Holidays
Bastille Day
Celebrated in France.
What Happened On
Easy Rider
July 14, 1969
The movie Easy Rider is released in the U.S. It grossed $60 million worldwide from a production budget of less than $400,000.
First Close-Up of Mars
First Close-Up of Mars
First Successful Flyby of Mars
July 14, 1965
NASA's Mariner 4 flies by Mars capturing the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space.
Billy the Kid Killed
July 14, 1881
The notorious 21-year-old outlaw Billy the Kid is reportedly killed in New Mexico by County Sheriff Pat Garrett. He killed at least eight men in his brief career. He also fought in New Mexico's Lincoln County War, during which he allegedly committed three murders.
The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Gustave Doré
The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Gustave Doré
First Person to Climb the Matterhorn
July 14, 1865
British explorer Edward Whymper scales the third highest peak in the Alps. Four of his seven-member team died during the descent.
Hulk Hogan in 2005
Hulk Hogan in 2005
Hulk Hogan Admits Steroid Use
July 14, 1994
The wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan admits to abusing steroids since 1976 in order to gain size, but claimed he had stopped in 1994 when he joined the World Championship Wrestling (WCW). This was during the trial of Vince McMahon relating to the use of steroids in wrestling. Hogan claimed that McMahon had neither sold him the drugs nor ordered him to take them. McMahon was eventually found not guilty. Hogan was given immunity for his testimony.
Rap Music Killer
July 14, 1993
19-year-old Ronald Ray Howard is sentenced to death for the 1992 murder of a state trooper. He claimed the anti-police rap music he was listening to made him do it. The trooper had pulled him over for a broken headlight. The car he was driving was stolen and drug tests showed he had cocaine and cannabis in his system.
Clinton Declines Fetus
July 14, 1992
An Operation Rescue supporter tries to give an aborted fetus to presidential candidate Bill Clinton.
Licence to Kill
July 14, 1989
Licence to Kill premieres in the U.S., 17th in the James Bond series, it starred Timothy Dalton as 007.
First Woman to Head a Major U.S. Political Party
July 14, 1972
Jean Westwood is named head of the Democratic Party.
Discontinued Bills
July 14, 1969
The Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System announces that currency notes in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 would be discontinued immediately due to lack of use. Although they were issued until 1969, they were last printed in 1945.
First Race Horse to Win $1,000,000
July 14, 1951
Citation becomes the first race horse to win over $1,000,000.
Howard Hughes
July 14, 1938
The billionaire Howard Hughes establishes a new around-the-world flight record, completing the trip in just over 91 hours, averaging 208 mph.
D.W. Griffith's Directing Debut
July 14, 1908
The American film legend D.W. Griffith makes his directing debut with the release of The Adventures of Dollie.
It tells the story of a young female kidnapping victim who ends up trapped in a barrel as it floats downriver toward a waterfall.
French Revolution
July 14, 1789
The Bastille prison in Paris is attacked by a mob demanding weapons and the release of political prisoners, signaling the start of the war.
Birthdays
Ford as President and on football field at the University of Michigan (1933)
Ford as President and on football field at the University of Michigan (1933)
Gerald Rudolph Ford (Leslie Lynch King, Jr.)
Born July 14, 1913 d. 2006
American politician. 38th U.S. President (1974-77) and 40th U.S. Vice-President (1973-74). Ford is the only person to have served as both vice president and president without being elected to either office by the Electoral College. Under the provisions of the 25th Amendment, Ford became vice president in 1973 after Spiro Agnew resigned. This was the first time the 25th Amendment had been used. Ford then became president the following year when President Nixon resigned. Ford then gave Nixon an unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president.
Ford was a star football player for University of Michigan and helped the team play two undefeated seasons and win national titles in 1932 and 1933.
Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie)
Born July 14, 1912 d. 1967
American folk singer, composer. Music: This Land is Your Land and This Train is Bound for Glory.
William Hanna
Born July 14, 1910 d. 2001
American Oscar-winning cartoonist. He and Joseph Barbera created Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? He also provided the screams and yelps of Tom in the Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Annie Jones
Born July 14, 1865 d. 1902
American bearded woman. Jones joined P.T. Barnum's circus as a child of only nine months, for which her parents received a salary of $150 (over $2000 in today's money) a week. By the age of five, she had a mustache and sideburns and was known as the "Bearded Girl."
Hans Langseth circa 1912
Hans Langseth circa 1912
World's Longest Beard
Hans Langseth
Born July 14, 1846 d. 1927
Norwegian-American curiosity. Hans Langseth held the record for the world's longest beard. When he died, his beard measured 17.5 ft (5.33 meters). He traveled the U.S. displaying his beard as part of a sideshow exhibition.
At 19 years old, Langseth began growing his beard to compete in a beard-growing competition. After the competition ended, he kept on growing it.
Although human hair can only grow a few feet in length, Langseth matted the dead hair together in a coil, much like today's dreadlocks, to gain its length.
Karenga (center) celebrating Kwanzaa
Karenga (center) celebrating Kwanzaa
Creator of Kwanzaa
Maulana Karenga
Born July 14, 1941
American social activist, professor of Africana studies. He created Kwanzaa (1966), the seven-day festival celebrating African heritage, beginning on December 26. Karenga said his goal was to "give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."
The seven candles represent the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).
In 1971, Karenga was sentenced to prison for felonious assault and imprisonment. One of the victims claimed Karenga and other men tortured her and another woman, saying they were stripped, beaten with an electrical cord, and tortured. He was granted parole in 1975.
Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier
Born July 14, 1932
American football player, actor. He was one of the L.A. Rams' Fearsome Four.
John Chancellor
Born July 14, 1927 d. 1996
American TV anchorman, commentator for NBC.
Ingmar Bergman
Born July 14, 1918 d. 2007
Swedish Oscar-winning film director, producer. Film: Wild Strawberries (1957), The Seventh Seal (1957), and Persona (1966).
Douglas Edwards
Douglas Edwards
Douglas Edwards
Born July 14, 1917 d. 1990
American broadcaster. He became the first American network news TV anchorman in 1948, when CBS began broadcasting CBS Television News.
Author of West Side Story
Arthur Laurents
Born July 14, 1917 d. 2011
American Tony-winning playwright. Writings: West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Born July 14, 1904 d. 1991
Polish-born American Nobel-winning Yiddish author.
Irving Stone
Born July 14, 1903 d. 1989
American author, The Agony and the Ecstasy (1961).
Dave Fleischer
Born July 14, 1894 d. 1979
American cartoonist. He and his brother Max Fleischer created Betty Boop and animated Popeye the Sailor.
Betty Boop was based on real-life squeaky-voiced singers Helen Kane and Clara Bow. Kane began mimicking the style black singer Baby Esther after seeing her perform at the Cotton Club in Harlem in 1928. Baby Esther was about nine years old at the time.
Owen Wister
Born July 14, 1860 d. 1938
American author. Writings: The Virginian (1902, which has been made into movies and a TV series).
Deaths
Richard "Dick" J. McDonald
Died July 14, 1998 b. 1909
American restaurateur. He and his brother Maurice "Mac" McDonald started the McDonald's hamburger chain in 1940. He also created the Golden Arches logo. They were bought out by Ray Kroc, one of their franchisees, who then took over the business.
The McDonald brothers introduced the "Speedee Service System" in 1948. The original McDonald's mascot was a chef hat on top of a hamburger called "Speedee".
Billy the Kid (Henry McCarty AKA William H. Bonney)
Died July 14, 1881 b. 1859
American outlaw. He was reportedly killed in New Mexico by County Sheriff Pat Garrett at the age of 21. He is known to have killed at least eight men during his brief career. He also fought in New Mexico's Lincoln County War, during which he allegedly committed three murders.
Raymond Loewy
Died July 14, 1986 b. 1893
French inventor, designer, the father of streamlining. He designed the U.S. Postal Service logo.
Marius Petipa
Died July 14, 1910 b. 1818
French-born Russian choreographer. He is considered the most influential ballet master and choreographer in ballet history. Stage: The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and Swan Lake (1895).
Guillaume Henri Dufour
Died July 14, 1875 b. 1787
Swiss engineer. He and Robert Marc Séguin designed and built the first permanent wire-cable suspension bridge (1823, Saint Antoine Bridge).
Augustin Jean Fresnel
Died July 14, 1827 b. 1788
French physicist, pioneer in light theory.
Philip II
Died July 14, 1223 b. 1165
King of France (1180-1223) and responsible for building the Louvre in Paris.