At the end of July in 1492 all remaining Jews were expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree took effect. Anti-Semitism was all over Europe, not just limited to one area or national group – previously England and France had issued similar decrees. Daniel Defoe was not just known for adventure tales like Robinson Caruso, he was a political pamphleteer and it got him into some trouble. At the end of 1703 he was placed in a public pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing on pamphlet consider political satire. Instead of the usual taunts and rotten produce being thrown at him, however, he was pelted with flowers.
At the end of 1964, the Ranger 7 probe sent back the first close-up photos of the Moon, with images 1,000 times more clear than any Earth-based telescope. And at the end of July 1971, the Apollo 15 astronauts were the first to traverse the moon on a rover.
Two American conservative writers were born on this date – economist Milton Freidman (1912) and journalist and future US Secretary of Education William Bennett (1943). Australian tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1951) burst onto the scene, as well as the acting talents of sci-fi actor Michael Beihn were revealed (1956) when he not only appeared in Aliens, Terminator, and The Abyss but went on to direct and produce other films.
It was also the birthday of entrepreneur and Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban (1958) and Harry Potter author J K Rowling (1965).
Those who left the world stage on this last day of July include Jesuit founder Ignatius of Loyola (1556), French philosopher Denis Diderot (1784), American general and 17th US President Andrew Johnson (1875), Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor Franz Lizst (1886), American novelist Gore Vidal (2012) and Hall of Fame NBA legendary center Bill Russell (2022).
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