July is the seventh month of the year (between June and August) in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honor of the Roman general, Julius Caesar, it being the month of his birth. Prior to that, it was called Quintilis. It is, on average, the warmest month in most of the Northern hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer) and the coldest month in much of the Southern hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter). The second half of the year commences in July. In the Southern hemisphere, July is the seasonal equivalent of January in the Northern hemisphere.
July symbols: The birthstone of July is the ruby, which symbolizes contentment. Its birth flowers are the Larkspur or the Water Lily. The zodiac signs for the month of July are Cancer (until July 22) and Leo (July 23 onwards).
1st » Ghana becomes a Republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President of Ghana known as President as Queen Elizabeth II ceases to be its Head of state.
Day of Week 4th » Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).
Day of Week 8th » Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.
Day of Week 11th » France legislates for the independence of Republic of Dahomey Dahomey (later Benin), Republic of Upper Volta Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso Burkina) and Niger.
11th » Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
11th » 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States.
Day of Week 12th » Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic or Russian SFSR, is founded.
Day of Week 14th » Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.
Day of Week 16th » USS George Washington SSBN-598 6 a modified Skipjack class submarine successfully test fires the first ballistic missile while submerged.
Day of Week 20th » The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington SSBN-598 6, for the first time.
17th » Mark Burnett, English-American screenwriter and producer
17th » Nancy Giles, American journalist and actress
17th » Robin Shou, Hong Kong actor and martial artist
17th » Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
17th » Jan Wouters, Dutch footballer and manager
18th » Simon Heffer, English journalist and author
18th » Anne-Marie Johnson, American actress
19th » Atom Egoyan, Egyptian-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
19th » Terrie Hall, American activist (d. 2013)
19th » Kevin Haskins, English-American drummer and songwriter (Bauhaus (band) or Bauhaus, Love and Rockets (band) called Love and Rockets, and Tones on Tail)
19th » Steve Viksten, American voice actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)