C-130 of the Royal Belgian Air Force carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport. Thirty-two people died in the flames, two people died of their injuries. Seven people sustained severe burns. 1997 - In Miami, Florida, serial killer Andrew Phillip Cunanan guns down Gianni Versace outside his home. 2000-2099 2002 - So-called "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and for the possession of explosives during the commission of a felony. Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each of the charges. 2002 - Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other suspects convicted of murdering Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. 2003 - AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day. 2004 - Monorail service begins in Las Vegas. 2004 - 18 - The Open Championship in golf, known in North America as the British Open, takes place in Troon, Scotland. 2004 - The BBC airs the documentary "The Secret Agent", exposing racism by members of the British National Party. Births 1500-1899 1573 - Inigo Jones, architect (d. 1652) 1606 - Rembrandt, artist (d. 1669) 1779 - Clement Clarke Moore, educator, author, poet (d. 1863) 1796 - Thomas Bulfinch, mythologist, author Bulfinch's Mythology (d. 1796) 1808 - Henry Edward Cardinal Manning, archbishop (d. 1892) 1812 - James Hope-Scott, lawyer (d. 1873) 1848 - Vilfredo Pareto, economist and sociologist (d. 1923) 1850 - Mother Cabrini, Roman Catholic saint (d. 1917) 1865 - Alfred Charles William Northcliffe, newspaper publisher 1870 - Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, Russian publisher and politician (d. 1922) 1871 - Kunikida Doppo, writer (d. 1908) 1892 - Walter Benjamin, literary critic and writer (d. 1940) 1899 - Sean F. Lemass, Irish leader (d. 1971) 1900-1999 1902 - Jean Rey, politician, President of the European Commission 1967-1970 (d. 1983) 1911 - Edward Shackleton, explorer (d. 1994) 1914 - Hammond Innes, writer (d. 1998) 1918 - Bertram N. Brockhouse, Nobel Prize-winning physicist (d. 2003) 1919 - Iris Murdoch, writer (d. 1999) 1923 - Philip Carey, actor 1926 - Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian dictator (d. 2003) 1926 - Driss Chraïbi - author 1927 - Nan Clow Martin, actress 1928 - Carl Woese, microbiologist 1930 - Jacques Derrida, philosopher 1930 - Stephen Smale, mathematician who broke the dimension barrier 1931 - Clive Cussler, author 1933 - Julian Bream, English guitarist and lutenist 1934 - Harrison Birtwistle, composer 1934 - Risto Jarva, Finnish filmmaker 1935 - Diahann Carroll, actress 1942 - Mil Mascaras, former professional wrestler 1944 - Millie Jackson, R&B singer 1945 - Jürgen Möllemann, German politician 1946 - Linda Ronstadt, singer 1947 - Camilla Parker Bowles, British royal mistress 1949 - Carl Bildt, politician 1949 - Trevor Horn, musician 1951 - Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler, former 1953 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian politician 1953 - John Denham, British politician 1956 - Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division 1956 - Barry Melrose, hockey player, coach, commentator 1956 - Marky Ramone, member of The Ramones 1958 - Mac Thornberry, American politician 1961 - Forest Whitaker, actor 1966 - Irène Jacob, actress 1968 - Eddie Griffin, actor 1970 - Chi Cheng, musician 1971 - John Dolmayan, Drummer for System of a Down 1973 - Brian Austin Green, actor Deaths 500-1899 518 - Anastasius I, Byzantine Emperor 1085 - Robert Guiscard, Norman adventurer 1291 - Rudolph I of Germany 1381 - John Ball 1571 - Shimazu Takahisa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1514) 1685 - James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth 1767 - Michael Bruce, poet 1782 - Farinelli, castratto 1828 - Jean Antoine Houdon, sculptor 1839 - Winthrop Mackworth Praed, poet 1844 - Claude Charles Fauriel, historian 1857 - Carl Czerny, composer 1869 - A.J. Hayne, black captain of Arkansas militia 1881 - William 'Billy the Kid' Bonney 1890 - Gottfried Keller, poet 1900-1999 1904 - Anton Chekhov, playwright 1929 - Hugo von Hofmannsthal, dramatist 1931 - Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, economist 1933 - Freddie Keppard, musician (b. 1890) 1940 - Robert Pershing Wadlow, giant: 8 feet, 11-1/10 inches tall 439 pounds. 1947 - Walter Donaldson, songwriter 1948 - John J. Pershing, U.S. general 1957 - George Cleveland, actor 1957 - James M. Cox, U.S. politician 1958 - Julia Lennon, mother of Beatle John 1959 - Billie Holiday, jazz and blues singer 1960 - Lawrence Tibbett, actor 1961 - John E. Brownlee, Canadian politician 1965 - Francis Cherry, U.S. politician 1971 - Bill Thompson, actor (Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, et al.) 1980 - Eddie Jackson, comedian 1982 - Wendy Caulfield, 1st Green River victim 1983 - Eddie Foy Jr, actor 1986 - Benny Rubin, actor/comedian 1986 - Florence Halop, actress 1988 - Eleanor Estes, author 1990 - Troy Dixon, rapper 1991 - Bert Convy, actor 1992 - Hammer DeRoburt, first President of Nauru (b. 1922) 1997 - Gianni Versace, fashion designer 2000-2099 2003 - Adi Preißler, German soccer player 2003 - Roberto Bolaño, Chilean poet Holidays and observances Botswana - President's Day Brunei - Birthday of the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam Palermo, Sicily - Festival of Santa Rosalia Japan - Third day of Obon feast period Saint Swithun's feast day (Anglican Church) Saint Vladimir the Great's day (Eastern Orthodox; Roman Catholic) Confuflux (Discordianism) July 14 - July 16 - June 15 - August 15 -- listing of all days Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_15