What Happened in July 1872

Historical Events

Jul 9 Doughnut cutter patents granted to John Blondel, Thomaston, Maine
Jul 18 The Ballot Act introduces the secret ballot in elections in Britain; previously votes made openly

The Real McCoy

Jul 23 African American inventor Elijah McCoy is granted a patent for lubricators for steam-engines

Jul 30 Mahlon Loomis patents wireless telegraphy

Events in 1872

Famous Birthdays

Jul 1 Louis Blériot, French aviator and 1st man to fly an airplane across English Channel, born in Cambrai, France (d. 1936)
Jul 3 Habibullah Khan, Emir of Afghanistan (1901-19), born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (d. 1919)

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)

Jul 4 30th US President (Republican: 1923-29), born in Plymouth Notch, Vermont

Édouard Herriot (1872-1957)

Jul 5 French politician (served 3 times as Prime Minister of France), born in Troyes, France

Jul 7 Juan Lamote de Grignon, Catalan pianist, composer (La nit de Nadal (Christmas Night); Hespèria), and orchestra leader (Cobla Barcelona; València Municipal Orchestra), born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1949)
Jul 11 Rollin Henry White, American inventor of steam boilers for early automobiles and Cletrac tractors, born in Cleveland (d. 1962) [1]

Emil Hácha (1872-1945)

Jul 12 Czech politician (President of Czechoslovakia, 1938-9, State President of Bohemia and Moravia, 1939-1945), born in Trhové Sviny, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary

Roald Amundsen (1872-1928)

Jul 16 Norwegian polar explorer who led the 1st expedition to the South Pole, born in Borge, Østfold, Norway

Jul 18 Julius Fučík, Czech composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1916)
Jul 20 Alexander "Alick" Maclean, British composer and conductor (Scarborough Spa Orchestra, 1912-35), born in Windsor, Berkshire, England (d. 1936) [1]
Jul 20 Déodat de Séverac, French composer (Cerdaña), born in Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, France (d. 1921)
Jul 26 George Louis Beer, American historian (authority on British colonies), born in Staten Island, New York (d. 1920)
Jul 27 Stanislav Binički, Serbian composer, born in Jasika, Kruševac, Principality of Serbia (d. 1942)
Jul 28 Albert Sarraut, French Radical politician, Prime Minister of France (1933 and 36), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1962)
Jul 29 Eric Alfred Knudsen, American folklorist (d. 1957)
Jul 30 Clémentine, Princess of Belgium, wife of Prince Napoleon Bonaparte V, born in Royal Castle of Laeken, Brussels (d. 1955)

Born in 1872

Famous Weddings

Karl Benz

Jul 20 Inventor Karl Benz (27) weds Bertha Ringer

Famous Deaths

Jul 18 Benito Juárez, Mexican politician (1st indigenous President of Mexico 1858-72), dies at 66
Jul 26 Michele Carafa, Italian-French opera composer, and educator (Paris Conservatoire, 1840-58), dies at 84
Jul 28 Friedrich Kaiser, Dutch astronomer (Kaiser-Compass), dies at 64