July 23
1829
William Burt patented a forerunner of the typewriter.
1885
Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, died at Mount McGregor, N.Y., at age 63.
1914
Austria and Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, precipitating World War I.
1945
Vichy government leader Marshal Henri Petain went on trial for treason.
1952
Revolution erupted in Egypt as the military took power in a bloodless coup. The following year the monarchy was abolished and, for the first time since the pharaohs, Egypt was again ruled by Egyptians.
1995
The Hale-Bopp comet was discovered by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp.
1997
Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic was sworn in as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
2011
Groundbreaking singer Amy Winehouse died.
Birthdays
Haile Selassie
1892–1975, emperor of Ethiopia (1930–74).
Jane Long
early settler in Texas (1798)
Raymond Chandler
author (1888)
Anthony McLeod Kennedy
associate justice (1936)