King Hussein of Jordan

July 31, 1988

King Hussein of Jordan gives up all claims to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

America's Last Playboy Club

July 31, 1988

America's last Playboy club closes in Lansing, Michigan.

The Living Daylights

July 31, 1987

The James Bond movie The Living Daylights premieres in the U.S., 16th in the James Bond series, and was the first of two Bond films to star Timothy Dalton as 007. It was also the first film to have Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny, replacing Lois Maxwell.
The plot has James Bond assigned to help a KGB general defect.
Produced on a budget of $40 million, it earned $191.2 million at the box office.

AIDS

July 31, 1985

13-year-old Ryan White is barred from attending an Indiana public school because he has AIDS.

First Climb of K2

July 31, 1954

The peak of the world's second highest mountain K2 at 28,251 ft. (8,611 metres) is reached by Italian climbers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli.

First Transatlantic Helicopter Flight

July 31, 1952

Two U.S. Air Force pilots - in separate helicopters - arrive in Prestwick, Scotland. They had departed from Massachusetts on July 15.

New York Stock Exchange Closes

July 31, 1914

Due to the war in Europe, the stock exchange closes for the first time since the Panic of 1873. It didn't reopen until December.

First U.S. Government Building

July 31, 1792

The cornerstone of the U.S. Mint is laid.

U.S. Patent Office Opens

July 31, 1790

The first U.S. patent is granted on this day to Samuel Hopkins for improvements in making potash and pearlash.

Wesley Snipes

Born July 31, 1962

American actor. Film: New Jack City (1991), Jungle Fever (1991), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Rising Sun (1993), and Blade (1998).

Evonne Goolagong

Born July 31, 1951

Australian tennis pro.

Karl Green

Born July 31, 1947

English bass player, with Herman's Hermits. Music: I'm Into Something Good (1964, #1 in UK), Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1965, #1), I'm Henry VIII, I Am (1965, #1), and There's a Kind of Hush (1967).

Geraldine Chaplin

Born July 31, 1944

American actress, Charlie's daughter.

Susan Flannery

Born July 31, 1939

American Emmy-winning actress. TV: Days of Our Lives (1966-75, Dr. Laura Spencer Horton) and The Bold and the Beautiful (1987-2012, Stephanie Douglas Forrester).

France Nuyen (France Nguyen Vannga)

Born July 31, 1939

French-Chinese actress. Broadway: The World of Susie Wong (1958, title role). Film: South Pacific (1958). TV: St. Elsewhere (Dr. Paulette Kiem).

Don Murray

Born July 31, 1929 d. 2024

American actor. TV: Knots Landing (1979-82, Sid Fairgate). Film: Bus Stop (1956, with Marilyn Monroe) and A Hatful of Rain (1957).

Curt Gowdy

Born July 31, 1919 d. 2006

American Hall of Fame sports announcer, "The Voice of the Redsox." TV: The American Sportsman (host).

Bill Todman

Born July 31, 1916 d. 1979

American TV producer. TV: To Tell the Truth, What's My Line?, The Price Is Right, and Family Feud.

Milton Friedman

Born July 31, 1912 d. 2006

American Nobel-winning economist (1976), free market economy advocate. He believed in the virtues of a free market economic system with minimal intervention. Friedman was an advisor to U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Inventor of the Pneumatic Drill

Edward Nash Hurley

Born July 31, 1864 d. 1933

American tool maker, founder of Standard Pneumatic Tool Co. of Chicago (1896). He created the first piston-type pneumatic drill (1896), forerunner to the modern jackhammer.

Richard Dixon Oldham

Born July 31, 1858 d. 1936

Irish geologist and seismologist. He discovered evidence of the Earth's molten core (1906) by studying the 1897 Indian Earthquake.

John Ericsson

Born July 31, 1803 d. 1889

Swedish-born American Naval engineer. He invented the twin-screw propeller and built the first armored turret warship (1862, USS Monitor). He originally offered the twin screw to the Swedish navy, but they rejected the idea, so he traveled to the U.S. where his design was used by the U.S. Navy.

Maximilian II

Born July 31, 1527 d. 1576

Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1564-76).

Bill Russell

Died July 31, 2022 b. 1934

American Basketball Hall of Famer. Russell played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969 as part of a dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a 12-time NBA All-Star, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Standing at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall, with a 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) arm span, his shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' dominance during his career. Russell also led the NBA in rebounds four times.

Leroy Edgar Burney

Died July 31, 1998 b. 1906

U.S. Surgeon General (1956-61). He was the first U.S. federal official to acknowledge the connection between smoking and cancer (1957). The American Medical Association, which had investments in tobacco, countered in 1959 that there was insufficient evidence to warrant the assumption that smoking was the principal factor for the increase in lung cancer.
Burney himself was a smoker.

Invented the Folding Cardboard Box

Robert Gair

Died July 31, 1927 b. 1839

Scottish printer and paper bag maker who invented the folding carton in 1879. A worker was making square-bottomed paper bags when a metal ruler used to crease the bags accidentally shifted position and cut through 20,000 seed bags, ruining them. This gave Gair the idea that by cutting and creasing paperboard in one operation, he could make prefabricated cartons.
Gair founded a paper empire and occupied several buildings in the area of Brooklyn, New York now known as DUMBO, many of which still bear his name.

Andrew Johnson

Died July 31, 1875 b. 1808

American politician. 17th U.S. President (1865-69) and the 16th U.S. Vice-President (1865). He was impeached by the House of Representatives (1868), but was acquitted by the Senate. They were one vote short of the required two-thirds majority. The impeachment charges centered around his attempts to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who opposed Johnson's lenient treatment of the former Confederate States.

Harold Prince

Died July 31, 2019 b. 1928

American Tony-winning director, producer. Stage: West Side Story (1957), Fiddler On the Roof (1964, Tony), Cabaret (1966, Tony), Evita (1978, Tony), and The Phantom of the Opera (1986).

Jeanne Moreau

Died July 31, 2017 b. 1928

French actress. Film: Seven Days… Seven Nights (1960, Cannes Best Actress), Jules and Jim (1961) and Going Places (1974).

Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Died July 31, 2015 b. 1921

American actor. TV: The Rookies (Lt. Eddie Ryker) and Our House (Joe Kaplan).

Michael Ansara

Died July 31, 2013 b. 1922

American actor. TV: Broken Arrow (1956-58, Cochise), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-81, Kane), and as Klingon Commander Kang in three different Star Trek series. He was married to actress Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie) from 1958 till their divorce in 1974.

Gore Vidal (Eugene Luther Vidal)

Died July 31, 2012 b. 1925

American author. Quote: "A narcissist is someone better looking than you are."

Mitch Miller

Died July 31, 2010 b. 1911

American music producer, arranger. Music: Let Me Go, Lover (1954, #1). The FBI used his songs in an attempt to drive the cult Branch Davidians from their compound during the Waco disaster (1993).

Paul-Henri Spaak

Died July 31, 1972 b. 1899

Belgian statesman, prime minister (1938-39, 1946-49), secretary general of NATO (1957-61), and the first president of the United Nations General Assembly (1946).

Jim Reeves

Died July 31, 1964 b. 1923

American Country Music Hall of Famer (1967). Music: Mexican Joe (1953, #1). He had 17 top 10 hits after his death.

Francis E. Stanley

Died July 31, 1918 b. 1849

American automaker. He and his twin brother formed the Stanley Steamer Co. (1897-1924), which produced steam-powered automobiles. He also invented a dry photographic plate, which he sold along with his photography business to the Eastman Kodak Co. He died from injuries sustained when he crashed his car into a woodpile while attempting to avoid farm wagons traveling side by side on the road.

Franz Liszt

Died July 31, 1886 b. 1811

Hungarian composer. He is famous for his Hungarian rhapsodies.

Benoît Fourneyron

Died July 31, 1867 b. 1802

French inventor, "Father of the Turbine." He designed the first practical water turbine (1827).

Samuel Wilson

Died July 31, 1854 b. 1766

American meatpacker, the original "Uncle Sam." During the War of 1812 he stamped his merchandise with "U.S." - the initials of his nickname - causing it to be confused with government approved packages.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Died July 31, 1556 b. 1491

Spanish ecclesiastic. In 1535 he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuit order).