Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
On 31, Thursday July 1919, British police strike in London and Liverpool, for recognition of the National Union of Police and Prison Officers; over 2,000 strikers are dismissed.
On 31, Thursday July 1919, Maurice Boitel, French painter, born (d. 2007)
On 31, Thursday July 1919, Primo Levi, Italian chemist and writer, born (d. 1987)
On 31, Thursday July 1919, Robert M. Morgenthau, American lawyer
On 31, Monday July 1944, James Strong, businessman, CEO of Qantas, born (died 2013)
On 31, Monday July 1944, WWII: 2,495 drown when USS Parche torpedoes Yoshino Maru.
On 31, Monday July 1944, Geraldine Chaplin, English-American actress, born
On 31, Monday July 1944, Jonathan Dimbleby, British journalist and author, born
On 31, Monday July 1944, Robert C. Merton, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate, born
On 31, Monday July 1944, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and writer, died (b. 1900)
On 31, Friday July 1959, Kim Newman, English fiction writer, journalist, and film critic, born
On 31, Thursday July 1969, The old halfpenny ceases to be legal tender in the UK.
On 31, Thursday July 1969, Pope Paul VI arrives in Entebbe, Uganda for the first visit by a reigning Pope to Africa.
On 31, Thursday July 1969, Antonio Conte, Italian football player and manager, born
On 31, Tuesday July 1979, B. J. Novak, American actor, director, and producer, born
On 31, Tuesday July 1979, Beatrix Lehmann, British actress, theatre director and author, died (b. 1903)
On 31, Monday July 1989, In Lebanon, Hezbollah announces that it has hanged U.S. Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins in retaliation for Israel’s July 28 kidnapping of Hezbollah leader Abdel Karim Obeid. The same day, the United Nations Security Council passes United Nations Security Council Resolution 638, condemning the taking of hostages by both sides in the conflict.
On 31, Monday July 1989, Nintendo releases the Game Boy portable video game system in North America.
On 31, Monday July 1989, Alexis Knapp, American actress and singer, born
On 31, Monday July 1989, Marshall Williams, Canadian actor, born
On 31, Monday July 1989, Jessica Williams, American actress, born
On 31, Monday July 1989, Zelda Williams, American actress, born
On 31, Monday July 1989, Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player, born
On 31, Sunday July 1994, Federal Opposition Leader Alexander Downer states that the Mabo legislation would be repealed “if necessary”.
On 31, Sunday July 1994, Lil Uzi Vert, American rapper, born
On 31, Saturday July 1999, NASA intentionally crashes the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the lunar surface.
On 31, Friday July 2009, Ricky Ponting became the highest Australian aggregate run-scorer in Test cricket, surpassing Allan Border’s total of 11,174 during the third Test of the 2009 Ashes at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
On 31, Friday July 2009, Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager, died (b. 1933)
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch