Monday 8 July 2024 Calendar with holidays, observances and special days

Holidays and observances

• Body Painting Day
• International Town Criers Day (Second Monday of July)
• National Chocolate with Almonds Day and National Ice Cream Sundae Day in USA
• SCUD Day (Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama)

Events

• 1970 – Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
• 1948 – The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).
• 1933 – The first rugby union test match between the Wallabies of Australia and the Springboks of South Africa is played at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
• 1912 – Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro leads an unsuccessful royalist attack against the First Portuguese Republic in Chaves.
• 1889 – The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published.
• 1776 – Church bells (possibly including the Liberty Bell) are rung after John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.
• 1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
• 1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.

Births

• 1998 – Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, American actor and rapper. Jaden Smith's first movie role was with his father in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness.
• 1982 – Hakim Warrick, American basketball player. Warrick also has a reputation as a prolific dunker, while also possessing a wide arsenal of low-post moves.
• 1982 – Sophia Bush, American actress and director. She also starred as Det.
• 1980 – Eric Chouinard, American-Canadian ice hockey player. Eric Guy Chouinard (born July 8, 1980) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild.
• 1979 – Mat McBriar, American football player. Mat McBriar (born 8 July 1979) is an Australian former American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Diego Chargers.
• 1978 – Rachael Lillis, American voice actress. She studied acting in Boston and New York City and has appeared in various theater productions, animated series and independent films.
• 1977 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor, director, and producer. He has starred as Jack Pearson on the NBC drama This Is Us since 2016.
• 1970 – Beck, American singer-songwriter and producer. Today, he musically encompasses folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia.
• 1970 – Todd Martin, American tennis player and coach. He reached the men's singles final at the 1994 Australian Open and the 1999 US Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4.
• 1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, including Without Limits, Almost Famous, Big Fish, Mission: Impossible III, Watchmen, Public Enemies, Spotlight, Jackie, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Justice League, and Alien: Covenant, in both lead and supporting roles.
• 1968 – Michael Weatherly, American actor. Michael Manning Weatherly Jr. (born July 8, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and director known for playing the role of Anthony DiNozzo on the television series, NCIS (2003–2016) and earlier played Logan Cale in the drama Dark Angel (2000-2002).
• 1965 – Dan Levinson, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and bandleader. He is best known for his mastery of the jazz styles of the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s.
• 1962 – Joan Osborne, American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country.
• 1961 – Toby Keith, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor. These albums all earned Gold or higher certification, and produced several Top Ten singles, including his debut "Should've Been a Cowboy", which topped the country charts and was the most-played country song of the 1990s.
• 1958 – Kevin Bacon, American actor and musician. Bacon is also known for taking on darker roles such as that of a sadistic guard in Sleepers (1996) and troubled former child abuser in The Woodsman (2004).
• 1957 – Carlos Cavazo, Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter. Carlos Cavazo (born July 8, 1957) is a Mexico-born United States guitarist best known as the guitarist for Quiet Riot during their commercial peak.
• 1952 – Larry Garner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Larry Garner (born July 8, 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States) is a Louisiana blues musician best known for his 1994 album Too Blues.
• 1952 – Marianne Williamson, American author and activist. She is the founder of Project Angel Food, a volunteer food delivery program that serves home-bound people with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses.
• 1951 – Alan Ashby, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster. He was the catcher for two Astros teams that won division pennants.
• 1951 – Anjelica Huston, American actress and director. She received further Academy Award nominations for her performances in Enemies: A Love Story (1989) and The Grifters (1990), for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively.
• 1949 – Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-American chef, restaurateur and entrepreneur. In 1973, Puck moved to Los Angeles, opening his first restaurant, Spago, in 1982.
• 1948 – Ruby Sales, American civil-rights activist. She attended local segregated schools and was also educated in the community during the 1960s era of the Civil Rights Movement. She has been described as a "legendary civil rights activist" by the PBS program "Religion and Ethics Weekly"
• 1947 – Kim Darby, American actress. Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby; July 8, 1947) is an American actress best known for her role as Mattie Ross in the film True Grit (1969).
• 1947 – Luis Fernando Figari, Peruvian religious leader, founded the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae. He has been the object of allegations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse of young men, some of whom were minors.
• 1944 – Jaimoe, American drummer. Jai Johanny Johanson (born July 8, 1944), frequently known by the stage name Jaimoe, is an American drummer and percussionist.
• 1944 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor and singer. He is known for his television roles such as Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show (1992–1998), George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development (2003–2006, 2013, 2018) and Maura Pfefferman on Transparent (2014–2017).
• 1942 – Phil Gramm, American economist and politician. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983.
• 1940 – Joe B. Mauldin, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2015), was an American bass player, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group the Crickets. Mauldin initially played a double (standup) bass, then switched to a Fender Precision Bass guitar.
• 1935 – John David Crow, American football player and coach (d. 2015), was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He won the Heisman Trophy as a halfback for the Texas A&M Aggies football team of Texas A&M University in 1957.
• 1935 – Steve Lawrence, American actor and singer. Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his late wife Eydie Gormé, billed as "Steve and Eydie".
• 1930 – Jerry Vale, American singer (d. 2014), was an American singer and actor. During the 1950s and 1960s, he reached the top of the pop charts with his interpretations of romantic ballads, including a cover of Eddy Arnold hit "You Don't Know Me" (1956) and "Have You Looked into Your Heart" (1964). Vale, who was of Italian descent, sang numerous songs in Italian, many of which were used in soundtracks by films of Martin Scorsese
• 1926 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-American psychiatrist and author (d. 2004), was a Swiss-American psychiatrist, a pioneer in near-death studies, and author of the internationally best-selling book, On Death and Dying (1969), where she first discussed her theory of the five stages of grief, also known as the "Kübler-Ross model".
• 1926 – John Dingell, American lieutenant and politician, was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longest-ever serving member of Congress in American history, representing Michigan for more than 59 years.
• 1925 – Arthur Imperatore Sr., Italian-American businessman from New Jersey. He is best known as being the founder and president of the NY Waterway, a ferry service.
• 1925 – Bill Mackrides, American football quarterback, was an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He helped the Eagles win the 1948 and 1949 NFL Championships.
• 1924 – Charles C. Droz, American politician. He was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives.
• 1923 – Harrison Dillard, American sprinter and hurdler, was an American track and field athlete, who is the only male in the history of the Olympic Games to win gold in both the 100 meter (sprints) and the 110 meter hurdles, making him the “World’s Fastest Man” in 1948 and the “World’s Fastest Hurdler” in 1952.
• 1918 – Irwin Hasen, American illustrator (d. 2015), was an American cartoonist best known as the creator (with Gus Edson) of the Dondi comic strip.
• 1918 – Paul B. Fay, American businessman, soldier, and diplomat, 12th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2009), was the Acting United States Secretary of the Navy in November 1963, and a close confidant of President John F. Kennedy.
• 1917 – Faye Emerson, American actress (d. 1983), was an American film and stage actress, and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s, before transitioning to television in the 1950s, hosting her own talk show.
• 1917 – J. F. Powers, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1999), was an American novelist and short-story writer who often drew his inspiration from developments in the Catholic Church, and was known for his studies of Catholic priests in the Midwest. Although not a priest himself, he is known for having captured a "clerical idiom" in postwar North America.
• 1916 – Jean Rouverol, American author, actress and screenwriter (d. 2017), was an American author, actress and screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s.
• 1915 – Neil D. Van Sickle, American Air Force major general, was an American Air Force major general who was the deputy inspector general at Headquarters, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C.
• 1914 – Billy Eckstine, American singer and trumpet player (d. 1993), was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing era. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice.
• 1908 – Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and actor (d. 1975), was an American musician, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", his highest profile came towards the end of the swing era.
• 1908 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (d. 1979), was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977, and previously as the 49th governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He also served as assistant secretary of State for American Republic Affairs for Presidents Franklin D.
• 1907 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (d. 1995), was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973.
• 1906 – Philip Johnson, American architect, designed the IDS Center and PPG Place (d. 2005), was an American architect best known for his works of Modern architecture, including the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, and his works of postmodern architecture, particularly 550 Madison Avenue in New York, designed for AT&T, and 190 South La Salle Street in Chicago. In 1978, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and in 1979 the first Pritzker Architecture Prize.
• 1900 – George Antheil, American pianist, composer, and author (d. 1959), was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author, and inventor whose modernist musical compositions explored the modern sounds – musical, industrial, and mechanical – of the early 20th century.
• 1898 – Melville Ruick, American actor (d. 1972). Ruick was born in Boise, Idaho in 1898.
• 1893 – R. Carlyle Buley, American historian and author (d. 1968), was an American historian and educator.
• 1890 – Stanton Macdonald-Wright, American painter (d. 1973), was a modern American artist. He was a co-founder of Synchromism, an early abstract, color-based mode of painting, which was the first American avant-garde art movement to receive international attention.
• 1885 – Hugo Boss, German fashion designer, founded Hugo Boss (d. 1948). Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a German luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen.
• 1882 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (d. 1961), was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 on and became a citizen in 1918. In the course of a long and innovative career, he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century.
• 1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company (d. 1937), was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time, and the richest person in modern history.
• 1838 – Eli Lilly, American soldier, chemist, and businessman, founded Eli Lilly and Company (d. 1898), was an American soldier, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and recruited a company of men to serve with him in the 18th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery.
• 1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Airship Company (d. 1917), was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships; he founded the company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.
• 1831 – John Pemberton, American chemist and pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola (d. 1888), was an American biochemist and American Civil War veteran who is best known as the inventor of Coca-Cola. In May 1886, he developed an early version of a beverage that would later become world-famous as Coca-Cola, but sold his rights to the drink shortly before his death.
• 1830 – Frederick W. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1915), was an American politician and member of the Republican Party who twice served as the Assistant Secretary of State. The son of United States Secretary of State William H.

Deaths

• 2015 – Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Howard Siler, American bobsledder and coach (b. 1945)
• 2014 – John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Tom Veryzer, American baseball player (b. 1953)
• 2013 – Brett Walker, American songwriter and producer (b. 1961)
• 2013 – Dick Gray, American baseball player (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Edmund Morgan, American historian and author (b. 1916)
• 2013 – Rubby Sherr, American physicist and academic (b. 1913)
• 2012 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Martin Pakledinaz, American costume designer (b. 1953)
• 2011 – Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Roberts Blossom, American actor and poet (b. 1924)
• 2009 – Midnight, American singer-songwriter (b. 1962)
• 2008 – John Templeton, American-born British businessman and philanthropist (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Jack B. Sowards, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1929)
• 2006 – June Allyson, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
• 2004 – Paula Danziger, American author and educator (b. 1944)
• 2002 – Ward Kimball, American animator and trombonist (b. 1914)
• 1999 – Pete Conrad, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
• 1994 – Dick Sargent, American actor (b. 1930)
• 1994 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (b. 1927)
• 1991 – James Franciscus, American actor (b. 1934)
• 1990 – Howard Duff, American actor (b. 1913)
• 1988 – Ray Barbuti, American runner and football player (b. 1905)
• 1986 – Skeeter Webb, American baseball player and manager (b. 1909)
• 1985 – Phil Foster, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1913)
• 1981 – Bill Hallahan, American baseball player (b. 1902)
• 1979 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
• 1973 – Gene L. Coon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
• 1965 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (b. 1881)
• 1905 – Walter Kittredge, American violinist and composer (b. 1834)
• 1887 – Ben Holladay, American businessman (b. 1819)
• 1721 – Elihu Yale, American-English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1649)
• 1689 – Edward Wooster, English-American settler (b. 1622)