What Happened in July 1927

Historical Events

  • Jul 2 Jericho Earthquake in Palestine kills about 500

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 2 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: In an all-French final Henri Cochet wins first of 2 Wimbledon singles crowns; beats Jean Borotra 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5

Wimbledon Women's Tennis

Jul 2 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Helen Wills Moody beats Spaniard Lilí Álvarez 6-2, 6-4 for her first of 8 Wimbledon titles

  • Jul 4 First flight of the Lockheed Vega, a pilot plus four-passenger monoplane; its 225 HP engine allowed cruising speed of 120 MPH

Event of Interest

Jul 4 Sukarno and friends form the pro-Indonesian independence party, the PNI (Perserikatan Nasional Indonesia) in Batavia, Dutch East Indies

  • Jul 9 William T. Francis named US minister to Liberia

Baseball Record

Jul 12 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth half way to his MLB record of 60 home runs; smacks #30 of Joe Shaute in 9th inning in New York's 7-0 win over Cleveland Indians at Dunn Field

  • Jul 14 1st commercial airplane flight in Hawaii

British Golf Open

Jul 15 British Open Men's Golf, St. Andrews: American Bobby Jones retains title; wins wire-to-wire by 6 shots from Fred Robson & Aubrey Boomer

  • Jul 15 Massacre in Vienna: 89 protesters are killed by the Austrian police
  • Jul 16 Augusto César Sandino begins 5½ year war against US occupation of Nicaragua
  • Jul 17 21st Tour de France: Nicolas Frantz of Luxembourg claims first of 2 consecutive titles by 1h 48' 21" from Belgian Maurice De Waele

Ty Cobb's 4,000th Hit

Jul 18 Ty Cobb's 4,000th MLB career hit

  • Jul 23 Howard Lindsay and Bertrand Robinson's stage comedy "Tommy", starring Alan Bunce, Peg Entwistle, and Sidney Toler, closes at the Gaiety Theatre, NYC, after 232 performances
  • Jul 24 The Menin Gate war memorial is unveiled at Ypres

Mel Ott Hits 1st HR

Jul 27 Mel Ott, 18, hits his 1st league home run (inside the park)

  • Jul 29 1st iron lung installed (Bellevue hospital, NY)
  • Jul 29 Phil Mead scores his 100th 100, Hampshire v Northants
1927 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jul 1 Chandra Shekhar, Indian politician, 8th Prime Minister of India (1990-91), born in Ibrahimpatti, British India (d. 2007)
  • Jul 1 Hans Eklund, Swedish composer, born in Sandviken (d. 1999)
  • Jul 2 Brock Peters [George Fisher], American actor and singer (Carmen Jones, To Kill a Mockingbird), born in New York City (d. 2005)
  • Jul 2 Charlie White American professional baseball catcher (Philadelphia Stars; Milwaukee Braves), born in Kinston, North Carolina (d. 1998)
  • Jul 2 Ruth Berghaus, German choreographer and opera director, born in Dresden, Germany (d. 1996)
  • Jul 3 Charles Vandenhove, Belgian architect (Standard-Omnisporthal, Luik), born in Teuven, Belgium (d. 2019)
  • Jul 3 Ken Russell, British film director (Tommy, Altered States, Gothic), born in Southampton, Hampshire, England (d. 2011)
  • Jul 3 William MacMillan, Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland, born in Keith, Moray, Scotland (d. 2002)
  • Jul 4 Luigina "Gina" Lollobrigida, Italian actress (Trapeze; Falcon Crest), photojournalist, and sculptor, born in Subiaco, Italy (d. 2023) [1]

Neil Simon (1927-2018)

Jul 4 American playwright (The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, Biloxi Blues), born in The Bronx, New York

  • Jul 4 Reid Miles, American photographer, and album cover art designer (Blue Note Records, 1955-67), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1993)
  • Jul 5 Beverly Tyler, American singer and actress (Fireball, The Youngest Profession, Big Town), born in Scranton, Pennsylvania (d. 2005)
  • Jul 5 W. M. Diggelmann, Swiss writer (appeared in The self-destruction of W. M. Diggelmann), born in Zurich, Switzerland (d. 1979)
  • Jul 6 Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman, Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality (Pick of the Pops), born in New South Wales, Australia (d. 2006)
  • Jul 6 Charles Whittenberg, American composer, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1984)
  • Jul 6 Jan Hein Donner, Dutch chess grand master, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1988)

Janet Leigh (1927-2004)

Jul 6 American actress (Psycho), born in Merced, California

  • Jul 6 Nilo Soruco, Bolivian singer-songwriter ("Ya la pagarán"; "La Caraqueña"), born in Tarija, Bolivia (d. 2004)
  • Jul 6 Pat Paulsen, American comedian (The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour), actor, and frequent, presidential candidate, born in South Bend, Washington (d. 1997)
  • Jul 6 Susan Cabot, American actress (Sorority Girl, Carnival Rock), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1986)
  • Jul 7 (Carl) "Doc" Severinsen, American trumpeter and bandleader (The Tonight Show, 1962-92), born in Arlington, Oregon
  • Jul 7 Alan J. Dixon, American politician (Sen-D-Illinois, 1981-93), born in Belleville, Illinois (d. 2014)
  • Jul 7 Charlie Louvin, American country singer-songwriter (Louvin Brothers - "The Only Way Out (Is to Walk Over Me)"), born in Section, Alabama (d. 2011)
  • Jul 8 Maurice Hayes, Irish politician (European Person of the Year 2003), born in Killough, Northern Ireland (d. 2017)
  • Jul 9 Ed Ames [Edmund Dantes Urick], American popular singer (Ames Brothers - "My Cup Runneth Over"), and actor (Daniel Boone - "Mingo"), born in Malden, Massachusetts (d. 2023) [1]
  • Jul 9 Red Kelly, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center, coach; politician (Toronto Maple Leafs), born in Simcoe, Ontario (d. 2019)

David Dinkins (1927-2020)

Jul 10 American politician (1st African American Mayor of NYC 1990-93), born in New York City [1]

  • Jul 10 Don Revie, English soccer forward (6 caps; Leicester City, Hull City, Manchester City, Sunderland, Leeds) and manager (Leeds, England, UAE), born in Middlesbrough, England (d. 1989)
  • Jul 10 Grigory Barenblatt, Russian mathematician, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2018)
  • Jul 10 Jack Kelley, American ice hockey coach (Colby College; Boston University 1962-72; NE Whalers), born in Medford, Massachusetts (d. 2020)
  • Jul 10 William Smithers, American actor (Witness, Peyton Place, Attack!), born in Richmond, Virginia
  • Jul 11 Herbert Blomstedt, American conductor (Dresdner Staatskapelle, 1975-85; San Francisco Symphony 1985-95), born in Springfield, Massachusetts
  • Jul 11 Theodore Harold Maiman, American Inventor and engineer (created 1st working laser), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2007)
  • Jul 12 (Secondo) "Conte" Candoli, American jazz, big band, and session trumpeter (Woody Herman; Stan Kenton; The Brothers Candoli; The Tonight Show, 1967-92), born in Mishawaka, Indiana (d. 2001)
  • Jul 12 Gualberto T. Hernandez, Minister for Health and Environmental Hygiene of the Netherlands Antilles, born in Curaçao
  • Jul 12 Pavle Merku, Italian-Slovene composer and ethnomusicologist, born in Trieste (d. 2014)
  • Jul 13 Karl Pelgrom, Dutch sculptor (d. 1994)
  • Jul 13 Simone Veil, French politician (first female President of the European parliament 1979-82), born in Nice, France (d. 2017)
  • Jul 14 John Chancellor, American news anchor (NBC, VOA), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1996)
  • Jul 14 Rolf Haikkola, Finnish athletics coach who assisted four-time Olympic gold medal winner Lasse Virén, born in Myrskylä, Finland (d. 2024)
  • Jul 15 Ann Jellicoe, British theater director and playwright (Knack), born in Middlesborough, England (d. 2017)
  • Jul 15 Carmen Zapata, American actress (Hagen, Viva Valdez, Man & the City), born in New York City (d. 2014)
  • Jul 15 Håkon Brusveen, Norwegian cross-country skier (Olympic gold 15 km, silver 4 × 10 km relay 1960), born in Vingrom, Norway (d. 2021)
  • Jul 16 John Freeland, Legal advisor UK foreign office and judge at the European Court of Human Rights, born in London (d. 2014)
  • Jul 16 John Warr, English cricket fast-medium bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Middlesex CCC, University of Cambridge CC) and executive (president MCC 1987-88), born in Ealing, England (d. 2016)
  • Jul 16 Mindy Carson, American popular music vocalist (Club Embassy, Ford Star Revue), born in New York City
  • Jul 16 Shirley Hughes, English author and illustrator (Dogger), born in West Kirby, England
  • Jul 18 Carlo Franci, Italian composer and conductor, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2019)
  • Jul 18 Kurt Masur, German conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1991-2002; Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, 1970-96), born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Weimar Germany (now Brzeg, Poland) (d. 2015)
  • Jul 18 Ludwig Harig, German writer, born in Sulzbach (d. 2018)
  • Jul 18 Zin Harris, New Zealand cricket batsman (9 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 101; Canterbury), born in Christchurch, New Zealand (d. 1991)
  • Jul 19 Billy Gardner, American baseball manager (Minnesota Twins 1981–85, KC Royals 1987) and second baseman (World Series 1954 NY Giants, 1961 Minnesota Twins), born in Waterford, Connecticut (d. 2024)
  • Jul 19 Jan Myrdal, Swedish writer and journalist (Albania Defiant), born in Bromma, Stockholm (d. 2020)
  • Jul 20 Anthony Cavendish, British MI 6 officer and banker (d. 2013)
  • Jul 20 Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Russian 'Grandmother of Russian Human Rights', born in Crimea, Russia (d. 2018)
  • Jul 20 Michael Gielen, Austrian conductor (Frankfurt Opera, 1967-87); Cincinnati Symphony, 1980-86); Southwest German Radio Symphony, 1986-99), and composer, born in Dresden, Germany (d. 2019)
  • Jul 22 George Hunter, South African boxer (Olympic gold light heavyweight 1948), born in Brakpan, South Africa (d. 2004)
  • Jul 23 Al McCandless, American Republican politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in Brawley, California (d. 2017)
  • Jul 23 Elliot McKay See Jr., American engineer and NASA astronaut, born in Dallas, Texas (d. 1966)
  • Jul 24 Alex Katz, American figurative artist, born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Jul 24 James J. Howard, American educator and Democratic Party politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey), born in Irvington, New Jersey (d. 1988)
  • Jul 24 Wilfred Josephs, English composer, born in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne (d. 1997)
  • Jul 25 Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor (Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board), born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France (d. 2003)
  • Jul 25 Midge Decter, American journalist and author (The Liberated Woman & Other Americans), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2022)
  • Jul 25 Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician (8th Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan), born in Shimla, East Punjab British Raj (d. 2000)
  • Jul 25 Stanley Dancer, American harness racer (4 Hambletonians, 3 Trot Triple Crown), born in West Windsor Township, New Jersey (d. 2005)
  • Jul 26 Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricket all-rounder (33 Tests, 2 x 100, 41 wickets, BB 6/49; Sind, Bombay, Rajasthan), born in Karachi, Pakistan (d. 2003)
  • Jul 27 Allen Breed, American inventor of the first automotive airbag sensor, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1999)
  • Jul 27 Gisele Halimi, Tunisian-French lawyer, feminist and author, born in Tunis, French Tunisia (d. 2020)
  • Jul 27 Guy Carawan, American folk singer and folklorist (popularized "We Shall Overcome"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015)
  • Jul 27 Sat Mahajan, Indian politician (Rural Development Minister), born in Nurpur, Kangra District (d. 2012)
  • Jul 28 John Ashbery, American poet (Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror), born in Rochester, New York (d. 2017)
  • Jul 29 Harry Mulisch, Dutch writer (Message to King Rat), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 2010)
  • Jul 30 Joe George, American character actor (Across 110th Street; Seinfeld - "Uncle Mac"), born in Massachusetts (d. 1992)
  • Jul 30 Richard Johnson, British stage and screen actor and producer (Never So Few, Restless, Beyond the Door), born in Upminster (d. 2015)
  • Jul 30 Victor Wong [Yee Keung Victor Wong], American actor (Big Trouble in Little China), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2001)
  • Jul 31 Ștefan Niculescu, Romanian composer, born in Moreni, Dâmbovita, Romania (d. 2008)
  • Jul 31 Walter Vogt, Swiss writer (Wüthrich) and psychiatrist, born in Zurich (d. 1988)
Born in 1927

Famous Weddings

Bernard Montgomery

Jul 27 British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (39) weds Elizabeth Carver in Chiswick, England

Famous Deaths

  • Jul 5 Albrecht Kossel, German physician (Nobel 1910), dies at 73
  • Jul 7 Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician (b. 1846)
  • Jul 9 John Drew Jr., American Shakespearean actor (The Big Bonanza), dies at 73
  • Jul 10 Kevin O'Higgins, Irish Free State VP, assassinated at 35
  • Jul 15 Constance Markievicz, Irish politician, revolutionary and suffragist (1st woman elected to UK House of Commons, 1st female cabinet minister in Europe), dies of complications after surgery at 59 [1]
  • Jul 20 Ferdinand I [Meinrad], King of Romania (1914-27), dies of cancer at 61
  • Jul 21 J. J. Lyons, Australian cricketer (14 Tests for Australia), dies at 64
  • Jul 23 Saad Zaghlul, Egyptian parliament chairman, dies at 74
  • Jul 23 William Ashley, English economic historian (The Economic Organisation of England), dies at 67
  • Jul 24 Ryūnosuke Akutagawa 'father of the Japanese short story', Japanese writer (Rashomon in Kappa), commits suicide at 35
  • Jul 25 Matilde Serao, Italian writer and journalist (Land of Cockayne, 1st woman to edit Italian newspaper), dies at 71
  • Jul 30 James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, Ghanaian-American missionary, educator and scholar, dies of meningococcal meningitis at 51
  • Jul 30 Robert de Flers, French writer and playwright (Monsieur Bretonneau), dies at 54
  • Jul 31 Walter Travis, Australian-American golfer, writer, course designer (US Amateur C'ship 1900-01, 03; British Amateur 1904), dies at 65