Summary of the Day ✨ 14 July (14/07)
Tragedy struck as a plane crash in Sweden killed nine people while a terrorist attack in Nice claimed 86 lives during Bastille Day celebrations, yet humanity celebrated a triumph as NASA’s New Horizons completed its historic flyby of Pluto. On this day of contrasts, French president Jacques Chirac survived an assassination attempt during a Bastille Day parade while environmentalist Rachel Carson was honored with a statue dedication in Massachusetts.
Historical Events 📜
- 2019: A GippsAero GA8 Airvan crashes in Umeå, Sweden, killing all nine aboard.
- 2016: A man ploughs a truck into a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France, killing 86 people and injuring another 434 before being shot by police.
- 2015: NASA’s New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System.
- 2013: Dedication of statue of Rachel Carson, a sculpture named for the environmentalist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
- 2002: French president Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt from Maxime Brunerie during a Bastille Day parade at Champs-Élysées.
- 2001: Australian criminal Bradley John Murdoch murders British tourist Peter Falconio and abducted his girlfriend in the Northern Territory.
- 2001: Rus Flight 9633 crashes during takeoff from Chkalovsky Airport, killing all 10 people on board.
- 1983: Mario Bros. is released in Japan, beginning the popular Super Mario Bros franchise.
- 1965: Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet. The photographs take approximately six hours to be transmitted back to Earth.
- 1960: Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her study of chimpanzees in the wild.
- 1960: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 1-11 ditches off Polillo Island in the Philippines, killing one person and injuring 44.
- 1958: In the 14 July Revolution in Iraq, the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who becomes the nation’s new leader.
- 1957: Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
- 1951: Ferrari take their first Formula One grand prix victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
- 1950: Korean War: beginning of the Battle of Taejon.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Noah Clowney, American basketball player
- 2003: Haley Winn, American hockey player
- 1997: Neekolul, American internet personality
- 1995: Harrison Butker, American football player
- 1995: Kim In-hyeok, South Korean volleyball player (died 2022)
- 1994: Lucas Giolito, American baseball player
- 1990: Paulo Muacho, Portuguese politician
- 1988: Conor McGregor, Irish mixed martial artist
- 1988: Jérémy Stravius, French swimmer
- 1987: Adam Johnson, English footballer
- 1987: Dan Reynolds, American singer-songwriter
- 1986: Dan Smith, British singer, songwriter and record producer
- 1985: Darrelle Revis, American football player
- 1985: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, English actress and screenwriter
- 1984: Dagbjört Hákonardóttir, Icelandic politician
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: B. Saroja Devi, Indian actress (born 1938)
- 2025: Andrea Gibson, American poet and activist (born 1975)
- 2025: John MacArthur, American evangelical preacher (born 1939)
- 2025: Fauja Singh, British-Indian centenarian marathon runner
- 2024: Jacoby Jones, American football player (born 1984)
- 2022: Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model (born 1949)
- 2020: Rosa, Spanish-born cow on French television (born 2001)
- 2017: Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (born 1977)
- 2005: Cicely Saunders, English hospice founder (born 1918)
- 2000: Pepo, Chilean cartoonist; creator of Condorito (born 1911)
- 1998: Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald’s (born 1909)
- 1993: Léo Ferré, Monacan singer-songwriter, pianist, and poet (born 1916)
- 1991: Constance Stokes, Australian painter (born 1906)
- 1986: Raymond Loewy, French-American industrial designer (born 1893)
- 1984: Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter; Academy Award winner for The French Connection (born 1928)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Boniface of Savoy - Christian feast day:
Gaspar de Bono - Christian feast day:
Camillus of Lellis (Roman Catholic Church, except in the United States) - Christian feast day:
Deusdedit of Canterbury - Christian feast day:
John Keble (Church of England) - Christian feast day:
Samson Occom (Episcopal Church (United States) - Christian feast day:
July 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Bastille Day (France and dependencies)
- International Non-Binary People’s Day
- Republic Day (Iraq)
- Victoria Day (Sweden). The birthday of Crown Princess Victoria is an official flag flying day in Sweden.
- North Korean Defectors’ Day (in South Korea)