274
Major Events
- 1804 – U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr fatally wounded former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.
- 1914 – Babe Ruth made his Major League Baseball debut with the Boston Red Sox.
- 1921 – Former President William Howard Taft was sworn in as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the only person to hold both offices.
- 1979 – Skylab, the first U.S. space station, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean and parts of Western Australia.
- 1995 – The Srebrenica massacre began in Bosnia during the Yugoslav Wars, ultimately resulting in the deaths of over 8,000 people.
Famous Birthdays
- John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), 6th President of the United States
- E. B. White (1899–1985), American author of Charlotte’s Web and co-author of The Elements of Style
- Yul Brynner (1920–1985), Russian-American actor best known for The King and I
- Giorgio Armani (born 1934), Italian fashion designer
- Lil’ Kim (born 1974), American rapper and actress
- Alessia Cara (born 1996), Canadian singer-songwriter
Notable Deaths
- Alexander Hamilton (d. 1804), U.S. Founding Father, economist, and first Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1755 or 1757)
- Laurence Olivier (d. 1989), British actor and director (b. 1907)
- Lady Bird Johnson (d. 2007), First Lady of the United States and environmental advocate (b. 1912)
- George Gershwin (d. 1937), American composer and pianist (b. 1898)
Holidays
- World Population Day – Established by the United Nations to raise awareness of global population issues.
- Naadam Festival (Mongolia) – Celebrating the “Three Manly Games”: wrestling, horse racing, and archery.
Fun Facts
- Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded on July 11 but died the following day, July 12.
- Giorgio Armani’s name is synonymous with minimalist elegance and global fashion influence.
- Skylab’s fall in 1979 led to an Australian municipality issuing a tongue-in-cheek fine to NASA for littering.
- World Population Day was inspired by the Five Billion Day in 1987, marking the approximate date the world’s population reached five billion.
- Babe Ruth’s debut marked the beginning of one of the most legendary careers in sports history.