Anniversaries 31 July

Birth

Ignacy Domeyko1

Polish mineralogist and geologist 1802–1889

George Henry Thomas1

United States Army general 1816–1870

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky69

occult writer 1831–1891

Абрахам Миллер1

1863–1951

Premchand15

Hindi writer 1880–1936

Erich Heckel8

German artist 1883–1970

Gerrit Benner12

Dutch painter 1897–1981

Jean Dubuffet46

sculptor from France 1901–1985

Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi1

Indian mathematician 1907–1966

Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn22

Austrian noble and political theorist 1909–1999

Milton Friedman158

American economist, statistician, and writer 1912–2006

Primo Levi44

Italian chemist, memoirist, short story writer, novelist, e… 1918–1987

Peter Benenson3

English human rights activist 1921–2005

Hilary Putnam8

American philosopher 1926–2016

Lynne Reid Banks1

British writer 1929

John Rogers Searle37

American philosopher 1932

Cees Nooteboom13

Dutch writer 1933

John Rohr20

American political scientist 1934–2011

Michael Peers1

Canadian bishop 1934

John Tong Hon1

Catholic cardinal 1939

Susan Cheever1

American writer 1943

William J. Bennett1

American politician 1943

Robert C. Merton1

American economist 1944

Geraldine Chaplin1

British actress 1944

Richard Rodríguez127

American journalist and essayist 1944

Geoffrey Moore9

American business writer 1946

Mumtaz (actress)5

Indian film actress 1947

Richard Griffiths3

British actor 1947–2013

Arjo Klamer6

Dutch columnist, economist and politician 1953

Kim Addonizio3

Poet, novelist 1954

Chela Sandoval3

Chicana and post-colonial feminist and theoretician 1956

Deval Patrick1

71st Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA 1956

Ignatius Ayau Kaigama1

Nigerian Catholic archbishop 1958

Andrew Marr4

British journalist 1959

Kim Newman1

English novelist 1959

Martyn Percy2

British Anglican priest and theologian 1962

Wesley Snipes5

film actor, Martial artist, film producer 1962

Rubén Ramírez Mateo1

Peruvian lawyer 1965

Joanne K. Rowling29

British novelist, author of the Harry Potter series 1965

Elizabeth Wurtzel51

American author and journalist 1967–2020

Tami Stronach2

American choreographer 1972

Jacob Aagaard3

Danish-born Scottish chess grandmaster 1973

Loujain al-Hathloul8

Saudi Arabian activist 1989

Death

Ignatius of Loyola9

Catholic Saint, founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit… 1491–1556

Denis Diderot106

French Enlightenment philosopher and encyclopædist 1713–1784

James Waddel Alexander3

American Presbyterian minister and theologian 1804–1859

Andrew Johnson25

American politician, 17th president of the United States (i… 1808–1875

Franz Liszt7

Hungarian romantic composer and virtuoso pianist 1811–1886

Sándor Petöfi1

Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary 1823–1849

Phoebe Cary4

American writer 1824–1871

Francis Miles Finch1

American judge 1827–1907

Harry Johnston3

British explorer, botanist, linguist and colonial administr… 1858–1927

Waldemar Bonsels2

German writer 1880–1952

Robert A. Taft2

politician from the United States, son of 27th US President… 1889–1953

Ernst Fischer2

Austrian literature historian, publicist and writer 1899–1972

Paul-Henri Spaak2

Belgian politician 1899–1972

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry38

French writer and aviator 1900–1944

Pascual Jordan1

German physicist and politician 1902–1980

Virginia Grey3

American actress (1917-2004) 1917–2004

David Hawkes (sinologist)8

British sinologist 1923–2009

Gore Vidal163

American writer 1925–2012

Warren Bennis11

American leadership expert 1925–2014

Poul Anderson140

American science fiction and fantasy writer 1926–2001

Sara Shane1

American actress 1928–2022

Michael Harrington17

American political writer 1928–1989

Seymour Papert13

MIT mathematician, computer scientist, and educator 1928–2016

Baudouin of Belgium1

King of Belgians 1930–1993

Bobby Robson8

English association football player and manager 1933–2009

Paul Cilliers12

South African philosopher 1956–2011