31 July

John Canton
31 July 1718 – 22 March 1772
English school teacher who made significant early discoveries about the properties of magnetism and electricity. » more

Noël François de Wailly
31 July 1724 – 7 April 1801
French teacher who compiled a French Grammar manual that became the standard text of that period. » more

John Ericsson
31 July 1803 – 8 March 1889
Swedish. Engineer responsible for a number of inventions, including the propeller, used to drive ships and early aircraft, a ‘solar machine’ based on concave mirrors. It collected heat from the sun and was capable of running a small ‘engine’. » more

George Baxter
31 July 1804 – 11 January 1867
English printer. Invented a process of quality colour printing of illustrations. » more

Paul du Chaillu
31 July 1835 – 29 April 1903
French explorer who established the existance of the Pygmy people and gorillas in the central regions of Africa. » more

Munshi Premchand
31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936
Indian author of short stories and novels. » more

Jean Dubuffet
31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985
French Pop artist and sculptor. Some paintings can be seen at Musée Cantini, Marseilles; TATE Modern, London; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Metropolitan Museum of Art & Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. » more

Milton Friedman
31 July 1912 – 16 November 2006
Renowned American economist who propounded economic liberalism. » more

Whitney Young
31 July 1921 – 11 March 1971
American civil rights campaigner and Director of National Urban League. » more

Peter Benenson
31 July 1921 – 25 February 2005
English lawyer. Founded Amnesty International in 1961. » more

Lynne Reid Banks
31 July 1929
English author who wrote two best sellers that were both made into movies, ‘The Indian in the Cupboard’ and ‘The L-Shaped Room’. » more

Today’s Quote
Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.
 … Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954)

Today’s No. 1 Hit
1957 – Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley

Today’s events
31 July 1498 – Trinidad island discovered by Christopher Columbus.
31 July 1774 – Joseph Priestley discovers “Different Kinds of Air”, one component later named Oxygen by Antoine Lavoisier.
31 July 1790 – Patent No. 1 issued in U.S.A. – for a process for making Pot ash.
31 July 1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand receives city charter.
31 July 1904 – opening of the Trans-Siberian railway across Russia.
31 July 1962 – Malaysia established as a Federation.
31 July 1965 – Cigarette advertising banned on English TV.
31 July 1970 – The daily ration of Rum in the Royal Navy came to an end.