July 11 in History

Virgin Galactic launches its founder, Richard Branson, into space, the first company ever to do so.

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escapes from the maximum security Altiplano prison in Mexico, his second escape.

Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.

The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carries out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85 others.

In Johannesburg, Spain defeat the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to win their first FIFA World Cup title.

The Siege of Lal Masjid in Islamabad, Pakistan, ends after the Pakistan Army storms the mosque which had been occupied by Islamist militants.

Mumbai train bombings: 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.

Yugoslav Wars: Srebrenica massacre begins, lasting until 22 July.

Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 passengers and crew on board.

Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec begins.

A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board.

Italy defeats West Germany 3–1 to win the FIFA World Cup.

America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain, killing 216 tourists.

Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968, is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories.

The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.

The nationalization of all large copper mines in Chile is completed.

First transatlantic satellite television transmission.

Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth.

France legislates for the independence of Dahomey (later Benin), Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso) and Niger.

Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States.

Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismai'li worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III.

Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank.

The Exodus 1947 heads to Palestine from France.

Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Volhynia) peak.

World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily: German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily.

The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.

World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State.

The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.

Engelbert Zaschka of Germany flies his large human-powered aircraft, the Zaschka Human-Power Aircraft, about 20 meters at Berlin Tempelhof Airport without assisted take-off.

Eric Liddell wins the gold medal in 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics, after refusing to run in the heats for 100m, his favoured distance, on a Sunday.

The Hollywood Bowl opens.

A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect.

The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People's Republic.

Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.

In the East Prussian plebiscite the local populace decides to remain with Weimar Germany.

The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands.

Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.

The US Navy launches the USS Nevada (BB-36) as its first standard-type battleship.

Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy.

Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.

Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon.

The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kōkichi Mikimoto.

A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua.

Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.

The British Mediterranean Fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War.

American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens; Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C.

Waterloo railway station in London opens.

The Fly-fisher's Entomology is published by Alfred Ronalds. The book transformed the sport and went to many editions.

Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed.

A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons makes his first comet discovery. In the next 27 years he discovers another 36 comets, more than any other person in history.

The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.

The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.

Jacques Necker is dismissed as France's Finance Minister sparking the Storming of the Bastille.

Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979.

A coalition army of Dutch, English and German troops under the duke of Marlborough defeats a French army under the duke of Burgundy and the Marshal Vendome in the battle of Oudenarde.

Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec.

While exploring the North Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage, Martin Frobisher sights Greenland, mistaking it for the hypothesized (but non-existent) island of "Frisland".

Giuliano della Rovere is appointed bishop of Coutances.

Ottoman Interregnum: Süleyman Çelebi defeats his brother Musa Çelebi outside the Ottoman capital, Edirne.

Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time.

Charles IV, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, is elected King of the Romans.

Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch): A coalition around the Flemish cities defeats the king of France's royal army.

Election of pope Adrian V under the influence of Charles I of Anjou following the death of pope Gregory X earlier that year. Adrian V dies the following month.

Baldwin IV, 13, becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor.

Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy.

Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius).

Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is killed by troops of the Roman Gothic general Ricimer.

Amad Diallo, Ivorian footballer

Braydon Trindall, Australian rugby league player

Ryan Rolison, American baseball player

Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter

Joey Bosa, American football player

Tyler Medeiros, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer

Bartłomiej Kalinkowski, Polish footballer

Anthony Milford, Australian rugby league player

Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Lucas Ocampos, Argentine footballer

Rebecca Bross, American gymnast

Heini Salonen, Finnish tennis player

Ryan Strome, Canadian ice hockey player

Vincent Trocheck, American ice hockey player

Mohamed Elneny, Egyptian footballer

Mona Barthel, German tennis player

Connor Paolo, American actor

Adam Jezierski, Polish-Spanish actor and singer

Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player

Tobias Sana, Swedish footballer

Travis Waddell, Australian rugby league player

Shimanoumi Koyo, Japanese sumo wrestler

Étienne Capoue, French footballer

Natalie La Rose, Dutch singer, songwriter and dancer

Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer

Raúl García, Spanish footballer

Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer

Robert Adamson, American actor, director, and producer

Orestis Karnezis, Greek footballer

Yorman Bazardo, Venezuelan baseball player

Tanith Belbin, Canadian-American ice dancer

Jacoby Jones, American football player (died 2024)

Joe Pavelski, American ice hockey player

Morné Steyn, South African rugby player

Engin Baytar, German-Turkish footballer

Peter Cincotti, American singer-songwriter and pianist

Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and dancer

Andre Johnson, American football player

Susana Barreiros, Venezuelan judge

Tyson Kidd, Canadian wrestler

Raio Piiroja, Estonian footballer

Kathleen Edwards, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer

Eduardo Nájera, Mexican-American basketball player and coach

Rubén Baraja, Spanish footballer and manager

Spencer Cox, American politician, 18th Governor of Utah

Alanas Chošnau, Lithuanian singer-songwriter

Hermann Hreiðarsson, Icelandic footballer and manager

André Ooijer, Dutch footballer and coach

Lil' Kim, American rapper and producer

Andrew Bird, American indie rock singer-songwriter and violinist

Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek runner

Cormac Battle, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Michael Rosenbaum, American actor

Leisha Hailey, American singer-songwriter and actress

Scott Muller, Australian cricketer

Justin Chambers, American actor

Ned Boulting, British sports journalist and television presenter

Daniel MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter (died 2008)

Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer

Nadeem Aslam, Pakistani-English author

Kentaro Miura, Japanese author and illustrator (died 2021)

Mick Molloy, Australian radio and television host and actor

Rod Strickland, American basketball player and coach

Ricky Warwick, Northern Irish musician

Tony Cottee, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster

Ernesto Hoost, Dutch kick-boxer and sportscaster

Scott Shriner, American singer-songwriter and bass player

Craig Charles, English actor and TV presenter

Al MacInnis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Dean Richards, English rugby player and coach

Lisa Rinna, American actress and talk show host

Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2007)

Pauline McLynn, Irish actress and author

Fumiya Fujii, Japanese music artist

David Baerwald, American singer-songwriter, composer, and musician

Richie Sambora, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Stephanie Dabney, American ballerina (died 2022)

Mark Lester, English actor

Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager

Peter Murphy, English singer-songwriter

Patsy O'Hara, Irish Republican hunger striker (died 1981)

Michael Rose, Jamaican singer-songwriter

Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic

Robin Renucci, French actor and director

Sela Ward, American actress

Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (died 2010)

Piyasvasti Amranand, Thai businessman and politician, Thai Minister of Energy

Angélica Aragón, Mexican film, television, and stage actress and singer

Suresh Prabhu, Indian accountant and politician, Indian Minister of Railways

Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Mexican actress, director, and producer

Leon Spinks, American boxer (died 2021)

Mindy Sterling, American actress

Bill Barber, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Stephen Lang, American actor and playwright

Ed Ott, American baseball player and coach (died 2024)

Jim Higgs, Australian cricketer

Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani physicist and academic

Bonnie Pointer, American singer (died 2020)

Jeff Hanna, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer

Bo Lundgren, Swedish politician

Lou Hudson, American basketball player and coach (died 2014)

Patricia Polacco, American author and illustrator

Richard Carleton, Australian journalist and television host (died 2006)

Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic

Tom Holland, American actor, director, and screenwriter

Robert Malval, Haitian businessman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Haiti

Rolf Stommelen, German racing driver (died 1983)

Darrell Eastlake, Australian sportscaster (died 2018)

Bill Boggs, American journalist and producer

Henry Lowther, English trumpet player

Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author

Frederick Hemke, American saxophonist and educator (died 2019)

Oliver Napier, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (died 2011)

Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company (died 2025)

Clark R. Rasmussen, American politician (died 2024)

Jim Carlen, American football player and coach (died 2012)

Frank Kelso, American admiral and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (died 2013)

Jean-Guy Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2024)

Ron Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2012)

Tab Hunter, American actor and singer (died 2018)

Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (died 2014)

Jack Alabaster, New Zealand cricketer (died 2024)

Harold Bloom, American literary critic (died 2019)

Mike Foster, American politician, 53rd Governor of Louisiana (died 2020)

Ezra Vogel, American sociologist (died 2020)

David Kelly, Irish actor (died 2012)

Frank Rosenblatt, Psychologist and Computer Scientist, AI pioneer (died 1971)

Andrea Veneracion, Filipina choirmaster (died 2014)

Theodore Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer (died 2007)

Chris Leonard, English footballer (died 1987)

Herbert Blomstedt, Swedish conductor

Frederick Buechner, American minister, theologian, and author (died 2022)

Charles Chaynes, French composer (died 2016)

Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (died 2017)

Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (died 2012)

Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2004)

César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (died 2005)

Brett Somers, Canadian-American actress and singer (died 2007)

Charlie Tully, Northern Irish footballer and manager (died 1971)

Richard Pipes, Polish-American historian and academic (died 2018)

Tun Tun, Indian actress and comedian (died 2003)

Gene Evans, American actor (died 1998)

Fritz Riess, German-Swiss racing driver (died 1991)

Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor and dancer (died 1985)

Zecharia Sitchin, Russian-American author (died 2010)

Venetia Burney, English educator, who named Pluto (died 2009)

Roy Krenkel, American illustrator (died 1983)

Mortimer Caplin, American tax attorney, educator, and IRS Commissioner (died 2019)

Hans Maier, Dutch water polo player (died 2018)

Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002)

Gough Whitlam, Australian lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (died 2014)

Leonard Goodwin, British protozoologist (died 2008)

Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (died 1966)

Erna Flegel, German nurse who was still present in the Führerbunker when it was captured by Soviet troops (died 2006)

Sally Blane, American actress (died 1997)

Irene Hervey, American actress (died 1998)

Jacques Clemens, Dutch catholic priest (died 2018)

Herbert Wehner, German politician, Minister of Intra-German Relations (died 1990)

Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (died 1952)

Niño Ricardo, Spanish guitarist and composer (died 1972)

Rudolf Abel, English-Russian colonel and Soviet spy (died 1971)

Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (died 1976)

Samuel Goudsmit, Dutch-American physicist (formulated concept of electron spin) (died 1978)

Gwendolyn Lizarraga, Belizean businesswoman, activist, and politician (died 1975)

Wilfrid Israel, German businessman and philanthropist (died 1943)

E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (died 1985)

Bull Connor, American police officer (died 1973)

Dorothy Wilde, English author and poet (died 1941)

Erna Mohr, German zoologist (died 1968)

Thomas Mitchell, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (died 1962)

Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (died 1985)

Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter and illustrator (died 1939)

James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (died 1946)

Isabel Martin Lewis, American astronomer and author (died 1966)

Friedrich Lahrs, German architect and academic (died 1964)

H. M. Brock, British painter and illustrator (died 1960)

Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (died 1953)

Annie Armstrong, American missionary (died 1938)

N. E. Brown, English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents (died 1934)

Léon Bloy, French author and poet (died 1917)

Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer (died 1896)

James McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (died 1903)

Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (died 1896)

Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and author (died 1871)

William Robert Grove, Welsh physicist and inventor of the first fuel cell (died 1896)

John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States (died 1848)

Peggy Shippen, American wife of Benedict Arnold and American Revolutionary War spy (died 1804)

Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (died 1825)

Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and author (died 1799)

Johan Gottschalk Wallerius, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (died 1785)

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (died 1726)

Frederick I of Prussia (died 1713)

Sarah Good, American woman accused of witchcraft (died 1692)

Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese daimyō (died 1701)

Kenelm Digby, English astrologer, courtier, and diplomat (died 1665)

Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (died 1627)

Robert Greene, English author and playwright (died 1592)

Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, German nobleman (died 1527)

William, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg (died 1482)

Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (died 1329)

Bardaisan, Syrian astrologer, scholar, and philosopher (died 222)

Jayden Adams, South African soccer player (born 2001)

Antonio Rattín, Argentine footballer and politician (born 1937)

Ken Bates, English buisnessman and former owner of Chelsea F.C. and Leeds United F.C. (born 1931)

Lindsey Graham, American politician (born 1955)

Martin Cruz Smith, American author and screenwriter (born 1942)

Shelley Duvall, American actress (born 1949)

Monte Kiffin, American football coach (born 1940)

Stanley Tshabalala, South African soccer player and coach (born 1949)

Milan Kundera, Czech-French writer (born 1929)

Charlie Robinson, American actor (born 1945)

Renée Simonot, French actress (born 1911)

Marc Angelucci, American attorney and men's rights activist, Vice-president of the National Coalition for Men (born 1968)

Frank Bolling, American baseball second baseman (born 1931)

Jim Wong-Chu, Canadian poet (born 1949)

Giacomo Biffi, Italian cardinal (born 1928)

Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (born 1959)

André Leysen, Belgian businessman (born 1927)

Charlie Haden, American bassist and composer (born 1937)

Carin Mannheimer, Swedish author and screenwriter (born 1934)

Bill McGill, American basketball player (born 1939)

Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (born 1949)

John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (born 1927)

Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (born 1958)

Emik Avakian, Iranian-American inventor (born 1923)

Egbert Brieskorn, German mathematician and academic (born 1936)

Eugene P. Wilkinson, American admiral (born 1918)

Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1936)

Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (born 1972)

Ji Xianlin, Chinese linguist and paleographer (born 1911)

Michael E. DeBakey, American surgeon and educator (born 1908)

Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (born 1939)

Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 43rd First Lady of the United States (born 1912)

Alfonso López Michelsen, Colombian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Colombia (born 1913)

Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded Honest Ed's (born 1914)

Barnard Hughes, American actor (born 1915)

Bronwyn Oliver, Australian sculptor (born 1959)

John Spencer, English snooker player and sportscaster (born 1935)

Gretchen Franklin, English actress and dancer (born 1911)

Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese professional wrestler (born 1965)

Jesús Iglesias, Argentinian racing driver (born 1922)

Frances Langford, American actress and singer (born 1913)

Laurance Rockefeller, American financier and philanthropist (born 1910)

Renée Saint-Cyr, French actress and producer (born 1904)

Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer (born 1948)

Herman Brood, Dutch musician and painter (born 1946)

Pedro Mir, Dominican lawyer, author, and poet (born 1913)

Robert Runcie, English archbishop (born 1921)

Helen Forrest, American singer (born 1917)

Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (born 1945)

Panagiotis Kondylis, Greek philosopher and author (born 1943)

Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (born 1942)

Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysian footballer and coach (born 1953)

Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (born 1907)

Avi Ran, Israeli footballer (born 1963)

Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, American rabbi and scholar (born 1901)

Ross Macdonald, American-Canadian author (born 1915)

Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1925)

León de Greiff, Colombian poet and educator (born 1895)

Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (born 1891)

John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (born 1910)

Pedro Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (born 1940)

Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (born 1917)

Delmore Schwartz, American poet and short story writer (born 1913)

Charlie Parker, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (born 1882)

George Gershwin, American pianist, songwriter, and composer (born 1898)

Billy Mosforth, English footballer and engraver (born 1857)

Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (born 1835)

Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (born 1876)

Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian jurist and scholar (born 1849)

Patrick Jennings, Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (born 1831)

Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian philosopher and poet (born 1800)

Thomas P. Grosvenor, American soldier and politician (born 1744)

James Smith, Irish-American lawyer and politician (born 1719)

Ienăchiță Văcărescu, Romanian historian and philologist (born 1740)

Simon Boerum, American farmer and politician (born 1724)

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, Irish-English general (born 1715)

Narai, Thai king (born 1629)

Chōsokabe Motochika, Japanese daimyō (born 1539)

Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian painter (born 1527)

Peder Skram, Danish admiral and politician (born 1503)

Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (born 1484)

Mino da Fiesole, Italian sculptor (born c. 1429)

Barbara of Cilli, Slovenian noblewoman

Nicole Oresme, French philosopher (born 1325)

Anna von Schweidnitz, empress of Charles IV (born 1339)

Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg (born c. 1286)

Robert II of Artois (born 1250)

Pierre Flotte, French politician and lawyer

Otto I, Duke of Bavaria (born 1117)

Amalric, King of Jerusalem (born 1136)

Olga of Kiev (born 890)

Rudolph II of Burgundy (born 880)

Anthemius, Roman emperor (born 420)